Tectonic

Swissnex
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  • SOCIETY & CULTURE
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Tectonic

With recent health, environmental, and economic crises, the capacity of humankind to innovate its way to a better future is, at times, in doubt. How are science and technology confronting our most foundational global challenges? How can we increase public trust in science? And what are the ethical and political challenges to charting a path of human progress in the 21st century? In this podcast, host Brendan Karch interviews thinkers, writers, scientists, policymakers, and researchers who are tackling these seismic questions. Tectonic is a production of Swissnex in Boston and New York, whose aim is to bring the leading ideas from our hub of academic inquiry to Switzerland and the world, in order to inspire new thinking across disciplinary and national boundaries.

Episodes

  1. 07/27/2022

    The Most Innovative Square Mile on Earth

    Massachusetts and Switzerland both often rank near the top of state and country innovation rankings. Key to this success are innovation zones, and none is more influential than Kendall Square – a small strip of former swampland in Cambridge, just across the river from Boston. These days it’s home to MIT and some of the most important biotech research on the planet, as well as pharmaceutical giants like Novartis and Moderna. Little wonder it’s been called ‘the most innovative square mile on ea...

    25 min

  2. 07/05/2022

    The Foundations of Sustainable Construction

    Switzerland famously lacks natural resources, especially wood. To build its modern economy, the mountainous country came to rely heavily on concrete – and today has become a world leader in the concrete industry. But the building material has come under heavy scrutiny for its carbon footprint. Concrete production emits at least five percent of all human greenhouse gas emissions. As we face the urgent need for more sustainable built environments, does concrete have a future? In this episode, w...

    29 min

  3. 02/01/2022

    Democratizing Innovation in Cities

    The problems of the globe are also the problems of our major cities, especially post-industrial ones: environmental damage, economic inequality, public health crises. Can we solve these problems one city at a time, through renewal and innovation? We talk with Katie Stebbins, who has spent her career working to revive some of Massachusetts' most economically challenged towns. Her mission? To democratize innovation. Katie explores how a community garden, or a small business growing coral in a g...

    25 min

  4. 01/18/2022

    Is the Future of Meat in the Lab?

    As our global population continues to expand, and developing societies grow wealthier, our food supply is being stretched thin. In particular, global demand for meat continues to rise – and with it the stress on our land and freshwater ecosystems. One new technology being touted as a future solution is animal protein grown in a bioreactor. Is laboratory meat our future? Historian and writer Ben Wurgaft spent over a half-decade researching and writing about the lab-grown meat industry, still ...

    26 min

  5. 01/04/2022

    Renewing our Governance Systems

    What’s ailing American politics, and can the underlying ideals of US democracy be renewed? How should the US change its role in the world, and are there alternatives to solving global challenges that exploit resources beyond our current UN system of nation-states? To answer such big-picture and wide-ranging questions, we spoke with a prodigious thinker. Anne-Marie Slaughter has worn many hats: lawyer, Ivy League academic, foreign policy leader, and now CEO of the think tank New America....

    25 min

  6. 12/21/2021

    Making Science Work for Policy and the Public

    We live an era where we need science more than ever to solve our global challenges, from global warming to pandemics. And yet science often feels under attack from multiple directions. How can scientists, the public, and policymakers create lasting relationships of trust and collaboration? This question has occupied our guest, Noelle Selin, Professor in Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences at MIT, and director of MIT’s Technology and Policy Program. “If you’re sort of starting at the ‘I...

    22 min

  7. 12/03/2021

    Rebuilding Trust in Institutions

    "I think Facebook may be one of these broken institutions, where we actually need to replace it with something different," says Ethan Zuckerman, an early internet pioneer and scholar examining the intersection of social media and democracy. You might also know Ethan as the inventor of the pop-up ad (and yes, he has officially apologized for it.) He went on to reflect on the myth of social media being one big community, adding that "there is no such thing as a community of three billion peop...

    24 min
  • 7 Episodes

    5
    out of 5
    12 Ratings

    About

    With recent health, environmental, and economic crises, the capacity of humankind to innovate its way to a better future is, at times, in doubt. How are science and technology confronting our most foundational global challenges? How can we increase public trust in science? And what are the ethical and political challenges to charting a path of human progress in the 21st century? In this podcast, host Brendan Karch interviews thinkers, writers, scientists, policymakers, and researchers who are tackling these seismic questions. Tectonic is a production of Swissnex in Boston and New York, whose aim is to bring the leading ideas from our hub of academic inquiry to Switzerland and the world, in order to inspire new thinking across disciplinary and national boundaries.

    Information

    • Creator
      Swissnex
    • Years Active
      2021 - 2022
    • Episodes
      7
    • Rating
      Clean
    • Copyright
      © 2022 Swissnex
    • Show Website
      Tectonic

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