Podcast Episodes

Can This Smart Street Stop Drinkers Getting Violent?

World Hacks visits a long, narrow street in the heart of the Dutch city of Eindhoven. A quarter of a mile long and lined with pubs and bars, Stratums…

7 years, 8 months ago

How 'Buddy Benches' are Making Playtime Less Lonely

The idea behind “Buddy Benches”, also known as “friendship benches”, is simple. If a child feels lonely at playtime at school, they can go to the ben…

7 years, 8 months ago

Smart Boats That Sail on a Bed of Bubbles

What’s being done to clean up the shipping industry and make it less polluting?

Nick Holland looks at innovative ideas to make ships burn less fuel. …

7 years, 8 months ago

The Banks That Run on Time Instead of Money

Around the world, thousands of people are using a special kind of bank. Instead of using it to save and spend money, they’re using it to save and spe…

7 years, 8 months ago

How to Build a City for an Ageing Population

More than a quarter of Japan’s population is over 65 and the country has the highest rate of centenarians in the world. It’s a ticking demographic t…

7 years, 8 months ago

The Country That Can Jail You For Using Plastic Bags

Just over a year ago, Kenya introduced the world’s most draconian rules on single-use plastic bags. People can be fined up to $40,000 or even thrown …

7 years, 9 months ago

Time to Update the Stranger Danger Message?

Child abduction by strangers is extremely rare, but the danger looms large in the minds of many parents. One reason is that for the past 50 years or …

7 years, 9 months ago

Tech That Tricks the Brain

Our brains are the control centre of the human body. They allow us to think, to learn and to dream - but if you know how the brain works, it can also…

7 years, 9 months ago

‘Rental sisters’ for Japan’s Reclusive Young Men

In Japan, to become a 'hikikomori' means to withdraw from the world and social life. Many of those who suffer from the condition shut themselves in t…

7 years, 9 months ago

Fighting the ‘Water Mafia’ with Pipes in the Sky

In Kibera, the largest slum in Kenya’s capital Nairobi, access to water is a minefield. The marketplace is dominated by water cartels, or mafias - wa…

7 years, 10 months ago