Beats: Disability “Disable” is an active verb, and disability describes the social and environmental barriers that prevent access just as much as an individual body’s physical reality.

    The Most Subversive Way to Travel Perhaps the humble bicycle, a transportation mode that puts people in contact with one another and gives them back that control they seem to crave, offers a unique opportunity to remake those realities for the better.

    To Board a Cruise Ship–and Never Get Off Meet the retirees who never stop moving.

    Beats: Food Food structures our day, and food systems shape our world

    Let Robots Handle Your Emotional Burnout at Work But as robotics and computing evolve, some researchers foresee a future where technology can relieve the long-held emotional burden of some of these professions. They think we owe it to the service workforce to offer a new frontline of robotic protection. In fact, they think it’s far overdue–but does that actually mean just automating these jobs away?

    Why You Should Be Eating Jellyfish to Save the Oceans Human disruption of the oceans is killing fish and leaving jellyfish to rule supreme. Could we make amends by adding them to our menus? Are you at least willing to take a bite, and try the taste?

    Isla del Encanto

    Puerto Ricans have always found opportunity in the limits placed upon them. Exploring the island’s agricultural future–from community gardens to research hubs, bakers to growers to distillers.
    Alicia Kennedy
    Apr 16, 2019

    A Noxious Problem

    Smog in cities and smoke in the home cause a huge range of short- and long-term health conditions. Why is the world’s biggest public health crisis only getting worse?
    How We Get To Next
    Oct 24, 2018

    A Visual History of the Future

    Decades ago, artists’ imaginings formed high expectations about the world to come. Were these just fantasies–or was it the work of pioneers whose visions of the future actually helped to shape it?
    Darren Garrett
    May 30, 2018

    Beats: Space

    Space is where we project our dreams–and our nightmares–of the future.

    Beats: Food

    Food structures our day, and food systems shape our world

    Beats: Disability

    “Disable” is an active verb, and disability describes the social and environmental barriers that prevent access just as much as an individual body’s physical reality.

    Beats: Health

    Access to health care is as much a matter of public policy as it is the size of a person’s pocketbook; within a doctor’s office, many factors affect the quality of treatment.

    Making the “Sound” Episode of How We Got To Now

    The sixth episode of How We Got To Now is all about sound. We asked Steven Johnson for some behind-the-scenes stories. What was the most surprising idea you discovered in making this episode? One of the big themes of the show is the way new ideas and technologies trigger these unintended consequences that ripple through […]
    Matt Locke
    Nov 12, 2014 2 min read

    Games as a Path to Self-Care

    Neuroscientific research has found that playing games can offer players therapeutic value.
    Andrea Ayres
    Nov 16, 2016 5 min read

    How Are Remote Workers Changing the World’s Cities?

    Remote working is easier than ever before across the world–but it has impacts on cities as well as workers.
    Duncan Geere
    Apr 26, 2016 4 min read