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Our Quantum Future with Evan Kubes

Our Quantum Future with Evan Kubes

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 How a Lawyer and a Listicle Launched One of Quantum's Most Influential Media PlatformsEvan Kubes had no physics degree, no engineering background, and no idea what a qubit was when he stumbled across a press release about AWS investing in quantum. What he did have was experience translating complex industries for mainstream audiences — and within months, he and co-founder Alex Challans had turned a Wix website and a "Top 20 Most Influential People in Quantum" listicle into The Quantum Insider, now one of the industry's leading media and intelligence platforms. In this episode, Evan shares how that scrappy start grew into Resonance, a multi-vertical deep tech media company — and why he spent the last year making Our Quantum Future, a feature-length documentary premiering at APS March Meeting that aims to bring quantum out of the echo chamber and onto your screen.Why this episode mattersThis episode marks a new chapter for The New Quantum Era. In the intro, Sebastian shares some big updates — going fully independent, new media projects including the Helgoland 2025 documentary, a newsletter, and broader efforts to build a more accessible and equitable quantum technology ecosystem through open source and open standards. He also announces his new role as a Fellow at the Unitary Foundation. Read the full blog post: A New Chapter.The conversation with Evan Kubes is a perfect fit for this moment. Evan sits at the intersection of quantum's technical community and the broader world trying to make sense of it — a translator between physicists and the public. His story illuminates something the industry rarely discusses: how do you actually build awareness, trust, and market understanding for a technology most people can't explain?The documentary Our Quantum Future, produced for the International Year of Quantum and featuring Nobel laureates, a former CIA officer, and the leaders of Google, Microsoft, and IonQ, is designed for exactly that audience — the curious non-specialist who wants to understand what quantum means for the world. The ethics and national security themes it surfaces are relevant well beyond the quantum community.What you'll learnHow The Quantum Insider went from zero readers to a leading quantum industry platform using a creative "vanity listicle" strategy that got CEOs to respond overnightWhy a lawyer from the esports world saw the same market opportunity in quantum that venture capitalists were pouring billions into — and what that says about the accessibility gap in deep techHow the Resonance media model applies The Quantum Insider playbook to space, AI, and climate tech — and what makes a deep tech vertical ripe for this approachWhat 39 interviews across 40 countries revealed about how the quantum community thinks about ethics — including a striking divide between engineers ("I'm just solving a hard problem") and policymakers ("we need safeguards now")The Oppenheimer parallel: how the documentary draws a direct line between the atomic bomb's development and today's quantum technology, and why some builders don't think about consequences while others think about nothing elseA former CIA operative's reframing of quantum advantage as incremental compounding — 1% better per year for five years — and why that makes quantum feel much more real today than the "break all encryption" narrative suggestsWhy academics and corporate leaders consistently disagree on quantum's timeline, and where Evan lands after a year of filming both campsResources & linksGuest linksThe Quantum Insider — Quantum industry media, intelligence, and data platform co-founded by EvanResonance — Parent company extending the deep tech media model to space, AI, climate tech [link to confirm]Our Quantum Future — Documentary website with sign-up for distribution updatesPeople mentioned in the episodeAlex Challans — Co-founder and CEO of The Quantum Insider; Evan's business partnerNicholas Ogler — Former CIA operative featured in the documentary; redefines quantum advantage from a national security lensDr. Bill Phillips — Nobel Prize-winning physicist; discusses his bet with Carl Williams on the quantum advantage timelineDr. John Doyle — Professor of quantum at Harvard, president of APS; draws the Oppenheimer parallelIlyas Khan — Former CEO of Quantinuum; argues for educational licensing frameworks around quantum technologyEric Cornell — Nobel Prize winner featured in the documentaryMentioned in the introA New Chapter — NQE blog post — Sebastian's full announcement on going independent, new projects, and the future of the podcastUnitary Foundation — Open-source quantum technology ecosystem; Sebastian is now a FellowKey quotes & insights"When Oppenheimer and the most brilliant minds in the world were developing the atom, you had a large group who didn't really understand what they were building — they were just trying to solve a very difficult engineering and physics problem. We posed ...
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