The Ongoing Transformation

Dec 03 2024 65 ep. 31 mins 36
The Ongoing Transformation Podcast artwork

The Ongoing Transformation is a biweekly podcast featuring conversations about science, technology, policy, and society. We talk with interesting thinkers—leading researchers, artists, policymakers, social theorists, and other luminaries—about the ways new knowledge transforms our world. This podcast is presented by Issues in Science and Technology, a journal published by Arizona State University and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Visit issues.org and contact us at [email protected].

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A Cutting-Edge Bureaucracy

Dec 03 2024 37 mins  
The word "bureaucracy" conjures up images of red tape and long lines at the DMV, not cutting-edge innovation. But some of the most significant scientific and health innovations of the past century have actually come from scientist-bureaucrats at government research institutes. On this episode, host Jason Lloyd is joined by Natalie Aviles, an assistant professor at the University o

The Hidden Engineering that Makes New York Tick

Nov 18 2024 32 mins  
New York City is the perfect place to understand the importance of modern engineering, but the most valuable lessons won’t be found at the Empire State Building or in Central Park. To truly discover what makes modern life tick, you have to look at the unloved, uncelebrated elements of New York: its sewers, bridges, and elevators. On this episode, host Lisa Margonelli talks to Gu

Ending Inequities in Health Care

Nov 05 2024 30 mins  
The United States spends more on healthcare than any other high-income country, yet we have some of the worst population health outcomes. Our health care system is designed in such a way that racial and ethnic disparities are inevitable, and the differences are extreme: the life expectancy difference between white women and black men is over a decade. How can we fix the system to e

Uncovering Hidden Bias in Clinical Research

Oct 22 2024 34 mins  
Check the end of any recent study, and there will be a list of study funders and disclosures about competing interests. It’s important to know about potential biases in research, but this kind of transparency was not always the norm. Understanding bias in research and helping policymakers use the most reliable evidence to guide their decisions is a science in itself. Lisa Bero, a

How the Octopus Got to the Senate

Oct 08 2024 34 mins  
Octopuses are famously smart: they can recognize individual humans, solve problems, and even keep gardens. They are also a popular food for humans: around 350,000 tons of octopus are caught worldwide each year, and demand is only growing. Some governments and start-ups have invested significant resources into domesticating octopus, and the world’s first octopus farm may soon open

Lav Varshney Connects AI Research, Executive Policy, and Public Service

Sep 24 2024 26 mins  
In this installment of Science Policy IRL, host Jason Lloyd goes behind the scenes of the White House Fellowship program with Lav Varshney, associate professor of engineering, computer science, and neuroscience at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Varshney served as a White House Fellow from 2022 to 2023, where he worked at the National Security Council with Anne Neuberg

Cool Ideas for a Long, Hot Summer: Indigenous Sustainability

Sep 10 2024 17 mins  
In our miniseries Cool Ideas for a Long, Hot Summer, we’re working with Arizona State University’s Global Futures Lab to highlight bold ideas about how to mitigate and adapt to climate change. The miniseries has explored how economics can be used to advance environmental justice, how solar-powered canoes can protect the Amazon from deforestation, and how refugees create communi

Cool Ideas for a Long, Hot Summer: Refugee Communication Networks

Sep 03 2024 13 mins  
In our miniseries Cool Ideas for a Long, Hot Summer, we’re working with Arizona State University’s Global Futures Lab to highlight bold ideas about how to mitigate and adapt to climate change. On this episode, host Kimberly Quach is joined by ASU assistant professor Faheem Hussain to learn about how Rohingya refugees are using social technologies and what they can teach the re

Cool Ideas for a Long, Hot Summer: Solar-Powered Canoes

Aug 27 2024 19 mins  
In our new miniseries Cool Ideas for a Long Hot Summer, we're working with Arizona State University’s Global Futures Lab to highlight bold ideas about how to mitigate and adapt to climate change. On this episode, host Kimberly Quach is joined by ASU associate professor David Manuel-Navarrete to talk about his Solar Canoes Against Deforestation project. Working closely with E

Cool Ideas for a Long, Hot Summer: Environmental Justice

Aug 20 2024 13 mins  
This has been a record-breaking summer all over the world. Many cities have recorded their hottest days ever, and June 2024 was the hottest month on record worldwide. Mitigating and adapting to the impacts of climate change, including extreme heat and long summers, will require a lot of bold new ideas. This summer, we’re highlighting some of those ideas in a mini podcast series,