The Dejargonizer

Send us a textIn this episode of The Dejargonizer Podcast, leading Syria and Lebanon expert Carmit Valensi, head of the Northern Arena Program at Israel's Tel Aviv University Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) and former IDF intelligence analyst, takes us on a wild road trip through the sinister world of Captagon, the dangerous drug fueling terrorism in the Middle East. Valensi is the perfect guide to explore Captagon's role in funding terrorist activities, the Assad regime's involvement, and the potential global spillover of this dangerous substance.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a text"He'd Be So Pissed If We Shut Down"- How a Mission-Driven Startup Deals With Its Founder's Sudden DeathThis episode of The Dejargonizer Podcast is dedicated to the memory of Adam Bismuth, the founder and CEO of SightBit, an AI-powered anti-drowning startup that's hoping to "bring Baywatch into the 21st Century". Adam, who served as an advanced master sergeant in the reserves, died in battle inside the Gaza Strip on 22 January, 2024.  He was 35 years old.  Founded in 2018 after Adam witnessed a drowning in 2019, SightBit uses computer vision on cameras installed at beaches and lakes to give lifeguards real-time drowning alerts. The company's Chief Technology Officer Itamar Gur, and Chief Business Officer Maayan Padan are my guests on this special episode. Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textDoesn't it seem that some people, many people in fact, will believe anything these days? How do seemingly normal and intelligent people fall for ridiculous conspiracy theories without question? What's happening to our ability to discern between the plausible and the preposterous?Guy Tytunovich, co-founder and CEO of bot-mitigation company Cheq, takes us into a shadowy and automated underworld where authoritarian regimes deploy armies of robotic avatars (bots) on social media platforms, especially around elections. Their aim: tear Western societies from within, peddle and amplify conspiracy theories based on disinformation, and weaken democratic societies.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textIn this episode we focus on the story of Dr. Ofer Grosbard, a clinical psychologist who was hired by Israel's military intelligence to enhance its understanding in enemy profiling. Tasked with incorporating psychological insights, Dr. Grosbard aimed to reshape the unit's analytical approach. Despite initial optimism, he faced resistance and a lack of actionable response to his recommendations. After six months of trying to implement change and encourage open discussions, Dr. Grosbard left the unit, citing a failure to break through the entrenched analytical and cultural biases. His journey highlights the challenges of integrating cross-cultural psychology into military intelligence.Learn about the emotional bonds military intelligence analysts form with targets, and how these connections impact decision-making. Learn about the value of incorporating psychological tendencies like mild depression or minor paranoia to create a more balanced strategic outlook. Dr. Grossbard's compelling insights challenge the conventional wisdom of military intelligence, encouraging a profound shift in the way we engage with global security strategies. This episode promises to shift your perspective on the intricate web of psychological and cultural factors influencing military intelligence today.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a text32% of those aged 18-29 get their news from TikTok, per Pew Research.Spending at least 30 minutes a day on TikTok increases the chances a user will hold antisemitic or anti-Israel views by 17% (compared with 6% for Instagram and 2% for X).For every TikTok video view with a pro-Israel hashtag in the US, there are 54 views with pro-Palestinian hashtags.5 of the top 6 hashtags on TikTok relating to the conflict are all pro-Palestinian. Israel is getting slaughtered in the TikTok War. This episode dives into how and why. Our guide into TikTok's overwhelming pro-Palestinian slant is Anthony Goldbloom, a data scientist and former CEO of Kaggle, which was sold to Google in 2017. Anthony is working on his next company Sumble.Anthony unpacks his data analysis efforts to understand the balance of pro-Palestinian versus pro-Israeli content on TikTok, and why it has such a powerful impact shaping young people's views on this conflict.  Anthony Goldblum data about TikTok and anti-Semitism Anthony Goldblum data about TikTok hashtags on pro-Palestinian to pro-Israel contentAll the charts, code and data available on Github Pew Poll: American views of IsraelJeff Morris Jr.: The TikTok War: Why High School & College Kids Are Getting The Wrong Information about Hamas & Israel TikTok Newsroom: The truth about TikTok hashtags and content during the Israel-Hamas war Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textWhat if a popular messaging app is reshaping warfare? We're about to take you on a journey into the nexus of technology, warfare, and propaganda, with our insightful guest, Ari Ben-Am, Co-founder of Telemetry Data Labs, a startup that's building a search engine for Telegram.Ari is an expert in "memetic warfare," the strategic use of memes, viral images, and culturally resonant symbols to influence public opinion or disrupt an adversary's narrative in the modern digital battlefield. We'll unpack the role of Telegram, a tool for 800 million users worldwide, and a platform for both kinetic and cyber warfare, now being exploited by groups such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad,  Hezbollah, and their patron Iran. With its unregulated nature and distinct usage patterns across the globe, we'll explore how this messaging app has become a central battleground in war. Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textAI expert Rebecca Gorman from AlignedAI simplifies AI concepts like alignment and existential risk. She explains how her company Aligned AI helps AIs learn faster, identify unknowns, and act cautiously - just like a parent teaches a toddler. Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textWe need to talk about what happens after we flush our toilets. For many of us listening to this podcast, our wastewater just magically disappears. But for around 80% of the world's population that isn't the case. Around the world, sanitation and sewage treatment is patchy, if it exists at all. This causes disease as wastewater is dumped into rivers and waterways. Clive Lipchin, founder of Laguna Innovation, explains how his decentralized, solar-powered wastewater treatment system could save lives by turning sewage into clean, reusable water for crops. By treating wastewater on-site and giving it back to farmers, Laguna aims to build climate resilience and food security for vulnerable communities lacking sanitation infrastructure. He explains how climate change exacerbates sanitation challenges, and how decentralized, circular water systems are key to adaptation and resilience for vulnerable farmers. Listen to learn how Laguna's wastewater tech could transform sanitation from a hidden crisis into an engine of sustainability.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textFor thousands of years, farming has thrived on the predictability of seasons. But as the Earth warms, that predictability is vanishing, leading to extreme weather events that stress crops and jeopardize livelihoods. What if there was a way to communicate directly with plants, to understand their needs in real-time?Enter Supplant, a startup that's putting the equivalent of an Apple Watch on plants. Using AI and sensors, Supplant has created a "Plant Stress Index," offering a real-time pulse check on global crops. With sensors deployed from Mexico to the UAE, this innovation could be a game-changer for sustainable agriculture in a climate-challenged world.Join us as we sit down with Supplant's founder, Ori Ben Ner, to listen in to what our crops are telling us about the climate crisis. If you're interested in agriculture, climate change solutions, or tech innovations, this episode is for you.Keywords: Agriculture, Climate Change, Crop Yields, Sustainable Farming, Tech Innovations, Supplant, Plant Stress Index, Extreme Weather, Economic Development, Global Diets.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textHow can data and AI make auto insurance fairer and roads safer? We talk with Yonatan Matus of insurtech startup Fairmatic about using mobile sensors to measure driving risk and incentivize fleets to drive more carefully.Yonatan explains how traditional auto insurance companies use proxies like demographics and credit scores to determine premiums. This can lead to unfair overcharging of safe drivers. It also fails to incentivize risky drivers to improve. Fairmatic aims to change this by using mobile sensors and AI to directly measure driving behavior. Their tech analyzes factors like speeding, hard braking, and phone use to score commercial fleet drivers on safety. Fleets that work with Fairmatic get insights into their riskiest drivers. They're incentivized via usage-based insurance premiums to coach these drivers and improve safety. In turn, Fairmatic's insured fleets have reduced their crash rate by 25% on average.We discuss:- How commercial auto insurance losses have totaled $22 billion over the past decade- The role commercial fleets play in road safety, driving over 50% of all miles- Examples of safe vs risky driving behaviors that Fairmatic tracks- The privacy implications and driver acceptance of fleet telematics- How Fairmatic's data-driven model positions them for autonomous vehicles- Why usage-based insurance can accelerate AV adoption by assuring regulatorsYonatan argues that fairer, data-driven insurance models are inevitable. He envisions Fairmatic will become the largest US commercial auto insurer within 10 years. Their usage-based pricing could make roads safer for everyone by incentivizing millions of fleet drivers to improve.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textA public works construction project on your street for 10 years is not fun.Highways, tunnels, metros, light rail systems, electric car infrastructure, power lines, new electric stations --these projects are great once they're done --if they're ever done-- and if they haven't cost taxpayers an absolute King's Ransom. Unfortunately, almost all of them do. Every single one. They're never on time and never on budget, never.One of the biggest culprits: inadequate mapping of what's underground. Unexpected underground issues where you discover way too late that what's there is not what you thought or built the entire contract on. Developers thought they were going to dig in sand and in the end it's rock. Or they thought all the power lines were removed out the way and suddenly there's five power lines that are going to take four months to remove, and the whole project stops, completely. Land surveyors and engineering companies still do not have the technological means to produce accurate maps of the underground. That's where Exodigo comes in. The company's founder Jeremy Suard, joins us on a narrative journey into the underground -- under the hood of under the surface -- with his startup's sensor and AI technology that completes the map, allowing huge public works construction projects to go ahead.Learn how better underground utility mapping could benefit infrastructure building globally, and affect all of our lives.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textIf you've ever felt helpless about climate change, this episode is for you.In this episode, we're joined by Edo Perry, CEO & Co-Founder ELEMENTS, a company that's aiming to turn the tide on corporate climate commitments by empowering employees to track and reduce their carbon footprint and get Climate Benefits from their companies in return.Elements (named from the Periodic Table of Elements) is about empowering each of us to make a tangible difference in our carbon footprints.Edo and I get into how Elements gamifies the process of reducing carbon emissions. Imagine earning points for watching educational content or choosing a greener commute, and then using those points to purchase energy-saving products. It's not just a corporate responsibility anymore; it's a personal challenge.And if you've ever wondered how your company can contribute to the fight against climate change, we'll discuss how Elements is persuading even old-school companies to join the cause, offering climate benefits to their employees.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textA conversation with Ari Melamud, the CEO of Incredo Sugar, a company that's figured out a way to deliver the same sweet taste to sugary food like chocolate, with half the sugar. That's important because obesity is killing millions of people every year. 6.5 million people are dying every year globally with heart problems, blood pressure problems, all kinds of diseases mainly derived out of excessive use of sugar. The sugar industry is a $90 billion industry, one of the biggest industries in the world. Sugar is in almost everything we eat. Incredo is working with big food manufacturers in the US to help them reduce the amount of sugar they put into their products. It's a slow and tricky process, but Ari says food companies are responding to consumer demand for healthy ingredients in healthy food. On this episode, Ari is our guide as we dive into big sugar, a global multi-billion dollar industry that very few of us know anything about, even though sugar is an almost everything we buy and the food that we put into our bodies. Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textWelcome to Cyber Intelligence,  where cloak-and-dagger meets AI to unmask covert hackers lurking unseen in our servers for years. This is not your grandfather's game of cops and robbers.  In this episode we talk to Noam Jolles-Ichner from Opora. Opora is like a cyber intelligence agency on demand. Jolles is no stranger to the world of clandestine operations, having served in Israel's  secret intelligence agency, the Shin Bet. There, in the dark forums of the Dark Net, she would take on personas of hackers to outwit terrorists and spies.From a storytelling perspective, it was tricky to navigate between Noam's intriguing perspective on the world we know so little about, and her abundant caution about revealing too much about methods. Loose lips sink podcasts.Still, I think we managed to get to the gist: without actively incorporating old-school intelligence, or what she calls a "cognitive cyber intelligence approach", all our firewalls and security systems aren’t going to stop hackers on their own. Most companies don't even know who their online enemy is. Opora's cyber intelligence approach can help.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textIn this episode, we dive into the world of cybersecurity with Cynomi, a startup that fills the gap between big companies with big security budgets, and small and medium- sized companies with small and medium-sized security budgets. Cyber security is expensive. In fact, a top Chief Information Security Officer (CISO) can earn between $200K--$400K/year, so that prices out most SMBs. But cybersecurity is also absolutely necessary, because it's not only companies that can afford $400K/year CISOs who are being hacked and exploited. Far from it. Small and medium-sized companies around the world are falling victim to cyber theft, ransomware, and defacement and denial of service attacks. But they can't afford a holistic and effective cybersecurity program, and they definitely can't afford a $400K/year CISO. That's where Cynomi comes in. The cyber startup has built what it calls a Virtual Chief Information Security Officer, or VCISO, that SMBs can use to get the same kind of security chops that the big companies get, without the huge cost. Cynomi's mission, its Co-Founder and COO Roy Azoulay tells me,  is to democratize access to effective and comprehensive cybersecurity. Building off publicly available frameworks, Cynomi's VCISO plugs into a company's system, providing real-time analysis and guidance on on data protection, identifying vulnerabilities, managing risks, and suggesting actionable steps on how to respond to threats. The vCISO automates security tasks, enhances incident response, and provides expert-level guidance, making it a valuable resource for organizations lacking dedicated cybersecurity personnel.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textIn this episode, Ouriel Ohayon, CEO of ZenGo, a crypto wallet company, takes us on an easy-to-follow journey into the complex world of cryptocurrency. Using simple analogies and real-world examples, Ouriel makes complex crypto concepts understandable. He paints a vivid picture of how crypto can help people in economically challenged countries, using the situation in Turkey as an example, where the local currency has plummeted. Ouriel explains ZenGo's security architecture called multi-party computation (MPC) in simple terms, likening it to a vault that needs multiple keys to open. This is a much safer approach to safeguarding cryptocurrency wallets, potentially avoiding much of the theft and hacking in crypto that we hear so much about. Understanding crypto becomes crucial as it continues to reshape our financial systems. This episode is a great entry point for anyone curious about crypto's potential and wants to understand why companies like ZenGo matter in this evolving landscape.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textIn this episode, I speak to Alice Miller, VP Space at Helios, a startup that is working on decarbonizing the steel industry, and also plans to make liquid Oxygen propellant on the moon. Small startup, huge ambitions. Helios could one day be the like BP or Shell of the New Space Age, building a network of liquid oxygen production and distribution to all the space ships and human colonies that need to refuel as they head into deep space.  In the meantime, it's working on making resource extraction far less harmful to the planet, not just iron, but silicon, copper, nickel, lithium and other critical materials.  Today, the steel industry is the second largest polluter on Earth, about 10% of co2 emissions are from the steel industry. Helios has hit upon a terrestrial application that could revolutionize the steel industry, eliminating 1.7 trillion tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. It could also make Helios a lot of money.  Alice also talks about the challenges on the way to space, and they are enormous. The cost of putting anything on the moon is currently $1 million per kilo, making it difficult to get investors on board for space projects that won't see a return for 10-15 years.  Some of you may have heard name Alice Miller before but can't place it. Originally from South Africa (where I grew up) Alice was the first woman to successfully sue the Israeli army for the right to enter the vaunted male-only, elite Israel Air Force pilot course. In a culture that regarded risks to women captured by the enemy as unacceptable, they were barred from becoming combat pilots. Alice sued in 1994 and won, opening the gate for a generation of women in the IAF. So I was not surprised to see Alice as VP Space at Helios,  a company that’s aiming to open the door to humankind’s next chapter: commercial space exploration, moon and Mars colonies, and whatever awaits us Sapiens out there in deep space as we attempt to become an interplanetary species. Join us as we explore the future of space exploration and the potential of Helios to be the BP or Shell of the New Space Age. Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textLeave your preconceptions about cryptocurrency at the door, because this conversation focuses on telling the story of the potential underpinning the blockchain technology itself.In this episode we're joined by Adi Ben Ari,  founder and CEO of Applied Blockchain. As a veteran who has been part of the blockchain journey since for the past decade, Adi is our guide through the complex landscape of blockchain technology.  Adi has been a part of the blockchain journey for the past ten years, making him an experienced guide to navigate the complex world of blockchain technology.Adi explains how Shell uses blockchain to manage financial instruments and how the United Nations has adopted this technology for fund transfers to refugees. These real-life examples make the subject of blockchain more interesting and easier to understand.This episode aims to demystify the complexities of blockchain, showcasing its potential while providing a clear understanding of its benefits and limitations. Join us as we explore the fascinating world of blockchain technology and its impact on our lives.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com

Send us a textWhen the tech economy was booming--remember those days-- a startup's ability to tell a powerful story was a nice-to-have. Nowadays, budgets are under review, profitability has replaced growth, and telling a compelling and differentiated story is a must-have for survival.Companies can’t get away with just explaining what their products are and why they’re great. They have to tell a story that makes people notice and care. But many startups don't even get close. That’s mostly because they rely on content instead of story. Instead of prioritizing telling a unique story, they prize unique visitors. Under business pressure, many companies treat their audiences as leads in a funnel and not as participants in a narrative — and then wonder why they're not cutting through. Audiences also lose because they don't get to hear authentic and compelling stories about companies they would otherwise have chosen to do business with.Enter The Dejargonizer, an innovative new podcast by communications advisor and former Wall Street Journal EMEA tech editor, Amir Mizroch. Part tough media interview, part message mentoring, each episode is an audio journey into the making of a startup’s best possible story. Episodes aren't edited for the usual reasons of clarity and brevity. Instead, the podcast leans into the technical jargon, the diversions down rabbit holes, the verbal gymnastics, and the B2B “hero messaging”, then delicately nudges these aside to unveil the compelling narrative beneath. The Dejargonizer is not a “gotcha” show. Inconsistencies are not treated as distractions or errors, but as opportunities for deeper understanding and gateways to insight. Produced by talented audio journalist  Astrid Landon (Le Figaro, FT, Stripe Press), listeners are in for a treat as complex tech is “audiolized” with music and sound effects, creating a fun and original podcast experience, and which hopefully inspires them to think about their own stories anew.Support the showListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com