Spatial Stack with Matt Forrest

What if satellites became as smart and as accessible as your smartphone? In this episode, I sit down with Michael Bartholomeusz, CEO of NOVI to unpack how Earth observation is being transformed by edge computing in space. We explore the shift from sending terabytes of raw imagery to delivering actionable insights, and why this change could take the cost of analysis from $150,000 down to under $1,0...

In this episode, I sit down with Dr. Qiusheng Wu, associate professor, open-source advocate, and creator of some of the most widely used tools in modern geospatial, including Leafmap and GeoAI. If you’ve ever watched his YouTube tutorials or come across his projects on GitHub, you already know the impact he’s had on the community. We dive into: His newly released Python for Geospatial book, one of...

Open data is supposed to unlock innovation, but what happens when “open” isn’t really open? In this episode of The Spatial Stack, I sit down with return guest Mina Nada to explore the world of open data licenses — from Creative Commons to Open Database Licenses and beyond. We break down what these licenses actually allow you to do, where the pitfalls are, and how they impact anyone building geospa...

What happens when a hackathon project becomes one of the most influential open-source BI tools in the world? In this episode, we sit down with Max Beauchemin — creator of Apache Superset and Apache Airflow — and Evan Rusackas from Preset, the company behind Superset’s enterprise evolution. We explore: The origin story of Superset at Airbnb — and why Max says it became his “life’s mission” How open...

In this episode, I open up about something many of us in GIS rarely talk about — imposter syndrome. That nagging feeling of not being good enough, of questioning whether you really belong in this field, even when the evidence says otherwise. This isn’t a polished success story, it’s an honest conversation about doubt, comparison, and the pressure to measure up in GIS. I share my own experiences, w...

If you’re working with spatial data, AI workflows, or massive batch jobs, you’ve probably hacked together more than a few pipelines. But what if there’s a better way? In this episode, I sit down with Kenten Danas, Senior Manager of Developer Relations at ‪@Astronomer‬ to explore how Apache Airflow powers the modern data stack including real-world geospatial and climate risk modeling pipelines. We...

What happens when a heated LinkedIn debate turns into a real conversation? In this episode, I sit down with Kyle Satterfield, GISP, after a spirited online exchange about geospatial tools — specifically, the classic open-source versus Esri debate. What started as a back-and-forth in the comments became a deeper conversation about the choices we make in GIS: buy versus build, custom versus out-of-t...

📩 Get every update from my newsletter ➡️ https://forrest.nyc ⬅️ 💨 Sign up for the Spatial Lab Community ➡️ https://forrest.nyc/spatial-lab ⬅️ Why is geospatial data still stuck in its own world — and what will it take to finally integrate it with the rest of the data ecosystem? In this episode, I talk with Javier de la Torre, founder of Carto and one of the original architects of modern spatial...

📩 Get every update from my newsletter ➡️ https://forrest.nyc ⬅️ 💨 Sign up for the Spatial Lab Community ➡️ https://forrest.nyc/spatial-lab ⬅️ What if the way we map the Earth is reinforcing the very inequalities we aim to solve? In this episode of The Spatial Stack, I sit down with Dr. Nadine Alameh, one of the most influential voices in geospatial and AI for Earth. With a background spanning NA...

📩 Get every update from my newsletter ➡️ https://forrest.nyc ⬅️ 💨 Sign up for the Spatial Lab Community ➡️ https://forrest.nyc/spatial-lab ⬅️ What if the future of AI depends on understanding where, not just what? In this episode, I’m joined by Justus Killian, partner at Space Capital, one of the only VC firms focused entirely on geospatial and space-based tech. We dive into why geospatial data...

📩 Get every update from my newsletter ➡️ https://forrest.nyc ⬅️ 💨 Sign up for the Modern GIS Accelerator ➡️ https://forrest.nyc/accelerator ⬅️ In this episode, we dive into one of the biggest challenges holding back GIS professionals today: the technician trap . Sparked by a real-world job posting from one of the world’s richest tech companies—offering just $20–$22 an hour for a GIS contract rol...

📩 Get every update from my newsletter ➡️ https://forrest.nyc ⬅️ 💨 Sign up for the Modern GIS Accelerator ➡️ https://forrest.nyc/accelerator ⬅️ Feeling stuck in your GIS career? You're not alone. In this episode, we dive deep into the common challenges GIS professionals face and how to break free from the "technician trap." Discover actionable strategies to transition from a support role to a str...

📩 Get every update from my newsletter ➡️ https://forrest.nyc ⬅️ What if you could stop wrangling geospatial data, and just get to the good part? In this episode, I sit down with Rob Fletcher, Chief Science Officer at Seer AI, to talk about one of the biggest blockers in geospatial today: accessing and integrating the right data, at the right time, in the right format. Rob shares his journey from...

In this episode, we sit down with David Price, GIS Project Manager for Wood County, Ohio, to explore the evolving landscape of modern GIS. David’s journey into geospatial wasn’t a traditional one—he started in data analytics before discovering GIS, a shift that completely changed his career trajectory. We dive into: 🔹 Why GIS education is falling behind and how universities are missing the mark...

Is there a future in GIS? How can you break past the salary ceilings and position yourself for long-term success? In this episode, we dive into the realities of GIS careers, salaries, and strategies to help you grow. 🔹 Why GIS salaries often lag behind similar data roles 🔹 The Technician Trap —how GIS is often seen as a support role rather than a strategic function 🔹 Skills that matter —Python,...

📩 Get every update from my newsletter ➡️ https://forrest.nyc ⬅️ Wildfires are getting more intense, yet many people in Los Angeles had no idea the fire was near them—until they saw the smoke. Despite all our advancements in geospatial technology, disaster response still struggles with timely alerts, real-time data access, and predictive modeling. In this episode, I sit down with Mina Nada, a remo...

For years, geospatial professionals have been forced to download massive datasets—only to discard most of the data. It’s an outdated, inefficient process that slows down analysis and limits scalability. But a major shift is happening. Cloud-native geospatial is transforming how we store, access, and process spatial data, making it faster, more efficient, and accessible to everyone. In this episode...

📩 Get every update from my newsletter ➡️ https://forrest.nyc ⬅️ 🔑 Sign up for Placekey here: https://placekey.io Merging and cleaning location data is one of the biggest headaches in GIS, real estate, and business intelligence. Duplicate addresses, inconsistent formats, and messy datasets can derail even the most sophisticated analysis. But what if there was a universal identifier that made all...

Matt returns to discuss the future of Spatial Stack —what it is, where it’s headed, and how it will evolve into a go-to platform for exploring the intersection of geospatial technology and real-world impact. From its origins as a live-stream experiment to a full-fledged video-first podcast, this episode lays out the vision for breaking the geospatial echo chamber, identifying new opportunities, an...

Apache Sedona has been a core element of the geospatial analytics space for several years now, and in this live stream we will explore how Wherobots is taking this to the next level with different advancements in visualization, powerful geospatial data engineering, and AI.

Standardizing spatial data for specific verticals or use cases has been tried many times throughout the history of geospatial. But now we're at a point where things might actually be taking a turn and having a standard format for different use cases be it agriculture, socio-demographics, or any other number of problems might be within sight. We'll talk with Chris Holmes to hear his opinions about...

How do you get access to just the data you need? And what if that data isn't in large datasets or traditional mapping services? And can AI make this data accessible to those without a background in geospatial? Get answers to these questions and more in this live stream with Hantz Févry, CEO of Stoovo!

In this conversation with Kyle Barron from Development Seed, we will learn lonboard, a new Python package that solves the problem of visualizing massive geospatial datasets in Python. Learn about the motivations behind the project, some of the tech under the hood, and of course a demo! Sign up for TLDR for free here!

Join Isaac Brodsky, CTO and Co-Founder at Fused where we will dive deep into scaling geospatial workflows and shipping them using their new product Fused. https://www.fused.io/