The Dejargonizer

Amir Mizroch

Turning the screws on the inscrutable. An edgy new podcast that unapologetically simplifies the complex. With Amir Mizroch, former Wall Street Journal EMEA Tech Editor.

read less
BusinessBusiness

Episodes

Israeli Intelligence Hired a Clinical Psychologist. They Didn't Listen To Him
Jan 5 2024
Israeli Intelligence Hired a Clinical Psychologist. They Didn't Listen To Him
In 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 Show.ListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com
TikTok is Fueling a Zombie Generation of Israel Haters
Dec 9 2023
TikTok is Fueling a Zombie Generation of Israel Haters
32% 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 Show.ListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com
Auto Insurance Is Stuck In The Past. Here's How AI Can Fix It
Aug 31 2023
Auto Insurance Is Stuck In The Past. Here's How AI Can Fix It
How 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 Show.ListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com
Why Are Public Works Projects Always Over Budget and Never On Time?
Aug 1 2023
Why Are Public Works Projects Always Over Budget and Never On Time?
A 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 Show.ListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com
How Small Businesses Can Get Big Cyber Protection
May 19 2023
How Small Businesses Can Get Big Cyber Protection
In 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 Show.ListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com
Tiny Space Startup Has a Galaxy-Size Vision, Starting With Earth
May 19 2023
Tiny Space Startup Has a Galaxy-Size Vision, Starting With Earth
In 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 Show.ListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com
Trailer: Welcome to The Dejargonizer
May 15 2023
Trailer: Welcome to The Dejargonizer
When 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 Show.ListenApple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Audible, or anywhere you get podcasts.ConnectLinkedInTwitterNewsletter Email: dejargonizerpod@gmail.com