Clean energy visionary Lei Zhang loves the Gobi Desert — the most Mars-like place on Earth. Why? Because of the promise it holds to provide the free, abundant solar and wind energy to fuel humanity’s next leap forward. Sharing the story...

Insurance is the hidden engine that keeps the economy churning, but climate change is making home insurance unaffordable for many people, says climate risk advisor Amy Barnes. She reveals why soaring premiums aren't just bad news for...

In 1974 we sent the Arecibo radio message towards Messier 13, a globular cluster near the edge of the Milky Way, made up of a few hundred thousand stars. The message was mostly symbolic; we weren’t really expecting a reply. Yet surely...

Money for international development rarely makes it to the people it intends to help, says Faisal Saeed Al Mutar, the founder of Ideas Beyond Borders. Highlighting the inefficiencies of the current system, he proposes a new model for aid...

Why are we using tech from 100 years ago to deliver the world's electricity? Materials scientist Jason Huang shows how we could massively upgrade the global power grid by replacing the wires in existing transmission lines with new,...

To get smarter, traditional AI models rely on exponential increases in the scale of data and computing power. Noam Brown, a leading research scientist at OpenAI, presents a potentially transformative shift in this paradigm. He reveals...

Your government has introduced a plan to address record-breaking rates of traffic tickets and deadly hovercar accidents. They propose assigning “driver credit scores” to every citizen, but would need to install cameras and microphones in...

Techno-optimist Vinod Khosla believes in the world-changing power of "foolish ideas." He offers 12 bold predictions for the future of technology — from preventative medicine to car-free cities to planes that get us from New York to...

The electoral system in the United States needs a redesign, says political reformer Andrew Yang. Exposing the flaws of a system built on poor incentives, he proposes a cost-effective overhaul inspired by primary elections already working...

Have you answered a work email during an important family event? Or taken a call from your boss while on vacation? According to behavioral scientist and Harvard Business School professor Ashley Whillans, "always-on" work culture is not...

Economic crises can and do happen. But for every true crisis, there are many false alarms, says economist Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak. He explains how to live with the media's pervasive economic doomsaying, why we should stop treating...

Research suggests there's a reason you can't remember much from your childhood: new memories are replacing the old ones.

The vast majority of our time at work is spent trudging through redundant and outdated workflows, says operations visionary Salvatore Cali. Laying out the most common time-wasting pitfalls, he urges policy leaders and businesses to...

Fifteen years ago, Uruguay was experiencing an energy crisis brought on by its reliance on fossil fuels; today, the nation produces 98 percent of its electricity from renewable sources (and even exports extra energy to neighboring...

The developing world is most affected by climate change but has contributed the least to the problem. Meanwhile, rich countries historically exacerbated the environmental crisis and grew wealthy as a result -- but aren't helping...

The key to revolutionizing the world's energy landscape may lie in an unlikely love story, says energy innovator Olivia Breese. She details the fateful marriage of a green electron and a water molecule -- a powerful source of...

Plagues of locusts have been documented since ancient times, and they affect the food supply of one in ten people today. How can we stop them? Well, computer models of locusts swarms tell us every locust is scared to death of its neighbors.

Hank interviews Administrator Gina McCarthy of the United States Environmental Protection Agency. They discuss getting people to care about climate change, the EPA's goals going into the United Nations Climate Change Conference, and the...

Today in many countries solar is the cheapest form of energy to produce. Millions of homes are equipped with rooftop solar, with most units paying for themselves in their first seven to 12 years and then generating further savings. So,...

Soft percussion and a toasty scent mark the violent transformation of tough seeds into cloud-like puffs. This is the almost magical process of popcorn-making. Dozens of kinds of popcorn are now grown in the US, with different strains...

Paul Andersen explains how to use mathematics appropriately. He begins by emphasizing the important role that mathematics plays in the life sciences today and in that the future. He describes important mathematical equations in each of...

Do Ray Bradbury, Arthur C. Clarke, Jules Verne, Philip K. Dick, Hugo Gernsback, Robert Heinlein, or Isaac Asimov hold a candle to H.G. Wells when it comes to correctly predicting the future of science via science fiction? And why does...

Welcome to Crash Course Film Production, our 15 part series on how movies are (generally) made and who does what job and when... it's a lot to cover. Your host, Lily Gladstone, will be taking you through this series so let's get to know...

How do companies like SpaceX make sudden breakthroughs on decades-old challenges? Emerging tech expert Antoine Gourévitch explains how deep tech -- a new approach to innovation that merges science, engineering and design thinking -- is...