Are we in an unprecedented era of military peace on the seas? Gregg Easterbrook, a prolific author and a writer and editor at The Atlantic for over 40 years, shares how the Navy, innovation, space travel, and prosperity go hand in hand.
Are we moving "out of the pandemic phase" of COVID-19? Today we talk with the Director of the Human Nature Lab at Yale University, Nicholas Christakis, and Special Advisor to the Director General of the World Health Organization, Ezekiel Emanuel, about what we've learned over the past two years and where we can go from here.
What's coming next? We sit down with a modern renaissance man, economist, and podcaster Tyler Cowen to participate in what he calls his greatest pleasure: information extraction. We pick his brain on everything from mRNA to housing bubbles to literature. "The world," he tells us, "has never been more optimistic than it is now."
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has been framed as a global inflection point. It may or may not be in actuality, but it is certainly a moment that challenges our assumptions of how we view the current world order and opens questions about what the next one would best look like. Anne-Marie Slaughter, CEO of New America and a Professor Emerita of Politics and International Affairs at Princeton University, joins us to discuss what is happening now in Ukraine and where the future of defense is going.
What is happiness, and why does it feel so difficult to find? The path to purpose, meaning, love, and contentment is actually no mystery, says Harvard University social scientist Arthur C. Brooks. He shares the research for how to invest in a thriving “happiness 401k.”
Work ain’t what it used to be—just ask the millions of Americans who are part of the “Great Resignation.” Venture capitalist and head of Bloomberg Beta, Roy Bahat, is looking to shape work for the better, from new forms of labor organizing to remote-friendly tech.
Is progress still possible? We believe so, and we're not alone. Jason Crawford, founder of The Roots of Progress, sits down with us to talk about the possibilities of the future and makes a case for optimism in the face of pessimistic predictions about tomorrow.
It might seem counterintuitive to ask in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, but is humanity winning the fight against infectious disease? Charles Kenny, Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Development, says we are. But we must continue availing ourselves of the solutions that have led to this progress if that answer is to stay. In this interview, Kenny speaks with The Progress Network Executive Director Emma Varvaloucas about his new book, The Plague Cycle, outlining the immense headway humanity has already made in flattening "the plague cycle" and what we need to keep doing it, talks about the beneficial ripple effects of our triumph over infectious disease, and sets our current pandemic experiences in the context of history.
This conversation was recorded on January 19th, 2021.
The United States is a country divided, characterized by collapsing levels of trust in our institutions, in our politics, and in each other. How did we get into this mess, and how do we get out? Join The Progress Network for a conversation with TPN Members David Brooks and Theodore R. Johnson, hosted by our founder, Zachary Karabell, centered around this question. They examine ideas for how to bridge our divides at both an individual and collective level.
This conversation was recorded on December 21st, 2020.
Are we on the brink of a population explosion with untold global consequences? On the contrary, a growing number of experts argue that we are headed for a worldwide decline. Hear from Empty Planet authors John Ibbitson and Darrell Bricker on how this could bring with it many benefits as well as surprising disruptions.
This recording was first released on March 5th, 2019.