What’s Your Problem?
After bacteria were discovered, it took scientists 200 years to figure out that they cause disease. If scientists had made the link sooner, hundreds of millions of lives could have been saved.
In his recent book So Very Small, Tom Levenson, a professor of science writing at MIT, tells the amazing story of germ theory, and argues that our worldview can prevent us from seeing what is right in front of us – even when lives are at stake.
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The Killer We Refused to See
After bacteria were discovered, it took scientists 200 years to figure out that they cause disease. If scientists had made the link sooner, hundreds of millions of lives could have been saved. In his recent…
The Startup Run by AI Agents
Evan Ratliff co-founded a publishing startup in 2011. Now he hosts a podcast called Shell Game. In the latest season of the show, Evan creates a company run by AI agents. The project is absurdly…
Can AI Help Solve Alzheimer’s?
Patrick Hsu is the co-founder of Arc Institute, which is integrating AI models and biological research. Patrick’s problem is this: How can you use AI to make biological research more efficient – and ultimately to…
The New Science of Preventing Heart Attacks
In recent decades, medical research has fundamentally changed how we think about heart disease. This fresh understanding has opened up new ways to prevent heart attacks. Eric Topol is a cardiologist and the founder of…
From Solar Pumps to Everything: Building a Market from Scratch
Samir Ibrahim is the co-founder and CEO of SunCulture. When he started the company, he thought he was solving a simple problem: How do you sell solar-powered pumps to help poor farmers irrigate their land?…
Mass-Producing Stem Cells to Cure Disease
Nabiha Saklayen is the co-founder and CEO of Cellino. Nabiha’s problem is this: How can you make personalized stem cell therapies quickly and cheaply? Induced pluripotent stem cells, or IPSCs, have shown tremendous promise as…
From Kill Switch: The Glassholes Are Back
Today, we’re sharing an episode of a show that explores the problems that new technology is creating and how we navigate living in the future. It’s called Kill Switch, and it’s hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning…
From Kill Switch: The Glassholes Are Back
Today, we’re sharing an episode of a show that explores the problems that new technology is creating and how we navigate living in the future. It’s called Kill Switch, and it’s hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning…
Building a Self-Driving Tractor to Change the Future of Food
Please take our survey https://tinyurl.com/wyplistenersurvey about the show! Tell us what you want to hear, and what would make it better. Tim Bucher is a farmer, and the founder and CEO of Agtonomy. Tim’s problem is…
We’re Going to Need a Better Boat
Mitch Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Arc Boats. Mitch’s problem is this: How do you build competitively priced electric boats? On today’s show, Mitch explains why water makes electrification so hard, the techno-economic…