Minds Behind Maps

On every Minds Behind Maps episode I ask guests for books they've read they think are worth sharing. This time I'm sharing with you the books I read & recommend from my 2024 reading.
Shownotes
Note: Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy any of these books.
Utopia For Realists (Amazon Affiliate)
The Capitalist Manifesto (Amazon Affiliate)
The New Breadline (Amazon Affiliate)
Jean Martin Bauer on MBM
Three Body Problem Trilogy (Amazon Affiliate)
When the Heavens Went on Sale (Amazon Affiliate)
Ashlee Vance on MBM
Into the Wild (Amazon Affiliate)
The Little Prince (Amazon Affiliate)
Night Flight (Amazon Affiliate)
My conversation with Jed Sundwall on Techs on Texts
Timestamps
(00:00) - Trying something new today 
(00:37) - Utopia For Realists 
(02:23) - The Capitalist Manifesto 
(11:44) - The New Breadline 
(15:59) - Three Body Problem Trilogy 
(21:42) - When the Heavens Went on Sale 
(25:36) - Into the Wild 
(32:16) - The Little Prince & Night Flight 
(37:46) - Conclusion
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Krishna Karra is a data scientist & report for Bloomberg, having used machine learning & satellite images for reporting. Recent stories from him & his team include mapping refugee camps in Rafah & exposing illegal ship oil transfers in the middle of the Ocean.
Sponsor: Beemaps by Hivemapper
Get access to high quality, fresh map data at https://beemaps.com/minds
Use promo code MINDS to get 50% off your API credits through Dec. 31 2024
About Krishna
Twitter
LinkedIn
Shownotes
Note: Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy any of these books.
Bloomberg: The Clandestine Oil Shipping Hub Funneling Iranian Crude to China
Bloomberg: A Detailed Map Shows How Airstrikes and Refugees Reshaped Rafah
How Radar Satellites See through Clouds (Synthetic Aperture Radar Explained)
National Land Cover Database (NLCD)
What Ukraine Has Lost
Graves in Suda by Joe Morrison
Jean Martin Bauer on Minds Behind Maps
Books & Podcast:Overstory by Richard Powers (Affiliate Link)
Ezra Klein Show

Timestamps
(00:00) - Intro
(00:34) - Sponsor: Beemaps
(01:51) - Krishna describes himself
(03:27) - Example stories: Illegal Oil transfers
(05:29) - Stories are the goal
(07:07) - Why publish the data set?
(12:24) - How Journalism has and hasn't changed
(14:04) - How data changes a story
(18:23) - Putting the datasets together
(20:37) - Conveying trust
(24:07) - Showing the limitations of the data
(26:11) - Why is journalism important for satellite data?
(30:14) - News room process
(32:57) - Building custom tools
(38:19) - Timeline of a news story
(39:47) - What Krishna has learned as a data scientist in a news room
(40:49) - Stories that have stuck out
(42:57) - Different ways of showing the data
(44:19) - Krishna's wishlist
(51:12) - Book & podcast recommendation
(53:16) - Paid podcasts & media
(55:19) - Support the podcast on Patreon
Support the podcast on Patreon
My Twitter
Podcast Twitter
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Edited by Peter Xiong
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Phil Edwards is a video producer who worked at Vox for nearly 10 years, and now runs his own Youtube channel exploring the history of businesses, and lately has been using more and more maps. We go over one of his latest videos, “The Secret Economics of Google Street View” as a case study of how Phil thinks about maps to tell stories. We also talk about journalism on Youtube, and the business behind running a Youtube channel today.
Sponsor: Beemaps by Hivemapper
Get access to high quality, fresh map data at https://beemaps.com/minds
Use promo code MINDS to get 50% off your API credits through Dec. 31 2024
About Phil
Twitter
Phil's Bluesky
Phil’s Youtube
Shownotes
Note: Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy any of these books.
Phil’s trivia site
GeoGuessr
Phil’s video about Google Street View
Book & Podcast recommendations:3 Scientists & Their Gods by Robert Wright (Affiliate Link)
The Evolution of God by Robert Wright (Affiliate Link)
On the Edge by Nate Silver (Affiliate Link)
Freakonomics podcast
Acquired Podcast

My conversation with Ashlee Vance
Wild Wild Space documentary
Neo
Hoog
Timestamps
(00:00) - Intro
(00:52) - Sponsor: Beemaps
(02:08) - Who is Phil Edwards?
(03:13) - What does a Video Producer do?
(04:29) - Chosing topics & stories
(06:38) - Maps in video production
(10:14) - Bringing a different element to maps stories
(12:15) - Explaining Complicated Things
(15:49) - Case Study: Google Street View Video
(20:07) - Geoguessr
(23:03) - Story & Journalism on Youtube
(27:25) - Stories that Phil wants to work on
(30:54) - Importance of visuals
(34:58) - Learning Curve in Mapping & Animation
(40:26) - Balancing Scientific Rigour and Story
(49:53) - The Business of Youtube
(54:09) - Choosing to scale or not
(59:14) - Creating "content"
(01:01:56) - Authenticity
(01:05:00) - Valuing High Quality Journalism
(01:10:18) - Succeeding on Patreon
(01:13:46) - Creators that Phil admires
(01:16:56) - Books & podcasts Recommendations
(01:28:54) - Reporting On Vs Working In a field
(01:31:40) - Where Phil finds inspiration
(01:35:14) - Support the podcast on Patreon
Support the podcast on Patreon
My Twitter
My Bluesky
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Edited by Peter Xiong
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Awais Ahmed is the co-founder & CEO of Pixxel, a company building a constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites. Unlike “traditional” cameras, these satellites can see across hundreds of bands, opening up a lot more applications. We talk about the engineering -and funding- required to pull this off and how Awais manages a company between India (where Awais is from) and the US. But that’s just the 1st part of the interview. Then we talk about his vision for the company, which goes way, way beyond sending imaging satellites.
Sponsor: OpenCage
Use OpenCage for your geocoding needs with their API
Geomob
About Awais
Twitter
LinkedIn
Shownotes
Awais’s personnal website
Pixxel’s 3 phase vision
Maxar HD machine learning upscaling
Book & Podcast RecommendationThe Beginning of Infinity by David Deutsch (Affiliate Link)
Profiles of the Future by Arthur C. Clarke (only found it in ebook here, Affiliate Link)
Hitchhiker’s guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (Affiliate Link)

Timestamps
(00:00) - Introduction
(01:09) - Sponsor: OpenCage
(02:34) - Awais describes himself
(03:46) - Pixxel
(05:07) - What is hyperspectral?
(10:36) - Spacial, Temporal & Spectral Resolution tradeoffs
(18:01) - Hardest part of building satellites
(22:58) - The resolution spotlight
(28:38) - Image Quality Rabbit Hole
(30:42) - The tricky part of raising money
(38:52) - Awais has a big, big vision
(50:42) - Likeliness of Awais's vision within 10 years
(54:14) - Working between India & USA
(59:04) - Personnal investing
(01:01:20) - Importance of Reading
(01:05:36) - Sci-Fi & History
(01:08:33) - Book recommendation
(01:10:43) - Awais in space?
(01:11:54) - Pushing the boundaries of humanity
(01:13:14) - Optimism in a cynical world
(01:19:11) - Support the podcast on Patreon
Support the podcast on Patreon
My video on an introduction to satellite images
Website
My Twitter
Podcast Twitter
Read Previous Issues of the Newsletter
Edited by Peter Xiong
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Sina Kashuk is the co-founder & CEO of Fused, who wants to make iterating & deploying in Python faster with serverless computing. We break down what that actually means, why it matters and what data science workflows could look like over the next few years.
This also isn’t Sina’s first company, a few years ago he started Unfolded.ai, focused on making visualisations for data scientists faster. The company was acquired by Foursquare in 2021.
Sponsor: Beemaps by Hivemapper
Get access to high quality, fresh map data at https://beemaps.com/minds
Use promo code MINDS to get 50% off your API credits through Dec. 31 2024
About Sina
Twitter
LinkedIn
Shownotes
Note: Links to books are Amazon Affiliate links. I earn a small commission if you buy any of these books.
My blogpost joining the team
Uber’s H3 tiling grid
Foursquare acquires Unfolded
AWS Lambda
My conversation with Ib Green
Fused.io
Book & Podcast recommendationAwaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins Affiliate Link
I’m pretty sure you can find Minds Behind Maps by yourself if you’re here

Timestamps
(00:00) - Intro 
(02:38) - Sponsor: Beemaps
(03:55) - Hacking 
(06:07) - Fused.io
(07:23) - Why run your algorithm in the cloud? 
(10:06) - Serverless computing 
(12:40) - Optimizing for iteration speed 
(18:52) - Breaking Fused into smaller parts 
(23:27) - "User Defined Functions: UDF" 
(31:08) - How do you make money? 
(31:56) - Why start companies? 
(42:41) - Convincing people to use your tools 
(49:44) - Speed isn't all: Train / Plane analogy 
(54:36) - Going beyond geospatial 
(57:33) - Building a team 
(59:54) - Podcast/book recommendation 
(01:01:11) - Building a Long Term Vision 
(01:06:59) - Support the podcast on Patreon
Support the podcast on Patreon
My Twitter
Podcast Twitter
Read Previous Issues of the Newsletter
Edited by Peter Xiong
Find more of his work