Undecided with Matt Ferrell cover art

Undecided with Matt Ferrell

Undecided with Matt Ferrell

By: Matthew Ferrell
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About this listen

As a UI/UX designer by trade, I explore how sustainable and smart technologies impact our lives. And I try to dive deeper into those topics to provide context. Topics like electric vehicles, solar panels, and renewable energy that is meant to transition the world off of fossil fuels. Smart home technology that can make our homes not only more convenient, but safer and more accessible. Wearable technology that can track our health and save lives. Or how technology might be invading and breaking down the walls of our privacy. So in short... Exploring how technology impacts our lives.Matthew Ferrell
Episodes
  • Have We Finally Solved The Plastic Problem?
    Nov 11 2025

    Have We Finally Solved The Plastic Problem? Go to https://surfshark.com/undecided or use code UNDECIDED at checkout to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN! What if every piece of plastic waste, like bottles, bags, even clothes, could be rebuilt from scratch, no sorting required? Not just melted and reshaped, but broken down to pure chemical building blocks and made new again. That's what a new wave of recycling tech promises. Northwestern University has built a catalyst that can zero in on a single type of plastic in mixed waste and break it down. No sorting, no problem. In South Korea, a 2,000°C hydrogen plasma torch is cracking mixed plastics in milliseconds, turning them into valuable building blocks for brand-new plastics. And in France, an enzymatic recycling plant is transforming previously unrecyclable polyester textiles back into virgin-quality plastic feedstock. We've been sold the recycling dream for decades, but the reality? Most plastic still ends up in landfills or the ocean. Could these breakthroughs finally turn recycling from marketing lie into working reality?

    Watch How Close Are We to Solid-State Batteries? https://youtu.be/uspSYVssGXU?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi7uzySCXq8VXhodHB5B5OiQ

    Video script and citations: https://undecidedmf.com/plastic-recycling-not-requiring-sorting-could-be-coming/

    Get my achieve energy security with solar guide: https://link.undecidedmf.com/solar-guide

    Follow-up podcast:

    Video version - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4-aWB84Bupf5hxGqrwYqLA

    Audio version - http://bit.ly/stilltbdfm

    Join the Undecided Discord server: https://link.undecidedmf.com/discord

    👋 Support Undecided on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/mattferrell

    ⚙️ Gear & Products I Like

    https://undecidedmf.com/shop/

    Visit my Energysage Portal (US): Research solar panels, heat pumps, and more to get quotes for free! https://undecided.link/energysage

    For a curated solar buying experience (Canada) EnergyPal's free personalized quotes: https://energypal.com/undecided

    Tesla Referral Code: Get 1,000 free supercharging miles or a discount on Tesla Solar & Powerwalls https://ts.la/matthew84515

    👉 Follow Me

    Mastodon https://mastodon.social/@mattferrell

    X https://twitter.com/mattferrell

    https://twitter.com/undecidedMF

    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mattferrell

    https://www.instagram.com/undecidedmf

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/undecidedMF/

    Website https://undecidedmf.com

    📺 YouTube Tools I Recommend

    Audio file(s) provided by Epidemic Sound http://bit.ly/UndecidedEpidemic

    TubeBuddy https://www.tubebuddy.com/undecided

    VidIQ https://vidiq.com/undecided

    I may earn a small commission for my endorsement or recommendation to products or services linked above, but I wouldn't put them here if I didn't like them. Your purchase helps support the channel and the videos I produce. Thank you.

    Chapters

    00:00 - Intro

    03:13 - The Polyolefin Problem

    04:19 - Nickel Catalyst Breaks Through

    08:12 - Plastic vs. Plasma

    12:03 - PET 2.0

    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • Solid-State Batteries: Hype vs. Reality
    Nov 4 2025

    Solid-State Batteries: Hype vs. Reality. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code UNDECIDED at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/undecided You've heard the solid state battery story before. Toyota promised them by 2025. Samsung said they were just around the corner. QuantumScape's stock soared on promises of revolutionary batteries. And yet here we are, still driving cars with the same lithium-ion tech. And if the sliding deadlines weren't enough of a headache, the term solid state battery has become a marketing buzzword. But 2025 might actually look different. Companies aren't just filing patents anymore. They're opening factories. They're putting innovative new batteries in actual vehicles. Mercedes just drove 749 miles on a single charge with one. MG is taking pre-orders for a car with a semi-solid-state battery for under $15,000. So is this finally it? Are solid-state batteries finally here? Or are we just being sold another round of hype?

    Watch How My Geothermal Heat Pump Really Performed (2 Years) https://youtu.be/DTb7TKJzr5g?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi7uzySCXq8VXhodHB5B5OiQ

    Video script and citations: https://undecidedmf.com/solid-state-batteries-hype-vs-reality/

    Get my achieve energy security with solar guide: https://link.undecidedmf.com/solar-guide

    Follow-up podcast: Video version - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4-aWB84Bupf5hxGqrwYqLA

    Audio version - http://bit.ly/stilltbdfm

    Join the Undecided Discord server: https://link.undecidedmf.com/discord

    👋 Support Undecided on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/mattferrell

    ⚙️ Gear & Products I Like https://undecidedmf.com/shop/

    Visit my Energysage Portal (US): Research solar panels, heat pumps, and more to get quotes for free! https://undecided.link/energysage

    For a curated solar buying experience (Canada)EnergyPal's free personalized quotes: https://energypal.com/undecided

    Tesla Referral Code: Get 1,000 free supercharging miles or a discount on Tesla Solar & Powerwalls https://ts.la/matthew84515

    👉 Follow Me

    Mastodon https://mastodon.social/@mattferrell

    X https://twitter.com/mattferrell

    https://twitter.com/undecidedMF

    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mattferrell

    https://www.instagram.com/undecidedmf

    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/undecidedMF/

    Website https://undecidedmf.com

    📺 YouTube Tools I Recommend

    Audio file(s) provided by Epidemic Sound http://bit.ly/UndecidedEpidemic

    TubeBuddyhttps://www.tubebuddy.com/undecided

    VidIQ https://vidiq.com/undecided

    I may earn a small commission for my endorsement or recommendation to products or services linked above, but I wouldn't put them here if I didn't like them. Your purchase helps support the channel and the videos I produce. Thank you.

    Show More Show Less
    16 mins
  • The Surprising Battery Discovery No One Saw Coming
    Oct 14 2025

    The Surprising Battery Discovery No One Saw Coming. Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code UNDECIDED at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: http://incogni.com/undecided We've been told for years that fast-charging kills batteries. But what if that rule is wrong? The Georgia Institute of Technology just found that the faster they charged a zinc-ion battery, the better it performed. A damaged battery even started healing itself. And another team has re-engineered the atomic twists that normally break a zinc-ion battery down… to make it stronger than ever. These aren't just lab curiosities. Zinc batteries can act as a safer, cheaper alternative to lithium for grid storage and home use. They can't catch fire. They're made from abundant materials. But they’ve had one fatal flaw that’s kept them from dethroning lithium: they don’t last long enough. So, how did scientists turn atomic jitters into resilience? How can fast-charging help a battery perform? And what does it mean for all of us?


    Watch Are We Building Wind Energy Wrong? https://youtu.be/ZlCJcTq3Jk4?list=PLnTSM-ORSgi7uzySCXq8VXhodHB5B5OiQ


    Video script and citations: https://undecidedmf.com/the-surprising-battery-discovery-no-one-saw-coming/


    Get my achieve energy security with solar guide: https://link.undecidedmf.com/solar-guide


    Follow-up podcast:

    Video version - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4-aWB84Bupf5hxGqrwYqLA

    Audio version - http://bit.ly/stilltbdfm


    Join the Undecided Discord server: https://link.undecidedmf.com/discord


    👋 Support Undecided on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/mattferrell


    ⚙️ Gear & Products I Like

    https://undecidedmf.com/shop/


    Visit my Energysage Portal (US): Research solar panels, heat pumps, and more to get quotes for free! https://undecided.link/energysage


    For a curated solar buying experience (Canada) EnergyPal's free personalized quotes: https://energypal.com/undecided


    Tesla Referral Code: Get 1,000 free supercharging miles or a discount on Tesla Solar & Powerwalls https://ts.la/matthew84515


    👉 Follow Me

    Mastodon https://mastodon.social/@mattferrell


    X https://twitter.com/mattferrell

    https://twitter.com/undecidedMF


    Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mattferrell

    https://www.instagram.com/undecidedmf


    Facebook https://www.facebook.com/undecidedMF/


    Website https://undecidedmf.com


    📺 YouTube Tools I Recommend

    Audio file(s) provided by Epidemic Sound http://bit.ly/UndecidedEpidemic


    TubeBuddy https://www.tubebuddy.com/undecided


    VidIQ https://vidiq.com/undecided


    I may earn a small commission for my endorsement or recommendation to products or services linked above, but I wouldn't put them here if I didn't like them. Your purchase helps support the channel and the videos I produce. Thank you.

    Show More Show Less
    13 mins
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