{"version":"https://jsonfeed.org/version/1","title":"Tacit Knowledge","home_page_url":"https://www.tacitknowledgepodcast.com","feed_url":"https://www.tacitknowledgepodcast.com/json","description":"AI is creating a new type of abundance, which raises the question: in a world with AI what stays valuable? We think one answer is ambitious people figuring out what problems to solve, how to solve them, and getting the work done. Every other Friday, Renaissance Philanthropy’s Kumar Garg sits down with someone doing hard, important work. We get their story, challenges, and lessons. From cleaning the air in kids’ classrooms, to stabilizing the Arctic, or pulling hydrogen out of the ground, you’ll meet people driving real breakthroughs. Across the season, you’ll hear from Renaissance Philanthropy’s network: fund leaders on the problems they’re addressing, fellows on the big ideas they’re scoping, and funders on what they’re backing and why. This season, you’ll learn what makes the best problem solvers so good at it. That’s the tacit knowledge: the hidden playbook. Join us.","_fireside":{"subtitle":"How the world’s hardest problems really get solved","pubdate":"2026-10-30T04:00:00.000-04:00","explicit":false,"copyright":"2026 by Renaissance Philanthropy","owner":"Renaissance Philanthropy","image":"https://cdn.fireside.fm/file/fireside-images-2024/podcasts/images/5/533cf1fe-3b2e-4415-ab19-f8818e7ecdbe/cover.jpg?v=2"},"items":[{"id":"5f84f6c6-8468-4fb3-bff4-d97e3340749b","title":"Working on Neglected Ideas with Ishan Sharma","url":"https://www.tacitknowledgepodcast.com/working-on-neglected-ideas","content_text":"*Tacit Knowledge *\nHosted by Kumar Garg\nPresented by Renaissance Philanthropy\nSubscribe to our Substack\nProduced by All Together Now\n\nFOLLOW ISHAN\n\nTwitter: (at)ishan_sharma3\nInstagram: (at)ishan_sharma3\nLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishan-kabir-sharma3/\n\nKEY QUESTIONS AND TAKEAWAYS\n\nWhat is geologic hydrogen, and how is it different from manufactured hydrogen?\n\nGeologic hydrogen (Geo H₂) forms naturally underground, for example when water reacts with iron-rich rock, so it can be found and produced rather than manufactured with expensive, energy-intensive processes. Ishan argues it is zero-emission and potentially a fraction of the cost of today's hydrogen. He cites the estimate that about 2% of the hydrogen thought to be in the ground could meet civilizational needs for centuries.\n\nWhat is the Chimaera Fund?\n\nThe Chimaera Fund is Renaissance Philanthropy's field-building fund, directed by Ishan Sharma, aimed at making geologic hydrogen a credible part of the energy mix in the 2030s. Ishan says the field has already drawn roughly $1 billion in private investment, so the fund isn't trying to compete with startups. It aims to grow the overall pie with open-source testbeds, data sharing, and policy work modeled on what worked in shale and geothermal.\n\nWhy does Ishan see geologic hydrogen as essential to decarbonization?\n\nHe argues that cheap solar has largely solved the \"green electron\" half of the emissions problem. The remainder, in food systems and heavy industry like steel and chemicals, needs a cheap green molecule, and he doesn't see manufactured green hydrogen arriving before roughly 2045–2050. Industrial plants are making capital decisions in the next 5–7 years that could lock in emissions for about 40 years. In his view, geologic hydrogen is the only option that could affect that decision window.\n\nWhat can shale and geothermal teach us about scaling a new energy industry?\n\nIshan points to a pattern: both industries spent decades in slow, localized progress before inflection points driven by government-backed testbeds and companies sharing subsurface data. Geothermal went from a first well in the 1920s to a Department of Energy testbed in Utah and, now, Fervo Energy's public listing. His conclusion is that opening up solutions and data early is the fastest path to scale, measured in years rather than decades.\n\nHow did Chimaera get private companies to share subsurface data?\n\nIt started small: one company, a grant of roughly $250K, and an ask for the metadata version of its data rather than the proprietary data itself. Researchers could then propose studies based on what the company actually had. Once that first company signed on and Chimaera announced it at a major geologic hydrogen conference, several dozen other companies asked to do something similar. Early wins then became proof of credibility, including work with the U.S. Air Force and real operating companies.\n\nWhat is Chimaera working on next?\n\nIshan previewed a $10M grand-prize challenge with the Japan Cabinet Office to drill the first hydrogen well, and a test bed in East Africa. The East Africa work is framed around reducing smallholder farmers' dependence on imported ammonia, not just emissions. Both were described as upcoming, not yet announced, at the time of recording.\n\nWhat is the Law of Requisite Variety, and how does Chimaera apply it?\n\nIshan describes it as the idea that the entity with the most flexibility in a system has the greatest control over its outcome. Chimaera applies it by staying deliberately nimble instead of building headcount. One example he gives is walking away from a donation of about 1,200 acres for test beds to pivot to a faster-moving opportunity.\n\nOn careers, credibility, and field-building\n\n\n  Ishan didn't start in energy. He studied industrial labor relations and economics planning for human rights law, and a paper on surveillance technology led him to defer law school and enter science and tech policy, first at FAS, then the White House, then Renaissance Philanthropy.\n  His filter for what to work on is a Venn diagram: a problem that is neglected, where he can see a path to making a difference, and where he has a thesis worth pressure-testing. He says the overlap is small, and once you find it, \"why not go hunting?\"\n  His tacit knowledge: there is enough good work to go around. Approaching a new field with \"no pride of place,\" and wanting to distribute good ideas rather than own them, is what lets an outsider work with deep experts.\n  To bring skeptical experts along, he asks whether anyone else has looked at their data and reached a different conclusion, which appeals to their humility instead of forcing a debate. He says credibility comes from early wins and demonstrated taste more than from the size of the funding.\n  Kumar's framing: science progresses at the pace of discovery plus persuasion. Good ideas need advocates willing to walk into rooms and answer skeptical questions, one person at a time, like the lone juror in 12 Angry Men.\n  Asks and offers: Ishan offers conversations to early-career people weighing an unconventional path. His ask is for anyone excited to work on subsurface activities in sub-Saharan Africa to help build the test bed.\nSpecial Guest: Ishan Sharma.Links:Ishan Sharma\n — Fellow at Renaissance Philanthropy and director of the Chimaera Fund. Previously principal advisor on industrial innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he also led geothermal work, and earlier at the Federation of American Scientists.\nChimaera Fund\n — Renaissance Philanthropy's fund devoted to responsibly and rapidly scaling geologic hydrogen through open-access field demonstrations and policy advising.\nRenaissance Philanthropy\n — The organization presenting Tacit Knowledge and housing the Chimaera Fund.\nAll Together Now\n — The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\nGeologic hydrogen (Geo H₂)\n — Hydrogen generated naturally in the Earth's subsurface, also called natural, white, or gold hydrogen; the resource at the center of the episode.\nUSGS global geologic hydrogen resource estimate (Ellis \u0026amp; Gelman, 2024)\n — The USGS modeling study behind the widely cited estimate that recovering even a small fraction of Earth's geologic hydrogen could supply projected demand for roughly 200 years. \nFederation of American Scientists (FAS)\n — The think tank where Ishan worked before joining the White House, and where he first worked with Kumar on ideas for a new administration.\nFervo Energy\n — The enhanced geothermal company Ishan and Kumar cite as proof that a once-niche subsurface technology can scale; it listed on the Nasdaq in May 2026.\nUtah FORGE\n — The Department of Energy's geothermal field laboratory near Milford, Utah, which Ishan cites as the government-backed testbed that helped unlock enhanced geothermal.\nU.S. Air Force geologic hydrogen initiative\n — A Chimaera-led demonstration with the Department of the Air Force, using partners including HyTerra, Helix Exploration, and Prometheus Hydrogen, to assess whether geologic hydrogen could strengthen energy resilience at bases in Montana and Kansas.\nHyTerra\n — The ASX-listed geologic hydrogen exploration company whose scientists Ishan cites as partners; it was later selected as a primary performer in the Air Force demonstration.\nARPA-E\n — The Department of Energy agency where Doug Wicks and Emily Yedinak advanced its geologic hydrogen portfolio, a program Ishan credits as an early mover in the field.\nLaw of Requisite Variety\n — Cybernetician W. Ross Ashby's principle that a regulator needs enough variety in its responses to match the disturbances it faces.\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003e*\u003cem\u003eTacit Knowledge *\u003c/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nHosted by \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/KumarAGarg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eKumar Garg\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nPresented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://renaissancephilanthropy.substack.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eSubscribe to our Substack\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nProduced by \u003ca href=\"HTTPS://www.alltogethernow.live\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eAll Together Now\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFOLLOW ISHAN\u003c/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTwitter: (at)ishan_sharma3\u003cbr\u003e\nInstagram: (at)ishan_sharma3\u003cbr\u003e\nLinkedIn: \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/ishan-kabir-sharma3/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003ehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/ishan-kabir-sharma3/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eKEY QUESTIONS AND TAKEAWAYS\u003c/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is geologic hydrogen, and how is it different from manufactured hydrogen?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eGeologic hydrogen (Geo H₂) forms naturally underground, for example when water reacts with iron-rich rock, so it can be found and produced rather than manufactured with expensive, energy-intensive processes. Ishan argues it is zero-emission and potentially a fraction of the cost of today's hydrogen. He cites the estimate that about 2% of the hydrogen thought to be in the ground could meet civilizational needs for centuries.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is the Chimaera Fund?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe Chimaera Fund is Renaissance Philanthropy's field-building fund, directed by Ishan Sharma, aimed at making geologic hydrogen a credible part of the energy mix in the 2030s. Ishan says the field has already drawn roughly $1 billion in private investment, so the fund isn't trying to compete with startups. It aims to grow the overall pie with open-source testbeds, data sharing, and policy work modeled on what worked in shale and geothermal.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy does Ishan see geologic hydrogen as essential to decarbonization?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHe argues that cheap solar has largely solved the \"green electron\" half of the emissions problem. The remainder, in food systems and heavy industry like steel and chemicals, needs a cheap green \u003cem\u003emolecule\u003c/em\u003e, and he doesn't see manufactured green hydrogen arriving before roughly 2045–2050. Industrial plants are making capital decisions in the next 5–7 years that could lock in emissions for about 40 years. In his view, geologic hydrogen is the only option that could affect that decision window.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat can shale and geothermal teach us about scaling a new energy industry?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIshan points to a pattern: both industries spent decades in slow, localized progress before inflection points driven by government-backed testbeds and companies sharing subsurface data. Geothermal went from a first well in the 1920s to a Department of Energy testbed in Utah and, now, Fervo Energy's public listing. His conclusion is that opening up solutions and data early is the fastest path to scale, measured in years rather than decades.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHow did Chimaera get private companies to share subsurface data?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIt started small: one company, a grant of roughly $250K, and an ask for the metadata version of its data rather than the proprietary data itself. Researchers could then propose studies based on what the company actually had. Once that first company signed on and Chimaera announced it at a major geologic hydrogen conference, several dozen other companies asked to do something similar. Early wins then became proof of credibility, including work with the U.S. Air Force and real operating companies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is Chimaera working on next?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIshan previewed a $10M grand-prize challenge with the Japan Cabinet Office to drill the first hydrogen well, and a test bed in East Africa. The East Africa work is framed around reducing smallholder farmers' dependence on imported ammonia, not just emissions. Both were described as upcoming, not yet announced, at the time of recording.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is the Law of Requisite Variety, and how does Chimaera apply it?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIshan describes it as the idea that the entity with the most flexibility in a system has the greatest control over its outcome. Chimaera applies it by staying deliberately nimble instead of building headcount. One example he gives is walking away from a donation of about 1,200 acres for test beds to pivot to a faster-moving opportunity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOn careers, credibility, and field-building\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  Ishan didn't start in energy. He studied industrial labor relations and economics planning for human rights law, and a paper on surveillance technology led him to defer law school and enter science and tech policy, first at FAS, then the White House, then Renaissance Philanthropy.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  His filter for what to work on is a Venn diagram: a problem that is neglected, where he can see a path to making a difference, and where he has a thesis worth pressure-testing. He says the overlap is small, and once you find it, \"why not go hunting?\"\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  His tacit knowledge: there is enough good work to go around. Approaching a new field with \"no pride of place,\" and wanting to distribute good ideas rather than own them, is what lets an outsider work with deep experts.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  To bring skeptical experts along, he asks whether anyone else has looked at their data and reached a different conclusion, which appeals to their humility instead of forcing a debate. He says credibility comes from early wins and demonstrated taste more than from the size of the funding.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  Kumar's framing: science progresses at the pace of discovery \u003cem\u003eplus persuasion\u003c/em\u003e. Good ideas need advocates willing to walk into rooms and answer skeptical questions, one person at a time, like the lone juror in \u003cem\u003e12 Angry Men\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  Asks and offers: Ishan offers conversations to early-career people weighing an unconventional path. His ask is for anyone excited to work on subsurface activities in sub-Saharan Africa to help build the test bed.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecial Guest: Ishan Sharma.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLinks:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Ishan Sharma\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/team/ishan-sharma\"\u003eIshan Sharma\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Fellow at Renaissance Philanthropy and director of the Chimaera Fund. Previously principal advisor on industrial innovation at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where he also led geothermal work, and earlier at the Federation of American Scientists.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Chimaera Fund\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/chimaera-fund\"\u003eChimaera Fund\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Renaissance Philanthropy's fund devoted to responsibly and rapidly scaling geologic hydrogen through open-access field demonstrations and policy advising.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Renaissance Philanthropy\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The organization presenting Tacit Knowledge and housing the Chimaera Fund.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"All Together Now\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.alltogethernow.live/podcasts\"\u003eAll Together Now\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Geologic hydrogen (Geo H₂)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.usgs.gov/centers/central-energy-resources-science-center/science/geologic-hydrogen\"\u003eGeologic hydrogen (Geo H₂)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Hydrogen generated naturally in the Earth's subsurface, also called natural, white, or gold hydrogen; the resource at the center of the episode.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"USGS global geologic hydrogen resource estimate (Ellis \u0026amp; Gelman, 2024)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://pubs.usgs.gov/publication/70262506\"\u003eUSGS global geologic hydrogen resource estimate (Ellis \u0026amp; Gelman, 2024)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The USGS modeling study behind the widely cited estimate that recovering even a small fraction of Earth's geologic hydrogen could supply projected demand for roughly 200 years. \n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Federation of American Scientists (FAS)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://fas.org/\"\u003eFederation of American Scientists (FAS)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The think tank where Ishan worked before joining the White House, and where he first worked with Kumar on ideas for a new administration.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Fervo Energy\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://fervoenergy.com/\"\u003eFervo Energy\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The enhanced geothermal company Ishan and Kumar cite as proof that a once-niche subsurface technology can scale; it listed on the Nasdaq in May 2026.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Utah FORGE\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://utahforge.com/\"\u003eUtah FORGE\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The Department of Energy's geothermal field laboratory near Milford, Utah, which Ishan cites as the government-backed testbed that helped unlock enhanced geothermal.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"U.S. Air Force geologic hydrogen initiative\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/insights/chimaera-partner-selection\"\u003eU.S. Air Force geologic hydrogen initiative\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; A Chimaera-led demonstration with the Department of the Air Force, using partners including HyTerra, Helix Exploration, and Prometheus Hydrogen, to assess whether geologic hydrogen could strengthen energy resilience at bases in Montana and Kansas.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"HyTerra\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://hyterra.com/\"\u003eHyTerra\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The ASX-listed geologic hydrogen exploration company whose scientists Ishan cites as partners; it was later selected as a primary performer in the Air Force demonstration.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"ARPA-E\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://arpa-e.energy.gov/\"\u003eARPA-E\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The Department of Energy agency where Doug Wicks and Emily Yedinak advanced its geologic hydrogen portfolio, a program Ishan credits as an early mover in the field.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Law of Requisite Variety\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Variety_(cybernetics)\"\u003eLaw of Requisite Variety\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Cybernetician W. Ross Ashby's principle that a regulator needs enough variety in its responses to match the disturbances it faces.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e","summary":"In this podcast, Renaissance Philanthropy’s Kumar Garg sits down with ambitious people who are figuring out what problems to solve, and what it takes to solve them. Together, we explore the tacit knowledge that enables the world’s best operators.\r\n","date_published":"2026-10-30T04:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/533cf1fe-3b2e-4415-ab19-f8818e7ecdbe/5f84f6c6-8468-4fb3-bff4-d97e3340749b.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":64306877,"duration_in_seconds":1980}]},{"id":"39437f77-2d96-4428-ae2f-abc87a3e109a","title":"You Can Be The Adult In The Room with David Carel","url":"https://www.tacitknowledgepodcast.com/you-can-be-the-adult-in-the-room","content_text":"In this episode, host Kumar talks to David Carel, Director of the Inspired Air Fund at Renaissance Philanthropy. David has spent a decade working on the most pressing problems in health and education, and his latest project aims to boost student health and learning outcomes by improving air quality in classrooms.\n\nDavid discusses the transformative potential of improving the air we breathe indoors, where we spend about 90% of our time, and the surprising things we’re learning about airborne illness. He also shares how he stays motivated in his work to sustainably improve conditions in the classroom, even when the going gets tough.\n\nDavid talks about the mentors throughout his career who have taught him to be the adult in the room when no one else is tackling an issue, and the power of using emotional intelligence to push through the self-doubt that affects all founders.\n\nTacit Knowledge\n\nHosted by Kumar Garg\nPresented by Renaissance Philanthropy\nSubscribe to our Substack\nProduced by All Together Now\n\nFollow David\n\nhttps://x.com/davidcarel\nhttps://www.instagram.com/davidcarel/\nhttps://bsky.app/profile/davidcarel.bsky.social\nhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/david-carel-b433251b3/\n\nKEY QUESTIONS AND TAKEAWAYS\n\nWhat is the Inspired Air Fund (formerly the Clean Air for Schools Fund)?\n\nA new fund at Renaissance Philanthropy, led by David Carel, focused on improving indoor air quality in schools — both to reduce airborne disease transmission and to improve learning outcomes. It sits at the intersection of health, education, and biosecurity policy.\n\nWhy does indoor air quality matter more than most people assume?\n\nPeople spend roughly 90% of their time indoors, so indoor air quality — not just outdoor pollution — determines most of a person's actual exposure. Wildfire smoke advisories that tell people to \"go inside\" miss this: outdoor air gets drawn inside buildings too, and indoor spaces also generate their own pollution, from manufactured furniture, engineered wood, and even human aerosols from people who are sick.\n\nWhat's the evidence that clean air improves learning, not just health?\n\nAir filtration has been shown to cut school absenteeism by 10–20%, and lower carbon dioxide and VOC levels have been linked to measurably better cognitive performance. JPMorgan Chase's new $3 billion Park Avenue headquarters doubled its ventilation rate above code specifically because Harvard research found doing so yields a return worth thousands of dollars per employee per year in productivity.\n\nWhy has indoor air quality remained a blind spot despite living through a pandemic?\n\nDavid argues it falls into a structural gap: philanthropy and policy are organized into verticals like health, education, and environment, and indoor air quality doesn't fully belong to any one of them, so it rarely becomes anyone's top priority even when it would meet the bar for impact in each vertical individually.\n\nWhy did public health take so long to accept that diseases could spread through the air?\n\nFor most of the 20th century, airborne transmission was accepted only for tuberculosis and measles; other respiratory illnesses were assumed to spread via large droplets or surfaces. The WHO initially stated early in the Covid-19 pandemic that the virus was not airborne. Science journalist Carl Zimmer's book Air-Borne traces this history and argues it left the world underprepared for Covid.\n\nWhat historical precedent does David point to for solving this at scale?\n\nThe late-19th-century clean water movement, which built modern water infrastructure and dramatically cut typhoid rates within a generation. David frames indoor air as a comparable infrastructure opportunity: a relatively low-cost, low-administrative-burden intervention that could address multiple problems — disease transmission, pandemic preparedness, and cognitive development — at once.\n\nWhat is the Fund currently building?\n\nA cities competition focused on clean air in schools, designed to learn from the successes and failures of past municipal competitions and challenges. David's ask is for input from people with experience designing these kinds of competitions, and from people with insight into how to coordinate across the health departments, environmental agencies, school systems, and mayor's offices a program like this would need to touch.\n\nOn agency, uncertainty, and following the thread\n\n\n  David traces part of his drive back to working as an undergraduate with Gregg Gonsalves, then a nontraditional student and HIV/AIDS activist, which he says taught him that you don't have to wait for \"the adults in the room\" to act on something you believe matters.\n  His path ran from co-founding Panorama Education (school data analytics) to running early literacy programs in South Africa to pandemic prevention work at Blueprint Biosecurity before arriving at indoor air — each step following a thread rather than a plan.\n  A formative moment: at 19, volunteering on a tuberculosis study in Tugela Ferry, South Africa — where extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) was first identified — he learned that TB is airborne, meaning a person could be infected by someone who had left the room hours earlier.\n  His tacit knowledge: recognizing the specific emotional pattern of fear, uncertainty, and doubt that entrepreneurs experience, and not trying to think your way out of it — instead noticing it, holding it lightly, and finding ways to re-engage rather than letting a bad week become a decision to quit.\n  He credits community, specifically joining Renaissance Philanthropy rather than building in isolation, as a concrete tool for getting through those low moments.\n  Kumar's framing, echoing Lindsey Graham's widely circulated remark that \"there is no they\" — you are the ones in the room — as a model for the mindset this kind of work requires.\nSpecial Guest: David Carel.Links:David Carel\n — Director at Renaissance Philanthropy, leading the Inspired Air Fund (formerly the Clean Air for Schools Fund). Co-founded Panorama Education in 2012; later helped build Funda Wande, a South African early-literacy nonprofit; most recently Managing Director at Blueprint Biosecurity before joining RenPhil.\nRenaissance Philanthropy\n — The organization producing the Tacit Knowledge podcast and housing the Inspired Air Fund (formerly the Clean Air for Schools Fund). \nAll Together Now\n — The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\nGregg Gonsalves\n — Epidemiologist and longtime HIV/AIDS activist, now an associate professor at Yale School of Public Health and Yale Law School; a 2018 MacArthur Fellow. David worked closely with him as an undergraduate on global health activism.\nPanorama Education\n — The Y Combinator-backed school data analytics company David co-founded in 2012, used by public schools across all 50 states.\nFunda Wande\n — The South African nonprofit David helped create, working with the national government to design and scale early-grade literacy and math interventions.\nBlueprint Biosecurity\n — A nonprofit focused on ending airborne pandemics, where David served as Managing Director before joining Renaissance Philanthropy.\nAir-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe\n — Science journalist Carl Zimmer's book tracing the history of airborne disease science, including the slow, belated acceptance that Covid-19 spread through the air.\nCOGfx Study (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)\n — Research led by Joseph Allen's Healthy Buildings Program finding that doubling office ventilation rates significantly improves cognitive performance, at a cost far smaller than the productivity benefit — the study behind the JPMorgan example David cites.\n270 Park Avenue (JPMorgan Chase headquarters)\n — JPMorgan Chase's new $3B Manhattan headquarters, built with double the standard ventilation rate specifically in response to Harvard's cognitive-function research.\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eIn this episode, host Kumar talks to David Carel, Director of the Inspired Air Fund at Renaissance Philanthropy. David has spent a decade working on the most pressing problems in health and education, and his latest project aims to boost student health and learning outcomes by improving air quality in classrooms.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDavid discusses the transformative potential of improving the air we breathe indoors, where we spend about 90% of our time, and the surprising things we’re learning about airborne illness. He also shares how he stays motivated in his work to sustainably improve conditions in the classroom, even when the going gets tough.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDavid talks about the mentors throughout his career who have taught him to be the adult in the room when no one else is tackling an issue, and the power of using emotional intelligence to push through the self-doubt that affects all founders.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eTacit Knowledge\u003c/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHosted by \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/KumarAGarg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eKumar Garg\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nPresented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://renaissancephilanthropy.substack.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eSubscribe to our Substack\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nProduced by \u003ca href=\"HTTPS://www.alltogethernow.live\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eAll Together Now\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eFollow David\u003c/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://x.com/davidcarel\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003ehttps://x.com/davidcarel\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.instagram.com/davidcarel/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003ehttps://www.instagram.com/davidcarel/\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://bsky.app/profile/davidcarel.bsky.social\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003ehttps://bsky.app/profile/davidcarel.bsky.social\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-carel-b433251b3/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003ehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/david-carel-b433251b3/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch3\u003eKEY QUESTIONS AND TAKEAWAYS\u003c/h3\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is the Inspired Air Fund (formerly the Clean Air for Schools Fund)?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA new fund at Renaissance Philanthropy, led by David Carel, focused on improving indoor air quality in schools — both to reduce airborne disease transmission and to improve learning outcomes. It sits at the intersection of health, education, and biosecurity policy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy does indoor air quality matter more than most people assume?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003ePeople spend roughly 90% of their time indoors, so indoor air quality — not just outdoor pollution — determines most of a person's actual exposure. Wildfire smoke advisories that tell people to \"go inside\" miss this: outdoor air gets drawn inside buildings too, and indoor spaces also generate their own pollution, from manufactured furniture, engineered wood, and even human aerosols from people who are sick.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat's the evidence that clean air improves learning, not just health?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAir filtration has been shown to cut school absenteeism by 10–20%, and lower carbon dioxide and VOC levels have been linked to measurably better cognitive performance. JPMorgan Chase's new $3 billion Park Avenue headquarters doubled its ventilation rate above code specifically because Harvard research found doing so yields a return worth thousands of dollars per employee per year in productivity.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy has indoor air quality remained a blind spot despite living through a pandemic?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDavid argues it falls into a structural gap: philanthropy and policy are organized into verticals like health, education, and environment, and indoor air quality doesn't fully belong to any one of them, so it rarely becomes anyone's top priority even when it would meet the bar for impact in each vertical individually.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhy did public health take so long to accept that diseases could spread through the air?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eFor most of the 20th century, airborne transmission was accepted only for tuberculosis and measles; other respiratory illnesses were assumed to spread via large droplets or surfaces. The WHO initially stated early in the Covid-19 pandemic that the virus was not airborne. Science journalist Carl Zimmer's book \u003cem\u003eAir-Borne\u003c/em\u003e traces this history and argues it left the world underprepared for Covid.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat historical precedent does David point to for solving this at scale?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe late-19th-century clean water movement, which built modern water infrastructure and dramatically cut typhoid rates within a generation. David frames indoor air as a comparable infrastructure opportunity: a relatively low-cost, low-administrative-burden intervention that could address multiple problems — disease transmission, pandemic preparedness, and cognitive development — at once.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is the Fund currently building?\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA cities competition focused on clean air in schools, designed to learn from the successes and failures of past municipal competitions and challenges. David's ask is for input from people with experience designing these kinds of competitions, and from people with insight into how to coordinate across the health departments, environmental agencies, school systems, and mayor's offices a program like this would need to touch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOn agency, uncertainty, and following the thread\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  David traces part of his drive back to working as an undergraduate with Gregg Gonsalves, then a nontraditional student and HIV/AIDS activist, which he says taught him that you don't have to wait for \"the adults in the room\" to act on something you believe matters.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  His path ran from co-founding Panorama Education (school data analytics) to running early literacy programs in South Africa to pandemic prevention work at Blueprint Biosecurity before arriving at indoor air — each step following a thread rather than a plan.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  A formative moment: at 19, volunteering on a tuberculosis study in Tugela Ferry, South Africa — where extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB) was first identified — he learned that TB is airborne, meaning a person could be infected by someone who had left the room hours earlier.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  His tacit knowledge: recognizing the specific emotional pattern of fear, uncertainty, and doubt that entrepreneurs experience, and not trying to think your way out of it — instead noticing it, holding it lightly, and finding ways to re-engage rather than letting a bad week become a decision to quit.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  He credits community, specifically joining Renaissance Philanthropy rather than building in isolation, as a concrete tool for getting through those low moments.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  Kumar's framing, echoing Lindsey Graham's widely circulated remark that \"there is no they\" — you are the ones in the room — as a model for the mindset this kind of work requires.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecial Guest: David Carel.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLinks:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"David Carel\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.rhodeshouse.ox.ac.uk/scholar-community/rhodes-scholar-bios/rhodes-scholars-class-of-2013/david-carel/\"\u003eDavid Carel\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Director at Renaissance Philanthropy, leading the Inspired Air Fund (formerly the Clean Air for Schools Fund). Co-founded Panorama Education in 2012; later helped build Funda Wande, a South African early-literacy nonprofit; most recently Managing Director at Blueprint Biosecurity before joining RenPhil.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Renaissance Philanthropy\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The organization producing the Tacit Knowledge podcast and housing the Inspired Air Fund (formerly the Clean Air for Schools Fund). \n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"All Together Now\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.alltogethernow.live/podcasts\"\u003eAll Together Now\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Gregg Gonsalves\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://ysph.yale.edu/profile/gregg_gonsalves/\"\u003eGregg Gonsalves\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Epidemiologist and longtime HIV/AIDS activist, now an associate professor at Yale School of Public Health and Yale Law School; a 2018 MacArthur Fellow. David worked closely with him as an undergraduate on global health activism.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Panorama Education\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.panoramaed.com/\"\u003ePanorama Education\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The Y Combinator-backed school data analytics company David co-founded in 2012, used by public schools across all 50 states.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Funda Wande\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://fundawande.org/\"\u003eFunda Wande\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The South African nonprofit David helped create, working with the national government to design and scale early-grade literacy and math interventions.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Blueprint Biosecurity\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://blueprintbiosecurity.org/\"\u003eBlueprint Biosecurity\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; A nonprofit focused on ending airborne pandemics, where David served as Managing Director before joining Renaissance Philanthropy.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Air-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://bookshop.org/p/books/air-borne-the-hidden-history-of-the-life-we-breathe-carl-zimmer/dff0e64762586195?ean=9780593473597\"\u003eAir-Borne: The Hidden History of the Life We Breathe\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Science journalist Carl Zimmer's book tracing the history of airborne disease science, including the slow, belated acceptance that Covid-19 spread through the air.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"COGfx Study (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://green.harvard.edu/tools-resources/research-highlight/cognitive-function-cogfx-studies\"\u003eCOGfx Study (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Research led by Joseph Allen's Healthy Buildings Program finding that doubling office ventilation rates significantly improves cognitive performance, at a cost far smaller than the productivity benefit — the study behind the JPMorgan example David cites.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"270 Park Avenue (JPMorgan Chase headquarters)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.fosterandpartners.com/projects/270-park-avenue\"\u003e270 Park Avenue (JPMorgan Chase headquarters)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; JPMorgan Chase's new $3B Manhattan headquarters, built with double the standard ventilation rate specifically in response to Harvard's cognitive-function research.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e","summary":"David Carel, Director of Renaissance Philanthropy’s Inspired Air Fund, discusses the surprising benefits of improving indoor air quality and his work to bring those benefits to schools.","date_published":"2026-10-16T03:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/533cf1fe-3b2e-4415-ab19-f8818e7ecdbe/39437f77-2d96-4428-ae2f-abc87a3e109a.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":69491859,"duration_in_seconds":2140}]},{"id":"2464d313-2b97-4dbe-b3f6-ab794d58e38d","title":"The Tri-Sector Athlete with Cara Eckholm","url":"https://www.tacitknowledgepodcast.com/the-tri-sector-athlete-with-cara-eckholm","content_text":"In this episode, host Kumar speaks with Cara Eckholm, the founder of Pilot City and a Fellow at Renaissance Philanthropy. An urbanist at heart, Cara has thought deeply about how to build relationships between local governments and their constituent researchers and technologists.\n\nDescribing herself as a \"tri-sector athlete\" who has moved between government, academia, and the private sector, Cara talks about growing Pitch Fest, which pairs city government agencies with academics and civic technologists willing to help solve specific, openly shared problems, from 100 attendees and a few agencies in its first year to 40 participating agencies and 104 pitches, with 100 of those pitches drawing at least one interested expert.\n\nCara talks about collaborations, cold-emailing, and the power of connection.\n\n*Tacit Knowledge *\nHosted by Kumar Garg\nPresented by Renaissance Philanthropy\nSubscribe to our Substack\nProduced by All Together Now\n\nFOLLOW\n\nLinkedIn\n\nhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-eckholm-506b2236/\n\nKEY QUESTIONS AND TAKEAWAYS\n\nWhat is Pilot City\n\nA matchmaking program, started by Cara Eckholm in New York, where city agencies pitch specific problems they need help with and local researchers or technologists apply to work with them — flipping the usual model where academics pitch ideas in search of a government partner.\n\nHow does the matchmaking process actually work?\n\nCity agencies present problem statements in short, informal pitches (originally modeled on how Stanford classes help students find startup co-founders). Interested researchers and technologists then apply to work with a specific agency, and the agency chooses who they want to work with from the applicant pool.\n\nWhy build a \"buyer-first\" model instead of starting with researchers' ideas?\n\nEckholm observed that both sides were siloed: academics and civic technologists had ideas for improving cities but no government partner, while city agencies had unmet needs but no channel to reach outside talent. Starting with the agency's stated problem — the \"buyer\" — rather than a researcher's proposal solved the matching problem directly.\n\nWhat makes a city a good candidate for a Pitchfest program?\n\nA metro population of at least a million, a government champion willing to publicly share unsolved problems (which runs against how most agencies communicate), and either a research university or an active civic tech community — most U.S. cities already have the latter.\n\nWhat's a real-world example of this kind of collaboration paying off?\n\nEconomist Al Roth was approached by an NYC Department of Education official who had read his work on medical residency matching and asked him to help redesign the city's high school placement process. The redesign was later adopted in Boston, and Roth went on to win a Nobel Prize for that work and related market-design research, including kidney-exchange matching.\n\nHow much traction has the program gotten?\n\nIn its most recent year, 40 agencies submitted 104 pitches, and 100 of those pitches drew at least one interested researcher — some drew as many as 20. The program is now expanding beyond New York to Boston, Hennepin County (Minneapolis), Los Angeles (water district), and Philadelphia (regional transit).\n\nWhat's holding academia back from more of this kind of applied work?\n\nTenure and promotion structures reward publication in a narrow set of journals, not applied public-sector collaboration — to the point that one professor Eckholm spoke with left his work as a city and White House housing policy adviser off his tenure application, worried it would make him look like an activist rather than a scholar.\n\nOn career and confidence\n\n\n  Eckholm's own path into this work began with a cold email — she reached out to her boss's boss, former NYC Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, offering to help with a post-pandemic economic recovery commission, with no idea if he'd respond. That opportunity ended up shaping the next several years of her career.\n  Her tacit-knowledge takeaway is what she calls \"delusional confidence\" — treating open calls for applications (\"apply even if you're underqualified\") literally, and being willing to send many speculative emails knowing only a fraction will land.\n  She distinguishes this from overconfidence: the goal isn't to claim expertise you don't have, but to clearly articulate what value you could add and let curiosity — not credentials — carry the pitch.\nSpecial Guest: Cara Eckholm.Links:Cara Eckholm\n — Founder of Pilot City; also founder of AKA Urban, an advisory firm for public-sector building projects. \nPilot City\n — A program of Renaissance Philanthropy aimed at strengthening state capacity by helping cities, counties, and regions tap into the scientific and technical expertise already present in their communities. Its flagship format is the Pitchfest — a bottom-up matchmaking event where government agency staff pitch problem statements and get paired with regional experts. Pilot City began in New York in 2023 and, with support from the Sloan Foundation and later Coefficient Giving, has since expanded the Pitchfest model to Boston, Hennepin County, and other regions.\nRenaissance Philanthropy\n — The organization producing Tacit Knowledge Podcast; Cara is a fellow there.\nAll Together Now\n — The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\nCornell Tech's Urban Tech Hub\n — Where Eckholm did her original fellowship and where Pilot Pitchfest first launched.\nNew York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)\n — The city agency partner from Eckholm's original fellowship research on agency innovation capabilities.\nAlfred P. Sloan Foundation\n — Seed funder of the first Pitchfest event.\nAl Roth\n — Economist (Harvard, then Stanford), 2012 Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences for work on market design — the \"knock it out of the park\" example Cara cites, where a cold outreach from an NYC public servant led to Roth redesigning the city's high school matching process.\nMechanism design\n — The field of economics concerned with designing rules and institutions — like matching markets — to produce a desired outcome; the broader discipline Roth's work belongs to.\nMedical residency match (NRMP)\n — The National Resident Matching Program, also known as \"The Match\" — uses the applicant-proposing algorithm that Roth's research built on and that also underlies the NYC high school match and kidney-exchange matching.\nDan Doctoroff\n — Former NYC Deputy Mayor for Economic Development (2002–2008), later CEO of Bloomberg L.P. and Sidewalk Labs — the boss's-boss Cara cold-emailed, which opened her path into city work.\nSidewalk Labs\n — Alphabet's urban-tech incubator, where Doctoroff later served as CEO and which Cara also applied to.\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eIn this episode, host Kumar speaks with Cara Eckholm, the founder of Pilot City and a Fellow at Renaissance Philanthropy. An urbanist at heart, Cara has thought deeply about how to build relationships between local governments and their constituent researchers and technologists.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eDescribing herself as a \"tri-sector athlete\" who has moved between government, academia, and the private sector, Cara talks about growing Pitch Fest, which pairs city government agencies with academics and civic technologists willing to help solve specific, openly shared problems, from 100 attendees and a few agencies in its first year to 40 participating agencies and 104 pitches, with 100 of those pitches drawing at least one interested expert.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCara talks about collaborations, cold-emailing, and the power of connection.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e*\u003cem\u003eTacit Knowledge *\u003c/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nHosted by \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/KumarAGarg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eKumar Garg\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nPresented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://renaissancephilanthropy.substack.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eSubscribe to our Substack\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nProduced by \u003ca href=\"HTTPS://www.alltogethernow.live\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eAll Together Now\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eFOLLOW\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLinkedIn\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-eckholm-506b2236/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003ehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/cara-eckholm-506b2236/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eKEY QUESTIONS AND TAKEAWAYS\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat is Pilot City\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA matchmaking program, started by Cara Eckholm in New York, where city agencies pitch specific problems they need help with and local researchers or technologists apply to work with them — flipping the usual model where academics pitch ideas in search of a government partner.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eHow does the matchmaking process actually work?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCity agencies present problem statements in short, informal pitches (originally modeled on how Stanford classes help students find startup co-founders). Interested researchers and technologists then apply to work with a specific agency, and the agency chooses who they want to work with from the applicant pool.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhy build a \"buyer-first\" model instead of starting with researchers' ideas?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEckholm observed that both sides were siloed: academics and civic technologists had ideas for improving cities but no government partner, while city agencies had unmet needs but no channel to reach outside talent. Starting with the agency's stated problem — the \"buyer\" — rather than a researcher's proposal solved the matching problem directly.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat makes a city a good candidate for a Pitchfest program?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA metro population of at least a million, a government champion willing to publicly share unsolved problems (which runs against how most agencies communicate), and either a research university or an active civic tech community — most U.S. cities already have the latter.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat's a real-world example of this kind of collaboration paying off?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eEconomist Al Roth was approached by an NYC Department of Education official who had read his work on medical residency matching and asked him to help redesign the city's high school placement process. The redesign was later adopted in Boston, and Roth went on to win a Nobel Prize for that work and related market-design research, including kidney-exchange matching.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eHow much traction has the program gotten?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eIn its most recent year, 40 agencies submitted 104 pitches, and 100 of those pitches drew at least one interested researcher — some drew as many as 20. The program is now expanding beyond New York to Boston, Hennepin County (Minneapolis), Los Angeles (water district), and Philadelphia (regional transit).\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat's holding academia back from more of this kind of applied work?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eTenure and promotion structures reward publication in a narrow set of journals, not applied public-sector collaboration — to the point that one professor Eckholm spoke with left his work as a city and White House housing policy adviser off his tenure application, worried it would make him look like an activist rather than a scholar.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eOn career and confidence\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  Eckholm's own path into this work began with a cold email — she reached out to her boss's boss, former NYC Deputy Mayor Dan Doctoroff, offering to help with a post-pandemic economic recovery commission, with no idea if he'd respond. That opportunity ended up shaping the next several years of her career.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  Her tacit-knowledge takeaway is what she calls \"delusional confidence\" — treating open calls for applications (\"apply even if you're underqualified\") literally, and being willing to send many speculative emails knowing only a fraction will land.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  She distinguishes this from overconfidence: the goal isn't to claim expertise you don't have, but to clearly articulate what value you could add and let curiosity — not credentials — carry the pitch.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecial Guest: Cara Eckholm.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLinks:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Cara Eckholm\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://urban.tech.cornell.edu/people/cara-eckholm\"\u003eCara Eckholm\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Founder of Pilot City; also founder of AKA Urban, an advisory firm for public-sector building projects. \n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Pilot City\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.pilot.city/\"\u003ePilot City\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; A program of Renaissance Philanthropy aimed at strengthening state capacity by helping cities, counties, and regions tap into the scientific and technical expertise already present in their communities. Its flagship format is the Pitchfest — a bottom-up matchmaking event where government agency staff pitch problem statements and get paired with regional experts. Pilot City began in New York in 2023 and, with support from the Sloan Foundation and later Coefficient Giving, has since expanded the Pitchfest model to Boston, Hennepin County, and other regions.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Renaissance Philanthropy\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The organization producing Tacit Knowledge Podcast; Cara is a fellow there.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"All Together Now\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.alltogethernow.live/podcasts\"\u003eAll Together Now\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Cornell Tech\u0026#39;s Urban Tech Hub\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://urban.tech.cornell.edu/\"\u003eCornell Tech's Urban Tech Hub\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Where Eckholm did her original fellowship and where Pilot Pitchfest first launched.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://edc.nyc/\"\u003eNew York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The city agency partner from Eckholm's original fellowship research on agency innovation capabilities.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Alfred P. Sloan Foundation\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://sloan.org/\"\u003eAlfred P. Sloan Foundation\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Seed funder of the first Pitchfest event.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Al Roth\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/economic-sciences/2012/roth/facts/\"\u003eAl Roth\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Economist (Harvard, then Stanford), 2012 Nobel laureate in Economic Sciences for work on market design — the \"knock it out of the park\" example Cara cites, where a cold outreach from an NYC public servant led to Roth redesigning the city's high school matching process.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Mechanism design\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanism_design\"\u003eMechanism design\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The field of economics concerned with designing rules and institutions — like matching markets — to produce a desired outcome; the broader discipline Roth's work belongs to.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Medical residency match (NRMP)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.nrmp.org/about-nrmp/\"\u003eMedical residency match (NRMP)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The National Resident Matching Program, also known as \"The Match\" — uses the applicant-proposing algorithm that Roth's research built on and that also underlies the NYC high school match and kidney-exchange matching.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Dan Doctoroff\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_L._Doctoroff\"\u003eDan Doctoroff\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Former NYC Deputy Mayor for Economic Development (2002–2008), later CEO of Bloomberg L.P. and Sidewalk Labs — the boss's-boss Cara cold-emailed, which opened her path into city work.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Sidewalk Labs\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.sidewalklabs.com/\"\u003eSidewalk Labs\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Alphabet's urban-tech incubator, where Doctoroff later served as CEO and which Cara also applied to.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e","summary":"Cara Eckholm, a Renaissance Philanthropy fellow, talks about Pitch Fest, a matchmaking program that pairs city agencies' real problems with academics and civic technologists willing to help solve them, and reflects on the cold-emailing and risk-taking that shaped her own career path.","date_published":"2026-10-02T10:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/533cf1fe-3b2e-4415-ab19-f8818e7ecdbe/2464d313-2b97-4dbe-b3f6-ab794d58e38d.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":37812406,"duration_in_seconds":2298}]},{"id":"ab72cca2-4880-49cb-b198-874730b79652","title":"Chase Every Idea with Joshua Elliott","url":"https://www.tacitknowledgepodcast.com/chase-every-idea-with-joshua-elliott","content_text":"In this episode, host Kumar speaks with Joshua Elliott, Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy and a former prolific DARPA program officer. Joshua brings deep personal passion to climate work and is a constant source of ideas who also sharpens others’ program designs. \n\nJoshua discusses the Advance Research for Climate Emergencies (ARC) Initiative at Renaissance Philanthropy, through which the team identifies experts and ideas, incubates them from small seed grants into fully staffed build-grant programs, and launches them.\n\nJoshua traces his ambitious, technically rigorous approach to his years at DARPA, which gave him permission to chase ideas others called impossible. Widely sought out for mentorship, he talks about the Climate Emergency Forum and issues an appeal to scientists and nonprofit leaders.\n\n*Tacit Knowledge *\nHosted by Kumar Garg\nPresented by Renaissance Philanthropy\nSubscribe to our Substack\nProduced by All Together Now\n\nFOLLOW JOSHUA\n\nLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuawrightelliott/\n\nSubstack (The ARC): https://arcinit.substack.com/\n\nKEY QUESTIONS \u0026amp; TAKEAWAYS\n\nWhat is the \"Sulfur Tracking Program\" trying to figure out?\n\nAn in-development ARC initiative (still under a stealth name) aimed at launching small satellites and balloon-based sensors to resolve one of climate science's biggest open questions: how much of the Earth's declining reflectivity is due to falling aerosol pollution versus a warming-driven feedback loop that's itself reducing cloud cover.\n\nWhy might Earth's declining reflectivity be as big a driver of warming as greenhouse gases?\n\nNASA's CERES satellite data suggests the planet has lost enough reflectivity since 2000 to contribute roughly 2.7 W/m² of climate forcing — a number comparable to the instantaneous forcing from all greenhouse gases emitted since the Industrial Revolution. That comparison is still being finalized in peer review, but it points to a second, under-discussed pillar of climate change alongside emissions.\n\nWhy has industrial pollution been masking warming, and what happens as it's cleaned up?\n\nBurning fossil fuels releases sulfur dioxide and other aerosols that seed brighter, more reflective clouds. That pollution layer is estimated to be offsetting about half a degree of global warming — meaning, as Joshua puts it, we're already living in a \"near two-degree world\" that's been masked by the dirtiest possible form of accidental geoengineering. As pollution controls reduce aerosol emissions, that masking effect declines too.\n\nWhat's driving the rest of the loss in Arctic ice and cloud cover?\n\nAbout 30% of lost reflectivity comes from vanishing ice and snow cover (largely Arctic sea ice, mountain glaciers). The remaining majority comes from changes in cloud cover — and current observational and modeling capabilities can't yet disentangle how much of that is falling aerosol pollution versus a self-reinforcing, warming-induced feedback loop.\n\nWhy do the most accurate climate models predict more warming, not less?\n\nA recent study comparing the ~40 global climate models in the CMIP archive found that the models which most accurately reproduce observed changes in reflectivity and Earth's energy imbalance also tend to show 1.5–2x higher climate sensitivity than the model average. If those more accurate models are right, a projected 2.5–3°C future could actually be closer to 4.5–5°C.\n\nWhat is the Heilmeier Catechism, and how does Joshua use it?\n\nA set of pressure-testing questions developed by former DARPA director George Heilmeier to evaluate research proposals. Joshua distills it into four core questions he uses as a first-pass filter for any ambitious idea: what are you trying to do, who's doing it now and what's wrong with that, what's your big insight, and who cares.\n\nWhat are the ARC Initiative and BiTS?\n\nARC (Advanced Research for Climate Emergencies) is Renaissance Philanthropy's \"nonprofit venture studio\" model for finding experts and ideas and building them into fundable climate programs, incubating efforts like the Arctic Stabilization Initiative. BiTS (Big if True Science Accelerator) is a related program Joshua co-designed to teach scientists and engineers how to turn ambitious ideas into coordinated, fundable research programs — modeled on the DARPA program-manager playbook.\n\nOn program design and ambition\n\n\n  Joshua credits his time at DARPA with giving him \"permission\" to think in 20–40 year horizons and pursue ideas most people call impossible — his rule of thumb is that if fewer than 30% of the people you talk to say your idea is impossible, you're not being ambitious enough.\n  His approach to building expertise quickly is deliberately social: talking to 20 to 100 people in a dense stretch of time, using each conversation to get referred to others, rather than relying only on published research.\n  His most recent program-design insight is about timing: bringing in a wide group of field experts (a \"PI meeting\" or workshop) only once there's a strong-enough shared mental model to make the conversation productive — citing the \"forming, storming, norming, performing\" framework for how new groups become effective, and the goal of minimizing time spent \"storming.\"\nSpecial Guest: Joshua Elliott.Links:Joshua Elliott\n — Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy. Previously a Program Manager at DARPA's Information Innovation Office for six years, where he directed nearly $600M in federal R\u0026amp;D funding; before that, spent almost a decade in academia on computational climate economics and energy systems modeling at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory.\nRenaissance Philanthropy\n — The organization producing Tacit Knowledge Podcast, where Joshua leads climate and energy program development.\nAll Together Now\n — The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\nARC Initiative (Advanced Research for Climate Emergencies)\n — Renaissance Philanthropy's philanthropic fund and \"nonprofit venture studio\" for translational R\u0026amp;D on catastrophic climate risks — tipping points like ice sheet collapse, Arctic destabilization, and runaway methane emissions — which incubated the Arctic Stabilization Initiative.\nBiTS (Big if True Science Accelerator)\n — A 15-week accelerator co-designed and co-run by Joshua Elliott and JP Chretien (both former DARPA program managers) that teaches scientists and engineers how to turn ambitious ideas into fundable, coordinated research programs.\nNASA CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System)\n — The NASA satellite mission, operating continuously since March 2000, that measures Earth's energy imbalance — the data source behind Joshua's reflectivity-loss figures.\nHeilmeier Catechism\n — A set of questions developed by former DARPA director George H. Heilmeier to pressure-test research proposals; DARPA's official version lists eight questions, though Joshua describes using a compressed four-question version of his own in practice.\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eIn this episode, host Kumar speaks with Joshua Elliott, Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy and a former prolific DARPA program officer. Joshua brings deep personal passion to climate work and is a constant source of ideas who also sharpens others’ program designs. \u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJoshua discusses the Advance Research for Climate Emergencies (ARC) Initiative at Renaissance Philanthropy, through which the team identifies experts and ideas, incubates them from small seed grants into fully staffed build-grant programs, and launches them.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eJoshua traces his ambitious, technically rigorous approach to his years at DARPA, which gave him permission to chase ideas others called impossible. Widely sought out for mentorship, he talks about the Climate Emergency Forum and issues an appeal to scientists and nonprofit leaders.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e*\u003cem\u003eTacit Knowledge *\u003c/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nHosted by \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/KumarAGarg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eKumar Garg\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nPresented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://renaissancephilanthropy.substack.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eSubscribe to our Substack\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nProduced by \u003ca href=\"HTTPS://www.alltogethernow.live\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eAll Together Now\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eFOLLOW JOSHUA\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLinkedIn: \u003ca href=\"https://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuawrightelliott/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003ehttps://www.linkedin.com/in/joshuawrightelliott/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eSubstack (The ARC): \u003ca href=\"https://arcinit.substack.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003ehttps://arcinit.substack.com/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eKEY QUESTIONS \u0026amp; TAKEAWAYS\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat is the \"Sulfur Tracking Program\" trying to figure out?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAn in-development ARC initiative (still under a stealth name) aimed at launching small satellites and balloon-based sensors to resolve one of climate science's biggest open questions: how much of the Earth's declining reflectivity is due to falling aerosol pollution versus a warming-driven feedback loop that's itself reducing cloud cover.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhy might Earth's declining reflectivity be as big a driver of warming as greenhouse gases?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eNASA's CERES satellite data suggests the planet has lost enough reflectivity since 2000 to contribute roughly 2.7 W/m² of climate forcing — a number comparable to the instantaneous forcing from all greenhouse gases emitted since the Industrial Revolution. That comparison is still being finalized in peer review, but it points to a second, under-discussed pillar of climate change alongside emissions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhy has industrial pollution been masking warming, and what happens as it's cleaned up?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eBurning fossil fuels releases sulfur dioxide and other aerosols that seed brighter, more reflective clouds. That pollution layer is estimated to be offsetting about half a degree of global warming — meaning, as Joshua puts it, we're already living in a \"near two-degree world\" that's been masked by the dirtiest possible form of accidental geoengineering. As pollution controls reduce aerosol emissions, that masking effect declines too.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat's driving the rest of the loss in Arctic ice and cloud cover?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eAbout 30% of lost reflectivity comes from vanishing ice and snow cover (largely Arctic sea ice, mountain glaciers). The remaining majority comes from changes in cloud cover — and current observational and modeling capabilities can't yet disentangle how much of that is falling aerosol pollution versus a self-reinforcing, warming-induced feedback loop.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhy do the most accurate climate models predict more warming, not less?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA recent study comparing the ~40 global climate models in the CMIP archive found that the models which most accurately reproduce observed changes in reflectivity and Earth's energy imbalance also tend to show 1.5–2x higher climate sensitivity than the model average. If those more accurate models are right, a projected 2.5–3°C future could actually be closer to 4.5–5°C.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat is the Heilmeier Catechism, and how does Joshua use it?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eA set of pressure-testing questions developed by former DARPA director George Heilmeier to evaluate research proposals. Joshua distills it into four core questions he uses as a first-pass filter for any ambitious idea: what are you trying to do, who's doing it now and what's wrong with that, what's your big insight, and who cares.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat are the ARC Initiative and BiTS?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eARC (Advanced Research for Climate Emergencies) is Renaissance Philanthropy's \"nonprofit venture studio\" model for finding experts and ideas and building them into fundable climate programs, incubating efforts like the Arctic Stabilization Initiative. BiTS (Big if True Science Accelerator) is a related program Joshua co-designed to teach scientists and engineers how to turn ambitious ideas into coordinated, fundable research programs — modeled on the DARPA program-manager playbook.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOn program design and ambition\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  Joshua credits his time at DARPA with giving him \"permission\" to think in 20–40 year horizons and pursue ideas most people call impossible — his rule of thumb is that if fewer than 30% of the people you talk to say your idea is impossible, you're not being ambitious enough.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  His approach to building expertise quickly is deliberately social: talking to 20 to 100 people in a dense stretch of time, using each conversation to get referred to others, rather than relying only on published research.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e  His most recent program-design insight is about timing: bringing in a wide group of field experts (a \"PI meeting\" or workshop) only once there's a strong-enough shared mental model to make the conversation productive — citing the \"forming, storming, norming, performing\" framework for how new groups become effective, and the goal of minimizing time spent \"storming.\"\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecial Guest: Joshua Elliott.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLinks:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Joshua Elliott\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://renaissancephilanthropy.org/team/joshua-elliott\"\u003eJoshua Elliott\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy. Previously a Program Manager at DARPA's Information Innovation Office for six years, where he directed nearly $600M in federal R\u0026amp;D funding; before that, spent almost a decade in academia on computational climate economics and energy systems modeling at the University of Chicago and Argonne National Laboratory.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Renaissance Philanthropy\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The organization producing Tacit Knowledge Podcast, where Joshua leads climate and energy program development.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"All Together Now\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.alltogethernow.live/podcasts\"\u003eAll Together Now\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"ARC Initiative (Advanced Research for Climate Emergencies)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://arc.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\"\u003eARC Initiative (Advanced Research for Climate Emergencies)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Renaissance Philanthropy's philanthropic fund and \"nonprofit venture studio\" for translational R\u0026amp;D on catastrophic climate risks — tipping points like ice sheet collapse, Arctic destabilization, and runaway methane emissions — which incubated the Arctic Stabilization Initiative.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"BiTS (Big if True Science Accelerator)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/bits\"\u003eBiTS (Big if True Science Accelerator)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; A 15-week accelerator co-designed and co-run by Joshua Elliott and JP Chretien (both former DARPA program managers) that teaches scientists and engineers how to turn ambitious ideas into fundable, coordinated research programs.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"NASA CERES (Clouds and the Earth\u0026#39;s Radiant Energy System)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://ceres.larc.nasa.gov/\"\u003eNASA CERES (Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy System)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The NASA satellite mission, operating continuously since March 2000, that measures Earth's energy imbalance — the data source behind Joshua's reflectivity-loss figures.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Heilmeier Catechism\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.darpa.mil/work-with-us/heilmeier-catechism\"\u003eHeilmeier Catechism\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; A set of questions developed by former DARPA director George H. Heilmeier to pressure-test research proposals; DARPA's official version lists eight questions, though Joshua describes using a compressed four-question version of his own in practice.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e","summary":"Joshua Elliott, Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy, talks about the ARC Initiative's Sulfur Tracking Program, which aims to close a major gap in understanding how declining Earth reflectivity is accelerating climate change, and dives into his ambitious, DARPA-honed approach to program design.","date_published":"2026-10-02T10:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/533cf1fe-3b2e-4415-ab19-f8818e7ecdbe/ab72cca2-4880-49cb-b198-874730b79652.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":34806794,"duration_in_seconds":2117}]},{"id":"8eea27e2-da7f-45bd-83c7-341a0939f4be","title":"Go Where the Problem Is with Charlotte DeWald","url":"https://www.tacitknowledgepodcast.com/go-where-the-problem-is-with-charlotte-dewald","content_text":"In this episode, host Kumar talks to Charlotte DeWald, Director of the Arctic Stabilization Initiative (ASI) at Renaissance Philanthropy. Charlotte is a deep researcher who has spent her career studying runaway climate risks and figuring out what needs to be done to stop them. \n\nCharlotte discusses what drove her to assemble ASI's team and create a roadmap around that end goal from the start, and the advice and mindset that led her to make a deliberate departure from how she'd seen other organizations in the field start out. \n\nCharlotte talks about the role her delivery focus has played in her own career shift, growing impatient with research that wasn't translating into action fast enough, and what pushed her to build something explicitly designed to produce usable, actionable outputs. \n\nCharlotte’s fascinating story sheds light on how to find problems worth working on.\n\n*Tacit Knowledge *\nHosted by Kumar Garg\nPresented by Renaissance Philanthropy\nSubscribe to our Substack\nProduced by All Together Now\n\nFOLLOW CHARLOTTE\n\nLinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/charlottebeall\n\nKEY QUESTIONS AND TAKEAWAYS\n\nWhat is the Arctic Stabilization Initiative?\n\nHoused at Renaissance Philanthropy and directed by Charlotte DeWald, ASI is stage-gated research designed to give governments and multilateral organizations the safety, efficacy, and feasibility data they'd need to evaluate Arctic-targeted climate interventions — not to deploy interventions itself.\n\nWhy isn't decarbonization enough to stop Arctic tipping points?\n\nClimate action has three points of attack rather than two. Decarbonization and adaptation get the most attention, but neither addresses near-term \"tipping point\" risk already locked in by processes like sea ice loss and permafrost thaw. ASI focuses on the third arm: regional climate stabilization in the Arctic.\n\nWhat are Arctic tipping points?\n\nOnce certain climate thresholds are crossed, DeWald explains, the resulting state change is irreversible on human timescales — and the Arctic is where several of the most imminent thresholds converge, making it a first test case for humanity's tipping-point response.\n\nWhat types of Arctic climate intervention exist?\n\nThere are three broad categories: increasing atmospheric reflectivity, structurally reinforcing ice sheets and sea ice, and increasing atmospheric emissivity — helping trapped heat escape. DeWald's research focuses on the third and least-understood category.\n\nWhy do mixed-phase clouds warm the Arctic instead of cooling it?\n\nMixed-phase clouds cover roughly 60% of the Arctic and trend net-warming, not cooling. Because they sit low to the surface and much of the Arctic year has little sunlight to reflect, these clouds act more like a \"hat\" trapping heat than a shield blocking it.\n\nWhat is mixed-phase cloud thinning?\n\nThe proposed intervention is to nudge clouds into ice formation to help them dissipate. The mechanism relies on ice-nucleating particles — rare naturally occurring particles that trigger ice formation at temperatures far above freezing — a topic DeWald spent roughly a decade researching via shipboard instrumentation and national-lab modeling collaborations.\n\nIs Arctic cloud seeding a new or untested technology?\n\nThe approach is neglected, not infeasible. Cloud seeding and cloud shaping are established techniques; what's missing is the applied research connecting them specifically to Arctic stabilization. DeWald built the initiative largely by cold-calling experts across disciplines to pressure-test whether a five-year research agenda was viable.\n\nBeyond the science\n\n\n DeWald's path to ASI came from friction with the pace of climate science. After a decade studying aerosol-cloud interactions — widely regarded as one of climate science's most persistent uncertainties — she concluded that incremental scientific understanding wasn't translating into commensurate action, which pushed her toward field-building instead of continued lab research.\n Defining the \"end user\" early shaped ASI's structure. A conversation with a former U.S. diplomat (ex-UN envoy for East Africa, USAID) helped DeWald realize the initiative needed a diplomacy function from the outset — since the research is only useful if there's a clear pathway to the governments and multilateral bodies who'd act on it.\n DeWald's tacit-knowledge takeaway: talk to people, not just papers. Her throughline across the episode is that expertise compounds through networked conversation — knowing who to call, and being willing to call them — as much as through individual technical depth.\n\n\nOpen asks from the episode: DeWald is looking to connect with people in conservation (for perspective on intervention risk/tradeoffs), scientists developing Arctic sampling platforms or sensors, and anyone who can \"think programmatically\" about field-building. She's reachable via Substack and LinkedIn.Special Guest: Charlotte DeWald.Links:Charlotte DeWald\n — Program Director of the Arctic Stabilization Initiative at Renaissance Philanthropy. An atmospheric scientist specializing in ice-nucleating particles — the rare aerosols that trigger cloud ice formation — she holds a Ph.D. in Climate Science from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.\nArctic Stabilization Initiative (ASI)\n — A five-year, stage-gated research program producing the evidence governments and multilateral organizations would need to assess whether Arctic-targeted climate interventions are safe, effective, and feasible. Its first focus is Mixed-Phase Cloud Thinning.\nRenaissance Philanthropy\n — The organization producing this podcast and housing the Arctic Stabilization Initiative.\nAll Together Now\n — The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\nMixed-Phase Cloud Thinning (MCT)\n — The intervention ASI is evaluating first: seeding Arctic mixed-phase clouds — which cover roughly 60% of the Arctic and trend net-warming — to trigger ice formation and help them thin or dissipate, allowing trapped heat to escape.\nIce-nucleating particles\n — Rare naturally occurring particles that trigger ice formation in clouds at unusually warm temperatures — the subject of Charlotte's decade of prior research and the scientific foundation underpinning MCT.\nAerosol-cloud interactions\n — The broader, still highly uncertain field of climate science Charlotte spent a decade working in before founding ASI — studying how aerosols shape cloud behavior and, in turn, the Earth's radiative balance.\nDecarbonization and CDR (carbon dioxide removal)\n — The two dominant strategies in climate action that Charlotte argues are necessary but insufficient on their own to prevent near-term Arctic tipping points, given warming processes already underway.\nJoshua Elliott\n — Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy — the person Charlotte ultimately connected with through networked phone calls, whose own climate and RenPhil background helped bring ASI into being.\nNever Split the Difference by Chris Voss\n — The negotiation book Charlotte references as something she's currently studying. Note: the transcript mishears the author's name as \"Chris Fosse\" — corrected here to Chris Voss.\n","content_html":"\u003cp\u003eIn this episode, host Kumar talks to Charlotte DeWald, Director of the Arctic Stabilization Initiative (ASI) at Renaissance Philanthropy. Charlotte is a deep researcher who has spent her career studying runaway climate risks and figuring out what needs to be done to stop them. \u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCharlotte discusses what drove her to assemble ASI's team and create a roadmap around that end goal from the start, and the advice and mindset that led her to make a deliberate departure from how she'd seen other organizations in the field start out. \u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCharlotte talks about the role her delivery focus has played in her own career shift, growing impatient with research that wasn't translating into action fast enough, and what pushed her to build something explicitly designed to produce usable, actionable outputs. \u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eCharlotte’s fascinating story sheds light on how to find problems worth working on.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e*\u003cem\u003eTacit Knowledge *\u003c/em\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nHosted by \u003ca href=\"https://x.com/KumarAGarg\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eKumar Garg\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nPresented by \u003ca href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"https://renaissancephilanthropy.substack.com/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eSubscribe to our Substack\u003c/a\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\nProduced by \u003ca href=\"HTTPS://www.alltogethernow.live\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003eAll Together Now\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eFOLLOW CHARLOTTE\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eLinkedIn: \u003ca href=\"http://linkedin.com/in/charlottebeall\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"\u003elinkedin.com/in/charlottebeall\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch4\u003eKEY QUESTIONS AND TAKEAWAYS\u003c/h4\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat is the Arctic Stabilization Initiative?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eHoused at Renaissance Philanthropy and directed by Charlotte DeWald, ASI is stage-gated research designed to give governments and multilateral organizations the safety, efficacy, and feasibility data they'd need to evaluate Arctic-targeted climate interventions — not to deploy interventions itself.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhy isn't decarbonization enough to stop Arctic tipping points?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eClimate action has three points of attack rather than two. Decarbonization and adaptation get the most attention, but neither addresses near-term \"tipping point\" risk already locked in by processes like sea ice loss and permafrost thaw. ASI focuses on the third arm: regional climate stabilization in the Arctic.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat are Arctic tipping points?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eOnce certain climate thresholds are crossed, DeWald explains, the resulting state change is irreversible on human timescales — and the Arctic is where several of the most imminent thresholds converge, making it a first test case for humanity's tipping-point response.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat types of Arctic climate intervention exist?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThere are three broad categories: increasing atmospheric reflectivity, structurally reinforcing ice sheets and sea ice, and increasing atmospheric emissivity — helping trapped heat escape. DeWald's research focuses on the third and least-understood category.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhy do mixed-phase clouds warm the Arctic instead of cooling it?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eMixed-phase clouds cover roughly 60% of the Arctic and trend net-warming, not cooling. Because they sit low to the surface and much of the Arctic year has little sunlight to reflect, these clouds act more like a \"hat\" trapping heat than a shield blocking it.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eWhat is mixed-phase cloud thinning?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe proposed intervention is to nudge clouds into ice formation to help them dissipate. The mechanism relies on ice-nucleating particles — rare naturally occurring particles that trigger ice formation at temperatures far above freezing — a topic DeWald spent roughly a decade researching via shipboard instrumentation and national-lab modeling collaborations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eIs Arctic cloud seeding a new or untested technology?\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe approach is neglected, not infeasible. Cloud seeding and cloud shaping are established techniques; what's missing is the applied research connecting them specifically to Arctic stabilization. DeWald built the initiative largely by cold-calling experts across disciplines to pressure-test whether a five-year research agenda was viable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\n\u003ch5\u003eBeyond the science\u003c/h5\u003e\n\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e DeWald's path to ASI came from friction with the pace of climate science. After a decade studying aerosol-cloud interactions — widely regarded as one of climate science's most persistent uncertainties — she concluded that incremental scientific understanding wasn't translating into commensurate action, which pushed her toward field-building instead of continued lab research.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e Defining the \"end user\" early shaped ASI's structure. A conversation with a former U.S. diplomat (ex-UN envoy for East Africa, USAID) helped DeWald realize the initiative needed a diplomacy function from the outset — since the research is only useful if there's a clear pathway to the governments and multilateral bodies who'd act on it.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e DeWald's tacit-knowledge takeaway: talk to people, not just papers. Her throughline across the episode is that expertise compounds through networked conversation — knowing who to call, and being willing to call them — as much as through individual technical depth.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOpen asks from the episode:\u003c/strong\u003e DeWald is looking to connect with people in conservation (for perspective on intervention risk/tradeoffs), scientists developing Arctic sampling platforms or sensors, and anyone who can \"think programmatically\" about field-building. She's reachable via Substack and LinkedIn.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSpecial Guest: Charlotte DeWald.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eLinks:\u003c/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Charlotte DeWald\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.arcticstabilization.org/people\"\u003eCharlotte DeWald\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Program Director of the Arctic Stabilization Initiative at Renaissance Philanthropy. An atmospheric scientist specializing in ice-nucleating particles — the rare aerosols that trigger cloud ice formation — she holds a Ph.D. in Climate Science from Scripps Institution of Oceanography.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Arctic Stabilization Initiative (ASI)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.arcticstabilization.org/\"\u003eArctic Stabilization Initiative (ASI)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; A five-year, stage-gated research program producing the evidence governments and multilateral organizations would need to assess whether Arctic-targeted climate interventions are safe, effective, and feasible. Its first focus is Mixed-Phase Cloud Thinning.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Renaissance Philanthropy\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.renaissancephilanthropy.org/\"\u003eRenaissance Philanthropy\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The organization producing this podcast and housing the Arctic Stabilization Initiative.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"All Together Now\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.alltogethernow.live/podcasts\"\u003eAll Together Now\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The content studio and production company that developed and produces the Tacit Knowledge podcast.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Mixed-Phase Cloud Thinning (MCT)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.arcticstabilization.org/initiatives#mct\"\u003eMixed-Phase Cloud Thinning (MCT)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The intervention ASI is evaluating first: seeding Arctic mixed-phase clouds — which cover roughly 60% of the Arctic and trend net-warming — to trigger ice formation and help them thin or dissipate, allowing trapped heat to escape.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Ice-nucleating particles\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1029/2021RG000745\"\u003eIce-nucleating particles\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Rare naturally occurring particles that trigger ice formation in clouds at unusually warm temperatures — the subject of Charlotte's decade of prior research and the scientific foundation underpinning MCT.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Aerosol-cloud interactions\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://research.tudelft.nl/en/publications/an-overview-of-aerosol-cloud-interactions/\"\u003eAerosol-cloud interactions\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The broader, still highly uncertain field of climate science Charlotte spent a decade working in before founding ASI — studying how aerosols shape cloud behavior and, in turn, the Earth's radiative balance.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Decarbonization and CDR (carbon dioxide removal)\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg3/downloads/outreach/IPCC_AR6_WGIII_Factsheet_CDR.pdf\"\u003eDecarbonization and CDR (carbon dioxide removal)\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The two dominant strategies in climate action that Charlotte argues are necessary but insufficient on their own to prevent near-term Arctic tipping points, given warming processes already underway.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Joshua Elliott\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://renaissancephilanthropy.org/team/joshua-elliott\"\u003eJoshua Elliott\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; Chief Scientist at Renaissance Philanthropy — the person Charlotte ultimately connected with through networked phone calls, whose own climate and RenPhil background helped bring ASI into being.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003cli\u003e\u003ca title=\"Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss\" rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https://bookshop.org/p/books/never-split-the-difference-negotiating-as-if-your-life-depended-on-it-chris-voss/4394d53c8446c052\"\u003eNever Split the Difference by Chris Voss\n\u003c/a\u003e \u0026mdash; The negotiation book Charlotte references as something she's currently studying. Note: the transcript mishears the author's name as \"Chris Fosse\" — corrected here to Chris Voss.\n\u003c/li\u003e\u003c/ul\u003e","summary":"Charlotte DeWald, Director of Renaissance Philanthropy's Arctic Stabilization Initiative, discusses building a five-year research program to give governments the evidence they need to assess Arctic-targeted climate interventions like mixed-phase cloud thinning.","date_published":"2026-10-01T14:00:00.000-04:00","attachments":[{"url":"https://aphid.fireside.fm/d/1437767933/533cf1fe-3b2e-4415-ab19-f8818e7ecdbe/8eea27e2-da7f-45bd-83c7-341a0939f4be.mp3","mime_type":"audio/mpeg","size_in_bytes":28621559,"duration_in_seconds":1727}]}]}