

MIT Technology Review Narrated
MIT Technology Review
Welcome to MIT Technology Review Narrated, the home for the very best of our journalism in audio. Each week we will share one of our most ambitious stories, from print and online, narrated for us by real voice actors. Expect big themes, thought-provoking topics, and sharp analysis, all backed by our trusted reporting.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 28, 2022 • 22min
In Machines We Trust: Harvesting the future with AI and satellites
AI is used in farming in some ways you might not expect, like for tracking the health of crops—from space. We travel from test farms to labs in the second installment of our series on agriculture, AI, and satellites. We Meet:Joseph Liefer, senior product manager of autonomy at John DeereJulian Sanchez, director of emerging technology at John DeereShely Aranov, CEO of InnerPlantRod Kumimoto, CSO of InnerPlantCredits:This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Emma Cillekens and Anthony Green. It was edited by Mat Honan, and mixed by Garret Lang, with original music by Garret Lang and Jacob Gorski. Artwork by Stephanie Arnett.

Dec 21, 2022 • 18min
In Machines We Trust: The future of farming lies in space
AI is used in agriculture to precisely target weeds and optimize irrigation practices. It’s also being used in ways you might not expect, like for tracking the health of cow pastures—from space. We travel from test farms to orchards in the first of a two-part series on agriculture, AI, and satellites. We Meet: Greg Brickner, Veterinarian and grazing specialist at Organic ValleyGeoff Klein, irrigation manager of Bullseye FarmsJohn Bourne, SVP Ceres ImagingDeanna Kovar, VP of Production and Precision Ag Production Systems at John DeereJahmy Hindman, CTO at John DeereCredits:This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Emma Cillekens and Anthony Green. It was edited by Mat Honan, and mixed by Garret Lang, with original music by Garret Lang and Jacob Gorski. Artwork by Stephanie Arnett.

Dec 14, 2022 • 16min
In Machines We Trust: Optimizing for convenience
We’re in the middle of another major disruption in retail—one that’s been accelerated by the pandemic, and looks to take the convenience of e-commerce and apply it to physical environments. In this episode, we examine how AI is at the center of this transition.We meet:Prakhar Mehrotra, VP, Machine Learning, Walmart Global TechJordan Fisher, Chief Executive Officer, Standard AITerrence Griffin, Quality Control Specialist, Standard AISuresh Kumar, Global Chief Technology Officer and CDO, WalmartThis episode was produced by Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Jennifer Strong and Mat Honan and mixed by Garret Lang, with original music by Garret Lang and Jacob Gorski. Artwork by Stephanie Arnett.

Dec 7, 2022 • 21min
In Machines We Trust: When Your Face is Your Ticket (Encore)
Face mapping and other tracking systems are changing the sports experience in the stands and on the court. In part-three of this latest series on facial recognition, Jennifer Strong and the team at MIT Technology Review jump on the court to unpack just how much things are changing. This episode was originally published December 8, 2020.We meet: Donnie Scott, senior vice president of public security, IDEMIAMichael D'Auria, vice president of business development, Second SpectrumJason Gay, sports columnist, The Wall Street JournalRachel Goodger, director of business development, FancamRich Wang, director of analytics and fan engagement, Minnesota VikingsCredits: This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green, Tate Ryan-Mosley, Emma Cillekens and Karen Hao. We’re edited by Michael Reilly and Gideon Lichfield.

6 snips
Nov 30, 2022 • 26min
In Machines We Trust: How pricing algorithms learn to collude (Update)
Algorithms now determine how much things cost. It’s called dynamic pricing and it adjusts according to current market conditions in order to increase profits. The rise of ecommerce has propelled pricing algorithms into an everyday occurrence—whether you’re shopping on Amazon, booking a flight, hotel or ordering an Uber. We Meet:
Lisa Wilkins, UX designer
Gabe Smith, chief evangelist, Pricefx
Aylin Caliskan, assistant professor, University of Washington
Joseph Harrington, professor of business, economics and public policy, University of Pennsylvania
Maxime Cohen, Scale AI Chair professor, McGill University
Credits: This episode was reported by Anthony Green and produced by Jennifer Strong and Emma Cillekens. We’re edited by Mat Honan and our mix engineer is Garret Lang, with sound design and music by Jacob Gorski.

Nov 23, 2022 • 31min
In Machines We Trust: Want a job? The AI will see you now. (Encore)
In the past, hiring decisions were made by people. Today, some key decisions that lead to whether someone gets a job or not are made by algorithms. The use of AI-based job interviews has increased since the pandemic. As demand increases, so too do questions about whether these algorithms make fair and unbiased hiring decisions, or find the most qualified applicant. In this second episode of a four-part series on AI in hiring, we meet some of the big players making this technology including the CEOs of HireVue and myInterview—and we test some of these tools ourselves.We Meet:
Kevin Parker, Chairman & CEO, HireVue
Shelton Banks, CEO, re:work
Mark Adams, Vice President of North America, Curious Thing AI
Benjamin Gillman, Co-Founder and CEO, myInterview
Fred Oswald, Psychology Professor, Rice University
Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Computer Science Professor, Brown University
Clayton Donnelly, industrial-organizational psychologist, myInterview
We Talked To:
Kevin Parker, Chairman & CEO, HireVue
Lindsey Zuloaga, Chief Data Scientist, HireVue
Nathan Mondragon, Chief IO Psychologist, HireVue
Shelton Banks, CEO, re:work
Lisa Feldman Barrett, Psychology Professor, Northeastern University
Cathy O’Neil, CEO, O'Neil Risk Consulting & Algorithmic Auditing
Mark Adams, Vice President of North America, Curious Thing AI
Han Xu, Co-founder & CTO, Curious Thing AI
Benjamin Gillman, Co-founder & CEO, myInterview
Fred Oswald, Psychology Professor, Rice University
Suresh Venkatasubramanian, Computer Science Professor, Brown University
Clayton Donnelly, industrial-organizational psychologist, myInterview
Mark Gray, Director of People, Proper
Christoph Hohenberger, Co-founder and Managing Director, Retorio
Derek Mracek, Lead Data Scientist, Yobs
Raphael Danilo, Co-founder & CEO, Yobs
Jonathan Kestenbaum, Co-founder & Managing Director of Talent Tech Labs
Josh Bersin, Global Industry Analyst
Students and Teachers from the Hope Program in Brooklyn, NY
Henry Claypool, policy expert and former Director of the U.S. Health and Human Services Office on Disability
Sounds From:
Curious Thing AI
myInterview
Dolly Parton - 9 To 5: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbxUSsFXYo4
Arirang News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=30oCHwwLxy4
CBS News: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbRBCU6SHHo
CBS Philly: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wiPoCsZFFs
Credits:This miniseries on hiring was reported by Hilke Schellmann and produced by Jennifer Strong, Emma Cillekens, Karen Hao and Anthony Green with special thanks to James Wall. We’re edited by Michael Reilly. Art direction by Stephanie Arnett.

4 snips
Nov 16, 2022 • 19min
In Machines We Trust: Farming a war zone
Shortages of everything from seeds to fertilizer might accelerate the adoption of technologies that can help supplies go further in war-torn Ukraine.We meet: Roman Tarasevich, Farmer, UkraineMorten Schmidt, Chief Executive Officer, OneSoilInbal Reshef, Program Director, NASA HarvestOlekssi Misiura, Head of Research and Development, IMCCredits: This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Emma Cillekens and Anthony Green. It was edited by Mat Honan and contains original music from Garret Lang and Jacob Gorski. Our mix engineer is Garret Lang. We had field production help in Ukraine from Orysia Khimiak. Special thanks this week to Max Furman, Ty Walrod, Antonio Regalado and Megan Zaroda Mullenioux. Our artwork is by Stephanie Arnett.

Nov 9, 2022 • 24min
In Machines We Trust: What’s next for space research? (Live)
The International Space Station hosts scores of experiments that can’t be done on Earth. But it’s also showing its age—with repairs and safety concerns becoming increasingly common as it draws nearer to its end of life. In this episode, we bring you a conversation with Astronaut Michael López-Alegría about the path forward for research in low Earth orbit, from MIT Technology Review’s flagship conference, EmTech MIT.CREDITS:This episode was created by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Mat Honan, directed by Erin Underwood and mixed by Garret Lang. Episode art by Stephanie Arnett and special thanks this week to Amy Lammers and Brian Bryson from our events team.SOUNDS: What the next space station might look like, CNBChttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRcNxPCC9_AInternational space station removed from orbit 2031, NBChttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=My_mUGfc418Space Station to retire in 2031, NASA says, Fox 35 Orlandohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFN9CJGa2TQ

Nov 2, 2022 • 20min
In Machines We Trust: Decoding a future of fire
A look at how AI and other tech is being used to help predict, detect, and pinpoint the location of wildfires in the second of a two-part series.We Meet:Tricia Small, Television Producer, Small Fox FilmsGeorge Whitesides, Space ExecutiveBrittany Zajic, Disaster Response, Planet LabsDave Winnacker, Fire Chief, Moraga-Orinda Fire DistrictArvind Satyam, Chief Commercial Officer, PanoCredits:This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Mat Honan and contains original music from Garret Lang and Jacob Gorski. Our mix engineer is Garret Lang and our artwork is by Stephanie Arnett.

Oct 26, 2022 • 18min
In Machines We Trust: How AI watches wildfires
A look at how AI and other tech is being used to help predict, detect, and pinpoint the location of wildfires in the first of a two-part series.We meet: Dustin Tetrault, Deputy Fire Chief, Big Sky Fire DepartmentSankar Narayanan, Chief Practice Officer, Fractal AnalyticsCredits: This episode was reported and produced by Jennifer Strong, Anthony Green and Emma Cillekens. It was edited by Mat Honan and contains original music from Garret Lang and Jacob Gorski. Our mix engineer is Garret Lang and our artwork is by Stephanie Arnett.