Works in Progress Podcast

Could gene silencing transform medicine? This discussion explores how siRNA switches off harmful proteins without altering DNA, why delivery has made the liver its main target, and the technology’s potential in cancer, infections, heart disease, Alzheimer’s, and rare genetic disorders. It also examines the decades-long path from petunia experiments to long-lasting treatments and the challenges still blocking wider use.

They explore how GLP-1 drugs moved from Gila monster venom to medicines for weight and diabetes and whether they could help heart, kidney, sleep, or brain diseases. They survey famous repurposings like Viagra, thalidomide, and Botox and ask how many other medicines hide extra uses. They dive into why repurposing often goes untested and what policy or trial designs might change that.

A quirky tour of how rats spread across North America and why Alberta stayed rat-free. A debate over gene drives, wildlife vaccination, and ethical pest control. A look at ultra‑Orthodox fertility norms and which social practices might be portable. A historical thread linking the Glorious Revolution to land, infrastructure, and market reforms. Plans for massive Squamish Nation housing and the politics of land reclamation.

A dive into how 19th-century cities combined permissive private building with decades-ahead street and sewer plans. They explore regulated, user-funded utilities and why single providers beat wasteful duplication. The conversation traces land ownership, transport monopolies, and which institutional features enabled explosive urban growth.

Katharine Collins, a vaccine researcher who co‑invented the R21 malaria vaccine during her PhD, tells the story of designing a second malaria vaccine. She discusses reverse‑engineering RTS,S, lab eureka moments seeing particles and protecting mice, and the gritty work of scaling to manufacture. The conversation also covers why malaria vaccines are uniquely hard and how funding shapes what gets developed.

Atalanta Arden-Miller, Art Director and trained sculptor, brings practical craft knowledge. Samuel Hughes, editor focusing on cities and design, explores economics and production. They discuss sculpture’s role in public space, engineering and foundry limits, mass-replication techniques, why other countries retain skills, and what rebuilding a sculptural industry would require.

Scientists speed up Darwin’s clock by watching microbes evolve in hours. Lab experiments recreate natural selection, from Dallinger’s heat-tolerant flagellates to Lenski’s long-term E. coli project. Visual mega-plate tests show how antibiotic gradients steer resistance. Frozen samples and genomes let researchers trace genetic changes through time.

Judge Glock, a public policy commentator who writes on local government and infrastructure, gives historical and policy analysis. He discusses how local incentives built Loudoun County’s data‑center boom and France’s nuclear rollout. They cover when local provision outperforms national control, special tax districts and their risks, and why local competition shapes public‑goods provision.

A lively tour of how scouring sand, wood ash and early soaps evolved into mechanized dishwashing. Stories of 19th-century crank-and-tub contraptions lead to Josephine Cochrane’s pressurized-water breakthrough. The narrative traces electrification, infrastructure and market forces that made dishwashers common. It ends with data on how the machine changed household labor and saved water and energy.

A tour of how English prose became clearer through shifts in syntax and plain style. They challenge the idea that shorter sentences equal better writing. You hear how Bible translations, public ritual, and 18th-century writers shaped modern sentence patterns. The piece traces a move from rhetorical periods to logical, speech-like prose and considers how media made writing more conversational.