The Future Of Airliners?
One that could shake up the duopoly of Boeing and Airbus to force competition and new designs? Take a look at the D8, nicknamed the Double Bubble, developed by Aurura, MIT and with the help of NASA.
How Japan Could Reinvent The Hotel
Smart use of space and a centuries-old hospitality industry have made Japan’s hotels pop. A new crop of lodging luring millennials might help define Japan’s post-Olympics, Airbnb era. Boutique, offbeat lifestyle hotels might just be the key to attracting a new kind of traveller – and retaining a competitive edge.
The Spectacular Rise And Fall Of WeWork
In less than one year, WeWork went from having a $47 billion valuation and being the darling of the venture capital world to needing an $8 billion infusion to avoid running out of money. This is the story of Adam Neumann, Softbank’s risky investment, a failed IPO and how we got here.
How To Elevate Your Presence In A Virtual Meeting
Elevating both your point and your presence in a Zoom, Skype, or similar virtual meeting, requires not only engaging in video conference-friendly tactics but also disabusing yourself of potentially detrimental misconceptions about the medium.
The Doomsday Invention: Will Artificial Intelligence Bring Us Utopia Or Destruction?
Philosopher Nick Bostrom argues that true artificial intelligence, if it is realized, might pose a danger that exceeds every previous threat from technology—even nuclear weapons—and that if its development is not managed carefully humanity risks engineering its own extinction.
Offices Can Be Hell For People Whose Brains Work Differently
Work spaces today come with strong smells, harsh light, lots of chatter, and constant messages on email or Slack. For neurodivergent people, this can be a big ask.
Inside The Failure Of Google+, A Very Expensive Attempt To Unseat Facebook
Create a social network or risk everything. That was the original pitch for Google’s Facebook rival, Google+, a refrain hammered over and over by the social network’s chief architect, Vic Gundotra, in meetings with the company’s top brass.
How To Stop Plastic Getting Into The Ocean
By 2050 there could be more plastic in the ocean by weight, than fish. Plastic pollution is definitely one of the largest threats our oceans face today. Meet the engineers who are using rubbish-guzzling boats to stem the flow at its source.
Exploring Detroit’s Largest Abandoned High School
This video explores one of the largest abandoned schools in Detroit, Cooley High School. At its peak, the school had over 3,400 students enrolled. At the center of the school is a beautiful auditorium with amazing architectural details, but unfortunately suffered a fire in 2017.
The Quick And Ubiquitous Economics Of Bodegas
Whether you’re cruising in for a six-pack, or you live in the big city and depend on your corner store for, well, just about everything, they’ve usually got you covered. But how do they survive selling nothing but inexpensive merchandise?
Tech’s Most Controversial Startup Makes Drone-Killing Robots
Founded by Palmer Luckey and backed by Peter Thiel, Anduril is rekindling the connection between the American military and Silicon Valley. The company’s surveillance technology consists of large towers, packed with sensors, and small surveillance drones that can be set up to guard the perimeter.
Urban Geography: Why We Live Where We Do
Rich Americans live in the suburbs; Rich Europeans live downtown. Why do cities on the two continents have different structures?
Elon Musk’s Battery Farm Is An Undeniable Success
More than two years after winning an electricity bet, Elon Musk’s resulting Australian solar and wind farm is an almost total success. The facility powers rural South Australia, whose population density falls between Wyoming and Alaska, the two least dense U.S. states.
Solar-Powered Prefab Home Comes Move-In Ready
Haus.me is a turducken of housing buzzwords: The 3D-printed prefab house integrates smart home technology and can also go off-grid. The company has been making and testing homes that generate their own energy since 2016. Now, the company is ready to start shipping the homes to customers.
What Was Libya Like 25 Years Ago?
Gaddafi’s 25 Years in Power (1994): A historic report filmed as Libya celebrated 25 years of Gaddafi’s rule. This short documentary challenges the West’s view of Libya and looks at Gaddafi’s struggles both at home and abroad.
The Eternal Revenue Stream Of Led Zeppelin
In the rapid-fire age of digital everything, with young listeners eager for discovery, the ground has shifted beneath record companies’ feet and catalog departments are being called upon to be hubs of innovation and fresh creativity.
The Productivity Paradox
Higher productivity means the expectation of rising wages and abundant job opportunities. In a time of Facebook, smartphones, self-driving cars, and computers that can beat a person at just about any board game, how can the key economic measure of technological progress be so pathetic?
War Propaganda: How To Get A Country To Go To War
The war propaganda function in the United States is finely tuned. It’s sophisticated and most of all it blends into the media terrain. While the names of the countries changed, and of course each circumstance was different, there were some parallels that cried out for examination.
Tapping Into The Power Of Humble Narcissism
The two qualities sound like opposites, but they can go hand in hand. Narcissists believe they’re special and superior; humble leaders know they’re fallible and flawed. Humble narcissists bring the best of both worlds: they have bold visions, but they’re also willing to acknowledge their weaknesses and learn from their mistakes.
Inside X, Google’s Top-Secret Moonshot Factory
Within Alphabet, Google’s parent company, it is grouped alongside Deepmind in “Other Bets”, although in that metaphor, X is more like the gambler. Its stated aim is to pursue what it calls “moonshots” – to try to solve humanity’s great problems by inventing radical new technologies.
Can Mission-Driven Food Companies Scale Up Without Selling Out?
When just 10 companies—including Nestlé, Unilever, and General Mills—control the vast majority of food brands, it raises serious questions about the ability of mission-driven companies to hold on to their original intentions.