Provoke.fm Media
#1 Global Fintech Network
100 episodes
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#1 Global Fintech Network
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Can a not-for-profit, member-owned credit union genuinely out-innovate a bank with a multi-billion-dollar AI budget by being more disciplined and mission-anchored? In this episode of Breaking Banks, Bev Anderson (President and CEO of BECU) and Nadim Homsany (SVP, Head of AI at BECU) join host Jason Henrichs to unpack the strategy behind the credit union’s AI decisions. They discuss where to focus, the choice between buying and building, and whether traditional ROI even applies. Discover how BECU is getting serious about AI and whether this marks an opportunity for credit unions to reshape fina
Kristen Castell, Managing Director of the Center for Accelerating Financial Equity (CAFE), joins Social Currency to discuss the intersection of profit and purpose in financial services. From fintech innovation to financial inclusion, Kristen shares how technology, partnerships, and mission-driven solutions are helping expand access and opportunity for low-to-moderate income communities. Listen in as we explore the future of financial equity.
Can a company use AI to be capable of infinite adaptability? Brian Solis and Dave Wright believe that right approach to deploying AI in large enterprises is a two-model process, first to find efficiency and create savings, and second, to invest those savings into accelerated innovation. In their new book Infinite, Brian and Dave cite successful case studies to show AI can help business leaders accomplish things that were never previously possible. Rob Tercek interviewed Dave and Brian to extract the key points for listeners of The Futurists podcast.
In this episode host Brett King and Paolo Sironi, host of Breaking Banks’ sister podcast The Bankers’ Bookshelf, speak with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core—an essential guide for anyone wrestling with the stubborn realities of banking core modernization. Despite massive investments, many institutions still face overruns, delays, and outcomes that leave them no stronger than before. Sparked by a flooded kitchen that perfectly mirrored the chaos of real-world banking transformation programs, Pal’s book shifts the lens from pure technology to organization, showing that lasting change is
In this episode, Paolo Sironi speaks with Pal Krogdahl, author of Rip Out the Core—an essential guide for anyone wrestling with the stubborn realities of banking core modernization. Despite massive investments, many institutions still face overruns, delays, and outcomes that leave them no stronger than before. Sparked by a flooded kitchen that perfectly mirrored the chaos of real-world banking transformation programs, Pal’s book shifts the lens from pure technology to organization, showing that lasting change is impossible without adapting the way people work. He speaks to banking executives a
To understand the future, it’s best to begin by studying the past. Jeff Jarvis returns to the Futurists to share a lively summary of the long arc of mass media, and he unpacks several valuable lessons for our present moment. Jeff’s new book Hot Type provides a compelling account of the long struggle to mechanize typesetting, one invention at a time, including the many failures that led to other mechanical breakthroughs. The invention of the Linotype machine made print cheap, and thereafter society consumed far more printed works, paving a path for modern mass marketing and mass consumption. Ro
This week on the futurists host Brett King sits down with Dr Julia Michelin to discuss the future of healthcare and how AI, gene-therapy, robotics, neural interfaces, cybernetics, 3D bio printing and other bio-tech is going to transform human society and culture.
Entrepreneurship is an odyssey with many unexpected stops on the journey. You could find yourself on a loading dock in East LA, freestyle rapping with a man known as DJ Trucker—yes, there is video proof. In this episode of our special series, Killing It, hosts Jason Henrichs and Alex Johnson talk with Max Farrell. Max started his career in business development at Dwolla and went on to found WorkHound, which is now WorkStep. WorkHound began when Max stumbled upon a problem in an industry he didn’t come from, and he jumped right in. The trio speaks candidly about the unpredictable nature of the
In November 2025, the global techno-economy shifted subtly, then dramatically, as AI agents became viable additions to the workforce. Mark Pesce has documented these changes, what he refers to as “The Watershed”, in a remarkable series of articles at https://thewatershed.markpesce.com/. Pesce joins the Futurists to explain his perspective about how companies and work have changed forever. Pesce and Rob Tercek discuss the future of jobs for humans working alongside AI agents, and what happens when an AI with compounding capability begins to set its own goals. Topics: relative super intelligence
In this episode, Paolo Sironi speaks with Prof. Dr. Ingird Vasiliu-Feltes, author of the new book The Art of Quantum: Statecraft, Sovereignty, Strategy—a timely strategic manifesto that reimagines classical principles of foresight and power (inspired by The Art of War) for the quantum age. As demographic shifts concentrate workforce and economic power in emerging economies by 2030, and technology giants increasingly rival nation-states, the very meaning of sovereignty is being rewritten. Ingird makes a compelling dual case: nations must urgently build quantum sovereignty frameworks to safeguar
In this episode of Breaking Banks Africa, host Matteo Rizzi sits down with Waleed Sadek, Founder and CEO of Fintra Holding and Paysky, to explore how interoperable payment infrastructure is transforming financial ecosystems across Africa, the Middle East, and beyond. Waleed shares the vision behind his group’s four businesses, from national payment systems and cross-border payment networks to digital banking platforms and Banking-as-a-Service. The conversation also examines the future of payments, digital banking, stablecoins, and financial inclusion, highlighting the importance of connecting
This week on The Futurists we are joined by David Wood from the London Futurists, Rohit Telwar CEO of Fast Future, Andrew Grill the Actionable Futurist, and Dr. Julia Michelin, CEO/Founder and author of The Future of Dentistry. It’s an all star cast as we delve into the forecasts for tomorrow with the impact of AI and longevity treatments being a key focus. We discuss collaborative intelligence, gene therapy, nanobots and AGI. It’s a great discussion in the heart of London.
In This Episode For years, Banking as a Service (BaaS) was sold as a silver bullet for community banks to solve their deposit problems and grow non-interest income. Through its evolution, the industry has learned that it is not enough for BaaS to simply be programmable. For innovation in banking to flourish, without sacrificing the safety and security of the banking ecosystem, BaaS must also be governable. With the bankruptcy of Synapse and the resulting consent orders, sponsor banks have been forced to prove their control over outsourced operations. This week on Breaking Banks, Jason Mikula,
Marcus “Bellringer” Bell is a musical polymath: songwriter, producer and technological pioneer. His credits include collaborations with Beyoncé, Niki Minaj, Snoop Dogg, Timbaland and music featured by Amazon, HBO, Netflix. Marcus has used AI to generate tens of thousands of songs in multiple genres. He uses AI to design agents, personas, and new tools for musical expression and personal growth. He joins the Futurists to talk to Rob Tercek about AI and the creative process.
In this episode, Paolo Sironi speaks with Jean-Philippe Desbiolles author of the updated book AI Will Be What You Make of It (originally published in 2019). Desbiolles argues that AI’s impact on banking and society will ultimately be determined by human choices, not technology. He introduces the concept of a “co-era,” in which AI functions as a collaborative co-worker rather than a simple tool, requiring humans to develop “let-go” behaviors while staying in control.The discussion explores how banks can move beyond pilots by adopting a “cognitive factory” operating model to scale AI across busi
In this episode of Breaking Banks Africa, host Matteo Rizzi sits down with Premier Oiwoh, Managing Director and CEO of Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), to explore how digital payment infrastructure is transforming Africa’s largest economy. Premier shares how NIBSS powers Nigeria’s payment ecosystem behind the scenes, driving interoperability, resilience, and innovation through instant payments and open APIs. The conversation covers the launch of the National Payment Stack, the role of digital public infrastructure, and why zero-cost instant payments could accelerate financial incl
What if AI could replicate your consciousness? Listen as Brett King connects with Paolo Sironi, host of Provoke.fm‘s The Banker’s Bookshelf about Paolo’s latest book, Quantum Sapiens. Paolo’s foray into literary fiction explores the intersection of quantum gravity, philosophy, and the future of human consciousness in an AI-driven world, providing a unique way to explore complex topics. Available at major bookstores and on Amazon, Quantum Sapiens is a haunting novel blending scientific speculation, the frontiers of artificial intelligence, theories of consciousness and urgent ethical questions
In This Episode What if AI could replicate your consciousness? Listen as Breaking Banks host Brett King connects with Paolo Sironi, host of Provoke.fm‘s The Banker’s Bookshelf about Paolo’s latest book, Quantum Sapiens. Paolo’s foray into literary fiction explores the intersection of quantum gravity, philosophy, and the future of human consciousness in an AI-driven world, providing a unique way to explore complex topics. Available at major bookstores and on Amazon, Quantum Sapiens is a haunting novel blending scientific speculation, the frontiers of artificial intelligence, theories of conscio
In this episode of Social Currency, Tyler Seydel and Eric Schurr sit down with Kyle Rushman, Vice President, Prepaid Sales & Business Development at Usio, to explore how mission-driven fintech is reshaping financial access for underserved communities. From prepaid innovation to rapid-response payment solutions during crises, Kyle shares how technology can deliver financial wellness at scale—while keeping people and communities at the center.
Paul Osterman, MIT labor economist and author of Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment , tells Rob Tercek about the fastest-growing category of the US workforce in the age of artificial intelligence. According to Osterman, a rising number of employers prefer to hire three categories of “disposable workers” with no long-term stake in the company. Today, such workers comprise more than 35% of the entire US workforce. The employers get the benefit of flexibility, and they push the risk and uncertainty onto the workforce. This interview covers the social, political, and organization
Adrian Woolfson, the CEO and co-founder of the biotech company Genyro, joins the Futurists to chat about the audacious vision that animates his book On The Future of Species. Woolfson conceives of a Artificial Biological Intelligence that will unify diverse fields of genomic research into a new system that enables humans to design and create new species of life. According to Woofson, this marks an unprecedented moment on earth. For the first time ever, natural selection is no longer the only means for species to evolve. Humans can generate new life from first principles. This is true authorshi
In this episode of Breaking Banks host Brett King sits down with Farbod Sadeghian, Founder and Executive Chairman of TheBlock. Based in Dubai, TheBlock is a fintech collaboration space dedicated to fintech, blockchain development, and crypto, bringing together fintech, AI, and capital markets to build the next economy of virtual assets, The conversation covers the origin story of TheBlock and the UAE’s regulatory landscape—specifically the Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA). They also discuss how TheBlock is building a virtual asset community that enables faster speed to market through
In 2024, Bay Raitt and Rob Tercek co-founded a generative AI startup with experts in machine learning and computer graphics to build agentic tools and workflows optimized for artists. Bay is a polymath: an artist, storyteller, animator, game designer, comic book author. He plays LLMs like a virtuoso performer. In this episode, Bay shares his views on the current state of AI models, trends in vibe coding, the importance of stories with a human heartbeat, context wielding as a creative art, how AI “slop cannons” will get paved over by agentic visualizers, how to build a deeper creative relations
What happens when the software you use starts acting independently? Harry Glorikian calls this the invisible interface, and in this episode he unpacks the implications of unseen agency and autonomy in the future workforce. Topics: the personal interface layer; the memory war; who owns the context that makes a personal interface valuable; proofseconds; the four trust signals that determine whether human users are willing to delegate to machines; how occupational dimensionality determines whether an employer will automate an entire job or just parts of it.
In This Episode Financial institutions (FIs) are currently navigating a “perfect storm” of technological, market, and consumer shifts. They face a multi-front war: constant economic and regulatory pressure, soaring consumer expectations for 24/7 personalization, and the existential threat of megabanks with massive tech budgets. To survive and thrive, FIs must move beyond “pilot purgatory”—where 95% of generic AI pilots fail—and adopt a banking-specific AI workforce,an AI-powered intelligence layer for modern banking. In this episode of Breaking Banks host Jason Henrichs is joined by Dan Michae
