Matt Sparkes
Technology reporter who discusses the development, incentives and societal impacts of social media platforms in the episode.
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Jan 23, 2026 • 41min
The 5 worst ideas of the 21st century – and how they went wrong
Joshua Howgego, journalist on effective altruism, questions its ethical twists. Michael Le Page, science writer, debunks carbon offsets and alternative fuels. Leah Crane, science journalist, outlines Bitcoin and its huge energy cost. Matt Sparkes, technology reporter, traces social media’s shift from connection to attention-harvesting. They discuss how each idea went wrong and why fixing them is so hard.
