The Macroscience Podcast

This week on the Macroscience podcast we interview Matt Clancy, proprietor of the excellent living literature review New Things Under The Sun and a Research Fellow at Open Philanthropy. We discuss the attributes of systems that are able to adapt and improve with time, and how those attributes shape different facets of research productivity. Along the way, we discuss the philanthropic imitation game, the bright sides of peer review, cream skimming phenomena, synthetic market forces, and the demand for HwangCo brand microscopes. Enjoy! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.macroscience.org

Ben Reinhardt, CEO of Speculative Technologies, leads a non-profit focused on pioneering research for public good. He discusses the shortcomings of the innovation ecosystem in fostering pre-commercial research and highlights his initiative, BRAINS, likening it to a 'Y Combinator' for research. The conversation dives into the empowering dynamics of research leadership, the bureaucratic hurdles faced in academia, and the necessity for innovative funding structures. Reinhardt argues that independent, exploratory organizations can redefine traditional scientific incentives.