Chris Urmson is the co-founder and CEO of Aurora, a company trying to bring autonomous driving to commercial trucking.

Chris led a team at the 2004 DARPA challenge that launched the autonomous vehicle industry. Then he held a senior role at Google’s self-driving car project, which later became Waymo.

On the show today, he talks about the long arc of autonomous driving, why he left Google, and the future of autonomous trucking.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Michael Porter is the Chief Technology Officer of OceanWell.

Michael's problem is this: How can you desalinate water at the bottom of the ocean – and deliver it to land at a cost that’s competitive with other sources of fresh water?

On today’s show, Michael explains how he built OceanWell’s prototype in his kitchen, what it takes to make a system that’s less disruptive to marine life, and why innovations from the oil and gas industry are making his work possible.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Justin Lopas is the COO and co-founder of Base Power, a battery and power company based in Texas.

Justin’s problem is this:  How can you deliver more energy to more people without having to build so much more grid?

On today’s show, Justin explains why the grid needs a major upgrade, and how putting batteries next to homes could help. Also: what Texas’ embrace of renewable energy could mean for the future of power in the U.S.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.