Podcasts
192. Reading Between the Dyes: Roya Aghighi Unlocks Biological Pigments at Lite-1
Ever wonder why the color in your clothes comes at such a heavy cost to the planet? On this episode of the Grow Everything podcast, Karl and Erum keep their BioDye series going with Roya Aghighi, the founder of Lite-1.…
188. Which Came First: Chicken, Egg, or Medicine? Neion Bio Turns Evolution into a Precision Factory
What happens when an evolutionary biologist and an aerospace engineer both arrive at the same conclusion — that the future of drug manufacturing isn't steel, it's biology? In this episode, Karl Schmieder and Erum Azeez Khan sit down with Sam…
186. N.Y. Tech Week Live Demo: Engineering the Future of Manufacturing with Roebling’s Brentan Alexander
Recorded live at New York Tech Week, Karl and Erum sit down with Brenton Alexander (CTO at Roebling) to unpack one of the biggest bottlenecks in scaling “biology as technology”: figuring out what it really takes to design and finance…
183. The American Biotech Blueprint: Senator Todd Young on Biodiversity as National Security
Senator Todd Young joins the Grow Everything podcast to discuss the critical intersection of biotechnology and national security, sharing how his military background, Indiana roots, and role as chairman of the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology shaped his understanding…
182. SynBioBeta 2026 Recap, It’s Biologist Approved
Karl and Erum are back from SynBio Beta 2026 in San Jose — and they brought home an Impact Award. In this special recap episode, they break down the biggest moments from the conference: Neon's audacious plan to engineer chicken…
181. Can Hue Believe It? Gerit Tolborg’s Quest for Pure Color at Chromologics
Gerit Tolborg, CEO and co-founder of Chromologics, joins Karl and Erum to explore how filamentous fungi can replace synthetic and plant-extracted food dyes with a fermentation-derived red pigment called Tellurin. Gerit shares how a PhD discovery in Denmark led to…