The World as You’ll Know It: The Future Of Aging
Human beings are living longer than ever. Thanks to advances like vaccines, antibiotics, pasteurized milk and clean water, we’ve added more than 30 years to the average lifespan over the last 120 years. That’s more than was added in the previous 10,000 years combined. More recently, enormous progress has been made in our treatment of deadly conditions like heart disease and cancer, with mortality rates for each dropping by double digits. Now science is tackling a new challenge: Can we cure aging itself? In pursuit of this holy grail, longevity research has gone from a sleepy backwater to a multi billion dollar field, populated — yes — by plenty of hucksters, but also by Nobel laureates. The goal is to find out what causes us to age and what we can do to slow it down, or maybe even reverse it altogether. Could tweaking the right molecule buy us 20 more years, or are we maxed out? Can older brains be re-wired to function like younger brains? Do any so-called biohacks actually work? These are some of the questions we are tackling in this season of The World as You’ll Know It: The Future of Aging. With leading scientists in the fields of biology, neuroscience and medicine, we’ll look at the cutting-edge of aging research and what living longer could mean for all of us.
Latest episodes
7 snips
Jul 30, 2024 • 26min
Keeping Cool Without Warming the Planet
Dr. David Hondula, the Director of Heat Response and Mitigation for Phoenix, dives into the critical issue of heat-related fatalities, emphasizing the paradox of air conditioning contributing to global warming. He explores sustainable cooling solutions, the economic and health impacts of extreme heat, and innovative technologies aimed at reducing carbon footprints. The discussion also highlights the importance of collaboration and informed decision-making in battling climate change while ensuring social equity in cooling access. A must-listen for eco-conscious minds!
Jul 23, 2024 • 32min
Is the U.S. Ready for a New Nuclear Age?
The podcast delves into the history and future of nuclear power in the U.S., discussing the challenges faced in its development and the potential for smaller, more adaptable reactors. It highlights a unique research reactor run by undergraduates and explores misconceptions surrounding nuclear energy. Additionally, it examines sustainable air conditioning innovation and the role of nuclear power in achieving net zero emissions goals.
9 snips
Jul 16, 2024 • 30min
The Great American Road Trip, Reimagined
Discover the challenges of transitioning Americans to electric vehicles, including infrastructure needs and battery technology. Explore the impact of EV adoption on combating climate change and reducing emissions. Learn about the history and future advancements in battery technology for electric vehicles.
10 snips
Jul 9, 2024 • 27min
Climate Change and the Surprising Success of Solar Power
Author Greg Nemet discusses the surprising success of solar power, tracing its evolution from early days to present global impact. They explore the future potential of solar energy, challenges faced in expansion, and the transition to electric vehicles and battery varieties.
Jun 25, 2024 • 2min
Introducing: The Great Rebuild
We’re currently involved in one of the most ambitious projects we, as humans, have ever attempted: Rebuilding the world, pretty much from the ground up, in order to switch from fossil fuels to clean energy sources. In this season of The World as You'll Know It, science journalist Arielle Duhaime-Ross goes deep inside the world of cutting-edge climate technologies and asks: How is this going to work? The answers — from some of the world’s most innovative and audacious thinkers, builders and investors — reveal the promise, obstacles and tradeoffs of a new clean-energy landscape that will shape the way we live. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Aug 29, 2023 • 30min
The Race to Control AI
Speakers discuss the impact of AI on employment, job retraining, and concerns about AI causing harm. They explore regulating AI and the importance of international coordination. They delve into deliberate choices on social media and the experiences of speakers from marginalized communities. They examine the Tuskegee syphilis experiment and its impact on establishing bioethics. They discuss discrimination in employment decisions due to the alignment problem in computer science. They highlight potential conflicts, deaths, chaos, and the importance of making the right choices for the future of AI.
Aug 22, 2023 • 34min
When Bots Become Our Friends
Engineer Blake Lemoine claims Google program Lambda has feelings; Simulation vs. human debate; The Eliza Effect & Lemoine's defense of Lambda; AI chatbots and building relationships; Expanding moral circle & future of sentient machines.
Aug 15, 2023 • 29min
AI Took My Career!
Amy Winter, a concept artist, and Brian Merchant, a technology columnist, explore the threat of generative AI to their careers. They discuss the impact of AI on various professions, the anxieties of artists, taxing capital, AI's impact on creative work, and the social role of AI in human lives.
5 snips
Aug 8, 2023 • 27min
How AI Will Turbocharge Misinformation
The podcast explores the dangers of AI-generated deep fakes and their potential to spread misinformation. It discusses real-life examples of AI hallucinations, the impact of generative AI and deepfakes on misinformation, challenges in content moderation, and concerns about the impact of generative AI on jobs.
May 16, 2023 • 28min
Can AI Make You Laugh?
New large language models are capable of writing essays, drafting marketing pitches and having human-like exchanges on chat apps. But can they make us laugh the way a human can? To explore this, host Gary Marcus is joined by Dr. Naomi Saphra, an AI researcher and comedian, Bob Mankoff, former Cartoon Editor of The New Yorker magazine and Yejin Choi, a computer science professor at the University of Washington and 2022 MacArthur Fellow. While artificial intelligence systems can generate far more jokes than humans can, knowing what’s funny remains — at least for now — a uniquely human ability. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices
