The Michael Peres Podcast

Catching up on another episode with Jesse Shrader – environmental engineer turned Bitcoin infrastructure builder – as he unpacks how building sewer systems unexpectedly prepared him to build financial pipes for the future of money. From wastewater treatment to decentralized liquidity markets, Jesse shares how open-source technology, renewable mining, and the Lightning Network are reshaping what Bitcoin can actually do. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Jesse’s background in environmental engineering led him to co-found Amboss and build infrastructure for Bitcoin’s Lightning Network. • Why Bitcoin mining isn’t as “dirty” as critics claim—and how renewable energy and stranded power (like hydro in Africa) are part of the story. • What makes Bitcoin different from altcoins—and why “the next Bitcoin is Bitcoin.” • How the Lightning Network adds speed and privacy without compromising Bitcoin’s 21-million supply and auditability. • Whether quantum computing and SHA-256 encryption are real threats—or just headline-grabbing narratives.

Michael Peres sits down with Chip Carter — creator and host of Where the Food Comes From — to explore one of the most fascinating questions of our time: How will we grow food in space? After thousands of farm visits and decades in media, Chip’s journey has taken him from small-town farming roots to standing on a NASA launch pad — and now into conversations about feeding astronauts on the Moon and beyond. Together, they dive into lunar soil experiments, zero-gravity farming, the Artemis program, and what it really takes to grow lettuce where DoorDash doesn’t deliver. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Chip went from wanting to “get out of farming” to telling agriculture’s untold tech stories • Why modern farming is powered by robotics, AI, drones, and blockchain • How scientists successfully grew plants in actual lunar regolith • The challenge of watering crops in zero-gravity • Why the Moon is becoming a launch platform for deep space exploration • How bio-unit lunar farms could create breathable atmosphere and grow food on the Moon • What growing plants in space reveals about life beyond Earth

Catching up with Les Johnson, former Chief Technology Officer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and veteran space technologist with a forty year career in aerospace, as he digs into the real engineering behind interplanetary travel, solar sails, nuclear rockets, and the future of humanity in space. From leading advanced propulsion programs at NASA to writing both hard science and science fiction, Les brings a rare mix of technical depth and big picture perspective. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Les went from a 12 year old kid dreaming of NASA to Chief Technology Officer at Marshall Space Flight Center • How solar sails and nuclear thermal rockets really work – and why they may be key to deep space and Mars missions • What makes sustaining life on Mars so difficult, especially when it comes to radiation and long term survival • How Les thinks about existential risks like AI, nuclear war, and quantum computing as “slow catastrophes” rather than movie style disasters • Why he’s skeptical we must have a single “theory of everything” and how his liberal arts background helps him explain complex physics to everyday people

Michael Peres is joined by Markus Levin, co-founder of XYO and a veteran entrepreneur with 15+ years building and scaling tech companies around the world. After mining his first Bitcoin in 2013, Markus became deeply involved in blockchain, data infrastructure, and new business models at the edge of Web3, AI, and robotics. Today, he’s focused on decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) and how they can unlock the next generation of real-world automation. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How decentralized physical infrastructure networks (DePIN) could become the missing verification layer robots need to operate safely outside controlled environments • Why AI-driven, blockchain-backed sensor networks may be critical for helping robots confirm that what they “see” is actually real • How DePIN-based consensus systems could tackle one of robotics’ biggest limitations: filtering, ranking, and challenging unreliable sensory data in dynamic environments • Ways decentralized networks can add transparency, resilience, and trust to robot decision-making without relying on a single vendor or cloud provider • Why the combination of edge AI, DePIN sensors, and distributed verification might become the foundation for truly scalable, real-world autonomous machines

Catching up on another episode with Lisa Linkowsky, CEO and founder of Milestone Franchising — as she delivers a refreshingly honest, no-fluff look at what franchising really is (and definitely isn’t). From working full-time while earning her business degree to becoming a multi-unit franchise owner, Lisa shares how franchising found her at a pivotal moment and why realistic expectations are the difference between success and failure. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Lisa transitioned from marketing, project management, and brand ambassadorship into franchising—without ever planning to. • Why franchising can offer powerful work-life balance and built-in support, but only for people who can truly follow a system. • The real cost-benefit breakdown of franchising, including royalties, control, and what happens when corporate ownership changes. • The most common reasons franchises fail—from ego and lack of due diligence to having no real differentiator. • Why Lisa believes franchising could be a smart alternative for families facing rising college costs and an AI-disrupted job market.

Michael Peres is joined by Chris Kline — co-founder and COO of Bitcoin IRA — as we dive deep into the evolution of crypto retirement investing, the psychology of Bitcoin adoption, and why long-term thinking may be the most powerful strategy in volatile markets. From launching the world’s first cryptocurrency IRA to overseeing more than $14 billion in assets under custody, Chris shares how alternative assets, tax strategy, and conviction investing intersect in the future of finance. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Chris went from graduating during the 2008 financial crisis to building Bitcoin IRA. • Why Bitcoin’s long-term performance and scarcity make it compelling for retirement portfolios. • The difference between Traditional, Roth, and SEP IRAs and how crypto fits into each. • How taxes silently erode crypto gains and why tax-advantaged accounts matter. • The role institutional adoption, ETFs, and macroeconomics play in Bitcoin’s future. • Why the retirement crisis is growing and what individuals can do today to prepare. • How AI, blockchain, and digital payments could reshape the global financial system. • The psychology behind Bitcoin investing, volatility, and long-term conviction.

Catching up with Dr. Nidhi Gupta — pediatric endocrinologist turned leading voice in digital wellness — for a conversation that gets real about screen addiction, dopamine, and what it actually takes to reclaim your attention. Dr. Gupta is a bestselling author (Calm the Noise), TEDx speaker, and the founder of the Phreedom Foundation, where she helps families and organizations rebuild healthier relationships with technology. We go beyond the usual “limit your screen time” advice and dig into the hidden physical and behavioral consequences she’s seeing in clinic — plus how AI is changing the stakes even further. If you’ve ever looked up after “one quick scroll” and realized 25 minutes disappeared, this episode is for you. In this episode, you’ll learn: • Why screen addiction isn’t a kid problem — it’s a human problem (and adults set the blueprint). • The “tool vs trap” mindset shift that changes everything about how you use your phone. • How dopamine-driven habits connect to serotonin, oxytocin, and endorphins — and why that matters for motivation and mood. • What she’s seeing firsthand in children: sedentary health impacts, cravings, anxiety spirals, and escalating behaviors. • How to talk to kids about screens without stigmatizing them — and what to focus on instead of “policing.” • Why workplace distraction is the productivity leak nobody wants to talk about — and how attention recovery really works. • The surprising way digital wellness changed Dr. Gupta’s food choices (and what cheesecake has to do with it).

Michael Peres is joined by Ayush Jain, tech entrepreneur, author, and CEO/co-founder of Mindbowser, an award-winning digital transformation services company. With a hands-on approach to building and launching software products, Ayush has helped enterprises across sectors harness applied AI, modern architectures, and practical innovation to thrive in an increasingly digital world. Today, a major focus of his work is using AI to transform how digital health solutions are designed, delivered, and scaled in real clinical environments. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How AI is fundamentally changing the way digital health solutions are built compared to traditional healthcare technology • Real-world examples of applied AI driving breakthroughs in remote patient monitoring and diagnostics • The biggest challenges startups face when integrating AI into healthcare products, from data privacy to regulatory compliance • How AI can help clinicians and healthcare organizations make better, faster decisions without drowning them in noise • Frameworks and best practices Ayush and his teams use to build and scale AI-powered healthcare platforms in complex, highly regulated environments

Stepping into the future of healthcare with Moghis Uddin – founder of Alethian AI – as he shares how personal tragedy, financial leadership, and frontline pandemic experience led him to build one of the most ambitious AI healthcare platforms on the market today. From managing investment funds to developing a HIPAA-compliant, agentic AI system designed to automate clinical workflows end-to-end, Moghis breaks down how AI is transforming patient care, doctor burnout, and global healthcare accessibility. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Moghis’ journey from computer science to genetic engineering, finance, and healthcare shaped the vision behind Alethian AI. • Why clinical workflow automation can reduce administrative burden, eliminate after-hours charting, and improve patient-doctor interactions. • How Alethian AI’s live conversational scribe, agentic HPI intake, and CPT billing support are redefining real-time medical documentation. • The three types of burnout doctors face today: click fatigue, talk fatigue, and note fatigue – and how AI can solve them. • How AI-driven triage and multilingual healthcare tools could expand access to care in underserved regions worldwide. • The ethical and philosophical debate around AI replacing or enhancing human-centered healthcare. • Why Moghis believes AI-assisted preventative medicine and autonomous clinical support will reshape the healthcare industry over the next decade.

Michael Peres sits down with Leo Wang, Vice President of Capital Markets and Corporate Development at Canaan Inc., where he leads investor relations, capital markets strategy, and strategic transactions for the publicly listed Bitcoin ASIC manufacturer. From growing up in a small city in China to earning law and economics degrees at Peking University, passing the New York Bar after Columbia Law School, and working on cross-border deals in Beijing, New York, Hong Kong, and mainland China, Leo has built a career at the intersection of law, finance, and deep tech. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Leo’s early fascination with financial law and economics at Peking University set the foundation for a global capital markets career • What he learned working at major U.S. law firms in Beijing, New York, and Hong Kong on public transactions, VC, M&A, and capital markets deals • How a move into smart home electronics – with R&D in China and brand/marketing in the U.S. – exposed him to the realities of hardware, cloud services, and early “connected” products • Lessons from trying to take a Chinese electronics company public and later overseeing public companies listed across three different exchanges • Why he chose to leave a senior capital markets role to reunite with his family in California during the pandemic • How that decision led him to Canaan and what it actually looks like to run capital markets and corporate development inside a Bitcoin ASIC manufacturer

Michael Peres sits down with Dr. Danielle Kelvas, a physician-entrepreneur who has worked in level-one trauma centers, volunteered in global health across 40+ countries, and built a career in concierge medicine. Today, she brings that frontline clinical experience into the world of medical marketing, helping health tech and medical device brands translate complex science into patient-centered stories that build trust and drive real-world impact. Her campaigns have generated over $400M in value for clients, and she now serves as a fractional executive and in-demand speaker. In this episode, you’ll learn: • What ultimately prompted Danielle’s career switch from direct patient care into full-time medical marketing • Why she believes modern marketing leaders in healthcare need real clinical experience, not just generic brand or agency chops • How she’s using and evaluating new AI tools in medicine – and the reservations she has about how quickly AI is taking over • How medical marketing is likely to change in 2026, from regulation and trust to content, channels, and patient expectations • Her advice for marketing professionals who want to niche down into medicine and actually earn credibility with clinicians and patients

Michael Peres sits down with Dr. Elizabeth Hoefer, a leading Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractor, founder of Well-Connected Chiropractic in Mission Viejo, and Chair of the California Chiropractic Association House of Delegates. A former musical theater kid who became a single mom before finding her calling in chiropractic, Dr. Hoefer now specializes in gentle, precision-based care for neurological health and concussion recovery – and is helping redefine what modern chiropractic can be. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How advanced 3D imaging and thermographic analysis are replacing forceful “crack-and-go” adjustments – and why precision beats force • Why chasing symptoms fails patients, and how correcting misalignments at the critical brain–spine junction can influence the entire body • What sets Blair Upper Cervical work apart from traditional chiropractic approaches • The journey to earning elite credentials like the DCCJP, and how expertise and education build real patient confidence • How Dr. Hoefer launched her own practice, survived a global pandemic, and built a thriving healthcare business as a first-time founder • What it looks like to run a busy practice and train the next generation as a board-certified instructor for the Blair Upper Cervical Chiropractic Society

Catching up on another episode with Dr. Tuan Cao, Cornell-trained computer scientist turned biotech visionary, as he shares how a childhood steeped in Eastern medicine and a career building petabyte-scale systems at Google led him to reimagine global healthcare through AI. From growing up in Vietnam helping his physician father prepare traditional remedies to architecting some of the world’s most advanced data infrastructure, Tuan explains why today’s “sick-care” model is broken, and how Life.ai is bringing healthcare back to its original purpose: caring for life, not profiting from illness. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Dr. Cao’s upbringing in a medical family and PhD research at Cornell shaped his belief in prevention-first, life-centric healthcare. • What working on exabyte-scale, globally distributed systems at Google taught him about building infrastructure that can truly serve humanity. • Why over 99% of genomic research historically focused on Western populations—and how Life.ai began by closing that gap for Asian and underrepresented communities. • What Life.ai really is: a “Google DeepMind for life care,” offering a one-stop marketplace for personalized, AI-driven health and prevention tools. • How genomics, gut-brain health, lifestyle data, and medical devices can work together to predict and prevent disease before symptoms appear. • Why understanding your own biology and personality—from disease risk to introversion—can dramatically improve long-term health and quality of life.

Catching up on another powerful episode with Christian Espinosa, founder & CEO of Blue Goat Cyber, U.S. Air Force veteran, and one of the leading voices in medical device cybersecurity — as he breaks down the real-world risks behind life-critical technology and what happens when security fails. From growing up in chaos to protecting devices that literally keep people alive, Christian shares how curiosity, resilience, and lived experience shaped his mission. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Christian’s upbringing and Air Force experience forged his disciplined, risk-based approach to cybersecurity. • Why humans are still the weakest link in security—and how social engineering leads to near-100% breach success. • How AI is changing cyber warfare, turning simple “door-rattling” attacks into fully automated, intelligent threats. • What medical device cybersecurity really means—from infusion pumps and pacemakers to AI-powered surgical robots. • The life-threatening consequences of ransomware in hospitals—and why protecting these systems is no longer optional.

Catching up on another deep-dive episode with Hunter Rogers, co-founder of TeraHash and a decade-long crypto veteran, as he breaks down what actually matters in Bitcoin and why most hype-driven narratives don’t survive the long term. From traveling the world with Tron and speaking at Harvard, MIT, and Princeton to building Bitcoin-native yield infrastructure, Hunter shares hard-earned lessons from multiple market cycles and explains why real value beats speculation every time. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Hunter’s 10-year journey as a trader, investor, and ecosystem builder shaped his conviction in Bitcoin’s long-term future. • What working inside Tron taught him about hype cycles, stablecoin adoption, and what actually scales in crypto. • Why NFTs, metaverse projects, meme coins, and AI narratives came and went—and what separates noise from real solutions. • The case for Bitcoin hashrate yield and how TeraHash aims to make it transparent, institutional-grade, and bear-market resilient. • How institutions, governments, and a shifting cycle structure may be reshaping the traditional four-year Bitcoin narrative.

Michael Peres interviews Brooke Lively, a scaling strategist who helps law firm leaders grow with clarity, traction, and sustainable profitability. A serial entrepreneur with an MBA, a CFA, and two decades in the legal industry, Brooke blends sharp financial insight with a very human approach to growth. She’s also an international bestselling author of eight books for law firms, with her latest work focused on using EOS (Entrepreneurial Operating System) to scale. In this episode, you’ll learn: • Why Brooke jokes that her undergrad in Western European history, language, and culture “qualified her to do nothing” – but made her a great dinner guest • How a family full of lawyers and a stint at a hedge fund unexpectedly pulled her into the legal world • The moment her father’s firm broke up and how stepping in to “help” turned into a full career in law firm finance and operations • The biggest blind spots law firm owners have around numbers, cash flow, and growth • How EOS fits into the realities of small and midsize law firms – and what actually changes when you implement it properly • Practical ways firm leaders can build more profit, more control, and less chaos into their businesses

Michael Peres is joined by Jon Fry, CEO and founder of Lendflow, an embedded lending platform powered by AI that helps fintechs, lenders, and vertical SaaS companies launch credit products faster. With a background in accounting and finance from the University of Texas at Austin and experience building channel growth at Quickline Credit, Jon now focuses on the infrastructure layer that lets others build smarter, more efficient lending programs on top of Lendflow. In this episode, you’ll learn: • What Lendflow actually does and how embedded lending works inside fintech and SaaS products • Why Lendflow is not a lender itself and instead focuses on the infrastructure and technology layer • How the platform helps lenders issue SMB and consumer loans more efficiently without sacrificing underwriting quality • The distribution problem in traditional lending and why brute-force marketing makes credit more expensive and less effective • How embedded lending uses real-time software data to offer financing at the right moment and place (like point-of-sale or inside a workflow) • Why bringing loan products to where customers already are can lower acquisition costs and improve the borrower experience

Michael Peres welcomes Laura Jaye Cramer, a brand strategist, writer, and founder of Cowboy Media & Marketing and its publishing arm, Waiting Room Publishing, which produces five magazine titles including Candlelight Magazine and Clarity Magazine. Based in Seattle and originally from Colorado, Laura focuses on print media for end-of-life and senior living industries, telling nuanced, human-centered stories in spaces most people don’t like to talk about – but everyone eventually faces. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Laura went from professional ballet dancer (on contract by age 15–16) to newsroom writer with zero formal college education • The moment a San Francisco editor asked her to review ballet, and how one hesitant “yes” led to a career in media • What it’s really like to build a life and career without a degree – from Googling everything on the job to quietly carrying impostor feelings • How she thinks her life might have been different with college, and why she’s not convinced debt and a diploma would have been better • The origin story of Cowboy Media & Marketing and Waiting Room Publishing, and why she chose to specialize in end-of-life and senior living print • How her non-traditional background informs the way she builds brands, tells stories, and serves audiences dealing with grief, aging, and transition

Catching up on an inspiring episode with Stephen Keighery — Australian entrepreneur turned U.S. real estate investor — as he shares the unconventional path that took him from Bondi Beach to building a $315M ASX-listed company, and then starting over again in Louisiana. From founding High Pages Group and scaling it to 300 employees and 35,000+ paying customers, to walking away from corporate life and tackling distressed real estate in New Orleans, Stephen breaks down the mindset, risks, and reinvention required to build meaningful businesses across borders. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How a Robert Kiyosaki seminar completely changed Stephen’s trajectory and pushed him toward entrepreneurship. • What it really takes to scale a marketplace business to an IPO — and why Stephen chose to step away at the peak. • The cultural differences between entrepreneurship in Australia and the United States, including the “tall poppy syndrome.” • How Stephen transitioned from tech and marketing into real estate by applying two-sided marketplace principles. • Why New Orleans became home — and how he’s reducing blight and expanding housing through distressed property investing. • The pressures of building a business under a U.S. E-2 investor visa and what entrepreneurs should know about the process. • Stephen’s low-pressure, Aikido-style approach to sales and why listening beats arguing every time. • Advice for young entrepreneurs willing to fail nine times to win once.

Catching up on another episode with Duane Varan – CEO of MediaPet.ai and pioneering media scientist – as he breaks down how decades of academic research, neurometrics, and AI collided to reshape the future of advertising! From running real-world experiments on the impact of television to leading Disney’s innovation lab, Duane shares the long, unexpected journey that led to building an AI video platform capable of producing near-real, high-performing ads at scale. In this episode, you’ll learn: • How Duane’s PhD research studying the introduction of TV on remote Pacific islands sparked a lifelong focus on media science. • Why traditional focus groups fail—and how neurometrics like EEG, eye tracking, and facial analysis reveal what people actually feel. • The hidden problem with concept testing in advertising and how generative AI finally cracked it. • How MediaPet.ai achieved a shocking 98% performance match with real, top-tier brand ads. • Why rapid AI advancement is both an opportunity and a constant pressure for founders building at the edge of innovation.