World Changing Ideas

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How biohacking can build a more inclusive future and help gain agency over our bodies Feb 15, 2023

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We spend our whole lives living in human bodies, but even in 2023, there is so much that science doesn’t understand about how our body works, how it’s programmed, how it heals itself . . . or doesn’t. Despite all of our technological innovation, human life expectancy seems to have plateaued. In the U.S alone, it’s actually gone down for the past 2 years.

Biohackers around the world are making it their mission to optimize the body for its longest, healthiest life possible. In today’s episode, we follow one woman’s journey as she finds out how to heal her body using modern technology that borrows from age-old practices. We also found out how one company is bridging the gender health gap, and how tiny robots could help locate tumors and dissolve blood clots before they became fatal.

Emma Wheylin, video producer of Fast Company's "Future Me" biohacking series
Alicia Chong Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Bloomer Tech
Dr. Bradley Nelson, professor of Robotics and Intelligent Systems at ETH Zurich

Collecting water from fog clouds - is it sci fi or a real solution? Feb 08, 2023

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Protecting our most important resources is becoming a global problem that affects all of us. The impact of climate change and the demands of urban living are threatening so many of our essential sources of life. Water is one of the most precious commodities available to us. But we'll have to find some innovative approaches to collecting it. That's where fog catching comes into play. We also found out what one group is doing to protect the Amazon rainforest, its biodiversity and indigenous inhabitants.

Jamila Bargach, executive director of Foundation Dar Si Hmad
Tadzio MacGregor, co-founder of the Javari Project

Decarbonization startups are in! Meet three of our favorites Feb 01, 2023

Show notes

Despite a dip in carbon emissions during the pandemic, the U.S is still the world’s second largest polluter. The country produced 5.6 bn metric tons of CO2 in 2022, and that’s up from last year.

So who’s got some world-changing ideas when it comes to decarbonization? We’ve found three pretty cool characters this week. And each one of them has gone all in on the power of plants.

Adam Taylor, CEO of Brilliant Planet, a company that grows massive amounts of microalgae on coastal deserts in order to store carbon at a grand scale.
Rodrigo Garcia Gonzalez, cofounder and co-CEO of Notpla, which is using seaweed to take plastic out of packaging.
Christian Kroll, founder and CEO of Ecosia, the internet search engine that will plant trees using people's searches.

Can the Metaverse ever compete with social media? Jan 25, 2023

Show notes

There are lots of different definitions of what the Metaverse is or could be. At the moment, the whole thing is looking quite fragmented. You get all these buzzwords being thrown around like immersive, virtual reality, avatars and headsets, but it’s not really clear yet how this new virtual space will change the way we interact with each other.

On today's episode, we chatted with two people who are tapped into the scene, and they gave us their insights.

Cathy Hackl, founder and Chief Metaverse Officer at Journey
Matt Navarra, podcaster and social media consultant

How will 3 billion people playing video games change the world? Jan 18, 2023

Show notes

In 2022, roughly 3 billion people, or one in every three people in the world, regularly played computer games, either on their phone, computer, or some kind of gaming console. Analysts predict that the video game market will bring in over $200 billion in 2024. If you think about it, people are wired to play games, it’s actually something that’s helped us evolve as a species.

The Arsht Rockefeller Foundation has put together an initiative to share climate-change-resiliency solutions by 2030. Their goal: to reach one billion people. Video games have shown they not only bring people together, but also help mobilize collective action. But what about the environmental impact? We take a look at what digital games can cost the planet as well as the benefits of designing climate-resilient video games.

Rosemary Mann leads video gaming strategy at the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center.
Chance Glasco is the creative director of Good Dog Studios and a nonresident senior fellow at the Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center.
Juni Yeung is a music teacher, author, cultural historian, and interpreter.
Ben Abraham is the founder of the research and consultancy group, AfterClimate, and the author of Digital Games After Climate Change.
Marina Psaros is head of sustainability at Unity Technologies.

Best of WCI: Toilets, poop, and water conservation Jan 11, 2023

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We have a recap of one of our favorite episodes from last year and what better way to kick off 2023 than talking about toilets? Enjoy!

The Fast Company podcast team looks back on 2022 Dec 28, 2022

Show notes

Amelia Hemphill, KC Ifeanyi, and Kate Davis discuss the biggest stories at Fast Company this past year and share their favorite moments from Fast Company podcasts. Amelia explains some of the most innovative approaches to sustainability, including a toilet that incinerates your bowel movement under water. KC reviews some of the biggest trends in the creator economy. Kate highlights The New Way We Work's 4-part miniseries "Ambition Diaries," which examined the effects of the pandemic on women's progress in the workplace. Finally, Kate, KC, and Amelia share their New Year's resolutions.

Subscribe to World Changing Ideas, The New Way We Work, and Creative Control on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Telling stories could be the ultimate climate change solution—meet the activists changing the narrative Dec 21, 2022

Show notes

Addressing the problems around climate change requires collective action and big ideas. But we also need to learn how to listen and how to change our perspective. This week, we speak to some leading environmental activists about storytelling and how to craft a message that sparks behavioral change.

Kate Tellers - director at The Moth, a storytelling collective and nonprofit in New York City. She’s also the author of How to Tell a Story: The Essential Guide to Memorable Storytelling From The Moth.
Dr. Nicole Redvers - assistant professor at the University of Western Ontario and the cofounder of the Arctic Indigenous Wellness Foundation.
Winnie Cheche - wildlife conservation activist and Communication Lead at Kenya Environmental Action Network
Finn Harries - designer and filmmaker, cofounder of Earthrise Studio

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Poop Jacuzzis, guard dogs and worm bins - how to produce food with no pesticides Dec 14, 2022

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Farming is one of our most ancient practices. We can’t support human life on this planet without the food we grow from the soil. But the soil itself is also a living organism—and a crucial resource that desperately needs our global attention. December 5 is the UN’s annual World Soil Day—to bring awareness of the importance of healthy soil and ecosystems. So, let’s dig in here. . . .

Apricot Lane Farms: John and Molly Chester started out not knowing much about farming but have now created a world-famous case study of soil regeneration and biodynamic farming with Apricot Lane Farms, which spans 234 acres of countryside in Moorpark, California. They’ve also built a thriving business and produced an award-winning documentary called ‘The Biggest Little Farm’ about the couple’s farming journey and the challenges along the way.

Check out our Instagram and TikTok at Fast Company for more creative world changing ideas!

Car-free cities and flying boats: futuristic or present-day solutions? Dec 07, 2022

Show notes

Reducing emissions was a hot topic at COP27, and a lot of the emissions burden is going to fall on cities and local governments. So what kind of world-changing ideas are we seeing in this space?

Volksentscheid Autofrei is posing the philosophical question of how to optimize our urban spaces and taking it to the streets, literally. The movement wants to significantly reduce Berlin’s car traffic by opening up the inner city to pedestrians. The main goal was to start a forum for a democratic process, so they proposed a law the people of Berlin could vote on.
Candela is aiming to overhaul the maritime industry by creating a flying boat . . . or something close to it. Its carbon fiber and proprietary software are part of a design to create an electric boat that’s both noiseless and emissions-free. The next step? Building an electric water taxi that will connect waterfront cities.

Check out our Instagram and TikTok at Fast Company for more creative world changing ideas!

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