Sabrina Pasterski is a theoretical physicist at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Canada. She built a plane at twelve, graduated top of her class at MIT, earned her PhD at Harvard, and is now leading one of the most ambitious research programs in modern physics. Stephen Hawking cited her work. And people are calling her the next Einstein.

This episode is about her. And honestly it is one of my favourite ones I have done.

Here is the thing about physics that I never really understood until I started researching this episode. It has two languages. One describes the very small. One describes the very large. Both work incredibly well on their own. And they fundamentally don't agree with each other. For a hundred years the smartest people on the planet have been trying to fix that. Sabrina is one of the people working closest to cracking it.

This is the patch:

• The problem: why physics has two languages that don't speak to each other and why that tension is at the heart of everything we don't yet understand about the universe
• The work: what celestial holography actually is and why it might be the bridge physicists have been searching for
• The person: a first generation Cuban-American from Chicago public schools who built a plane before she could drive and put the whole thing on YouTube

In the lifestyle segment I get into why this one felt personal, and what it means to have one of the most important scientific minds in the world working in Waterloo.

All views expressed are my own.

India hosted the AI Impact Summit, bringing together global tech leaders, heads of state, and record-setting commitments around responsible AI. Beyond the headlines, the week signalled a shift in who shapes artificial intelligence and how it is deployed at scale.

India represents roughly one in five people on earth, yet until recently received only a small share of global AI funding. That tension sits at the center of this episode.

I walk through three things that stood out and why they matter.

This is the patch:

• Responsibility: a Guinness World Record for AI responsibility pledges and what governance at scale looks like
• Adoption: 100 million weekly ChatGPT users and how usage shapes product evolution
• Infrastructure: billions invested in GPUs, data centers, and undersea cables to build AI at national scale

Together, these forces position India not just as a consumer of AI, but as a serious participant in defining its future.

In the lifestyle segment, I share a Lunar New Year dinner ritual with friends and the simple rule we created to stay connected in busy seasons of life.

All views expressed are my own.

Welcome to season three of patchperfect! To kick things off, I'm doing something a little different. I sat down with my 93-year-old grandfather, Papa Ben, for a coffee chat about technology, connection, and what actually matters when the world keeps moving faster.

This episode features someone who's lived through almost a century of innovation. We're talking Ford Model Ts with literal hand cranks, telex machines that punched dots into tape, and the moment email changed everything. Papa Ben takes us from a time when his family's first refrigerator was revolutionary (and half the size of what we have today) to his surprisingly nuanced take on AI and why he finds Teslas genuinely overwhelming.

This is the patch:

• what life actually looked like before electricity and running hot water
• how the internet compressed business communication from days into minutes
• why social media never really stuck for him (spoiler: he'd rather just call you)
• his honest thoughts on AI... the promise, the dangers, and what we lose when machines do our thinking

At its core, this is about choosing presence over productivity, staying connected to people not just platforms, and showing up for yourself even when no one else is watching. We close with the lifestyle segment where Papa Ben shares his daily routine (suited up by 10 AM, even working from home), his signature scent (Mr. Burberry), and the book that changed his life at 18: How to Win Friends and Influence People.

This one's special. Cross-generational wisdom, a tech history lesson you won't find in textbooks, and a reminder that attitude matters more than any algorithm.

PS: You probably noticed the rebrand. New cover art, fresh look. Thank you to @sandybrav on the new look, and check out our patch photoshoot playlist :)

All views expressed are my own.

In this season two finale of patchperfect, we close out the year with a story that brings together tech, discipline, and modern leadership in a powerful way.

This episode spotlights Luana Lopes Lara, the youngest self made woman billionaire in the world and co founder of Kalshi⁠, the regulated prediction market reshaping how people think about future events. Before fintech, before MIT, and long before building an eleven billion dollar exchange, Luana was training as a professional ballerina. Years at the barre built the discipline, focus, and patience that later became foundational to how she builds and leads.

This is the patch:

• what prediction markets actually are and how they work
• why regulation became Kalshi's true competitive advantage
• ⁠how the company fought and won a historic legal battle⁠

At its core, this episode is about trusting the process, doing the work long before the outcome is obvious, staying steady when progress feels slow, and letting consistency quietly compound over time.

Thank you so much for listening to season two of patchperfect. We will be back in February 2026 with season three and more conversations at the intersection of big tech ideas and the humans building them.

All views expressed are my own.

Can a background in broadcast journalism actually make you a stronger product designer? In this episode of patchperfect, I sit down with Grace Donoso⁠, managing director of content at BlackBerry and former UX designer, to talk about her non linear path from the arts into the fast paced world of cybersecurity.

We get into the craft of user experience, why the best designed products feel almost effortless to use, and how thoughtful content design can lead the way in building better software. Grace shares how she writes simply about complex technology, introduces the idea of invisible value, meaning how to build trust and urgency without overwhelming users, and walks through her outlining process for staying authentic in the age of AI.

This is the patch:

• why great UX often feels invisible when it is done well
• how content design shapes how people experience products
• what invisible value means in building trust with users
• how to stay clear and authentic when writing about complex tech

At its core, this episode is about designing with empathy and realizing that storytelling and systems thinking are more connected than they seem.

We close with a lifestyle segment on Grace's go to West Coast athleisure for staying grounded in Seattle, including trail run staples from Lululemon, Nike, and Beyond Yoga.

If you are curious about how creativity, communication, and product design intersect, this episode will give you a fresh way to think about building better experiences.

All views expressed are my own.

In this episode of patchperfect, we take a step back from the AI buzz to ask one of the biggest questions showing up in headlines right now: are we in an AI bubble?

AI is clearly here to stay, but when hype and investment start moving faster than real progress, things can get shaky. We look back at the dot com era to unpack what people actually mean when they talk about an AI bubble, where the real bottlenecks are today, especially around infrastructure and energy, and how this moment compares to past tech cycles that ultimately reshaped the global economy.

This is the patch:

• what people really mean when they talk about an AI bubble
• how today's AI moment compares to the dot com era
• where the real constraints are, from compute to energy
• why long term value usually looks different from short term hype

At its core, this episode is about separating signal from noise and understanding how big technology shifts actually mature over time.

We close with a lifestyle segment featuring the first patchperfect holiday work gift guide, a curated list of thoughtful and elevated picks for family, friends, coworkers, and yes, something for yourself too.

If you want a calmer and more grounded take on AI right now, plus a little holiday shopping help, this episode has you covered. All views expressed are my own.

patchperfect gift guide:
frank green ceramic water bottle

belkin boostcharge pro 3 in 1 station

papier foiled planner

smythson personalized stationery

slip pure silk sleep mask

caudalie beauty elixir

supergoop unseen sunscreen

patchperfect is officially at episode 21, and we are marking the moment with a forward looking dive into the tech shaping 2026. In this episode, I am guided by futurist and Forbes columnist Bernard Marr⁠ as we walk through his biggest predictions for the year and what they actually mean in practice.⁠

We get into AI's growing energy demands, the shift toward more practical quantum computing, and how agentic AI is about to reshape the way we work. We also talk about why human nuance, taste, and emotional intelligence become real competitive advantages as AI moves from reaction to reinvention.

This is the patch:

• why AI infrastructure and energy use are becoming major strategic issues
• what practical progress in quantum computing actually looks like
• how agentic AI could change everyday workflows
• why human judgment and creativity still matter in automated systems

At its core, this episode is about understanding what the next phase of technology may require from both systems and people.

We close with a lifestyle segment looking ahead to 2026 with my friend Liz Cox, a postdoctoral research scientist at Harvard Medical School. We break down the workwear and wellness trends we expect to see next year and how to stay grounded, stylish, and confident heading into January.

If you like smart forecasts paired with a fresh year reset, this episode is for you.

All views expressed are my own.

This week on patchperfect, we kick things off with a quick look at the 2025 Spotify Wrapped drop, then shift into a spotlight on ⁠Mira Murati⁠, former OpenAI CTO and now founder of Thinking Machines Lab.⁠

Raised in post communist Albania, Mira found stability early on in math and physics before building a career that took her through Goldman Sachs in Tokyo, Tesla's Model X and Autopilot teams, Leap Motion, and ultimately OpenAI, where she helped shape dialogue based interfaces like ChatGPT. We talk about her new startup's tool, Tinker, and how it is making fine tuning models like Llama more accessible even for small teams with minimal code.

This is the patch:

• how modern AI tooling is becoming more developer friendly
• why fine tuning matters for building useful models
• what the next wave of AI platforms may look like beyond big labs
• how individual builders are shaping the direction of the field

At its core, this episode is about access, and how lowering technical barriers can change who gets to build with AI.

We close with a lifestyle segment on Mira's crisp personal style, including her clean minimalist 2024 Met Gala look⁠, as a more human glimpse of one of the most influential builders in AI.

If you are curious about where AI tools are headed and who is building them, this episode will leave you feeling informed and inspired.

All views expressed are my own.