The World Transformed

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Airships, Reusable Rockets, and Programmable Matter Dec 01, 2015

Show notes

We've got all the cool stuff you need -- right here! For example, Lockheed is moving ahead with its airship. Jeff Bezos has introduced a fully reusable rocket And it works! Does this mean that Blue Origin is pulling ahead of SpaceX? Since space exploration is happening, it's a good thing we're working out property rights in space. But then how big a deal will space be when we have programmable matter? And get we get these cool things faster via time travel? (Which may or may not be right around the corner.) In any case, we should value it all for the experience. Join us! WT 130

The Power of Gratitude: Why the Future Belongs to the Grateful Nov 23, 2015

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon kick off the holiday season with a special Thanksgiving-week discussion of one of this program's most enduring topics: what we have to be thankful for. The list is probably a lot longer than you think! Research shows that grateful people are healthier and happier. That should be reason enough for anyone, but there's more. Is it possible that gratitude somehow makes us better prepared for the future than its alternatives? Phil and Stephen discuss why this might be the case while listing their some top reasons fro being grateful. UPDATE Stephen's list of things to be grateful for: Room Temperature Quantum Entanglement Growing Vocal Chords in the Lab NASA Orders Spaceflights Going to Europa Waitress Hero Hero of La Belle Equipe

Another Week, Another Cure for Cancer Nov 16, 2015

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Last time out, we talked about how some clever researchers had essentially figured out a way to get malaria to fight with cancer. Now the Food and Drug Administration has just approved the first cancer-killing virus. Yes, it sounds a little too much the premise for I Am Legend, but could this be a game changer? Also, what does big data have to do with making us all live longer? And...what do deep-dive learning techniques applied to tracking fossils have to tell us about the future of knowledge? PLUS: It's the Trial of Self-Driving Car. Phil Bowermaster serves as prosecuter, while Stephen Gordon argues for the defense. It's all connected. Tune in and explore!

In the Future, Things Will Be Amazing Oct 21, 2015

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss some of the amazing things that might happen in the future. For example, We might do experiments that put us in touch with parallel universes. Or we might accidentally find a cure for cancer. Maybe we will have printers that can create whole buildings in 24 hours. Perhaps we will start taking seriously our moral duty to colonize the universe. Or maybe we’ll find the on-off switch for human consciousness. And, of course, people will start undergoing serious medical treatments to reverse aging.

Under Construction: Has the Kepler Probe Detected Alien Megastructures? Oct 15, 2015

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Somewhere between Cygnus the Swan and Lyra the Harp sits a star with a big secret. A whole lot of something is orbiting that star, and it is unlike anything astronomers have seen before. Is it possible that we have stumbled upon the ruins of a Dyson Sphere -- or one that's under construction? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss this and other amazing developments: Daimler puts a self-driving truck on the autobahn. Have gene scientists figured out a way to double life span? Plus a favorite old topic: is it time to replace guns with something not so lethal? Tune in and explore.

Good News, Bad News: Getting the Balance Right Oct 08, 2015

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon demonstrate the World Transformed Pareto Optimism Principle with four stories that speak to an amazingly bright future and one that goes in a very different direction. The Good News: Vertical Pink Farms and the coming urban agricultural revolution Extreme Poverty Falls Below 10% Robot doctors are on their way. The real solution for healthcare? Can a Lucid Dreaming Mask mark the beginning of full-immersion VR? The Bad News: A scary theory about why we've not yet found any aliens Plus: Phil and Stephen give their review of Limitless, the series. Join us!

The Tower of Possibility: Space Is Only the Beginning Sep 24, 2015

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon return to one of their favorite topics -- The Adjacent Possible -- "a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself." How do the plans of Thoth, a Canadian aerospace firm, to construct a 20-KM-high inflatable space elevator demonstrate the adjacent possible? Such a tower would have obvious implications for space travel, but what about energy, terrestrial travel, communications, recreation, sports, etc.? The possibilities are vast once you begin exploring them. Plus: a Modafinil update. Join us!

Nuke Mars! (And Other Reasonable Ideas) Sep 17, 2015

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How do we know whether an idea is so crazy that it just might work or so crazy that we shouldn't go near it with a 10-foot pole? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss a wide variety of crazy ideas that just might work, including: Terraforming Mars -- do we go big or take a quieter approach? Geoengineering -- it it time to try to terraform Earth? Teleportation -- who's in? On Being Limitless -- are we all ready to start taking smart pills? Deep Learning -- can we solve the world's problems with it? Plus, time eprmitting: an all-new Tales of the Paranormal! Tune in and explore.

Shifting Reality: Berenstain Bears and Other Mysteries Sep 04, 2015

Show notes

There are those who believe that they are not living in the same universe they used to.They have moved from one reality to another. Their evidence for this fundamental shift in reality? The spelling of the name of some fictional bears. (Others look at what might be considered somewhat more serious alternate timelines.) Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon explore some major reality shifts that are occurring now or are likely to occur in the near future, including: The advent of the self-driving car and the end of the human era?The artificial Rhino horn and the test-tube brain:are we moving away from anything being produced naturally?The recent controversy over working conditions at Amazon: signpost on the road to a post-employment world? Reality is changing all around. Can you keep up? Join us and explore.

Declaration of Awesomeness 2015 Jul 17, 2015

Show notes

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon missed their annual Fourth of July Declaration of Singularity show this year, so instead in honor of Bastille Day they present the Declaration of Awesomeness. Not all roads lead to awesomeness, but there has never been a better time to create or experienc the awesome than right now. A few examples of awesomeness in action: AI is totally happening: Village on the Moon Induction cooking -- it's magic! Alzheimer's Treatment Successfully restores Memory If you are not there already, It's time to become awesome, folks. Who is with us?

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