The Irish Tech News Podcast

Jillian Godsil talks with Daniel Uribe, founder and CEO of Genobank, living and based in Silicon, USA Daniel, who is of Mexican descent did his primary degrees in Mexico but studied in Stanford University where he met Condoleezza Rice as part of the executive programme, and he is also a graduate of Singularity University. Both experiences formed his independent thinking – which is totally obvious in his founding of GenoBank.io, a DNA ownership legal tech kit and patent-pending blockchain technology platform which is turning personal control of DNA on its head. When not studying, Daniel also worked for major tech giants such as Oracle and Sun Microsystems. He is a cybersecurity person with extensive experience in network storage; he has been working in the UNIX space since 2002. With these influences, his start-up was bound to happen – but in fact, it was his personal life that proved the catalyst. “I first heard about blockchain early on, around the same time everyone was moving into the cloud, so the concept of decentralisation was hardly spoken of; if one had a database then it was on Oracle or similar. It was centralised, it was expensive, and it took a couple of humans to maintain – not thousands of nodes. “At the time, the penny dropped for me; now we could have one ledger or one version of a book. This had not been possible before, not even the most famous books in the history of mankind have one version – there is no one version of the Bible or the Koran – but here was a technology that could offer one version, a live version, that was synchronised every 10 minutes.” Daniel had the makings of a disruptive start-up in his hands, if he but knew it. However, it took a personal accident to crystallise these thoughts into a real project. His son at 18 months had an accident where he poked his throat with a straw. As a result, he bled for three days and the hospital did some tests, including looking at his DNA. As a result, his son was diagnosed with a rare blood disease with something very similar to haemophilia; a deletion in his genes in the 17th chromosome resulting in a condition called Glanzmann's thrombasthenia. While it was a relief to have the condition diagnosed and named, Daniel was uncomfortable about the handling of his son’s DNA records. “The tests were covered by medical standards, HIPAA, but what caught my attention was that my son’s raw data was not available. It was like trying to access state secrets such was the lack of transparency.” Listen to the podcast to see what Daniel did to fix this issue. Jillian Godsil is an award winning journalist, broadcoaster and author. Her most recent book, Persons of Interest, Timestamped in Blockchain and Cryptocurrency, can be found at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08NS1LXG8

We figured it was a good time to make sure everyone was on the same page as Bitcoin enjoys another turbo fuelled period. We called up cryptocurrency trader expert Jamil Hasan and asked him the questions you want to know but don't want to look stupid by asking. Here are some of the questions we put to him: # what actually is a bitcoin? # how many exist, how many have been lost, how many will there ever be? # who was Satoshi Nakamoto, and why doesn't it really matter? # what are the safest ways to store and hold bitcoin? # suppose something comes along and replaces it? Is it gold 2.0? # what about other altcoins? # what is the significance of Elon Musk buying 1 1/2 billion worth? # Max Keiser says you should only bother with bitcoin, what do you think? We think you will find this episode informative and useful. You can follow Jamil on Twitter here https://twitter.com/CryptoHipster and learn more about him on his website here.

Lithium power has been integral part of our lives for many years but it's just not sustainable and has a great impact on our planet.  In Melanie Boylans' chat with James Quinn of Faradion we learn more about the values and merits of sodium-ion and how this will be the change needed to conserve our precious elements and safe guard our ecological future. James Quinn is a Technology Executive and Entrepreneur, Public and Private Companies, M&A,  Divisional Mgmt, Venture Capital, Strategic Visionary, Keynote Speaker High integrity team builder with leadership skills proven in the technology  industry. Proven technology products executive with over 25 years  experience in systems and services in the public and private sectors.  Broad based experience from product development of leading edge  technologies through global supply chain manufacturing and distribution. Specialties:  Extensive international business background including, customer sales and support, engineering and development, partnerships, licensing, supply chain, and manufacturing. Substantial involvement with  investor/investor relations as well as raising capital from VC’s and  governmental subsidies. About Faradion Faradion is the world leader in sodium-ion battery technology that provides low cost, high performance, safe and sustainable energy. Its proprietary technology delivers leading-edge, cost effective solutions for a broad range of applications; including mobility, energy storage, back-up power  and energy in remote locations. Faradion’s patented zero-volt capability, enables the safe transportation and maintenance of sodium-ion batteries. The wide operating temperature range, high  energy density and fast charge/discharge capability combine to offer a next generation, drop-in solution. Its sodium-ion batteries contain no cobalt, no lithium and no copper, resulting in a safe and sustainable, cost-effective, high performance technology. For more information, visit www.faradion.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @faradion_uk.

In today's podcast we were able to bring together two very topical areas that are on the top of all business owners minds (hopefully). Michelle Carvill came on to discuss the merits and ways to create a strategy that can improve not only your marketing but your carbon footprint too. Listen in for further details and insights as Melanie Boylan talk to Michelle Carvill. ‘Sustainable Marketing - How to drive profits with purpose’ - is her fifth book which she co authored along side Gemma Butler and Geraint Evans, published by Bloomsbury, 21st January 2021. And aligned with this, Michelle has developed a Sustainable Marketing course for CIM (The Chartered Institute of Marketing) - to ensure that sustainability is firmly on the marketing education agenda. And qualified with Nottingham Business School on their Sustainability Leadership course. Michelle, Gemma and Geraint have a podcast where they talk about sustainable marketing here: https://www.canmarketingsavetheplanet.com/ Can Marketing Save the Planet? It’s a big question, and one our podcast sets out to explore with marketers, senior leaders, CMOs and sustainability consultants and experts. Our purpose is to drive education, share best practice, inspire and empower listeners to start asking questions and importantly… to start taking action. Sitting at the heart of brand, communications, stakeholders and product development - marketers have a significant role to play when it comes to promoting and driving sustainability. As marketers and business leaders developing and marketing products and services, we also need to recognise that we’re part of the problem. In an age of the rising conscious consumer and increasing demands on businesses towards more transparency, it is now more important than ever for brands to communicate their responsible and sustainable practices, to stand up for causes they’re passionate about and importantly, to follow through on the promises they make. In our view, there’s no one better placed to effect change, align with and influence customers and drive hope for a better, more sustainable future, than an ‘educated and aware’ responsible marketer. Michelle Carvill: michelle@carvillcreative.co.uk Gemma Butler: gemma.butler@cim.co.uk Geraint Evans: geraint@drgeraintevans.com

Informative and enjoyable interview with Sangeeta Waldron who was just written the book ' Corporate Social Responsibility is not Public Relations' More about Sangeeta Sangeeta Waldron is a multi-award winning PR professional. She has been a contributing editor for different news platforms specializing in sustainability and corporate social responsibility, where some of her stories have been published by the United Nations. Sangeeta runs her own London based communications agency, Serendipity PR & Media and guest lectures at Coventry University. Sangeeta started out her career writing speeches for a previous UK Prime Minister and Ministers, and has worked at the top level with global brands, which includes - The Economist Group; The Times Education Supplement; Mayor of London; Cass Business School; and charities such as the Gaia Foundation, National Federation of Women’s Institutes and Breast Cancer Campaign. In August 2019, Sangeeta published her first business book, The PR Knowledge Book with Business Expert Press. She is a regular international speaker and moderator. Follow her on Twitter https://twitter.com/SangeetaWaldron And see more on her website her http://serendipitypr.co.uk

Ronan talks to John Delves Managing Director of Magnet Networks. John talks about his past, how it helped transform him to where he is today, his time with Digi Cell, broadband, collaborative tools in the pandemic. John also talks about the new products that Magnet has introduced to help their customers work from home, why connectivity is Magnets core product, why ongoing support is very important to customers, and the future over the next 24 months. More about John: John has a wealth of experience in the telecoms industry having spent over 10 years n a number of senior roles in the Pacific and Caribbean region with Digicel. He was the CEO of Digicel Trinidad and Tobago overseeing the network’s launch of 4G and the build-out of its fiber-to-the-home network, .and  he was also the founding chair of the Digicel Foundation in Trinidad and Tobago.

Despite everything that has happened globally in 2020, fintech - as an ecosystem - was quite active. Some would even say, productive. What is happening with the mysterious East, especially with the Republic of India, a country with over 1.3 billion people? Tune in to a new episode of One Vision with Theo and Bradley, as they chat with Urvashi Prakash about local innovation, funding, big tech, and regulation. Oh - and happy Birthday Urvashi and Bradley!

Interview with Anna Stone, head of strategy, GoodDollar.org UBI or Universal Basic income, is a concept that has been around since the 1800s but which has gained more popularity in recent years. 2020 Democratic hopeful presidential candidate Andrew Yang made it a part of his political campaign, many Nordic states are actively discussing the idea and increasingly it is seen as part of a raft of solutions aiming at reducing and eliminating widespread income inequality. Having access to UBI meets most resistance with main two arguments. The first is that people will cease to work if they have a basic income. The second is that the UBI will be funded out of national tax, ie out of people’s wallets. Both arguments can be emotive and divisive. Of course, the UBI proposed so far has not been of the get rich variety and unlikely to temp the majority of people to cease employment. It is more likely to assist people needing financial support to care for loved ones or pursue passion projects with low financial return. Conversely, there has been a dearth of ideas on how to fund UBI painlessly, or at least without impacting people in their own pockets, a situation most likely to generate blowback from society. GoodDollar, from eToro, comes to the table with a plan to manage both arguments, essentially kicking them both into touch. For starters, it considers UBI should be available to anyone regardless of age, sex, race, employment status and creed – removing the potential them and us scenario. GoodDollar’s appearance is timely as during the lockdowns, UBIs have been essentially implemented in part in many parts of the world (through helicopter money to citizens) and some 20 counties are now actively evaluating this as a policy decision. In addition, GoodDollar has looked at implementing UBI outside of government and related tax systems. Listen to the full podcast to find out how GoodDollar solves these issues, is building a strong ecosystem and attracts investors interested in impact investing.  Jillian Godsil is an award winning journalist, broadcaster and author. Her latest book can be found at https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B08NS1LXG8

We continue our series of interviews with people at the cutting edge of ecological building. Interesting and insightful conversation with Niall about why using natural materials can be healthier, more economical and better for the planet too. More about Niall Crosson Niall is Group Technical Manager with Ecological Building Systems. He holds a degree as a Bachelor of Technology and a Masters Eng. Sc. He is also a Certified Passivhaus Consultant and board member of Irish Green Building Council. Niall has provided guidance on several national standard committees and provides input to several working groups with the UK Centre for Moisture in Buildings. His expertise is in the area of building physics, energy conservation, hygrothermal analysis, airtightness, natural insulation, and vapour diffusion open constructions. Over 18 years Niall has received advanced training from airtightness specialists pro clima and natural insulation manufacturers such as DIASEN (www.diasen.com) cork lime thermal plasters, GUTEX woodfibre insulation manufacturers (www.GUTEX.de) as well as several other companies. Niall has provided guidance to many award-winning new build and retrofit projects in Ireland and the UK. He has also co-authored and authored chapters for a number of low energy building publications including The Passivhaus Handbook and The Passivhaus Designers Manual. His own Passivhaus features in the latest issue of Understanding Passivhaus by Emma Walshaw. Here are some links referred to in the podcast: https://www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/ https://asbp.org.uk/ https://stbauk.org/ https://www.igbc.ie/ https://passivehouseplus.ie/?gclid=Cj0KCQiA34OBBhCcARIsAG32uvOIzK4T8KvD0FpNOHDnxZxB3x3ouOtya4B34cFyPOLebplJokvKoywaAl6iEALw_wcB https://ukcmb.org/ https://www.historicenvironment.scot/ https://www.spab.org.uk/about-us/spab-ireland Here is a link to some reports I mentioned: World Green Building Council – Embodied carbon call for action report https://www.worldgbc.org/embodied-carbon How building with wood and natural materials impacts human health Authored by Graham Lowe, Ph.D., the report summarizes the latest scientific research and converging trends on biophilic design. https://www.naturallywood.com/blog/can-building-with-wood-and-natural-materials-improve-our-health/?utm_source=naturally I forgot to mention, details regards my own house and the GUTEX Woodfibre natural insulation materials used to insulate are among the case studies in the following publication, now available on our website here…perhaps you could mention it at the end or in our intro somehow? https://www.ecologicalbuildingsystems.com/product/understanding-passivhaus-second-edition-emma-walshaw

In a COVID-19 world the one way to stop the spread of it is by air quality monitoring, One Irish company that is leading way in this is ZiggyTec which was as founded in 2018 by Peter Murphy and Kieran Murphy. Ronan talks to Peter Murphy the co-founder of ZiggyTec. Peter talks about his background, what Ziggytec does, data as a service, why Covid got them into doing air quality monitoring, sick buildings and how air quality monitoring can help schools open sooner. Peter also talks about the science behind air quality, mechanical ventilation, airborne transmission, air conditioning, air quality monitors regulation in France and Germany, and why he is excised by COVID-19 and air quality. More on Peter: Peter climbed up through the ranks of the ESB during his 29-year career there. Finishing up as the Commercial Director of ESB International. in 2018 he left the ESB to start Ziggytec with Kieran Murphy.