What Could Go Right?

The Progress Network with Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas

It's easy to be pessimistic, especially with headlines dominated by global challenges like a changing geopolitical landscape, the rise in authoritarianism, and a seemingly unstable global economy. But what if, despite all that, humanity is actually making progress?Join Progress Network Founder Zachary Karabell every Wednesday as he chats with leading experts like Ian Bremmer and Anne Marie Slaughter to challenge the negativity and find out whether we should be so pessimistic about everything from sustainability and polarization to the future of work. Plus, start your week right with Progress Network Executive Director Emma Varvaloucas, who delivers a weekly dose of essential good news every Monday. If environmental success stories and medical breakthroughs are your thing, you won’t want to miss it.Tune in to discover the evidence for progress and find your reason for cautious optimism.

  1. 20 hr ago

    The Invisible Arms Race Against Wildfire Smoke

    While the severity of North American wildfires and their deadly smoke has undeniably increased, humanity is quietly winning an invisible technological arms race against our changing atmosphere. Emma Varvaloucas, Executive Director of The Progress Network, explores how eight decades of innovations—from the invention of the HEPA filter to electrostatic N95 masks—are enabling individuals to mitigate climate impacts and become the architects of their own survival. Plus: A Harvard-led discovery of an Earth-like exoplanet with an atmosphere, a 21% global decrease in road traffic fatalities, and the successful conservation of the Australian numbat. 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 Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/

    The Invisible Arms Race Against Wildfire Smoke

  2. 5 days ago

    The Case for Embracing Limits | with David Epstein

    We live in an era of limitless options, but infinite choice might actually be paralyzing our ability to make decisions and find satisfaction. David Epstein, bestselling author of Range and the new book Inside the Box, joins host Zachary Karabell to argue that we severely overvalue complete freedom. Instead, Epstein reveals how imposing limits and constraints on ourselves can act as a powerful tool to drive creativity, spur innovation, and increase personal contentment. Epstein shares his own personal strategies for managing an overwhelming world. He discusses how he limits his own maximizing tendencies by setting strict parameters before shopping online, and how he outlined his entire new book on a single piece of paper to restrict his own sprawling curiosity. The conversation also delves into the stark contrast between the American youth sports machine and Norway's highly successful, joy-focused athletic development model. Along the way, they explore the decline of local investigative journalism, the cognitive pitfalls of learning via AI, and why historical context remains our best defense against modern pessimism. 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 Case for Embracing Limits | with David Epstein

  3. 20 Jul

    Opening a Nearly 2,000-Year-Old Treasure + Reviving Eyes for Science and Shark-Spotting Drones

    Researchers just used machine learning to read a carbonized Roman scroll that hasn't been opened in 2,000 years. In this week’s progress report, Emma Varvaloucas dives into a technological breakthrough that is unlocking an ancient library buried by volcanic ash in 79 AD.  Plus: a groundbreaking medical device in Barcelona that extends the viability of human eyes for vital medical research, the rapid adoption of eco-friendly heat pumps rivaling traditional air conditioning in the US, and the AI-powered drones that are successfully protecting swimmers from shark encounters across the globe.  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 Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/

    Opening a Nearly 2,000-Year-Old Treasure + Reviving Eyes for Science and Shark-Spotting Drones

  4. 15 Jul

    The Era of Mass Incarceration May Actually Be Ending | with Alex Duran

    The American criminal justice system is often viewed as an unfixable and intractable problem. But shifting demographics and new approaches to community investment might actually bring a natural end to the era of mass incarceration.Alex Duran spent 12 years in New York maximum security prisons before earning a liberal arts degree through the Bard College Prison Initiative. Today, he leads the criminal justice portfolio at Galaxy Gives. He joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss his surreal personal journey from Rikers Island to the world of high level philanthropy.The two explore the real reasons crime rates fluctuate, why our current parole systems are built to manage failure rather than reward success, and how simple investments in the physical environment can do more for public safety than increased police budgets. They also tackle the harsh reality of modern prison labor and examine the unexpected data showing that the US might literally run out of inmates in the coming decades. 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 Era of Mass Incarceration May Actually Be Ending | with Alex Duran

  5. 13 Jul

    Average Joes Making Positive Change

    Emma is on vacation! Which means this week, we’re doing something a little different. Before she left, she put together this roundup of stories about amateur do-gooders pitching in to make the world a better place: Wombat watchers in Australia helping to mitigate the spread of a deadly disease, stargazers contributing to NASA’s mission to find new planets outside our solar system, hikers carving new trails through Brazil’s sprawling wilderness, and randomly selected citizens compiling their neighbors’ concerns to pass on to lawmakers. 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 Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/

    Average Joes Making Positive Change

  6. 8 Jul

    The Case Against Cynicism | with Greg Jackson & Steven Johnson

    Despite record highs in life expectancy and historic lows in violent crime, society remains convinced that everything is completely broken. Steven Johnson (The Infernal Machine) and historian Greg Jackson (host of History That Doesn’t Suck) join Zachary Karabell at the Aspen Ideas Festival to decode our cultural doom loop. Rather than fueling the panic of our daily newsfeeds, the panel zeroes in on the psychological and historical roots of our negative worldview, revealing that our current crisis of faith isn't nearly as unprecedented as it feels. In this episode, we explore: The Negativity Bias: How our natural survival instincts and modern algorithmic media team up to skew reality. The Origins of "Fake News": Why sensationalist journalism is actually a 19th-century invention. The Invisible Arc of Progress: Why true, incremental improvements rarely make the front page—and why choosing human agency over apocalyptic defeatism is our best path forward. 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 Case Against Cynicism | with Greg Jackson & Steven Johnson

  7. 1 Jul

    Can We Please Celebrate America's 250th Without Whitewashing the Past? | with Alexis Coe

    Approaching the 250th anniversary of the United States brings up a familiar tension over whether we should celebrate our triumphs or relentlessly critique our failures. Most citizens tend to view the past with a thick lens of nostalgia, convincing themselves that earlier eras were inherently better than our current political moment. But this rigid binary between blind patriotism and total deconstruction leaves us trapped in endless arguments that prevent actual progress. Presidential historian Alexis Coe joins host Zachary Karabell to unpack why we struggle so deeply to accept the complexity of the nation's origins. Coe, the author of a bestselling George Washington biography, grounds this conversation in her own experiences confronting historical gatekeepers. She shares the story of having her book quietly pulled from the shelves at Mount Vernon after she publicly pointed out their lack of diverse leadership, and explains her accidental coinage of the term "thigh men" to describe male biographers who fetishize the physical attributes of the founders. Karabell and Coe explore how this tendency to romanticize figures like Washington or John F. Kennedy obscures the genuine, messy reality of American history. They discuss the current political landscape, noting how the modern electorate craves authenticity even in its most flawed forms, and why the emerging political divide is less about left versus right and more about the top versus the bottom.  Acknowledging the shadows of our history does not mean abandoning pride in the American project. By learning to hold both our national achievements and our profound shortcomings at the exact same time, we can finally stop looking backward and start doing the hard work of building a more integrated 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/ Follow him LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zacharykarabell Follow Zachary on X @zacharykarabell

    Can We Please Celebrate America's 250th Without Whitewashing the Past? | with Alexis Coe

  8. 29 Jun

    The Race to Catalogue Biodiversity + Brain Implants and Sweating Robots

    On this week’s progress report, we're in the golden age of species discovery. We’ll also get into the incredible story of a paralyzed man who can continue to work and communicate thanks to a groundbreaking brain implant, and researchers at Arizona State University hope a shivering, breathing, sweating robot can help us better equip ourselves for extreme weather conditions. What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.orgSubscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetworkFollow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkFollow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/

    The Race to Catalogue Biodiversity + Brain Implants and Sweating Robots
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Hosts & Guests

About

It's easy to be pessimistic, especially with headlines dominated by global challenges like a changing geopolitical landscape, the rise in authoritarianism, and a seemingly unstable global economy. But what if, despite all that, humanity is actually making progress?Join Progress Network Founder Zachary Karabell every Wednesday as he chats with leading experts like Ian Bremmer and Anne Marie Slaughter to challenge the negativity and find out whether we should be so pessimistic about everything from sustainability and polarization to the future of work. Plus, start your week right with Progress Network Executive Director Emma Varvaloucas, who delivers a weekly dose of essential good news every Monday. If environmental success stories and medical breakthroughs are your thing, you won’t want to miss it.Tune in to discover the evidence for progress and find your reason for cautious optimism.

Information

  • Creator
    The Progress Network with Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas
  • Years Active
    2021 - 2026
  • Episodes
    235
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © The Progress Network
  • Show Website
    What Could Go Right?

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