What Could Go Right?

Latest Episodes:

The Science of Sports Betting: How Gambling Apps Are Changing Our Brains | with Dr. Brendan Dwyer and Isaac Rose-Berman Sep 23, 2026

Show notes

Legal betting has exploded in the US. With the phone in your pocket, you can bet on the specific outcome of a game or who will attend the next State of the Union address. But legal betting has plenty of controversy, including how it affects sports fandom and the way it’s marketed to young men. Are the concerns overblown or do we need a real plan to address real harm? Two guests join our host Zachary Karabell for this conversation. Dr. Brendan Dwyer is a professor and the director of research at the Center for Sport Leadership at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), and Isaac Rose-Berman is a fellow at the American Institute for Boys and Men, focused on gambling research and policy.
The conversation explores guardrails needed for legal gambling to expand successfully while limiting harm to vulnerable populations.
What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org
Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/
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Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/

The World Map You Grew Up With Is Wrong Sep 21, 2026

Show notes

Maps have distorted the true size of the African continent for 500 years, but a new UN resolution is changing that. Progress Network Executive Director Emma Varvaloucas examines this historic shift toward a more accurate projection to correct centuries of cartographic bias. Plus: a biological breakthrough that could prevent premature births, and the wild story of how Neptune was discovered 175 years ago.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org

Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/

Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork

Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/

Could Reparations Actually Happen in America? With Prof. Dorothy Brown Sep 16, 2026

Show notes

In the United States, we have constant debates about long-standing systemic issues like classism, racism, and economic inequality, and we speak about these issues as if they are complicated and impossible to address. But what if history tells us that we already have the solutions to some of our biggest and oldest problems? What if there is a bold path that looks to the past to redirect our economic future?

Georgetown Law Professor Dorothy Brown joins host Zachary Karabell to talk about her book Getting to Reparations: How Building a Different America Requires a Reckoning with Our Past. They discuss whether reparations are practical and actually possible in the near future.
What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org
Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/
Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork
Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk
Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/

AI Was Supposed to Destroy Jobs. Here's What Actually Happened Sep 14, 2026

Show notes

There’s been a lot of doom and gloom around artificial intelligence taking our jobs. Even founders of AI companies like Sam Altman have said that many jobs will go poof and disappear. But is the AI job apocalypse all hype, or are we just in the calm before the storm? We dive in. We also discuss adorable dogs gene-edited to be hypoallergenic, and two women in New Zealand who paved the way for women’s rights.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org
Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/
Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork
Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk
Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/

Why We Can't Picture a Good Future Anymore | With Ari Wallach Sep 11, 2026

Show notes

Are we trapped in a cultural doom loop that forces us to fear the future instead of dreaming of a better one? In this episode, futurist Ari Wallach joins host Zachary Karabell to examine why modern society defaults to short-termism and how we can fundamentally redesign our approach to tomorrow. They dive deep into Wallach's "Longpath" framework, exploring how Western death anxiety, a deficit of transgenerational empathy, and a cultural obsession with dystopian media hinder our ability to tackle existential challenges. By shifting away from rigid predictions and embracing "protopian" storytelling, Wallach explains how we can incrementally build a more constructive, community-focused future.

Learn more about The Protopias Collection: https://awastudios.com/series/polis/ What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/

AI Designed a Cancer Therapy, Cyborg Bugs Are Saving Lives, and the Farmworkers Who Fought Back Sep 07, 2026

Show notes

What if you never have to wear a pink ribbon again? For years, experts called the medical dream of a personalized cancer vaccine impossible. Now, a new therapy written by an algorithm is making it happen. We're also talking about how Australian cyborg cockroaches could come to the rescue at natural disasters, and we get into the alliance that brought a California farming empire to its knees and created a historic labor movement. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/

Alien Civilizations, Mars Colonization & Humanity in the Age of AI | With Dr. Dakotah Tyler Sep 02, 2026

Show notes

Is interest in space dying, or are we on the brink of our greatest interstellar discoveries? In this episode of What Could Go Right, Zachary Karabell sits down with Dr. Dakotah Tyler, an astronomer and astrophysicist who pivoted from a promising college football career to unraveling the mysteries of the universe.
They discuss the existential threats and promises of large language models, questioning whether tech leaders can manipulate human thought and if our innate drive to explore is being outsourced to bots.They also explore the statistical probability of discovering alien life and why complex organisms might be a rare cosmic anomaly. Dr. Tyler brings a grounded scientific perspective to trending space topics, dissecting the cultural impact of the Artemis moon missions and the validity of UFO sightings.
What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org
Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/
Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork
Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk
Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/

Introducing: The Ongoing Transformation Aug 31, 2026

Show notes

This week, we want to share a podcast from our friends at Issues in Science & Technology. It’s called The Ongoing Transformation and it looks at how science and society are continually transforming each other.

From countless ads to outright scams, spam is an annoying constant of online life. But does it have to be that way?

In this episode, Rebecca Coyne and Jason Lloyd examine the history of spam. And take a look at efforts to address spam in the early 2000s may offer lessons for how we might regulate technologies such as artificial intelligence today.

Listen to more episodes and subscribe toThe Ongoing Transformation wherever you get your podcasts.

Social Media Is Making Politics Feel Worse Than It Really Is | With David Pakman Aug 26, 2026

Show notes

David Pakman is the founder and host of The David Pakman Show, one of the most watched independent progressive podcasts and online political shows. He's built an audience of over 6.7 million subscribers across social media platforms through calm, fact-based analysis and critical thinking. David joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss his new book, Pay Attention, coming out on September 22. They dive into the missed messaging opportunities for the left, the ongoing culture wars that lend themselves to clickbait headlines, and strategies to expand the progressive political tent within the limitations of the American two-party system. David offers his perspective on building an audience while protecting his values and integrity, and why the future of American political discourse might actually be brighter than the headlines suggest.

What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.
For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org
Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/
Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork
Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk
Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/

The Crime Wave Is Over. Why Does Nobody Believe It? Aug 24, 2026

Show notes

The media is constantly telling us that danger is everywhere. Between true crime binges and political rants, we're led to believe that our streets are a war zone. However, recent statistics released by the FBI tell a completely different story. Plus, we'll get into why video game fans have the resume the FAA is looking for. Then in our this week in history segment, we’re taking a look at a bad deal that sparked a massive non-violent protest in the form of a human chain. Join Emma Varvaloucas on this episode of the What Could Go Right progress report to hear the full story. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/

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