The Changing World Order
Drones are the new bombs, code the new currency, chips the new oil, and AI the new everything. Technology has reshaped geopolitics forever and a new world order is being carved in silicon
Featured
Why progress was so slow, for so long
Progress was agonizingly slow for most of human history, but the rapid progress of the last few centuries was not a fluke.
America underestimates the difficulty of bringing manufacturing back
Tariffs won’t bring manufacturing back to the US, but there are ways to make it happen — if America is serious about doing so.
Pantheon creator Craig Silverstein on uploading our brains to the internet
How the cult hit sci-fi show imagines a “techno-realist” future.
More
Tree-planting drones restore charred forests
This Seattle startup is bringing new life to charred forests by releasing swarms of smart, tree-planting drones equipped with seeds, mini seedbeds, and cameras.
Powering the most remote areas on earth
With off-grid solar power systems, this company is building sustainable communities in remote areas, providing a source of renewable energy and clean water.
Conversations with refugees
Aline Sara is changing the conversation around what it means to be a refugee by talking — literally. Through her…
Rock climbers help refugees in america
This nonprofit is teaching refugees in America how to rock climb – helping displaced children better face new challenges and transition to life in the U.S.
New tech can see through walls and ID people by the way they walk
A California-based lab is using gait recognition and radio frequency to create a surveillance system that can see behind walls.
Series|
Uprising
These search and rescue robots could save your life
These robots can lift heavy objects, crawl through rugged terrain, and climb challenging structures to save lives. But search and rescue robots won’t be rendering human first responders obsolete anytime soon. They’re designed to assist and protect them from unnecessary harm.
This nail gun wielding drone looks terrifying, but could save lives
According to OSHA, one in five workplace deaths in 2017 were in construction. Can nail gun drones help save lives?
Female scientists were written out of history books. margaret rossiter changed that.
Margaret Rossiter has made it her lifework to spotlight female scientists who were written out of history books through systematic censorship. Read our Q&A with this groundbreaking historian.
This nonprofit gives bikes and people new life
Working Bikes has spent nearly two decades rescuing bicycles from the waste cycle to give people purpose, access to jobs, and independence.
Getting aerial ridesharing off the ground
It’s been the ultimate futuristic dream for decades: flying cars! But now, the future finally has a deadline. At least to start, it will land in the form of a small air taxi operated by Uber, not something you’ll park in your garage.
In the midst of a crisis, Venezuelans are training self-driving cars
Hundreds of thousands of formerly middle class Venezuelans, thrown into poverty by economic collapse, are now sitting at computers as they help train self-driving cars to identify and avoid obstacles.
Life jackets are used to create jewelry, opportunity for refugees
Hordes of bright orange lifejackets are strewn across the rocky beaches of the Greek island of Lesbos. Discarded…
Bringing community healthcare to the people
There is an urgent challenge in Sub-Saharan Africa: people are dying from treatable illnesses like malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhea. Now, people are turning to their neighbors for community health care.
The future of micromobility in Africa
In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, improvements to infrastructure shift focus from cars to micromobility. The city’s transportation plan calls for hundreds of kilometers of bike lanes and pedestrian pathways for increased safety.
Could we end earthquake deaths?
Thousands die in earthquakes every year – even though we know how to build safely. This engineer is working with people in the most vulnerable places to figure out why.
Should we legalize gangs?
Gangs are a major cause of violence and organized crime. Here’s why countries should think twice before trying to…
This child psychiatrist is saving refugees from trauma
With the right intervention at the right time, a trauma can be recorded in the memory as non-traumatic and in many cases the devastating effects of PTSD in children refugees can be avoided.
In the US, rural hospitals are closing. Can medical drones fill this healthcare gap?
“Whether you live in the developed world or the developing world, the further you travel outside of a major city,…
Angels of debt
These ex-bill collectors got John Oliver’s attention and started a movement. They’re buying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of strangers’ medical debt and erasing it.
Macgyver medicine can save lives
The package is simple and dirt-cheap—a plastic bag with a condom, a syringe, a rubber tube, and a card with…
Subscribe to the newsletter