Ructions | Even the political nerds are bored

On this episode of Ructions with Ross + Ashley, Marc Ross + Gerald Ashley discuss Grant Shapps new cabinet assignment, the Sahel and coups in West Africa, senior citizens running the US government, the Fukushima wastewater release, Apple's release of the iPhone 15, plus what they are reading and watching.

Timestamps:

0:48 | Who is Grant Shapps?

5:23 | The Sahel + Coups in West Africa

13:42 | How old is too old to be in government?

24:09 | The Fukushima wastewater release

33:15 | Apple's release of the iPhone 15

42:40 | Reading + Watching

Reading + Watching List:

The World: A Family History of Humanity by Simon Sebag Montefiore

The Man Who Would Be King (1975)

Algorithms to Live By: The Computer Science of Human Decisions by Brian Christian + Tom Griffiths

Goal: The Ball Doesn't Go In By Chance: Management Ideas from the World of Football by Ferran Soriano

Painkiller on Netflix

Ructions | El Peluca

On this episode of Ructions with Ross + Ashley, Marc Ross + Gerald Ashley discuss weather warnings, the Lionesses and the FIFA Women's World Cup, Javier Milei and Argentina, the Camp David Summit with the US, Japan, and South Korea, the Trump clown show, the VinFast automotive company, plus what they are reading and watching.

Timestamps:

1:00 | Weather

3:46 | The Lionesses

7:06 | Javier Milei + Argentina

17:15 | US, Japan + South Korea summit

26:33 | Trump legal mess

35:54 | VinFast automotive company

42:50 | Reading + Watching

Reading + Watching List:

The Story of China: A Portrait of a Civilisation and Its People by Michael Wood

Ronin (1998)

The Unfinished Presidency by Douglas Brinkley

Untold: Johnny Football on Netflix

ITK Radio | John Neal | The Space Economy

On this episode of ITK Radio, a conversation with John Neal.

John is the Executive Director for Space Policy at the US Chamber of Commerce.

In this role, he is responsible for expanding the Chamber’s policy advocacy initiatives in the aviation and space areas.

John is a military and law enforcement veteran with deep experience in technology policy, sales, security, and business management with global organizations operating in regulated markets.

John has extensive experience in leading technology and cybersecurity firms including Planet, which provides satellite imagery data to government and commercial customers.

John’s previous work includes nearly ten years with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as a Special Agent where he conducted national security and criminal investigations and advised leadership on national security related mergers and acquisitions transactions.

Following the FBI, John joined the US House of Representatives Committee on Homeland Security where he served as a Senior Professional Staff member on the Counterterrorism and Intelligence subcommittee as well as the Cybersecurity Infrastructure Protection and Security Technologies subcommittee advising the Chairman and Members on cyber, national security, and financial services matters.

You can find John on LinkedIn here.

Insights + Ideas:

+ Expertise in managing the intersection of business and government

+ Specialist in analyzing and forecasting regulatory and policy impacts on markets

+ What it is like rocket scientists to the US Government

+ Opportunities in space products and services

+ How to broaden opportunities for companies to operate in space and use space to achieve business objectives

+ The communications challenge of demystifying the space economy

+ The power of not knowing and being curious

+ The business models of space-focused companies

+ Where the space economy is going

+ The scale of the space economy supply chains in the United States

+ What is a space company?

+ The 50th anniversary of GPS

+ Efforts by the US government to foster a lunar economy

+ Identifying use cases for technology and services that can operate profitably in space

+ Challenges of US export controls and dual-use technology being sold to foreign governments

+ How US allies want to sell space technology and services to American buyers

+ The growth of space attaches operating at embassies and foreign ministries

+ Space competition with China

+ The economic opportunities for the Moon

+ How to get smart on space - sources of information and conference

+ Book: When the Heavens Went on Sale: The Misfits and Geniuses Racing to Put Space Within Reach Hardcover by Ashlee Vance

+ US Chamber of Commerce Global Aerospace Summit - Innovating the Skies, Connecting the World on Tuesday, September 12 - Wednesday, September 13, 2023, in Washington, DC. More here.

+ The geopolitics of space

+ NASA Earth Information Center - website.