Shows
PopTech Audio: PopCastsAnil Dash: Holding to accountThinkUp co-founder and tech blogger Anil Dash questions what happens to our civic discourse when our online conversations occur under the terms of service of a small group of privately-owned tech companies whose sense of civic-mindedness is questionable at best? Are we part of the problem by not being part of the solution?2014-11-0417 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsHelen Fisher: What we wantBiological anthropologist Helen Fisher walks us through the biology of love. From the importance of one-night stands to the solidity of marriage, Fisher shreds the common wisdom of what love is and isn’t in the 21st century.2014-11-0434 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsPaola Antonelli: Walk the walkMoMA curator Paola Antonelli takes on the “good girls” of design by complicating commonly accepted notions of what design is and does in the modern world. With exhibitions on video games, violence, and the beautiful lethality of everyday objects, Antonelli shows us the primary job of the curator is to provoke, not comfort.2014-11-0421 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsErin McKean: Slow rebellionFounder of Reverb Technologies, Erin McKean catches the PopTech audience up on the evolution of her unique online dictionary, Wordnik, since she first introduced it at PopTech 2008. She unveils the next phase of the Wordnik mission in this lively talk.2014-11-0414 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDavid Agus: Disease dataDavid Agus envisions a new era of preventative medicine based on hard data about what really ails us, and that employs research, genetics and health care designed to stave off disease before it starts. “I want doctors to be more like weather forecasters and not biologists.”2014-01-1619 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJim Olson: Tumor paintJim Olson invented a potentially revolutionary “tumor paint” that locates and lights up tumor cells to show surgeons exactly what to excise. “In a few years, surgeons will have a hard time going back to surgery as they did it in the past.”2013-10-2520 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMoran Cerf: Hacking the brainMoran Cerf is a neuroscientist who has shown how to project patients’ thoughts onto a screen in front of their eyes by implanting electrodes deep inside their brains and reading the activity of cells. Oh, and he used to rob banks. “There are at least two people inside our mind.”2013-05-1414 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsBurnham & Jónsson: Freeing Internet innovationBrad Burnham is a managing partner at Union Square Ventures. Ari Jónsson is the rector of Reykjavik University, Iceland’s leading university in technology, business and law. They discuss the creation in Iceland of an ideal policy framework for innovation on the Internet.2013-04-1513 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsYoung Guru borrows a beatRevered as “The Sound of New York,” Young Guru has mixed 10 of Jay-Z’s albums and officially became Jay-Z’s tour D.J. in 2010. Watch him borrow a beat from Al Green to show the fine line between art and piracy.2013-01-1003 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsYoung Guru: Piracy and inventionRevered as “The Sound of New York,” Young Guru has mixed 10 of Jay-Z’s albums and officially became Jay-Z’s tour D.J. in 2010. “When we study hip-hop we are actually studying the history of piracy. If we go back and study all piracy, we see that most things that were created in the world are a remix of something else.”2012-11-2800 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsVicki Arroyo on climate disastersVicki Arroyo is the executive director of the Georgetown Climate Center of Georgetown University Law Center. She studies preparedness and resiliency with respect to climate-related catastrophes. “Traditional models of who is in charge in a disaster do not necessarily operate when you have a real disaster.”2012-10-3118 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsKelly Benoit-Bird: Marine acousticsKelly Benoit-Bird, an oceanographer at Oregon State University, applies acoustics to the study of ecosystems in the open ocean. “When we look more deeply at the ocean, we are given new insights on how we interact with that ocean, and what we can do to effectively protect it.”2012-10-3005 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsLaurie Leitch and Loree Sutton: Tapping social resilienceRetired Army Brig. Gen. Loree Sutton, MD and clinical trainer Laurie Leitch, Ph.D., founded Threshold GlobalWorks to explore a neurobiological approach to social resilience. “We are all wired with it, in case you did not know that,” says Leitch. “We are born neurologically wired for resilience because our system is survival-based.”2012-10-1020 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsEiríkur Hrafnsson: Iceland’s start-up sceneEiríkur Hrafnsson calls his new company, Green Qloud, the world’s first green cloud computing company, bucking a frightening trend. “ It is not far-fetched to imagine that in 30 or 40 years, 50 percent of our energy will be spent on IT.”2012-10-1012 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsYossi Sheffi: The resilient enterpriseYossi Sheffi explores the various flavors of redundancy, simplicity, flexibility and communications strategies businesses employ to make themselves resilient. “These are the most dangerous things; the things that have severe consequence and low probability…These are the events one worries about when one has to run a large organization.”2012-10-1021 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMohammed Rezwan: Floating schoolsClimate change is exacerbating flooding in waterlogged Bangladesh. Already, hundreds of schools get wiped out during the monsoon season. Mohammed Rezwan builds floating schools, healthcare facilities and libraries. “If 20 percent of the land goes under water, which may happen in the next 10 to 20 years, where will these people go? We don’t have enough space, enough land. People have to live on the water in some way.”2012-10-1018 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsVíðir Reynisson: Iceland's disaster responseVíðir Reynisson, head of the National Commission of Icelandic Police, coordinates the country’s response to natural disasters, including the infamous Eyjafjallajökull volcano, and oversees the country’s search and rescue teams. Iceland has developed a nimble crisis management model. “With all disasters, with all crises, comes opportunity.”2012-10-1012 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsGeorge Bonanno: Measuring human resilienceGeorge Bonanno, a professor of clinical psychology, mines massive data sets for surprising revelations about how human beings cope with loss, trauma and other forms of extreme adversity. “There isn’t one thing that predicts resilience. It’s not two things. It is not necessarily in us.”2012-09-2619 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDidier Sornette: Predicting riskDidier Sornette is a professor of entrepreneurial risks in Zurich. He explores data patterns to help predict crises and extreme events in complex systems, like global financial crises.2012-09-2622 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsAlyson Warhurst: Risk mapperAlyson Warhurst is CEO and founder of the risk analysis and mapping company Maplecroft, the leading source of extra-financial risk intelligence for the world’s largest multinational corporations, asset managers and governments. “We can really start telling a story in terms of predicting risk in the future…We are actually able to engage in policy change to be able to shape the future growth environment and prevent disaster.”2012-09-2621 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsKári Stefánsson: Decoding geneticsDr. Kári Stefánsson is recognized as a leading figure in human genetics who studies the fuzzy relationship between genetic mutations and environmental factors. “Where is the line of distinction between nature and nurture? Where is the line of distinction between genes and environment? It really doesn’t exist.”2012-09-1021 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMargrét Pála: Educating children differentlyMargrét Pála is a preschool management specialist in Iceland who advocates sex-segregated classes, natural play material instead of conventional toys, and a long-forgotten belief in discipline to develop optimism, courage, and resiliency in young children. “Feel the cold! I even take them into the snow — and then the lava. Scream a little bit! But continue! And enjoy it!”2012-09-1021 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsSteve Lansing: Bali's water templesSteve Lansing, a senior fellow at the Stockholm Resilience Centre, discusses the Byzantine system for the distribution of water from a volcanic lake in Bali to over two hundred farming villages. It’s worked since the 12th century, it’s egalitarian and it’s still-sustainable. “It’s one of the few functioning, ancient democratic institutions that we know about. It’s kind of beautiful.”2012-09-1020 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJudith Rodin: Why resilienceJudith Rodin, president of the Rockefeller Foundation, explores how resiliency can empower even the most destitute and vulnerable communities. “When the World Bank was planning to invest $100 million dollars in upgrading the slums in Nairobi, these slum-dweller leaders were represented at the table.”2012-08-2833 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsamiina: Mixing it up, Iceland styleIcelandic five-piece band amiina takes the PopTech stage with a glockenspiel, a musical saw, a couple of violins, drums, and a laptop. They got their start as the string section for the legendary Sigur Ros and have gone on to play complex music that’s sweetly innocent.2012-07-3017 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsSilja Ómarsdóttir: Iceland’s constitution co-authorSilja Ómarsdóttir was one of 25 people tapped to rewrite Iceland’s constitution after the country’s financial meltdown in 2008. She details how the citizens of Iceland reacted to the bank collapse and the eventual response from the government, which included updating the country’s constitution. Ómarsdóttir explains the constitution creation process and what it meant to overhaul the constitution, with considerable public input, in four months.2012-07-1617 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsEnergy disruptors: Arun Majumdar on disruptive energy innovationArun Majumdar was a high school student during the global energy crisis of the 1970s and became interested in engineering because of energy. Currently he’s the first director of ARPA-E, the country’s only agency dedicated to technologies promising genuine transformation in the ways we generate, store, and utilize energy. Majumdar explains that disruptive energy innovation must focus on scale, be cost effective, and provide an energy service.2012-02-0801 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsFortune and Biewald: Crowdsourcing TB cell annotationSarah Fortune, TB expert, and Lukas Biewald, CEO of the crowdsourcing start-up, Crowdflower, pair up through PopTech to crowdsource a task best done by the human eye: cataloging TB’s bacterial cells. This collaboration has the potential to democratize the economics of science and basic scientific discovery.2011-11-0909 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsThe Egyptian revolution on filmShima’a Helmy joins filmmakers and friends Micah Garen and Marie-Hélène Carleton onstage at PopTech to talk about their collaboration on an upcoming documentary film, If. The film explores what it’s like being a young revolutionary through the eyes of four different Egyptian women, including Helmy.2011-11-0920 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsGideon Obarzanek and Reuben Margolin: A meeting of the mindsCollaborators Reuben Margolin, a kinetic sculptor and Gideon Obarzanek, a choreographer, met at the 2009 PopTech conference. They instantly bonded over the shared themes in their respective mediums and began creating a piece together called “Connected.” Their collaborative effort, a couple of years in the making, is now touring worldwide.2011-11-0820 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDavid Wax Museum: Mexo-Americana musicThe David Wax Museum fuses traditional Mexican folk with American roots and indie rock to create an utterly unique Mexo-Americana aesthetic.2011-11-0819 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsAlexandra Daisy Ginsberg: Synthetic aesthetics Alexandra Daisy Ginsberg, designer, artist and writer, explores the social, ethical and cultural implications of emerging technologies, especially synthetic biology. Her projects open up a creative space to imagine the potential scientific triumphs and disasters on the horizon.2011-11-0819 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsLloyd and Zimbalist: Memory mapping the newsAlexis Lloyd and Michael Zimbalist, both from the New York Times R&D Lab, describe a new app for memory mapping the news, which they created for PopTech’s iPad app. Unlike the old model of top-down publishing, it allows consumers to combine news with their own personal memories. Users can see timelines in real and perceived time and view stories from the archives within the context of their own lives.2011-11-0710 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsHayat Sindi launches i2A leader in both science and social innovation, Dr. Hayat Sindi launched i2, the Institute for Imagination and Ingenuity at PopTech 2011. Dr. Sindi created the institute to bridge the gap between education and opportunity in the Middle East.2011-11-0108 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsPorter and Mykleby: A grand strategy for the nationNaval Captain Wayne Porter and Col. Mark Mykleby of the Marines, military strategists working at the highest level of government, present highlights from their paper, “A National Strategic Narrative.” Their ideas—less military force, more social capital and more sustainable practices in energy and agriculture—have caused a recent stir in policy communities.2011-10-2720 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJake Porway: Data Without BordersWhat happens when ambitious and talented data scientists are connected with social organizations rife with data but lacking resources to do anything with it? Jake Porway’s DataKind (formerly Data Without Borders) helps bring these two groups together, using data in the service of humanity to design transformative visualizations and decision-making tools.2011-10-2705 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMilton Garcés: Primordial soundsWhat sound does a tsunami make? An earthquake? The whole Earth? Milton Garcés studies infrasound, sound that is lower in frequency than the “normal” limit of human hearing. He shares some of his recordings of storms, earthquakes and tsunamis. Perhaps most astounding of all, he plays the vibration humming at the core of the entire planet.2011-10-2706 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsAlysson Muotri: Uncovering autism linksAlysson Muotri is working at the forefront of research on Autism Spectrum Disorder. By studying stem cells from adult patients with Rett syndrome, his work is uncovering new insights into the environmental and genetic causes of autism, and the possibility that autistic neurons may be induced to revert back to normal neurons.2011-10-2605 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJonathan Rothberg: DNA TestingAfter his infant son was rushed to intensive care, Jonathan Rothberg was driven to invent high-speed DNA sequencing. His work ushered in the era of personal genetics and today his technology is used in laboratories and medical centers all over the world. Rothberg’s efforts led the way towards the first sequence of an individual human genome.2011-10-2521 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsReggie Watts: Humor in musicReggie Watts is an entertainer who combines stream-of-consciousness improvisational comedy with music to create a wholly original experience. A PopTech veteran, Watts knows this audience well and he handled them like a pro, getting big laughs with a smart blend of sarcasm and self-deprecation during his performance.2011-05-2515 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJohn Legend: Wake UpAccompanied only by his piano, Grammy award-winning recording artist and philanthropist John Legend performs the soulful “Wake Up” and “Shine” from his album, Wake Up!, including a song that appears on the soundtrack to the documentary Waiting for Superman.2011-05-2509 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsOK Go's synchronized soundsOK Go’s eccentricities and music videos are undeniably captivating. But there’s no denying that they are incredible musicians too. OK Go took to the PopTech stage with acoustic performances of “White Knuckles,” “Return,” (performed with bells) “This Too Shall Pass” and “Here It Goes Again.”2011-05-2513 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsCarlo Ratti: Oil-absorbing robotsDirector of MIT’s SENSEable City Lab Carlo Ratti wondered if there was a way to create a small, inexpensive, scalable, self-organizing system to help remove the oil after the Gulf oil spill. He discusses the inception of Seaswarm, a fleet of low-cost oil-absorbing robots in his PopTech 2010 talk.2011-04-1107 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMichael Blum: Failure and resiliencyTulane ecology professor Michael Blum has been at the front lines of the Gulf coast oil spill response and clean-up efforts. In his PopTech talk, he analyzed the operational, organizational and technological failures that led to the accident as well as the community’s resiliency in its rebuilding efforts.2011-04-1119 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsLarry Smith's six word projectLarry Smith wants to know your story. Since 2006, Smith has undertaken the Six-Word Memoir Project inviting his Smith Magazine readers to tell their live stories in just six words. His six-word memoir project can now be found in classrooms, boardrooms, hospitals, churches, speed-dating sessions, and at live six-word “slams” across the world.2010-12-0914 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsColin Rich's near space imagesColin Rich captures fantastic images of the world from 24 miles in space. He creates his amazing videos and still photographs with simple system that includes high-altitude weather balloons, hacked video cameras and a GPS system to track the cameras wherever they land. Read and watch more on the PopTech blog.2010-12-0912 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsRush Bartlett: Safe drug deliveryInjectable drugs are a huge part of modern life, and with 16 billion injections a year, delivery system innovation is a field ripe for breakthroughs. 2010 PopTech Social Innovation Fellow Rush Bartlett’s company LyoGo has developed a completely self-contained system with the potential to revolutionize the way people are immunized.2010-11-0204 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDavid Eagleman on possibilianismNeuroscientist and best-selling author David Eagleman introduces the concept of Possibilianism, a new philosophy that simultaneously embraces a scientific toolbox while exploring new, unconsidered uncertainties about the world around us.2010-10-2620 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDan Ariely: Irrational economicsMIT professor Dan Ariely believes that the starting point for making better decisions, particularly with financial matters, requires understanding the impulse to act irrationally. At PopTech 2009, Ariely discussed an excerpt from his new book, The Upside of Irrationality, about the role of emotions in the workplace.2010-06-0420 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsLaura Kurgan: Mapping justiceAt the PopTech Chicago 2010 Salon event, Laura Kurgan, director of the Spatial Information Design Lab, presents data illustrating the relationship between incarceration rates, financial expenditures, and neighborhoods— block by block. This new perspective provides shocking insight into how to re-envision community investment.2010-05-1915 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsChris Jordan: Polluting plasticsPhotographer Chris Jordan specializes in large-scale works that depict the magnitude of our consumerism and its impact on our environment. In one of the most emotional presentations at PopTech 2009, Jordan shares heart-wrenching images of birds killed by ingesting plastics that increasingly pollute our oceans.2010-04-2017 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsReihan Salam: New conservatismReihan Salam, a New America Foundation fellow, writes on politics, culture, and technology. At PopTech 2009, Salam argues that America’s growing diversity, divided by massive inequalities, will lead the country to increasing social conservatism. Salam also co-authored Grand New Party: How Conservatives Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream.2010-04-0615 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMark O'Connor and Ruby Jane Smith: More fiddlesFiddle virtuoso Mark O’Connor and 14-year-old prodigy fiddler Ruby Jane Smith share the 2009 PopTech stage. Together they mesmerize audiences with the duets that play tribute to the spirit of Americana music, at times slow and melancholy, and others rousing and lyrical.2010-03-3002 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMark O'Connor and Ruby Jane Smith: FiddlesFiddle virtuoso Mark O’Connor and 14-year-old prodigy fiddler Ruby Jane Smith share the 2009 PopTech stage. Together they mesmerize audiences with the duets that play tribute to the spirit of Americana music, at times slow and melancholy, and others rousing and lyrical.2010-03-3006 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsLogan Richardson: ImprovisationsLogan Richardson’s alto saxophone compositions have been hailed by the Jazz Times as “incisive, multi-dimensional and remarkably flexible, wrapping and twisting phrases into unexpected origami shapes.” At PopTech 2009, Richardson’s improvisations muse on America at a critical crossroads.2010-03-3005 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsLogan Richardson: Jazz musingsLogan Richardson’s alto saxophone compositions have been hailed by the Jazz Times as “incisive, multi-dimensional and remarkably flexible, wrapping and twisting phrases into unexpected origami shapes.” At PopTech 2009, Richardson’s improvisations muse on musical favorites like "God Bless America”.2010-03-3003 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsNicholas Felton: Tracing our livesGraphic designer Nicholas Felton is obsessed with data. He knows how many songs he’s listened to and how much it costs him per mile to fly. Felton visualizes these numerous details in personal “Annual Reports.” At PopTech 2009, Felton examines what a weeklong-snapshot of New York Times’ front pages reveals about America.2010-02-2200 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJonah Lehrer: Creative insightsAuthor Jonah Lehrer explores the power of outsider intelligence. At PopTech 2009, the best-selling author of How We Decide and Proust Was a Neuroscientist, notes that, paradoxically, lacking expertise on a subject can be an asset. “It’s what allows us to see the connections, to see the problems that no one else can see.”2010-02-1600 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsReuben Margolin's kinetic artFirst inspired by the mysterious and mathematical qualities of a caterpillar’s crawl, artist Reuben Margolin creates large-scale kinetic sculptures that use pulleys and motors to create the complex movements and structures we see in nature. Margolin takes to the PopTech stage to share some of his extraordinary mechanical installations.2009-12-0118 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsErica Williams on youth politicsErica Williams is a Washington, D.C.-based activist and commentator who currently serves as the Deputy Director of Campus Progress, a project of the Center for American Progress. In this riveting Poptech talk, Williams discusses how the Millennial generation—today’s 18-30 year olds—are re-imagining the nature of political engagement.2009-11-1615 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsTony Hey: Citizen scienceAs Corporate Vice President of External Research for Microsoft, Tony Hey is responsible for public-private partnerships with scientific and engineering communities, government agencies, and industry partners worldwide. At PopTech 2009, Hey discussed the critical role of citizen scientists in understanding complex data-intensive problems like climate change and galaxy formation.2009-11-1619 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMichael Pollan: Sustainable foodAuthor and activist Michael Pollan is a passionate advocate for sustainable food. In his compelling PopTech talk, he explores how our industrial food system keeps us overly dependent on fossil fuels, destroys our environment, and makes us sick. Breaking this cycle requires changing our relationship to food – and eating more meals together.2009-11-1029 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsNigel Waller on the mobile cloud2009 PopTech Fellow Nigel Waller launched Movirtu to provide virtual mobile phone services for people earning less than two dollars a day. As Movirtu expands across Africa and Asia, even the poorest individuals can send text messages and make mobile payments as well as find work and access healthcare.2009-11-0205 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsTaylor Stuckert and Mark Rembert: Green ideas2009 PopTech Fellows Taylor Stuckert and Mark Rembert co-founded Energize Clinton County after the departure of a major employer threatened the Wilmington, Ohio region. The grassroots movement transformed the crisis into an opportunity for the region to become the country’s first Green Enterprise Zone.2009-11-0204 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsHayat Sindi: Accessible health2009 PopTech Fellow Hayat Sindi co-founded Diagnostics For All to offer point-of-care diagnostic tools micro-fabricated in paper. These technologies allow healthcare workers to monitor the treatment of the 60% of people living beyond the reach of medical infrastructures. Sindi is also an advocate for science education and careers for women in the Middle East.2009-11-0210 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsEmily Pilloton: Design for change2009 PopTech Fellow Emily Pilloton founded Project H Design to mobilize innovative product design for social good. In its first year, the organization built a community of more than 300 designers and launched more than 20 projects in 6 countries. These initiatives include water transport solutions and designs for foster care therapy.2009-11-0206 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJames O'Brien: Hands-on education2009 PopTech Fellow James O’Brien assembled a staff of like-minded educators to create BCAM – Brooklyn Community Arts & Media High School. The fledgling educational-innovation tank combines performance-based academics and professional training in media and arts to prepare teenagers for success in the 21st century.2009-11-0219 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJosh Nesbit: Mobile healthcare2009 PopTech Fellow Josh Nesbit co-founded Medic Mobile to bring the innovative use of mobile phones for healthcare to the developing world. A central clinic laptop runs FrontlineSMS software, enabling community health workers to use text messages to coordinate patient care, offer mobile diagnostics, and map health services.2009-11-0205 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDerek Lomas: Open source games2009 PopTech Fellow Derek Lomas is director of the Playpower Foundation, a global network of developers, designers, academics, NGOs and businesses. Playpower leverages the availability of ultra-low-cost computers to create and distribute affordable, effective, and fun learning games for under-privileged children worldwide.2009-11-0205 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDeb Levine: 21st century sex ed2009 PopTech Fellow Deb Levine founded YTH – youth+tech+health (formerly ISIS) – in 2001 to advance youth health and wellness through technology. Using the web, mobile phones and other media, YTH gives people private and convenient access to information on critical health issues like HIV prevention and unplanned pregnancies.2009-11-0206 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsPaula Kahumbu: Conservation 2.0As executive director of WildlifeDirect, 2009 PopTech Fellow Paula Kahumbu is building a global wildlife conservation community that connects conservationists and their supporters through blogs and direct funding. The goal: a movement powerful enough to reverse catastrophic species loss in Africa and around the world.2009-11-0206 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsEben Bayer: Bio-packagingEcovative Design founder, 2009 PopTech Fellow Eben Bayer, on this initiative that transforms low-value agricultural byproducts into strong biological composites that can be used as biodegradable alternatives to conventional plastics, foams, and packaging materials.2009-11-0205 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJason Aramburu: New energy2009 PopTech Fellow Jason Aramburu launched re:char in 2005 to develop low-cost technologies that fight climate change while improving the quality of degraded soils. re:char’s systems convert agricultural waste into renewable fuel and into biochar, sequestering atmospheric carbon and improving soil quality.2009-11-0205 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsAiden and Van Vuuren: Dirt power2009 PopTech Fellows Aviva Presser Aiden and Hugo Van Vuuren co-founded Lebônê Solutions in 2007 to help meet the need for off-grid energy and lighting in the developing world. Fuel cells sold by local entrepreneurs generate electricity from soil microbes to power LED lights, cell phones, and other devices.2009-11-0206 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDavid Rakoff on cultural excessCome along as the brilliantly acerbic David Rakoff takes the PopTech audience on a hilarious journey through our nation’s quest for culinary perfection and other cultural excesses.2009-10-0814 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsEric Dawson: Peace First2008 PopTech Fellow Eric Dawson launched Peace First to address sky-rocketing youth homicide rates. Peace First has already reached 40,000 children and families in five states, and is changing school cultures – teaching students the conflict resolution and peacemaking skills critical to create a safe learning environment.2009-10-0706 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsRansler and Sinha: Husk Power2008 PopTech Fellows Chip Ransler and Manoj Sinha are key principals behind Husk Power Systems (HPS), a for-profit company that’s created a proprietary technology to cost-effectively convert rice husks into electricity. HPS delivers electricity – and dramatically improved lives – to India’s “Rice Belt.”2009-10-0706 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsAbby Falik: Global service2008 PopTech Fellow Abby Falik is the founder and CEO of Global Citizen Year (GCY), which aims to institutionalize a global service “gap year” for young Americans between high school and college – fundamentally transforming how they understand and act on their responsibilities as global citizens.2009-10-0706 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsErik Hersman: Mapping crises2008 PopTech Fellow Erik Hersman is an innovator and technologist advancing the use of technology as an empowerment tool in the developing world. He is a co-founder of Ushahidi – a free, open source, Web / mobile-based platform capable of crowd-sourcing, sharing and mapping crisis information in near real time.2009-10-0705 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMelanie Edwards: Counting lives2008 PopTech Fellow Melanie Edwards launched Mobile Metrix to identify and serve the world’s one billion “invisible” people. Mobile Metrix connects those at the base of the pyramid to critical products and services, and develops, administers and analyzes surveys for partners and local communities.2009-10-0708 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsPriti Radhakrishnan: Health access2008 PopTech Fellow Priti Radhakrishnan is Co-Director of Initiative for Medicines, Access & Knowledge (I-MAK), a team of lawyers and scientists working to strengthen patent systems and encourage innovation in new medicines, while expanding broad access to the best and latest treatments.2009-10-0706 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsTevis Howard: Microforestry2008 PopTech Fellow Tevis Howard founded KOMAZA to help end extreme poverty for rural Kenyan families living in arid landscapes. The organization partners with poor families to plant high-profit commercial tree farms that generate life-changing income and help preserve indigenous biodiversity.2009-10-0606 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsTshewang Dendup: Evolving Bhutan2008 PopTech Fellow Tshewang Dendup of the Bhutan Broadcasting Service is training his compatriots in journalism, filmmaking, business, and other key skills to help them thrive as Bhutan undergoes its historic transition from absolute monarchy to democracy.2009-10-0607 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsSigworth and Thompson: Secure meds2008 PopTech Fellows Taylor Thompson and Nathan Sigworth are co-founders of PharmaSecure, a for-profit startup with a breakthrough solution to the $50+ billion, global pharmaceutical counterfeiting racket – which kills millions each year.2009-10-0505 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsBrian McCarthy: Container homes2008 PopTech Fellow Brian McCarthy is Founder and CEO of PFNC, a manufacturer and provider of affordable housing. The company converts surplus U.S. shipping containers into residences for the 1.1 million laborers who work in maquiladoras in Mexico, providing improved safety and sanitation and enabling wealth creation.2009-10-0505 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsHeather Fleming: Design for good2008 PopTech Fellow Heather Fleming is the founder of Catapult Design, which helps foundations and non-profits apply design thinking to global development. Hear her discuss breakthrough design projects, including a low-cost wind turbine that can charge a cell phone or power LED lighting.2009-10-0506 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsKen Banks: Mobile-enabled change2008 PopTech Fellow Ken Banks is the founder of kiwanja.net, which helps non-profits put mobiles to work through innovative offerings like FrontlineSMS – free software enabling coordinated, many-to-many, two-way text messaging. Ken’s solutions are being used worldwide to improve communications in a variety of critical situations.2009-10-0505 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsRufus Cappadocia: Uncategorizeable cellistRapidly-rising, uncategorizeable cellist Rufus Cappadocia performs on the PopTech stage.2009-10-0516 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsBenjamin Zander: A world of possibilityThe only conductor to ever lead the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Zander is a prophet of human potential and an unrivaled champion of joie de vivre. Watch as he helps unlock the boundless potential of a 15 year old cellist and teaches the entire PopTech audience what it means to live in a world of possibility.2009-10-0530 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMarian Bantjes on the infinity of inspirationThe legendary Stefan Sagmeister calls Bantjes "one of the most innovative typographers working today,” but on the PopTech stage she eclipsed that lofty praise, marrying poignant personal stories with visually stunning design. Prepare to be wowed as Marian holds forth on the infinity of inspiration and the inherent wonder in cathedrals, neurons, love letters…and cake.2009-10-0521 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsThe Project Masiluleke storyA signature program of the PopTech Accelerator, Project Masiluleke, harnesses the power of mobile devices to help reverse South Africa’s crippling HIV/AIDS and TB crises. Partners from frog design, iTeach and the Praekelt Foundation discuss the program’s breakthrough approach, which endeavors to connect millions to testing and care.2009-10-0358 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsMalcolm Gladwell: Human potentialPop sociologist and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell has honed in on a profound new question: what separates extraordinary and average people? Discussing findings from his much-anticipated book “Outliers,” Gladwell details how we’re squandering human potential everywhere from the football field to the classroom – and what we can do to change it.2009-10-0319 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsKelly Joe Phelps: Poignancy and passionWith roots in folk and country-blues, Kelly Joe Phelps serves up music the Washington Post says is brimming with “poignancy, passion and spirituality.” Live on the PopTech stage, the distinctive singer-songwriter coaxes satin-smooth melodies from his guitar, while his raw, honest voice delivers heartfelt lyrics.2009-10-0216 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsDavy Rothbart - PopTech 2007The creator of FOUND magazine digs up some of his best finds, ranging from unusual “To do” lists to surprising flyers and discarded notes.2009-10-0212 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsCarl Honoré - PopTech 2007In this busy, hectic world, speed often trumps quality of life. Best-selling author and Slow Movement purveyor Carl Honoré urges us to slow down and alter our culture of speed and its negative effect on our happiness.2009-09-3022 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsPaul Polak: Alleviating povertyFrom his extensive experiences working with the poor of the developing world, Paul Polak has learned a lot about effective market-based approaches to alleviating poverty. He argues that in order to be successful, solutions must be simple, inexpensive, easy to reproduce, and most important, respond to the expressed needs of the people they are meant to benefit.2009-09-3021 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsAfrican Fellows: Roundtable to the futureGet a glimpse into the future of Africa from this astounding roundtable of African leaders. Internet entrepreneurs, peace activists, government officials, technology experts—even a Nobel Peace Prize nominee—share their visions for taking the lessons of PopTech home.2009-09-3026 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsNeema Mgana: Architecture for HumanityNeema Mgana is a social entrepreneur, Nobel Peace Prize nominee and PopTech Fellow. She gives us an insider’s view into work she started last year with Architecture for Humanity in a PopTech match-up. Together, they’re creating a community-based health center in the rural Singida region of Tanzania.2009-09-3018 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsEducation Fellows: PopTech 2006Five educators, demonstrating leadership in technology and education, were awarded PopTech Fellowships presented by Sun Microsystems and Curriki, a new open-source-focused educational foundation. Check out their discussion about the future of technology and education.2009-09-3043 minPopTech Audio: PopCastsJonathan Coulton: Code monkey balladeerCode Monkey get up. Code Monkey go to job. Code Monkey have boring meeting. With boring manager Rob. Want more from singer/songwriter and PopTech balladeer Jonathan Coulton? Download podcast, Monkey.2009-09-2914 min