Everybody in the Pool

This week on Everybody in the Pool, EV sales are on the rise again thanks to gas prices (and in some parts of the world, they never slowed down). So this week, we’re talking about a crucial part of the electric vehicle transition: the chargers. Because as EV adoption grows, drivers need more than a place to plug in. They need charging that’s reliable, convenient, and maybe even a little fun. Our guest is Shiri Levi-Laor, CEO of Driivz, a software company working behind the scenes to help charging operators manage their networks and energy costs.Shiri explains why the conversation is shifting from range anxiety to charging anxiety—and why a charger that eventually works isn’t necessarily good enough. We get into the four pieces of the charging profitability puzzle: choosing the right sites and hardware, setting prices, managing energy, and creating an experience that makes drivers want to come back. Plus, why destination charging and a good recommendation can make all the difference.We also talk about the increasingly important role of energy management: balancing limited grid capacity, using batteries and renewable energy, and avoiding expensive peak hours. Shiri shares how data and intelligence can help operators make smarter decisions, what vehicle-to-grid technology could eventually unlock, and what she’s seeing as charging networks expand around the world. It’s a conversation about making the infrastructure behind electrification work better for everyone.Links:Driivz: https://driivz.com/Driivz’s Social Charging Index: https://driivz.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/World-EV-Day-Survey.pdfAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, a returning guest is staying the course on climate tech—even as investors and attention pivot toward AI. Mike Schroepfer, the former Facebook CTO and founder of Gigascale Capital, last joined us in episode 77 to talk about the technology trends making a cleaner future possible. Now he’s back with a new $250 million fund and more evidence for his central thesis: the clean option can also be the cheaper, better option. The challenge is getting it built and into customers’ hands.Schrep explains why factory-built technologies like solar panels and batteries keep getting cheaper, and how those falling costs unlock much more than we initially imagine—from electric trucks that cost less to operate to a more resilient, distributed energy system. We talk about simpler solar installations, cleaner rare-earth processing, next-generation turbines, and fusion, along with the determined founders working to turn those technologies into competitive businesses.We also get into the complicated relationship between AI and climate. The data-center boom creates enormous demand for new power, but the rush to build is driving investment in gas generation before cleaner alternatives are ready at scale. Schrep shares why that timing mismatch worries him—and why accelerating deployment matters so much. Plus, he’s getting into the storytelling game with Field Trips, a new YouTube series taking viewers behind the scenes at labs and factories to meet the people building what’s next. Think fusion, electric trucks, robots, and a microreactor that traveled from Los Angeles to Idaho on a truck. It’s a conversation about grounded optimism, real urgency, and making the clean choice the easy choice.Links:Watch Field Trips: https://www.youtube.com/@watchfieldtripsGigascale Capital: https://gigascale.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we talk about one of the most direct climate actions available to all of us: voting. Nathaniel Stinnett, founder and executive director of the Environmental Voter Project, explains why the climate movement doesn’t just have a persuasion problem—it has a turnout problem. Millions of people already care deeply about climate and the environment, but don’t consistently vote, even as elections shape decisions about clean energy, pollution, and the future of climate policy.The Environmental Voter Project identifies these infrequent and non-voters using polling, publicly available voter files, and predictive models, then tests ways to help them show up. Stinnett says the organization identified 11.2 million registered environmentalists who did not vote in the 2024 presidential election. Its nonpartisan approach focuses on behavior change rather than changing minds or promoting candidates: randomized trials help determine which messages and outreach—postcards, calls, canvassing, direct mail, and digital ads—actually increase turnout.Some of the most effective messages are also counterintuitive. Instead of arguing that one vote could decide an election, the project uses social cues, reminders that peers are voting, and practical information that makes voting feel easier. Stinnett shares the group’s reported turnout gains in presidential, statewide, and local elections, why local races can have major consequences for climate policy, and how a consistent electorate can signal to politicians that climate leadership matters. We also talk about barriers to voting, the value of showing up in every election, and how listeners can volunteer to help turn climate concern into political participation.Links:Environmental Voter Project: https://www.environmentalvoter.org/Register to vote: https://vote.gov/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, let’s talk about the grid—the biggest machine in the world, which we are asking to do a whole lot more than it was built to do. Rooftop solar sends power back. Electric vehicles create sudden spikes in demand. Heat pumps, factories, and AI data centers need more electricity. And the poles and wires in the middle? We can’t exactly unplug them and start over.My guest is Luca Mezossy-Dona, co-founder and chief growth officer of IONATE, which is building hardware and software to give the grid a brain. Its Hybrid Intelligent Transformer takes a familiar, century-old building block and adds the ability to see what’s happening around it and adjust voltage in real time. Luca explains how combining a traditional transformer core with precise power electronics can help grid operators handle the peaks and valleys of modern electricity use—and how a network of these devices can make the whole system more flexible and resilient.We also get into the climate payoff: in IONATE’s modeled grid studies, the technology enabled an average of 33 percent more distributed energy resources to connect, 25 percent more power through existing poles and wires, and a 6 percent reduction in losses compared with traditional technology. The idea is to connect more clean energy and electrified demand, waste less power, and get more out of the infrastructure we already have instead of rebuilding everything on day one. Plus, how a neuroscientist became a grid nerd—and why none of our shiny new technologies work if you unplug them.In the second half, we talk about deployments with utilities in Europe and industrial customers like General Motors, why factories and data centers are essentially mini grids behind the meter, and the difference between seeing a problem and having the tools to respond. We also explore the business case for smarter transformers, what cascading blackouts tell us about resilience, and why the equipment we install today will shape the grid for the next generation. Grid operators don’t necessarily have to buy IONATE’s technology—but they do have to do something.Links:IONATE: https://www.ionate.energy/About IONATE and the team: https://www.ionate.energy/aboutAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, would you drink a beer made from somebody else’s shower water? I did. They cleaned it! Like, a lot. But the beer is just the attention-grabbing headline for a much bigger climate solution: capturing the water our buildings use, treating it, and using it again instead of sending it down the drain.My guest is Aaron Tartakovsky, co-founder and CEO of Epic Cleantec, which puts water recycling systems into large buildings. Aaron explains how the technology works, why drinking-quality water doesn’t need to be used to flush toilets or cool office towers, and how Epic’s system at San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower recycles about eight million gallons of water a year. We also get into the company’s unlikely origin story—from a high-tech pooper scooper to the Gates Foundation’s Reinvent the Toilet Challenge—and how Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch became tasty tools for getting people past the “yuck factor.”In the second half, we talk about what it takes to make water reuse standard equipment: why new construction is easier than retrofitting existing buildings, where retrofits already make sense, and how water and sewer bills can drive adoption. Plus, the policies helping this technology spread, the resistance from some utilities, and what the history of elevators, air conditioning, and rooftop solar can teach us about turning an unfamiliar technology into something we wonder how we ever lived without.Links:Epic Cleantec: https://epiccleantec.com/Shower Hour IPA and Laundry Club Kölsch: https://epiccleantec.com/recycled-water-beersWatch Molly try the shower beer on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollywoodpro/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re heading to Governors Island in New York Harbor, where a new anchor institution for climate solutions is taking shape. The New York Climate Exchange is a nonprofit backed by a coalition of universities, community organizations, corporations, and the City of New York, all working to make the city a front door for climate action and innovation.My guest is Shaina Horowitz, Director of Program Innovation and Acceleration at the New York Climate Exchange. Shaina explains how the Exchange is building both a physical climate campus and a year-round platform for climate tech founders, researchers, students, community groups, and policymakers. We talk about why New York is such a natural home for urban resilience work, how the Exchange’s Climate Tech Fellowship helps very early-stage innovators bridge the lab-to-market gap, and why communication, community engagement, and environmental justice have to be part of a climate startup’s strategy from the very beginning.We also get into what the Exchange is showcasing during Climate Week, including its newest fellowship cohort focused on energy innovation and urban resilience; why New York’s density, financial power, public-sector experience, and very real climate risks make it different from Silicon Valley; and what kinds of technologies are coming next, from long-lived batteries for environmental sensing to modular heat engines and compact turbines. Plus, Shaina shares the vision for the Governors Island campus itself: the largest mass timber project in New York, an undulating solar canopy, and a public invitation to see what climate solutions can look like in practice.LINKS: The New York Climate Exchange: https://www.nyclimateexchange.org/Shaina Horowitz: https://www.nyclimateexchange.org/shaina-horowitzGovernors Island: https://www.govisland.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re talking about batteries — one of my favorite topics — but not the expensive, contractor-installed, whole-home kind that requires permits, electrical-panel upgrades, and homeownership. Pila Energy is building a plug-in, modular battery system designed to bring backup power, bill management, and grid flexibility to renters, condo owners, small businesses, and basically anyone with a wall outlet.Founder and CEO Cole Ashman, who previously worked on Tesla Powerwall and led product at Span, explains how Pila’s battery “nodes” can sit next to the appliances that matter most — a fridge, Wi-Fi router, sump pump, window AC, or media console — and provide backup power during outages, shift energy use away from expensive peak hours, and even help utilities manage grid stress through virtual power plant programs. We also get into why the product works locally even when the internet is down, how the batteries are designed for durability and safety, and why distributed batteries could become a whole new layer of climate resilience infrastructure.Links:Pila Energy: https://www.pilaenergy.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re talking about solar: already the cheapest and fastest-growing source of energy on the planet, and still very much a frontier for innovation. Swift Solar is working on next-generation solar technology called perovskite-silicon tandems, which stack two different solar materials to capture more of the sun’s energy and push panels past the efficiency limits of conventional silicon.Founder and CEO Joel Jean explains why even “solved” climate technologies still need to get better, how perovskites could make solar panels more efficient, cheaper, lighter, and easier to deploy, and why Swift is taking a two-step path to market: first building proven, bankable silicon cell manufacturing in the U.S., then using that foundation to scale higher-performance tandem cells. We also get into the geopolitics and supply-chain challenge of domestic solar manufacturing, and why space — yes, space — could become a surprisingly important early market for next-gen solar.Links:Swift Solar: https://www.swiftsolar.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re going way back in time to a company we first interviewed way back in 2024 — it was futuristic then, and still is. Swyft Cities is a startup that spun out of Google and is trying to reinvent urban mobility. And by that I mean they’re developing modular electric tram systems that would take passengers around dense urban areas, hospital or college campuses, or maybe, you know, Google, on a series of cables suspended above buildings and streets. This means reducing the number of cars on the road, sure, but it also means we can build new cities, housing developments, and urban centers that have density without resource-hogging skyscrapers, and which don’t need a ton of extra land for parking and multi-lane highways and such. Wild? Sure. Doable? We’ll see. Interesting? Absolutely. With Swyft Cities founder and CEO Jeral Poskey.Links:Swyft Cities: https://swyftcities.com/All episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week on Everybody in the Pool, we’re revisiting one of the most interesting and impactful tools in the individual and corporate arsenal! The bummer news: your bank deposits could be funding the climate crisis? But we’d never give you bummer news without a solution! This week, Molly Wood speaks with Paul Moinester, founder of Topofinance, who reveals the shocking climate impact of conventional banking. Discover how just $10,000 in a major bank generates emissions equivalent to driving 10,000 miles yearly, and why moving your money to climate-friendly banks might be the easiest climate action you've never considered. Paul explains how corporations' banking emissions often exceed all their other emissions combined, and introduces innovative solutions that make greener banking both simple and profitable.Links:Topo FinancePaul MoinesterAll episodes: https://www.everybodyinthepool.com/Subscribe to the Everybody in the Pool newsletter: https://www.mollywood.co/Become a member for the ad-free version of the show: https://everybodyinthepool.supercast.com/Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/2EsDhwQC2z Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.