Danielle Newnham Podcast

As April 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the Arm architecture, I am re-releasing my episode with Steve Furber. What began as an ambitious project in a small corner of Cambridge, U.K., has grown into the world's most widely adopted computing architecture, now powering billions of devices – from sensors, smartphones and laptops to vehicles, datacenters and beyond.It was at 3pm on 26th April 1985, the chip that led to the world's first commercial RISC processor powered up... and changed the world!Steve Furber is a seminal computer scientist, mathematician and hardware designer whose work includes the BBC Microcomputer and the ARM 32-bit RISC microprocessor which can be found in over 100 billion devices today.Steve studied both Maths followed by a PhD in Aerodynamics at Cambridge University before joining Herman Hauser and Chris Curry at Acorn Computers. For the next decade, he would work with a first-class team of engineers and designers to revolutionise the home computer market before he and Sophie Wilson went on to design the ARM processor with a relatively small team and budget and with little inkling of the consequence it might bring to the world.In 1990, Steve left Acorn moved to Manchester where he is now Professor of Computer Engineering at the university there. He was charged with leading research into asynchronous systems, low-power electronics and neural engineering which  led to the SpiNNaker project - a super computer incorporating a million ARM processors which are optimised for computational neuroscience. He is basically trying to reverse engineer the brain – a lofty ambition even by his own admission.In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss Steve's life journey from studying maths with professors such as the famed John Conway and Sir James Lighthill to the highs and lows of building the BBC Micro and the story behind the ARM 32-bit RISC microprocessor.I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Steve and am overly excited about his SpiNNaker project which we also discuss today.Enjoy!--------------Steve Furber info / SpiNNaker info / Micro Men filmDanielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham   / Newsletter Watch Steve and Sophie talk about those early arm days tomorrow - buy your tickets here.

Dr Alvy Ray Smith is the co-founder of Pixar, a computer scientist and pioneer in the field of computer graphics and to celebrate 39 years to the day that Pixar was officially founded, I wanted to release my interview with Alvy from Series 3.After starting his career in academia, Alvy had an epiphany following a serious skiing accident. He decided to move to California to combine his two passions - art and computers - in a place where he felt something good was about to happen. Alvy was always a pioneer. From creating his first computer graphic in 1965, Alvy became an original member of the Computer Graphics Lab at the New York Institute of Technology, he witnessed the birth of the personal computer at Xerox PARC, and he was the first director of computer graphics at George Lucas's Lucasfilm. It was there that Alvy gathered some of the smartest people he knew to develop computer graphics software, including early renderer technology. He and colleague Ed Catmull then spun out to co-found the famous Pixar, soon followed by the hiring of Lucasfilm colleague John Lasseter, and Steve Jobs as an investor. It was at Pixar that Toy Story would be made - the very first, entirely computer-animated, feature film. In 2006, Pixar was sold to Disney for $7.4 billion.In this interview, Alvy recounts his career from the early days at Xerox PARC to how Pixar got started. We discuss the Pixar journey in detail, as well as his latest book – A Biography of the Pixel  (you can buy here)- including how innovation is born from three strands: An idea, chaos and a tyrant. And how Steve jobs was both the saviour and the tyrant in the incredible Pixar story.A true pioneer, this is one of my favourite conversations.Enjoy!-----NB This episode was first released in Series 3.Let us know what you think of this episode and please rate, review and share - it means the world to me and helps others to find it too.Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTubeAll my podcast episodes are edited with Descript - try it for FREE hereAlvy Ray Smith on Twitter @alvyray / website Buy Alvy Ray Smith's book A Biography of the Pixel here. -----This episode was hosted by me - Danielle Newnham, a recovering founder, author and writer who has been interviewing tech founders and innovators for ten years - and produced by Jolin Cheng. Image of Alvy Ray by Christopher Michel.

Today's guest is Zahaan Bharmal – Senior Director of Strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa at Google where he has spent the last 16 years. He is also author of The Art of Physics: 8 elegant ideas to make sense of almost everything.In this conversation, Zahaan and I discuss his younger years, how he struggled at school and had big questions about the world and how The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams completely changed his life and allowed him to fall in love with the subject of Physics, in the hope of finding some of those answers.We also discuss Zahaan's career from working as a speech writer for luminaries such as Tony Blair, Bill Clinton and Nelson Mandela to his current role at Google working with those at the frontier of AI including Sir Demis Hassabis of Deep Mind. But the main topic of conversation today is how physics can help us answer very human questions. Drawing on fields of physics such as quantum mechanics, thermodynamics, chaos and complexity theory, we look at how physics can help us make sense of an unpredictable world – and, why many of the world's most successful leaders from Napolean to Charlie Munger all believe a greater understanding of physics can help us save humanity.So please enjoy my conversation with Zahaan Bharmal.Zahaan Bharmal has a degree in physics from the University of Oxford. After working on policy issues for the UK government and at the World Bank, he won a Fulbright Scholarship to Stanford University where he earned a master's in business administration. Since 2008, he has worked for Google, currently as senior director of strategy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He has written about space and science for the Guardian and is the recipient of NASA's Exceptional Public Achievement Medal.

Today's guest is Nuno Coelho Santos – a Portuguese Product Designer who has worked at some of tech's top companies from DeepMind to Meta's WhatsApp, and Google Health.He was at DeepMind working on their Streams app for clinicians when Covid struck and his team were pulled into helping the UK Ministry's of Health Departments Covid response.In this wide ranging conversation, we talk about Nuno's early pull between his two great loves – engineering and design, how design ultimately won and led to his work award winning work at DeepMind and Google as well as the career break he took after being inspired by designer Stefan Sagmeister who believed in taking a complete sabbatical every seven years.We also discuss the differences in the companies he worked at, and what the impact of AI might be on software and design in the future.I really enjoyed talking to Nuno and I think you will learn a lot – this is his first ever podcast interview.So please enjoy my conversation with Nuno Coelho Santos.Nuno website / LinkedIn / Instagram / ThreadsDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTubeAll my podcast episodes are edited with Descript - try it for FREE here

This week's guest is David Senra, ex-founder and host of  Founders podcast – one of my favourite podcasts where each week, David devours a biography of a founder and shares his favourite lessons with the world, whether it's Charlie Munger, Steve Jobs, Jeff Bezos, Kobe Bryant, The Wright Brothers, Lucille Ball, Jay Z, Enzo Ferrari and many more!But David has a really interesting story himself and one we dive into today. We talk about his tough childhood and how his escape came through his obsession with books because it was within those pages where he found the role models he wanted and needed to inspire him on his way.We also discuss some key themes between the founders and innovators whose stories David has shared in over 300 episodes now from a self-styled delusion which helps them to ignore the naysayers and dream the impossible to the obsession which comes with a laser focus on what matters.There are lots of great stories and anecdotes as you can imagine from David but there are also some great lessons that he has learned about success on his personal journey and why he wants to build something he's younger self would be proud of.Here is my conversation with David Senra.Enjoy!This episode was originally released April 2023 - S9:E73David's podcast Founders podcast / Twitter / Instagram Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTubeAll my podcast episodes are edited with Descript - try it for FREE hereMentioned in this episode:Tim Urban post that David mentions in this episode Taming the Mammoth: Why You Should Stop Caring What Other People ThinkMy episode with Jimmy Soni here

Today's guest is Charlotte Stavrou – founder and CEO of SevenSix agency – an award winning influencer marketing agency.In this episode, we talk about Charlotte's childhood and how it shaped her work ethic and entrepreneurial spirit, how her dyslexia diagnosis last year allowed her to feel whole after the education system left her feeling broken.We also discuss why so many founders are now becoming influencers, how covid accelerated the influencer landscape and how her agency's annual pricing reports are helping influencers charge the right amount for their work.Whether you are a founder, content creator or marketeer, you will find lots of lessons in this episode.So please enjoy my conversation with Charlotte Stavrou.Charlotte on Instagram / LinkedIn / SevenSix agencyDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTubeImage of Charlotte by Kiran GiddaAll my podcast episodes are edited with Descript - try it for FREE here

Today's guest is Asif Ahmed, Partner & Head of Early Stage for Tech & High Growth companies at accountancy firm Cooper Parry. He previously founded Acclivity Advisors which was acquired by Cooper Parry and his role at both has been to work closely with early-stage founders and entrepreneurs across all accounting, tax and advisory disciplines - ensuring founding teams are able to help navigate and scale their startups.In this episode, we discuss Asif's background and how the pivotal moments in his life shaped him including his father's sixth diagnosis of cancer which was sadly terminal. Asif took over his father's business to support his family and this really shaped who he became and what he went on to do in his career.We also discuss when a founder should set up the startup's finance function, when is the right time to raise outside capital, why every startup should have a finance bible, and what one piece of advice he would offer a younger Asif.Quick apology for sound quality which is not perfect in this episode but hopefully it doesn't take away from the important lessons Asif shares about founders and the importance of getting your finance function up and running from the start of your startup journey.I learned a lot from Asif and I think you will too so please enjoy my conversation with Asif Ahmed! Asif Ahmed LinkedIn / Cooper ParryAsif's book:The Finance Playbook for Entrepreneurs: Build a solid finance department for your high-growth business, without the trial and errorDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTube

Today's guest is JZ, currently Chief Product Officer at Linktree and previoysly SVP of Product at Webflow. And before that, she led product teams at Airbnb, WeWork, Dropbox and gaming startup Pocket Gems.In this episode, we discuss JZ's life growing up – how frequent moves to different cities and countries built her up resilience and adaptability, how she got into product management despite being an Economics Major, how her father's brain haemorrhage changed her life and the lessons she learned from working at some of the world's top companies from Airbnb to WeWork, Dropbox and more.I learned a lot from talking to JZ about how build out a roadmap for your product, when it's the right time to launch and how to build something which people not only use, but love too.I think you will learn a lot too so here is my conversation with the wonderful JZ.JZ on LinkedIn Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTube

Today's guest is Anil Ananthaswamy - an award-winning science writer and former staff writer and deputy news editor for New Scientist magazine. He is a 2019-20 MIT Knight Science Journalism Fellow and has been a guest editor for the science writing program at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and organizes and teaches an annual science writing workshop at the National Centre for Biological Sciences in Bengaluru, India.He is a freelance feature editor for PNAS Front Matter. He writes regularly for New Scientist, Quanta, Scientific American, PNAS Front Matter and Nature, and has contributed to Nautilus, Matter, The Wall Street Journal, Discover and the UK's Literary Review, among others.He has written four award-winning books including The Edge of Physics: Dispatches from the Frontiers of Cosmology - voted book of the year in 2010 by UK's Physics World,The Man Who Wasn't There: Tales from the Edge of the Self - was long-listed for the 2016 Pen/E. O. Wilson Literary Science Writing Award, Through Two Doors at Once: The Enigmatic Story of our Quantum Reality- was named one of Smithsonian's Favorite Books of 2018 and one of Forbes's 2018 Best Books About Astronomy, Physics and Mathematics.And his latest book, Why Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AI which Geoffrey Hinton labelled "A masterpiece."In this episode, we discuss his start in life, why he went from a career in software to writing and dig deeper into Why Machines Learn including a history of neural networks.But, before we get into today's episode, a quick word from our sponsor, Paddle - and this is especially for the all the mobile devs in my audience. Paddle has produced an invaluable web monetisation guide (for FREE)! As they say, selling your app on the web isn't just about avoiding hefty app store fees, it actually gives you the freedom and opportunity to leverage a direct-to-consumer model where you can reach a bigger audience, enhance your marketing efforts, and experiment with different ways to monetize and grow your app. So, if you are interested in learning more, then do head here to get your FREE web monetisation guide from Paddle.Please enjoy my conversation with Anil Ananthaswamy.Anil website / TwitterWhy Machines Learn: The Elegant Math Behind Modern AIDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTubeEpisode image: Rajesh Krishnan

Today's guest is Simon Brading who works at App Agency Brightec and is the co-founder of Mentora Money which he started in 2022 with his wife, Anna – a financial education instructor. Their mission is simple but important - to create a platform to help as many people as possible learn basic financial principles so that they can make money, look after their money and reduce money stress. In this conversation, we discuss Simon's strong faith and how that has guided him through his life and career especially around community building, we also talk about how Covid left him with depression and how he managed to get out of that dark hole and, we ponder on what a financially literate society might look like.But, before we get into today's episode, a quick word from our sponsor. Paddle - and this is especially for the all the mobile devs in my audience. Paddle has produced an invaluable web monetisation guide which you can download for FREE here. As they say, selling your app on the web isn't just about avoiding hefty app store fees, it actually gives you the freedom and opportunity to leverage a direct-to-consumer model where you can reach a bigger audience, enhance your marketing efforts, and experiment with different ways to monetize and grow your app. So, if you are interested in learning more, then do head to here to get your FREE web monetisation guide from Paddle.Please enjoy my conversation with Simon Brading.  

Today's guest is the wonderful Doug Menuez – a documentary photographer, director and photojournalist whose incredible career has seen him cover the AIDS crisis, the Ethiopian famine, the birth of the digital revolution in the 1980s where he documented founders like Steve Jobs, Marc Andreessen, Bill Gates, the Adobe founders and more and that is how he came on my radar.His book, Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000 which highlights just a snippet of the over two million images which he took of that time is a such an incredible homage to the people that built the future we live in now.And in today's episode, we talk about it and the people he shot in his career– from the three years he had exclusive access to Steve Jobs to the time he got kidnapped in Sudan. We also discuss the three most pivotal moments in Doug's life which include meeting his wonderful wife Tereza and the moment she was diagnosed two years ago with Alzheimer's.There are some incredible stories of hope in this episode and some heartwarming lessons on the importance of patience and persistence and the ability of founders to keep going, despite the odds stacked against them.I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. Here is my conversation with Doug Meneuz.Doug website / Instagram / Fearless Genius: The Digital Revolution in Silicon Valley 1985-2000Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTubeImage of Doug by Christopher Michel  

What's coming up on Series 14 of the Danielle Newnham Podcast.I have long toyed with the idea of branching out away from solely focusing on tech founders. I started the podcast 3 years ago now with the idea of interviewing people in the tech field because that's what I knew – that was the field that I had been in and I believed that the human stories behind the game changing tech were important which I still do however, I really wanted to expand the scope of the podcast.I guess, most importantly, I wanted to elevate the voices and stories you might not have heard before. If you listen to Series 9 of the podcast, you will see that's when I started telling more of these stories and the response from you, my wonderful audience was amazing.So, I think the time has come to focus on founders and innovators from all walks of life. I want to give my guests a safe space for them to tell their unabridged stories and I have some incredible guests lined up for Series 14.So each episode of Series 14 will centre around the theme of hope as I ask each person – what were the top three most pivotal moments of their lives – how did they navigate and overcome them.And there are some real tear-jerkers I can tell you. There are some unbelievably inspirational and uplifting stories which I can't wait to share with you soon.So do subscribe to Danielle Newnham Podcast wherever you get your podcasts from and you will hear more from me, and my guests, shortly. 

Today's guest before a little summer break is Yancey Strickler – previously co-founder and CEO of Kickstarter, currently co-founder of Metalabel. Yancey is also a writer and in 2019, his excellent first book was published - This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous World. In the book and in this conversation, Yancey also discusses a useful decision making framework that he came up with called BentoismHis second book which he put out on Metalabel is The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet which he co-wrote with some great collaborators.And collaboration and community is core to Yancey's career DNA. in this episode, we discuss both in great deal, as well as the highs and lows of running the innovative rocket ship which Kickstarter became and why he believes self acceptance is so importance.I really enjoyed talking to Yancey and I think you will get a lot of great lessons from this episode so here is my episode with Yancey Strickler.Yancey on Twitter /  Metalabel / This Could Be Our Future: A Manifesto for a More Generous WorldDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTube

Today's guest is Sharmadean Reid MBE, a serial founder and author. Sharmadean grew up in Wolverhampton, surrounded by strong female influences before she went to London to study at Central St Martins. She then became a successful stylist and creative consultant before starting her first business at 25 -  WAH nails – a pioneering nail salon in East London.  Despite wanting to quit after six months, she celebrated the shop's ten year anniversary before closing it down and launching Beautystack - a beauty tech startup (with outside funding) and, following Covid which hit the beauty industry hard,  she is now founder and CEO of The Stack World– a global media platform and community for women.In this conversation, Sharmadean talks me through her life and career journey from the curious young girl in Wolverhampton with high aspirations to the powerful business woman she became, her likes and dislikes about being a founder in a male-dominated world, the lessons she has taken from her businesses to life, and her new book, New Methods for Women: A Manifesto for Independence– a book which I consider to be the new bible for women.Like her book, this conversation will no doubt uplift women everywhere. Because Sharmadean gives us the playbook for how to succeed... on our own terms.Enjoy! Sharmadean Instagram / The Stack WorldNew Methods for Women: A Manifesto for IndependenceDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter

Sean Dadashi is co-founder of Rosebud. Born to Iranian parents who emigrated to the US after the revolution in 1979, Sean grew up in Los Angeles and was on a path of studying mechanical engineering before he switched courses after a year to study Cognitive Science with a minor in Computer Science.He then became a CTO before starting his own company - Somatic Studios in 2016 – where he used his passion for both tech and wellbeing to experiment with ideas including a web app that provided a health and wellness index for over 160 cities across 6 continents.The studio also developed VR experiences to teach pain management patients mindfulness and somatic therapy techniques. After Somatic, Sean then joined up with Chrys Bader, who you may have heard of because he previously co-founded several startups including Treehouse and Secret. Together, Sean and Chris have created Rosebud – the number one AI-powered journal for mental health and personal growth and a product I highly recommend. Try it yourself for FREE here.In this conversation, Sean and I discuss the loneliness epidemic, the importance of good mental health, his passion for helping others, and how he has always leaned towards the marriage of psychology and the human mind with technology and his passion for creating things, which ultimately led to Rosebud.I really enjoyed this discussion and think you will too.This is a replay from Series 12 to mark Mental Health Awareness Week.Sean Dadashi / RosebudDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTube

Today's episode is all about how to grow your podcast. I answer questions from listeners such as:  Should I do audio or video?How do you find your guests?How to promote your podcastWhat platforms work best to promote your podcastShould you use YouTube?Should you do clips?Is the podcasting space too saturated?Things I would do differently if I were starting a podcast todayHow do you research?Should each episode fit a niche?I hope you find the answers useful!Danielle on Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / Sponsorship / YouTubeMentioned in this episode:CanvaDescriptSimplecast  

Today's guest is Danielle Strachman, co-founder of 1517 venture fund which, in their own words, backs dropouts working on hard problems and sci-fi scientists at the earliest stages of their startups. Prior to starting 1517, Danielle worked with Peter Thiel, and Michael Gibson (who I Interviewed in Series 8, Episode 60) and together, they ran The Thiel Fellowship for five years. For those who don't know, The Thiel Fellowship was set up to fund students who were 22 or under, giving them a total of $100k over two years so that they could dropout of the traditional education system and pursue important work. The Fellowship guided them through this process which would often involve scientific research, creating a startup, or working on a social movement. Past founders backed by the Fellowship include Vitalik Buterin  who was still a teenager when the fellowship allowed him to drop out and work on Ethereum full time, as well as Laura Deming, the founder of The Longevity Fund and Dylan Field of Figma.In this episode, we discuss how Danielle went from tutoring to starting the Thiel Fellowship to venture capital, what common traits the founders she has backed share and the lessons she learned from Peter Thiel.Please enjoy my conversation with Danielle Strachman.Danielle Strachman on Twitter / 1517 venture fund  / 1517 SubstackDanielle on Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / Sponsorship / YouTube Mentioned in this episode:Innovations Academy, San DiegoDanielle's writeup of recent 2E camp for teens Noor Siddiqui, Founder of Orchid

Today's guest is Chrisman Frank – co-founder and CEO of Synthesis – the online platform that teaches kids how to solve complex problems and think critically. Born out of the school Elon Musk set up with Chrisman's co-founder Josh Dahn (interview with Josh here),  Synthesis has two main products – teams where kids learn as a group to work on complex problems, and its AI tutor which was born out of some incredible DARPA research which we talk about in today's episode.We also talk about why Elon wanted to disrupt education and his views on teaching kids how to think vs what to think, what DARPA showed us when it comes to the potential of AI in learning and why John Holt's adage that kids love to learn but hate to be taught is true.I have followed the Synthesis journey since the beginning and am constantly blown away by their mission so I encourage you to listen to this episode in its entirety to learn how we can educate children in a way that will enable them to thrive in this ever-changing world of ours. Enjoy!Chrisman on Twitter / Synthesis Danielle on Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / Sponsorship / YouTubeMentioned in this episodeHow Children Fail by John HoltThe Underground History of American Education by John Taylor GattoThe Beginning of Infinity by David DeutschDARPA study Digital Tutor in Navy Training---------Are you looking for influencers to promote your product or service? If so, Passionfroot is the place to go - register for free herehttps://passionfroot.cello.so/YiMAn00572p

Today's guest is theoretical computer scientist Leslie Valiant - currently the T. Jefferson Coolidge Professor of Computer Science and Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. Among his many accolades, Leslie was awarded the Turing Award in 2010 for transformative contributions to the theory of computation, including the theory of PAC learning which stands for Probably Approximately Correct, as well as the complexity of enumeration and of algebraic computation, and the theory of parallel and distributed computing.In this episode, Leslie and I discuss his life and career journey – from what problems he has looked to solve in his career to how his PAC theory was first received and his latest book, The Importance of Being Educable.Have you ever wondered what your digital footprint says about you? Or curious how you can make your pitch stand out?Then check out WhiteBridge.ai – it's an AI-powered digital identity research tool that finds, verifies, and analyzes publicly collected data about someone and structures it into an insightful report.They actually ran a report on me and I was seriously impressed!But not only can you use it to check your online digital profile but you could use it to help you quickly research and understand other people whether it's a potential client, employee or investor – the report gives you more than enough useful info on the person for you to truly personalize your correspondence to them and help you build that early rapport.Want to learn more? Head to https://whitebridge.ai and use my discount code DANIELLE30 for 30% off your first report.Please enjoy my conversation with Leslie Valiant.

Today's guest is founder and VC Brett Martin who I first started following ten years ago when we were both in the mobile space.Brett is currently Co-Founder of Kumospace and co-founder of Charge Ventures. Kumospace is a venture backed virtual office space platform that provides immersive and interactive virtual spaces for hosting team meetings, and social gatherings. Charge Ventures is a venture capital firm based in New York that invests in pre-seed to seed early stage tech startups.In this episode of the podcast, we discuss Brett's first taste of business as a kid, what lessons he learned about entrepreneurship from sailing 6,000 miles on a 50 year old, 30 foot sailboat which involved dodging water spouts, pirates and drug runners, what it felt like to shut down his first proper startup, and what he looks for in the founders he invests in.Apologies that this is a shorter than normal episode but Brett and I spent some time catching up before we got started so I will have to get him back on the show another time.But saying that, this was a fun episode with someone who has done it all, so please enjoy my conversation with Brett Martin.Brett on Twitter / Charge VC / KumospaceDanielle on Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / SponsorshipMentioned in this episode:Sonar Post Mortem by Brett MartinScar Tissue by Brett MartinOn Giving Up by Adam Phillips

Today's guest is June Angelides MBE – a former founder, turned VC. June grew up in Nigeria before coming to London to study Economics. She then joined Thomson Reuters working on the news desk, covering syndicated loans before she got a call to join Silicon Valley Bank  (SVB) who were just starting up here in London. She joined a small team there, working on both the Venture Debt Team and Early Stage Banking where she started forging connections with early stage startups and founders.It wasn't long before June wanted a taste of entrepreneurship herself so she started Mums in Tech - the first child-friendly coding school in the UK - which ultimately taught over 250 women to code in 3 years and earned June an MBE from the Queen.After Mums in Tech closed down, June joined Samos Investments in 2018, where she remains today, investing in high growth European businesses. She has also founded an angel syndicate that invests into African Startups.In this episode, June and I discuss her career journey from working in the early days at Silicon Valley Bank here in the UK, setting up and subsequently shutting down her business, becoming an investor and the traits she looks for in founders, the importance of storytelling when pitching, as well as how representation and role models matter.I learned a lot talking to June about her founder investor journey and I think you will too. So here is my conversation with June Angelides.Enjoy!June website / Twitter / LinkedIn / InstagramDanielle on Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / SponsorshipMentioned in this episode:UK Government backed women-led high-growth enterprise taskforce report 

Today's episode is a special one as it is my very first LIVE recording of the podcast which took place last month with the one and only Chris Anderson of TED.Recorded at the stunning Kindred in London, it was such a special evening and a delight to have so many fans of the podcast and Chris in the audience.In this episode, we discuss Chris' childhood, growing up with missionary parents in Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the huge professional peaks and lows of running a publishing company through the dot com crash. We also discuss how he came to acquire TED and his new book Infectious Generosity – The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading?The overriding question we try to answer is, Can we outweigh the overwhelming negativity online by making kindness go viral?…But a quick word about today's sponsor before we get into the conversation. This episode is sponsored by Youll - This platform revolutionises how you connect with your audience and secure recurring revenue, through a subscription-based app tailored just for you and your community.If you use social media for work, you will know that this week, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn all went down for millions of users, which is a nightmare for anyone with a large community. That's why I am looking at building a community on Youll – whether you're a content creator, coach, trainer or entrepreneur, Youll makes it easy for you to build your all-in-one branded app, giving you direct access to your community and revenue via its subscription model.Want to try it today? Sign up for a FREE demo here--------------------------Chris on Twitter / InstagramInfectious Generosity: The Ultimate Idea Worth Spreading - buy hereInfectious Generosity site hereKindred websiteDanielle on Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter / SponsorshipTry Youll FREE today here 

Today's guest is Tamiko Thiel – lead product designer of The Connection Machine – a revolutionary massively parallel artificial intelligence supercomputer which was developed in the 1980s. Originally conceived by Danny Hillis from MIT's artificial intelligence lab where he was studying under Marvin Minsky, Danny got an incredibly talented team together including Richard Feynman, Brewster Kale, Tamiko, and others to create what would become the fastest and most effective supercomputer of the time. And it's this part of her career that we focus on today.However, Tamiko went on to become a pioneering digital artist who has worked in the realm of virtual reality for the past thirty years, starting in 1994 when she worked with Steven Spielberg on the Starbright World project where they created an online interactive 3D virtual world for seriously ill children.Tamiko also received a Bachelor of Science degree in Product Design Engineering, from Stanford University in 1979 and received a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from MIT in 1983, with a focus on human-machine design and computer graphics, as well as a diploma from the Academy of fine arts in Munich, Germany. In today's conversation we dig deep into that special time in history when all the so-called experts said what Danny, Tamiko and co. were working on at Thinking Machines couldn't be done and where… they proved them all wrong.Enjoy!--------------Image of Tamiko copyright Tamiko ThielTamiko website / LinkedIn /  InstagramI am not on social media this year but stay in touch via my Newsletter / YouTube--------------Tamiko in London March 2024The Travels of Mariko Horo interactive virtual reality installationBy Tamiko Thiel, 2006/2017, with original music by Ping JinIn "GLoW: ILLUMINATING INNOVATION"Bush House Arcade, King's College, Strand, LondonExhibition: 08 March - 20 April 2024Panel and opening event: 07 March, 6:30pmLocation: Great Hall, King's Building, Strand, King's College LondonThe CM-1 t-shirt and Tamiko's Travels of Mariko Horo mesh top will be shown in the following, with information on how to order them (from my web shops: http://tamikothiel.com/cm/cm-tshirt.html)Curiosity Cabinet, King's College171 Strand/Corner of Surrey St., Londonhttps://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/curiosity-cabinet-showcases-antiquities-and-oddities-on-the-strand

Today's guest is the one and only Stephen Wolfram - a physicist, mathematician, computer scientist and entrepreneur He is the founder and CEO of Wolfram Research, the creator of Mathematica, Wolfram Alpha and Wolfram Language, The Wolfram Physics Project and the author of bestselling A New Kind of Science among many other books.A visionary polymath, Stephen published his first scientific paper at age 15, received his PhD in theoretical physics soon after his 20th birthday and became the youngest recipient of the Macarthur Fellowship Genius grant at age 21.Over the course of his career which spans more than four decades, he has been a pioneer in the development and application of computational thinking, and has been responsible for many discoveries, inventions, and innovations in the fields of science and technology.In this episode, we discuss his childhood, how he might reimagine education, the process of undertaking ambitious, long-term innovation projects, why he works in public and the surprising advice he would offer a younger Stephen.I really enjoyed talking to Stephen and I think you will learn a lot from this episode. Enjoy!Stephen Wolfram website / Twitter I am not on social media this year but stay in touch via my Newsletter / YouTube  

Today's guest is Riva Tez -  a philosopher, curious thinker, intellect, investor and one of my favourite people  on the internet. She studied Philosophy at UCL before digging deeper into technology and engineering and starting the Berlin Singularity.She went on to co-found Permutation Ventures — an early stage VC fund which focused on AI startups and, she has also worked with Jim Keller at Intel as Senior Director for Strategic Technology Initiatives.Whilst at university, Riva started a toy shop in Notting Hill where she encouraged her young clientele to become mini entrepreneurs and philosophers.In this episode, Riva and I discuss how she got into crypto early, the link as she sees it, between mania and genius, cancel culture and what keeps her up at night. I really enjoyed talking to Riva and I think you will get a lot from this episode so here is my conversation with Riva Tez.Enjoy!Riva on Twitter / InstagramI am not on social media this year but stay in touch via my Newsletter / YouTube Mentioned in this episode:The Madness of GeniusRiva essay on Pathogens hereEvery Angel is TerrifyingPraxisBalaji's Network StateMy 2021 interview with Riva here   

Today's guest is Joe Macleod – designer, founder and author, former Head of Design at the award-winning digital product studio Ustwo, which brought the world the hit Monument Valley game.At ustwo, Joe helped build a globally awarded team, working with the world's favourite brands on the most pioneering of products but he now focuses his energy on product endings and improving that experience for consumers and has written two books on the subjects – Ends and Endineering which we discuss in today's episode.I have wanted to have Joe on the podcast for years now, after the first time I heard him talking about this concept of endings and how overlooked they are. In this conversation, we look at our rich history with endings starting with religion moving through to the plague, the industrial revolution, our over zealous consumerism and even cancel culture.It seemed fitting to end 2023 with this episode for obvious reasons but I really enjoyed this conversation and think you will too. Joe on Twitter / LinkedIn / Ends site / Instagram / Endineering for Businesses websiteDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTube---------------Below are some links to Joe's courses and books including special 25% discount codes for Danielle Newnham Podcast listeners!Course here Starts 30th Jan 2024Discount Code: 25offendscohortBOOKSThe Endineering book on AmazonEndineering eBookDiscount code: RN25WEnds book on AmazonEnds eBookDiscount code: EB55V 

Today's episode is going to be a little bit different as it is actually a podcast episode where I appeared as a guest as opposed to a host and I am sharing it here because I think you will find it useful. The podcast is called Digital Europe: Now and Beyond which is about European tech entrepreneurship and innovation and is hosted by serial Spanish entrepreneur Pau Garcia-Mila. In the episode you're about to listen Pau talks to myself and South American but Ireland-based founder Alejandro Gutierrez, co-founder and CEO of Defactor Labs, a blockchain-based credit marketplace that links financiers with investors seeking opportunities in DeFi, about what it's like to start a startup in Europe vs the USA including access to funding and networks, as well as why I believe in founders seeking out communities and networks at the beginning of their startup journeys, why we should be highlighting more female founders, and what Europe has to offer founders today vs the landscape here just ten or even twenty years ago.The episode has a lovely international flavour and isn't focused on just silicon valley like many tech podcasts usually are and I think you will find some useful lessons in here so please do enjoy it.This episode features host Pau Garcia-MilaPau Garcia-Mila and guest Alejandro Gutierrez.Original episode and Digital Europe podcast can be found here.Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTubeWith special thanks to Hauwei   

Today's guest is Nicki Sprinz, co-founder of Ada's List  (A digital global network of over 150,000+ women and non-binary in tech) and Group Managing Director of ustwo's studios – London, Malmö, New York, Tokyo and Lisbon. For those who don't know, ustwo is a digital product studio with top name clients such Google, Meta, DeepMind, Samsung, and Peloton to name a few. Ustwo games also created the Apple award-winning Monument Valley game.But do you know what is really unique about ustwo which was founded by best friends Mills and Sinx almost twenty years ago now? I will tell you – it is employee-owned and B Corp certified. A hugely successful global studio that is completely independent and owned by its employees and one that puts its core values front and centre.In this episode, Nicki and I discuss what those ustwo values are, what makes the studio special and how they look after their staff with mental health first aiders and more. But we also discuss Nicki's childhood from attending the very same convent I did where the nuns thought nothing of hitting you for getting advanced work wrong and what that taught her about how she wants to lead to the two serious illnesses which impacted her formative years.This is a really human story of one woman who overcame the odds to lead one of the world's leading studios.So please enjoy my conversation with Nicki Sprinz.Nicki Twitter /  Newsletter / ustwo / Ada's ListDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTube Image of Nicki by Alex Cameron

Today's guest is Sean Dadashi, co-founder of Rosebud. Born to Iranian parents who emigrated to the US after the revolution in 1979, Sean grew up in Los Angeles and was on a path of studying mechanical engineering before he switched courses after a year to study Cognitive Science with a minor in Computer Science.He then became a CTO before starting his own company - Somatic Studios in 2016 – where he used his passion for both tech and wellbeing to experiment with ideas including a web app that provided a health and wellness index for over 160 cities across 6 continents.The studio also developed VR experiences to teach pain management patients mindfulness and somatic therapy techniques. After Somatic, Sean then joined up with Chrys Bader, who you may have heard of because he previously co-founded several startups including Treehouse and Secret. Together, Sean and Chris have created Rosebud – the number one AI-powered journal for mental health and personal growth and a product I highly recommend. Try it yourself for FREE here.In this conversation, Sean and I discuss the loneliness epidemic, the importance of good mental health, his passion for helping others, and how he has always leaned towards the marriage of psychology and the human mind with technology and his passion for creating things, which ultimately led to Rosebud.I really enjoyed this discussion and think you will too.Sean Dadashi / RosebudDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter / YouTube

Today, I wanted to close out Series 11 with a recap of the wonderful guests we have had on – from Mike Slade and James Vincent who both worked for many years with Steve Jobs, VC James Wise of Balderton Capital, Josh Dahn who set up a school with Elon Musk, pioneering tech entrepreneur Dame Stephanie Shirley, Kindred founder Anna Anderson, Google Developer Advocate Kelsey Hightower and Syreeta Challinger who taught us about the importance of storytelling and how to cope after trauma.That's something us founders don't talk much about… how to cope better, whether it's trauma, which drives so many of us, or the pain of simply building a startup with all the obstacles that comes with it.One action I have found helpful is journaling – and I have just started using Rosebud which makes it easy for anyone to build and maintain an impactful journaling practice.The number one AI-powered journaling app for mental health and personal growth, I have been using Rosebud for a week now and have already found clarity on some sticky situations, partly because instead of just writing my issues down in a physical journal, I am able to tell Rosebud what the issue is and then the app prompts me to go deeper which causes me to reflect more before offering some surprisingly good solutions which have helped me both in my personal and work life.I now do this practice every day – setting my morning intention for the day and then an evening reflection, and I have found it has made me happier and more productive for four simple reasons. 1. I have to set my intentions by typing them into Rosebud at the beginning of the day which helps me to visualise my day – you'll be surprised how useful that can be. 2. It forces me to set my priorities for the day and make them front and centre. 3. It urges me to note what obstacles I have to overcome that day which encourages me not to shy away from them and 4. Rosebud is able to take what I say are my priorities and my obstacles and then offer practical solutions with warm advice – like a friendly therapist guiding me through my day. In fact, due to the speed at which Rosebud responds to my issues with extremely wise and human-like advice, it's hard to believe I don't actually have a human therapist responding to me in real time!Like I said, I am a big fan of Rosebud - I think it's brilliant and I think you will like it too. So, if you want to try it out yourself, click the link here and try it for free.Enjoy!Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter Original Episodes:Mike SladeDame Stephanie ShirleyJames WiseAnna AndersonJosh DahnSyreeta ChallingerKelsey HightowerJames Vincent 

Today's guest is James Wise – a Partner at Balderton Capital and author of Start-Up Century: Why we're all becoming entrepreneurs - and how we can make it work for everyone, which we will discuss in today's episode.James grew up in Manchester among a community of business owners and inspired by them has spent his career surrounded by, helping and investing in entrepreneurs. Balderton Capital, where James is Partner, is a venture capital firm in London was one of the first to focus on investing in European startups and to date has raised over $4.5 billion and invested in over 250 European startups, many of which have gone on to do extremely well.James' focus as an investor is on artificial intelligence, sustainability and health tech and he is a board member and observer on multiple portfolio companies, including Sophia Genetics (which is listed on the Nasdaq), Depop which was acquired by Etsy for $1.6 billion, and many other including some which went on to be sold to Amazon and Epic Games.Prior to joining Balderton, James also helped to launch and run one of the UK's first social venture funds and he is also a member of the UK Government's Industrial Development Advisory Board.In this episode, we learn more about James' background, how his future path was unknown and why he believes in the rise of entrepreneurship as a power for good. We discuss what he looks for in a founder and why Balderton set up its Founder Wellbeing and Performance Platform - treating its founders like elite athletes who benefit from keeping an eye on health and wellness whilst undertaking an often gruelling entrepreneurial life.We also talk about his book Start-Up Century and thanks to our friends at Bloomsbury Publishing, we have a special discount for listeners - you can buy the book at a discount here by adding discount code DANIELLE30 at checkout.Enjoy!James on Twitter / Start-Up Century / BaldertonDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter

Today's guest is Kelsey Hightower, a distinguished engineer and developer advocate at Google and speaker known for his work with Kubernetes, open source software and cloud computing.As a curious and motivated self-learner, Kelsey dropped out of College and taught himself the skills required to start his career as an independent contractor for BellSouth – a telecoms company in Atlanta helping the community to get online. From there, Kelsey set up his own business – an electronics store before becoming involved in the open source world, working at New Relic, CoreOS, Puppet Labs, and most recently at Google.A self-taught developer, Kelsey's work on Kubernetes and at Google, from which he just retired, is well-known* so I wanted to focus our conversation on his life - how he got into tech, his love of learning, what drives him, what it means to be hopeful and the one piece of advice he would offer a younger Kelsey.I know I am not meant to have favourites – these conversations are like children - but I have to say this is up there with one of my most loved conversations. I learned so much from Kelsey and I think you will too.Enjoy!Kelsey on TwitterDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterPhoto of Kelsey is part of the Faces of Open Source Project by Peter Adams*If you want to learn more about Kelsey's work history, give this episode  from Ardan Labs a listen.

What does the future of education look like? This is a question I have pondered for the last ten years or so and today's guest - Josh Dahn – has the answer. Eight years ago, Josh Dahn was teaching Elon Musk's kids at Mirman – a private school for highly gifted children in LA when Elon approached him about rethinking the traditional education model. Josh jumped at the opportunity and in today's episode, Josh talks me through that first meeting with Elon and how they worked together to found the Ad Astra school based at SpaceX. Based at the SpaceX site, it was a school where the children weren't separated out by year group or grades as you say in the US, but instead, the education matched the aptitude of the children, and the education was focused around problem solving and teaching to the problem, as opposed teaching to the tools.Josh went on to co-found Synthesis which is an innovative online school, helping students to prepare for the future by getting them engaged and excited about complexity and solving for the unknown. Josh is Founder and Executive Director of Astra Nova School (previously Ad Astra) in Los Angeles.Enjoy!NB This interview was recorded in August of last year and first appeared in Series 4 of the podcast.Josh  Twitter Synthesis website / Twitter / LinkedIn / InstagramDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterEpisode edited by Jolin Cheng  

Today's guest is James Vincent who spent eleven years working directly with Steve Jobs to help build Apple's narrative for some of its hugely ground-breaking products including the iPod, iPhone, iTunes, App Store and iPad.He also founded and was CEO of Media Arts Lab which was a bespoke agency working exclusively for Apple and is host of Fast Company's Innovation in Leaders Podcast.A master storyteller, James is now Founder and CEO of FNDR - an agency which works with game changing entrepreneurs such as Brian Chesky of Airbnb and Evan Spiegel of Snap to help them harness the immense power of an intentional narrative to bring voice to their vision. In this episode, James and I discuss what he was like growing up and how he felt like an outsider to getting the call to come and work with Steve and what was the greatest lesson he learned from him.I found this to be a really insightful conversation and a first-hand glimpse into what it was like working at Apple with both Steve and legends like Jony Ive on campaigns for some of the most iconic products of recent times. I think you will really enjoy it too.James Vincent on Twitter / FNDR / Leaders in Innovation Podcast Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter Mentioned in this episode:Apple's Mother Nature adApple's iPod Silhouette campaignLeaders in Innovation Podcast 

Today's guest is Anna Anderson, founder of Kindred – a co-working and events space in West London, beloved by founders and creatives alike.Anna Anderson spent her career in social work before founding Kindred in 2019 to help forge human connection between founders. Her goal with Kindred is to create a space that feels inclusive and provides fellow founders and small businesses with the community they need to thrive.In this conversation, we discuss all things community from how communities have evolved over time to what is needed in a post-pandemic world, how Kindred survived the pandemic and Anna also opens up about her childhood, religion and losing her sister tragically as well as how she sought joy following that grave loss. This is the post I mention in the episode from father Chris Anderson after Zoe's passing.Anna believes very much in the power of community and is optimistic about our ability as founders to shape the future for the better and it's this level of optimism and heart that we need right now.So, please enjoy my conversation with Anna Anderson.Kindred website / Instagram / Anna on LinkedInDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Substack Newsletter

Today, we're doing things a little bit differently because I felt it was the right time to bring on Syreeta Challinger, a founder, a coach,  podcaster and an incredible human whom who I first interviewed five years ago when I had a company called F= which was all about empowering women and Syreeta had started MOSS – Moments of Sense and Style where she sold her beautiful products such as notebooks and candles, all heavily influenced by her story which she so graciously shares today.Syreeta grew up in South East London and as a child of mixed heritage, experienced regular racism from people on the streets to teachers in the classroom. A creative and sensitive soul like so many of us, Syreeta went on to forge a career in design and product development before meeting the love of her life in Hong Kong.However, this wonderful love story had a very difficult obstacle to overcome when her then-boyfriend Rob had a catastrophic brain haemorrhage and stroke in 2014 when he was just 37 and Syreeta was 32. It left him paralysed and unable to speak.Rob and Syreeta's story is one of hope and love and resilience and strength and I can't think of a better time than now to release it. Because I think we could all do with a little bit of hope right now.It's an emotional conversation so I hope you will forgive me for choking up. But I think it's a necessary one. Syreeta is a life coach now and when you hear her story, you will understand why this is the perfect role for her.Syreeta website /  Instagram/ PodcastDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterMentioned in this episode:Stephen LawrenceBNPSyreeta and Rob TED talk  

Today's guest is Dame Stephanie "Steve" Shirley - a hugely successful tech entrepreneur and now philanthropist as well as author of her memoir, Let It Go. I actually recorded this interview back in 2016 for my book Female Innovators at Work and you can find the full interview on my YouTube channel, thanks to my friends at Bullet Media who filmed it.But now feels like a good time to release this episode on the podcast for several reasons, not least because Dame Stephanie turned 90 last month and it was Ada Lovelace day this week – which is a celebration of all the incredible achievements by women in STEM.And Dame Stephanie is an incredible woman. Having escaped the Nazi regime as an unaccompanied five year old child on the Kindertransport, Dame Stephanie settled in the UK and went on to huge success as a technology and entrepreneurial pioneer when she founded an all-woman software company called F International that pioneered remote working and redefined the expectations and opportunities for working women at that time. It was ultimately valued at almost $3 billion and made 70 of her staff millionaires - but this was against many odds as she describes in this interview – from being a child refugee to dealing with sexism and knockbacks in the industry to the heartbreak of losing her beloved autistic son, Giles. Dame Stephanie Shirley is a huge inspiration to me and after you have listened to her story today, I know she will inspire you too.So please do enjoy my conversation with the amazing Dame Stephanie Shirley. Dame Stephanie Shirley website / book / TwitterDanielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterPS Another quick shout out to Wave coaching app - the sponsor of last week's episode. Check them out hereYou can watch this interview on YouTube hereImage via TED 

Today's guest is Mike Slade of Second Avenue Partners – an investor, advisor and seasoned storyteller who worked with Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Steve Jobs.Mike started his career at Microsoft in 1983 and spent seven years in a variety of product marketing roles launching hugely successful products including Excel, Works and Microsoft Office. He then went to work at NeXT as VP of Marketing, reporting directly to Steve Jobs.Paul Allen (Microsoft co-founder) then hired Mike as CEO of Starwave which was his trailblazing venture into the Internet and multimedia space. While building Starwave, Mike launched ESPN.com, NBA.com, NFL.com, and many other huge sites. Following the company's sale to Disney, Mike went back to Steve Jobs and joined Apple's executive team, as Steve's strategic advisor.As I said before, Mike is an incredible storyteller so expect to hear some wonderfully funny, insightful and even touching stories about his time with these three innovators.But before we get into the episode, I wanted to tell you about today's sponsor – Wave – the coaching app used by leaders at all the top tech companies from Google, to Amazon and Stripe. Check it out here. And for less than 20 euros a month, you too can access your very own executive coach and reach your work and life goals using the power of AI combined with actual human coaches.It's funny because we expect to see elite athletes using coaches but just imgagine what applying that same support could do to your life and work?Whether you're struggling with work challenges such as leadership, time management or problem solving, Wave is the app to use. I signed up last week and I am already looking forward to my first session next week.I know lots of founders and CEOs who need and want outside help but don't know where to go or don't have the time or money to get that help. And whilst many current apps and methodologies for professional growth are outdated, I think Wave is doing something completely different and innovative and is one of THE most time and cost effective ways I have seen to help you set, measure and achieve your goals. So what are you waiting for? Hit the link here to try Wave for under 20 Euros a month. It's a bargain!-----------Mike Slade Twitter / Second Avenue Danielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterEpisode image: Mike SladeBecoming Steve Jobs: The Evolution of a Reckless Upstart into a Visionary Leader by Brent Shlender and Rick Tetzeli       

Hello and welcome to the Danielle Newnham Podcast where I interview tech founders and innovators to learn the inspiring, human stories behind the game changing tech we use every day.I just wanted to come on here to say Series 11 launches tomorrow and I am so excited about the guests I have on this Series. We have Mike Slade who worked with Bill Gates, Paul Allen and Steve Jobs as well as Sampriti Bhattacharyya who I first interviewed seven years ago for my book Female Innovators at Work. Sampriti is the founder of Navier – a US based startup making electric hydrofoiling boats which will absolutely revolutionise waterway transport. And a personal hero of mine – we have Stephen Wolfram on this series– an extremely well regarded computer scientist, physicist, and entrepreneur.We also have an exciting new sponsor for the first episode so don't forget to subscribe to Danielle Newnham Podcast wherever it is you get your podcasts from so you are the first to hear it.Until then...Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter

Today's guest is Simon Peyton Jones – a hugely influential computer scientist who has spent his career researching the implementation and applications of functional programming languages, particularly lazy functional programming. After a stint in academia, he joined Microsoft Research Cambridge (1998-2022) where he spent more than 20 years before becoming an Engineering Fellow at Epic Games last year.Simon's main research interest is in functional programming languages, their implementation, and their application. He was a key contributor to the design of the now-standard functional language Haskell, and was the lead designer of the widely-used Glasgow Haskell Compiler.He is also the Chair of Computing at School, the grass-roots organisation which helped lead to the reform in our English computing curriculum in 2014, now making the subject compulsory in all schools.In this conversation, we discuss how he fell in love with programming, how he approaches complex problems, what Epic's Tim Sweeny's vision is for the metaverse and why he believes all kids should code.Simon's enthusiasm for the field of computer science is hugely infectious and whether you know of him already or not, I think you will really enjoy this episode. Simon Peyton Jones Website / Twitter / GitHub / Computing at SchoolDanielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter 

This is a REPLAY of last year's episode with Dr. Mary Lou Jepsen – serial entrepreneur, inventor, pioneer in VR, medical imaging and telepathic technology, former professor at MIT Media Lab and currently, founder of Openwater.Mary Lou spent many of her childhood years unwell before she was finally diagnosed with a brain tumour in her twenties. And going through that had a huge impact on her life as you might expect. For the many years she was quite literally dying, she decided she only wanted to work on really interesting projects - as she says to me in this interview, “I never really thought I would live very long and so I wanted to find really interesting things to do with my life for however long I might live.”Mary Lou became fascinated with holography and optics whilst at school and spent her career pioneering in VR and in the optics space as an engineering executive at Intuit, Google, Facebook, Oculus, and with her own four startups which included multi-billion dollar non-profit One Laptop Per Child.She is now using her decades long experience in this space and her experience with a brain tumour to spearhead Openwater where the goal is to create the technology to be able to see deep into the body with the detail of a 3D camera. The implications of this technology will make critical diagnostics healthcare far more affordable and accessible for millions but it could also mean we achieve telepathy which is hugely exciting. Mary Lou website / Openwater / Twitter Danielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterMentioned in this episode:I Know What You're Thinking: Brain Imaging and Mental Privacy 

Hello and welcome to the Danielle Newnham Podcast where I interview tech founders and innovators to learn the inspiring, human stories behind their work.Today's guest is Nir Eyal - best-selling author, entrepreneur, investor and business consultant teaching about the intersection of psychology, technology and business.An American-Israeli immigrant, Nir co-founded and sold two tech companies before he started sharing the tricks of habit forming products that he had researched in his book, Hooked in 2013. Six years later and his second book - Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life became another bestseller.Nir also previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the Stanford Graduate School of Business and the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design at Stanford.In this conversation, Nir and I discuss the fallacy that tech companies hold more agency over our habits than we do, how he learned to hack back his time and become indistractable and why school children have 10 times more restrictions placed on them than convicted felons in prison.This is a truly fascinating episode with someone I have long-admired and which I think you will really enjoy.Nir on Twitter / Instagram  / WebsiteDanielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham   / Newsletter Mentioned in this episode:Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your LifeWhy The Social Dilemma Is Wrong by Danielle Newnham 

Today's guests is Dr Robert Langer – a chemical engineer, scientist, entrepreneur, inventor and the most cited engineer in history - specializing in the biotechnology fields of drug delivery systems and tissue engineering. He is also the co-founder of Moderna a pharmaceutical and biotechnology company that focuses on RNA therapeutics, primarily mRNA vaccines which was used globally for Covid-19.Bob Langer has received over 200 major awards– one of just four individuals to have received both the United States National Medal of Science and the United States National Medal of Technology and Innovation. He also received the 2002 Charles Stark Draper Prize, considered the equivalent of the Nobel Prize for engineers, and the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, among many othersIn this conversation, we discuss how he fell in love with science, what discoveries led to his pioneering work in tissue engineering and drug delivery, and what it takes to positively impact billions of lives. We also touch on anti-vaxxers, what it's like for scientists when misinformation rules social media and how rejection is par for the course for a scientist.I honestly think this is one of the most important conversations I have had on this podcast so please do enjoy.Bob Langer at MITDanielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham   / Newsletter   

Today's guest is Sarah Hamburg – a cognitive neuroscientist and researcher currently working as a post-doctoral Neuromorphic AI Engineer in Developmental Robotics. Sarah is also a DeSci (decentralised science) advocate and organiser, heavily involved in the decentralised science (DeSci) space since early 2021. After working as a core member of an Open Science DAO, she published a letter in Nature to increase awareness of DeSci and was then commissioned to write a DeSci "explainer" article for a16z's Future magazine. In 2022 she cofounded a "web3" consultancy which worked with UK Aid on blockchain for International Development. In this conversation, Sarah and I discuss her work and research, what neuroscience and consciousness is, why neuromorphic computing is such an exciting field to be working in. We also bond over a shared suffering of a chronic pain condition called fibromyalgia and I open up about the time as a kid when I nearly drowned and what I saw during that near-death experience.This interview is a little bit different from most of the other ones I do but it was thoroughly enjoyable and I am so grateful to Sarah for exploring these truly fascinating topics together.I am sure you will enjoy it too!Sarah on Twitter / ResearchDanielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham   / Newsletter  Mentioned in this episode:The Case Against Reality: How Evolution Hid The Truth From Our Eyes by Donald D. HoffmanReframing Fibromyalgia by Sarah HamburgBrain Activity Detected in DyingA Guide to DeSci, The Latest Web3 Movement  in a16z Future magazineCall to Join the DeSci Movement in Nature

Today, my guest is Sir Ian Livingstone – games pioneer, entrepreneur and the bestselling author of the Fighting Fantasy book series.Widely regarded as one of the founding fathers of the UK games industry, Ian co-founded Games Workshop in 1975 with Steve Jackson, launching Dungeons & Dragons in Europe, Warhammer, White Dwarf, Citadel Miniatures, and the Games Workshop retail chain. Whilst he exited the company in 1991, he soon embarked on a hugely successful career in the video games industry. In 1995, he co-led the merger which created video games publisher Eidos  where he served as Executive Chairman, launching blockbuster titles such as Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, Deus Ex and Hitman.In this conversation, we discuss his brilliant book Dice Men – The Origin Story of Games Workshop, how games like Warhammer and Dungeons and Dragons came to be, the evolution of gaming and why he set up his own school – The Livingstone Academy.Ian Livingstone was awarded a Knighthood (becoming a Sir) in the 2022 New Year Honours for services to the online gaming industry.I thoroughly enjoyed talking to Ian and I am sure you will enjoy it too.---------------Sir Ian Livingstone Twitter / Fighting Fantasy / Games Workshop / Hiro Capital / Buy Dice Men here.Danielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham   / Newsletter  

Today's guest is Dr Mohammad Al-Ubaydli – a physician, programmer and founder of Patients Know Best.In this conversation, we talk about Mohammad's upbringing from his family being exiled from Bahrain in the 1970s, to his childhood spent in the Yemen desert, Syria and Beirut during a civil war.On top of that, Mohammad suffers from a one a million genetic immune deficiency called Hyper IgM Syndrome which, had it not been for his mother's astute diligence would have probably cost him his life.A deep love of technology and medicine led Mohammad to study medicine in order to understand the complexity of our bodies but he was destined to start a company in the technology field where he could combine his experience and passion and have real impact.With over 3 million registered users, an integration with the NHS apps and plans for more countries using the Patients Know Best system, Mohammad talks me through how and why we should all have more agency over our healthcare.This is an extremely inspiring and informative episode which I am sure you will enjoy. Mohammad on Twitter / LinkedIn / Patients Know BestDanielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham   / Newsletter Books mentioned in this episode:Irrationality: The Enemy WithinSelling The Wheel: Choosing The Best Way To Sell For You, Your Company, Your CustomersChaos: The Amazing Science of the UnpredictableAlso, if you are looking to become a B Corp, Mohammad is happy to answer any questions he can help with over on LinkedIn. 

Today's guest is Matthew Stafford – an investor and co-founder of 9 Others, a global community for founders, where once a month, ten entrepreneurs come together over dinner and help each other by answering this one question, “What keeps you up at night?”Matthew started 9 Others with Katie Lewis in 2011 and it's now a global network of thousands of entrepreneurs in over 45+ cities around the world from London to Manchester, Karachi to Yemen.Matthew also works with startups, venture capital and angel investors, governments, NGOs and large corporations. He has invested in twenty three startups, and had two exits so far and he has written a book - Find Your 9 Others.In this wide-ranging conversation, we discuss what Matthew looks for in founders, why 9 Others is so special, the importance of having a network and what is keeping him up at night.Enjoy!------------Matthew on Twitter / 9 OthersFind Your 9 Others - buy the book here.Danielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham   / Newsletter  Books Matthew recommended on the showThe Education of a Value Investor by Guy SpierThe Laws of Human Nature by Robert GreeneUnreasonable Success and How to Achieve It by Richard Koch 

Dr Anne-Marie Imafidon MBE is the co-founder of Stemettes, an award-winning social initiative focused on getting girls, young women and non-binary people excited about, and encouraged into STEM fields through mentoring, qualification academies and STEM clubs.But let's go back a bit. Because to understand why Anne-Marie chose this path, you need to understand her life story. At age just 10 years-old, Anne-Marie got her GCSE's in Maths and Computing –these are exams that are normally taken at age 16 here in the UK. By age 11, she had done her A levels (which are usually taken at 18) and by age 13, she had won a scholarship to study at John Hopkins University.At just 20 years of age, Anne-Marie had graduated from Oxford University with a Masters in Mathematics and Computer Science.Anne-Marie is also an author She's In Ctrl: How Women Can Take Back Tech, she's a seasoned speaker, a podcast host, a Trustee Of the Institute for the Future of Work, a TV presenter (Countdown), and Anne-Marie works with media companies like BBC and 20th Century Fox to ensure that we see more diverse tech role models on screen.She was also awarded an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in 2017 for her work with young women and the STEM sector.Enjoy!----------------Dr Anne-Marie on Twitter /  Instagram /  Stemettes / She's In Ctrl  bookDanielle on Twitter @daniellenewnham and  Instagram @daniellenewnham   / Newsletter ----------------Photo credit: Sam & Simon PhotographyMentioned in this episode:Hedy Lamarr Documentary  Bombshell: The Hedy Lamarr StoryGladys WestHidden Figures Book by Margot Lee Shetterly

Welcome to the Danielle Newnham Podcast where I interview tech founders and innovators to learn the inspiring, human stories behind the game-changing tech we use every day.I know I probably say this every series but Series 10 might be my most favourite yet and I really can't wait to share it with you! Upcoming guests this series include Simon Peyton Jones – Engineering Fellow at Epic Games, previously researcher at Microsoft Research in Cambridge, and one of the designers behind the Haskell programming language. We also have Robert Langer - chemical engineer, scientist, entrepreneur and, inventor. Robert is the most cited engineer in history and is also a prolific entrepreneur, having founded more than 40 biotech companies including Moderna… which you may have heard of.We also have Sarah Hamburg (a neuroscientist working in neuro-inspired computing and AI), Ian Livingstone – video game pioneer and co-founder of Games Workshop which launched Dungeons & Dragons in Europe, and is behind the cult-like Warhammer game, among many others. I will also be talking to Mike Slade (strategic advisor to Steve Jobs), and Kate Zernike (a Pulitzer-Prize winning reporter and author of The Exceptions: Nancy Hopkins, MIT and the Fight For Women in Science, and many more.So, as always, if you want to be the first to hear these episodes - please do make sure you subscribe to the Danielle Newnham Podcast wherever you get your podcasts from and I look forward to sharing these inspiring conversations with you over the coming weeks.Enjoy. 

Hello and welcome to the Danielle Newnham podcast where I interview tech founders and innovators to learn the inspiring, human stories behind the game-changing tech we use every day.To see out Season 9, I thought I would do my second ever AMA. I do these because I want to be helpful and because I think it's important for listeners to know me and understand where I am coming from and why I do the podcast. So I asked my listeners across social media for questions they would like me to answer and in this episode, I am going to do my best to answer as many of them as possible. I discuss addiction, networking, growing a startup and irrational fears!But before we start, there is one slight trigger warning – I do talk about death and alcoholism in my first answer so you may want to skip that part if you are listening to this with episode with children around.Let me know what you think and if you want to hear more AMA's!Danielle Twitter / Instagram / Newsletter Mentioned in this episode:Shellye Archambeau episode hereRichard Browning episode hereKevin Kelly episode hereColin Caffell's book: In Search of The Rainbow's End 

Today's guest is Hana Walker Brown – Audio Documentary and Podcast Creator, a Composer, author and Creative Director.In this really open conversation, Hana discusses how ADHD has informed her career, the impact an adult diagnosis had on her life and we dig deep into her work researching CTE which if I say it right is Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy - a progressive and fatal brain disease associated with repeated traumatic brain injuries including concussions and repeated blows to the head.As you might imagine this is common with various athletes from rugby players to footballers and boxers but what you might not realise is how rarely it's discussed or accepted, how hard it is to diagnose (unless the brains of sportspeople are donated post death) and how CTE and associated ailments such as dementia are affecting younger and younger players.Our conversation centres Hana's book - A Delicate Game - which is out now in paperback but the story behind Hana's journey with CTE started on a BMX track back in 2016 where she learned of the suicide of legendary BMX'er David Mirra and why it was most likely caused by CTE.Hana is a storyteller and an innovator, pushing the boundary of what she believes she can do and what she feels compelled to do, all whilst bringing stories of importance and heartbreak, in equal measure, to the masses so that we too can learn the plight of her protagonists.I learned a lot from Hana and I know you will too.Enjoy!Hana on Twitter / Instagram  / WebsiteBuy Hana's book A Delicate Game: Brain Injury, Sport and Sacrifice here.Danielle Twitter / Instagram / NewsletterImage of Hana: Liz Seabrook