What's Your Problem?

Today, we're sharing an episode of a show that explores the problems that new technology is creating and how we navigate living in the future. It's called Kill Switch, and it's hosted by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Dexter Thomas. The episode you're about to hear is about the latest in wearable tech—stuff like smart glasses, pendants, watches and rings. After the implosion of Google Glass back in 2013, which faced backlash and ridicule, we’re now readily embracing wearables. What’s behind the new fervor of wearables today, and have we moved on from the privacy and surveillance questions that plagued Google Glass? Dexter talks to Victoria Song, a senior reviewer at The Verge whose job it is to test out each new iteration of this technology, about the state of wearables today, why companies are obsessed with getting AI into them, and how they’ve already changed how we talk to each other, and ourselves, IRL. Find more episodes of Kill Switch wherever you get podcasts. Got something you’re curious about? Hit them up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Please take our survey https://tinyurl.com/wyplistenersurvey about the show! Tell us what you want to hear, and what would make it better. Tim Bucher is a farmer, and the founder and CEO of Agtonomy. Tim's problem is this: How do you build an autonomous tractor that can work for specialty crops like grapes, olives, apples, and almonds? On today’s show, Tim explains what makes certain farming processes so difficult to automate, and how autonomy may soon change how we eat.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mitch Lee is the co-founder and CEO of Arc Boats. Mitch's problem is this: How do you build competitively priced electric boats?On today’s show, Mitch explains why water makes electrification so hard, the techno-economic puzzle of building giant battery packs, and how Arc’s high-end wake sport boat opened the door for a new generation of hybrid-electric tugboats.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

According to the science, it really is better to give than receive. Donating a dollar; sharing a kind word or lending someone a hand changes lives, but can also hugely boost your happiness. So we're teaming up with other podcasts from Hidden Brain to Revisionist History to ask you to give to a charity helping some of the poorest people around. We're calling it #PodsFightPoverty. Go to givedirectly.org/happinesslab right now and give whatever you can. And the first $500,000 we donate will be matched thanks to our friends at Giving Multiplier! Even a small donation will make you feel good and have a much larger impact on the world than you thought possible. To help inspire you, this special episode examines the science of giving and shares stories of heartwarming and impactful acts of kindness. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We’re sharing another podcast we think you’ll enjoy, The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules, hosted by fellow Pushkin podcast host Michael Lewis. The Big Short is now 15 years old and to mark the occasion, Lewis narrated a new audiobook version of The Big Short and is looking back on how the 2008 financial crisis still affects the world today. To make sense of Wall Street’s hangover from the crash described in The Big Short, Lewis calls up Matt Levine, author of the Money Stuff newsletter for Bloomberg Opinion. He’s also a former investment banker who was working at Goldman Sachs during the market crisis of 2008. He and Lewis talk about Bitcoin, bank regulation, and new forms of risk-taking—all ways Wall Street has changed since the crisis. Find The Big Short Companion from Against the Rules (00:45) on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your Podcasts. Find The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine (00:10) on Apple Books or wherever you get your audiobooks.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.