Rethinking Travel: Underground Airports and Supersonic Futures
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Resources & Recommendations
Books
- "Atlas Shrugged" by Ayn Rand - This novel is referenced for its passage on supersonic transport, which Blake Scholl interprets as advocating for capitalist-driven innovation in such fields.
People Mentioned
- Steve Jobs - Co-founder of Apple, mentioned as an example of someone who cared deeply about design and user experience, influencing Scholl's thinking about aircraft interiors.
- Jony Ive - Former Chief Design Officer at Apple, referenced alongside Steve Jobs for his focus on design excellence.
- Jason Crawford (Founder of Roots of Progress) - Mentioned as a former colleague of Blake Scholl at Amazon.
- Jim McNerney - Former CEO of Boeing, quoted as saying "no more moonshots," referring to his decision to avoid new aircraft product development.
- Elon Musk - Credited for realizing the need to tackle economics in space to achieve an enduring human presence, contrasting with the cost-insensitive approach of the Apollo program.
- Anne-Sophie Mutter - Violinist, mentioned for her beautiful renditions of classical music, specifically Brahms and Beethoven violin concertos.
Organizations & Institutions
- Mercatus Center at George Mason University - Producer of the podcast "Conversations with Tyler," bridging academic ideas and real-world problems.
- Boom - Blake Scholl's company, focused on making civilian supersonic transport a reality.
- United - An airline mentioned in the context of slow customer service at airport desks.
- Amazon - Blake Scholl's former employer, highlighted for its long-term decision-making and customer-centric culture.
- Groupon - Blake Scholl's former employer, contrasted with Amazon for its short-term decision-making and "spam cannon" email strategy.
- Virgin America - An airline mentioned for its innovative in-flight snack ordering system through entertainment screens, which was later undone by Alaska Airlines due to union contracts.
- Alaska Airlines - Mentioned in the context of acquiring Virgin America and subsequently removing its in-flight snack ordering feature due to union contract issues.
- Japan Airlines - An airline that has a deal with Boom, mentioned in the context of trans-Pacific travel.
- Boeing - Aircraft manufacturer, discussed for its shift away from "moonshots" and new aircraft programs.
- Airbus - Aircraft manufacturer, noted for not having launched an all-new airplane program since 2004.
Websites & Online Resources
- conversationswithtyler.com - The website for the podcast, where full transcripts with helpful links can be found.
- Roots of Progress - An organization founded by Jason Crawford.