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Can Hot Bricks Save the World? (The Solar Era, Part 2)
Season 1 Episode 119
This is the second of three episodes about the solar-power revolution. Last week, we talked about how solar power got so cheap. This week, we’re talking with someone who is building giant plants arou…
Published on 1 year ago
How the Sun Won (The Solar Era, Part 1)
Season 1 Episode 118
In the past 20 years, the price of solar panels has fallen by more than 97 percent. This extraordinary decline is good news for the world – and it’s transforming the way energy is produced and consum…
Published on 1 year ago
Drugs in Space
Season 1 Episode 117
Paul Reichert is a research scientist at Merck, working on improvements to how we administer drugs to patients. Paul's problem is this: How can you run experiments in space to learn how to make bette…
Published on 1 year, 1 month ago
The World Is Getting Better (Really)
Season 1 Episode 116
Hannah Ritchie is a data scientist and the deputy editor of Our World in Data. She is also the author of Not the End of the World: How We Can Be the First Generation to Build a Sustainable Planet. Ha…
Published on 1 year, 1 month ago
Rabies: When Monsters are Real…from Incubation
Season 1
Why has rabies invaded our nightmares for centuries? Author and veterinarian Monica Murphy tells us about the cultural history of rabies (which involves vampires and werewolves!) and how our long nig…
Published on 1 year, 1 month ago
Using Gene Therapy to Help the Blind See
Season 1 Episode 115
After decades of research, gene therapy is starting to work. Shannon Boye is a professor of cellular and molecular therapeutics at the University of Florida. She is also the co-founder and chief scie…
Published on 1 year, 2 months ago
Bringing Back Mammoths and Dodos*
Season 1 Episode 114
*Or at least, sort of bringing back mammoths and dodos.
Beth Shapiro is the chief scientific officer at Colossal Biosciences and the author of How to Clone a Mammoth: The Science of De-Extinction. Bet…
Published on 1 year, 2 months ago
What Elevators Teach Us About Technology, Design, and Human Behavior
Season 1 Episode 113
The elevator made the modern city possible: No elevators, no skyscrapers. Today, people are working on entirely new kinds of elevators that can go higher and faster than ever. On today’s show, we tal…
Published on 1 year, 2 months ago
Can the Plant Microbiome Revolutionize Farming?
Season 1 Episode 112
The invention of synthetic fertilizer was one of the key breakthroughs of the 20th century. It’s the reason we can grow enough food to feed billions of people. It’s also super energy intensive. Karst…
Published on 1 year, 2 months ago
Turning Pollution into Jet Fuel
Season 1 Episode 111
Jennifer Holmgren is the CEO of LanzaTech. Her problem is this: How do you capture pollution from factories, feed it to bacteria, and get the bacteria to produce ethanol, which can become everything …
Published on 1 year, 2 months ago