Josef Chen is the founder of KAIKAKU, a London-based company developing automation technology for restaurants. A former Imperial College student, Chen created his first Bitcoin faucet at age 13 and previously worked as the first intern at Bitpanda (Austria's first unicorn startup). After growing up working in his parents' Chinese restaurant from age six, Chen has now returned to the industry with a mission to transform it through robotics and technology.

Calum and Tom talk to Josef Chen about on:

• Josef's remarkable journey from peeling potatoes in his parents' Austrian restaurant at age six to founding a cutting-edge robotics company
• How KAIKAKU's "living laboratory" approach enables rapid hardware development and real-world testing of restaurant automation
• Why specialised robots designed for specific tasks will outperform humanoid robots in practical applications
• The widespread misallocation of engineering talent in Britain, with top graduates being lured into finance instead of building tangible solutions
• How restaurant automation can free staff from mundane tasks to focus on genuine hospitality and customer experience
• Josef's vision for rebuilding Britain's engineering culture through initiatives like London Micro Grants

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Substack. Produced by Aeron Laffere.

Sweetgreen’s S-1 Filing - Deep dive into a US tech-forward restaurant chain’s unit economics, vision, and automation strategy

Ocado’s AI-powered robotic arms: levelling up efficiency in online grocery and logistics - Case study of one of the few globally competitive UK hardware automation efforts

Neko Health - Example of vertically integrated tech x real-world experience design, referenced by Joseph

London Micro Grants - A live initiative for empowering grassroots builders in the UK with small-scale funding

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Douglas Carswell is a British politician who served as a Member of Parliament from 2005 to 2017, first as a Conservative before defecting to UKIP in 2014. A prominent Brexit campaigner and co-founder of Vote Leave, he now runs the Mississippi Center for Public Policy, a free-market think tank in the United States. Carswell is known for his advocacy of democratic reform, limited government, and economic freedom.

Calum and Tom talk to Douglas Carswell about:

• Douglas's experience in Mississippi where free-market reforms have accelerated economic growth beyond the UK's
• How Britain's "Blairite Ascendancy" of 30 years has empowered unaccountable experts and regulatory bodies that block elected officials from governing effectively
• A detailed blueprint to restore executive power through orders in council, civil service reform, and judicial restraint
• Proposals for public spending cuts of £170 billion and tax reductions including abolishing tariffs, lowering VAT, and reducing income taxes
• Addressing immigration through tighter controls and a voluntary "re-migration" program for non-contributors
• The cultural dimensions of Britain's troubles and the need to reassert Anglo-American values against cultural relativism
• How these reforms could unlock British innovation and prosperity if leaders have the courage to endure short-term pain

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Substack. Produced by Aeron Laffere.

Milestones: Nine steps to restore Britain - the essay outlining Douglas Carswell's detailed proposals

Dominion: How the Christian Revolution Remade the World by Tom Holland - Mentioned by Carswell as influential to his understanding of Western values

Looking for Growth campaign - A UK initiative advocating for policies to boost British economic growth

Why Nations Fail by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson - Explores how political institutions impact economic success

The Sovereign Individual by James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg - Examines the changing relationship between individuals and the state

Economics in One Lesson by Henry Hazlitt - A classic text on free-market economics

State Capacity Libertarianism by Tyler Cowen - A blog post that reimagines libertarianism with a focus on effective government

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We welcome Cllr Tom Jones to the KCIII. Tom serves as the Councillor for Scotton & Lower Wensleydale on North Yorkshire Council and is also an accomplished essayist.

Cllr Jones joins Calum and Tom to discuss Anglofuturism, immigration reform, and how Britain can build a more productive, high-wage future:

• The origins and appeal of Anglofuturism as both an aesthetic and political movement responding to economic stagnation and declining living standards for young Britons
• Tom Jones' immigration paper "Selecting the Best" which argues Britain's reliance on mass immigration has created a low-wage, low-productivity economy
• How "human quantitative easing"—importing cheap labor rather than investing in automation—has damaged British productivity and wages
• The car wash industry as a case study where cheap migrant labor replaced automated systems, creating exploitation and environmental problems
• The need to redirect state capacity toward strategic priorities like energy, manufacturing, and defence instead of dispersing resources
• How greater automation and selective high-skill immigration could transform Britain into a high-wage economy capable of meaningful global influence

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Substack. Produced by Aeron Laffere.

Correction: At 44:30, Cllr Jones says dependents are mostly economically inactive. He has written to correct this, clarifying that while a significant portion are economically inactive, it is not more than half.

Selecting the Best: Building a Future-Focused Immigration System

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