Podcast
What Could Go Right?
Hosted by The Progress Network with Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas · EN
It's easy to be pessimistic, especially with headlines dominated by global challenges like a changing geopolitical landscape, the rise in authoritarianism, and a seemingly unstable global economy. But what if, despite all that, humanity is actually making progress?Join Progress Network Founder Zachary Karabell every Wednesday as he chats with leading experts like Ian Bremmer and Anne Marie Slaughter to challenge the negativity and find out whether we should be so pessimistic about everything from sustainability and polarization to the future of work. Plus, start your week right with Progress Network Executive Director Emma Varvaloucas, who delivers a weekly dose of essential good news every Monday. If environmental success stories and medical breakthroughs are your thing, you won’t want to miss it.Tune in to discover the evidence for progress and find your reason for cautious optimism.
22episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Real Progress: Why We Ignore How Good We Have It | with Nick Gillespie
6d ago00:52:57Tap to summarizeWhy does historic abundance breed widespread cultural anger? Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large of Reason Magazine and host of the Reason podcast, joins host Zachary Karabell to unpack the great conundrum of the 21st century: why humans have more security and financial means than ever before, yet feel increasingly dissatisfied. In a world deeply divided along absolute binary lines, Gillespie explains how a philosophy of libertarianism provides a refreshing, pre-partisan alternative to standard political gridlock. Moving past abstract data, Gillespie shares his own personal history as the son of a high school dropout from a working-class white ghetto in Hell's Kitchen. He contrasts his own path of white-knuckling student debt payments with the unique anxieties facing modern generations. And they ask the question, what does the world look like post Trump season two? What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.orgSubscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetworkFollow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkSubscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/
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Looted Artifacts Returned, Rape Kit Backlogs Slashed, and a Fatal Disease That's Now Treatable
1w ago00:14:47Tap to summarizeFrance just passed a landmark law allowing the return of cultural artifacts taken from nations during the colonial era — a long-overdue step nearly a decade in the making. Plus: all 50 U.S. states have now enacted rape kit reform, cutting the national backlog in half; violent crime in major American cities is falling faster than you might expect; and a new drug is doing something doctors have never been able to say about ALS — it's making some patients actually improve. What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/
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The Case for Not Knowing | with Simone Stolzoff
2w ago00:53:32Tap to summarizeWhat happens when our biological need for certainty clashes with an increasingly unpredictable world? Simone Stolzoff, author of How to Not Know, joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss why our modern intolerance for uncertainty is fueling a global anxiety crisis. Rather than seeing the unknown as a threat, Stolzoff argues that uncertainty is the fundamental birthplace of scientific breakthroughs, original art, and human progress. Stolzoff and Karabell explore how to navigate everything from the climate crisis and the AI revolution to high-stakes parenting and career choices through the framework that the false certainty we cling to might actually be detrimental to our success. While acknowledging the hard truths of today's world, Stolzoff explains why "action absorbs anxiety" and makes the case for diversifying our identities so we remain adaptable in the face of an unwritten future. What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/
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Gene Therapy Is Giving Blind People Their Sight Back + The UK Bans Smoking Forever and Solar Power From Space
2w ago00:11:12Tap to summarizeGene therapy has been quietly pulling off miracles, and this week, it got its Oscars moment. Emma Varvaloucas, Executive Director of The Progress Network, breaks down how a husband-and-wife scientific team's decades-long quest has restored sight to over 100 blind Americans, and how a brand-new drug called Otarmeni just became the first-ever FDA-approved gene therapy for genetic deafness. The science is extraordinary. The price tags, less so.Plus: The United Kingdom passes a genuinely radical generational ban on smoking; the US Senate unanimously bans members and staffers from betting on prediction markets, after some were caught betting on their own races; and Meta inks a deal to beam solar power down from space.What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.orgSubscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetworkFollow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkFollow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/
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Why $6 Gas Isn't the End of the World | with Jason Bordoff
3w ago00:36:22Tap to summarizeWhat happens when the global energy supply faces its greatest disruption since the 1970s? Jason Bordoff, a leading energy expert and former advisor in the Obama White House, joins host Zachary Karabell to navigate a world where the Strait of Hormuz is closed and gasoline prices are soaring. The conversation moves past the immediate panic at the pump to look at the future of how we power our lives. Bordoff shares personal stories of his father’s Brooklyn gas station in the 1970s, contrasting that era with today's physical reality of the shale revolution. The discussion focuses heavily on the innovation frontier. Bordoff and Karabell explore whether new technologies like advanced geothermal, modular nuclear power, and even fusion can finally deliver on the promise of universal energy abundance. While acknowledging the hard truths of climate change and the energy needs of emerging markets, Bordoff explains why he is betting on policy and technology over pessimism. What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/
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Chernobyl’s Unintended Nature Reserve + The End of the Coal Era and a New Frontier in IVF
3w ago00:13:44Tap to summarizeFor the first time in over a century, renewables have knocked coal out of the top spot for global electricity generation — and solar is the reason why. Emma Varvaloucas, Executive Director of The Progress Network, breaks down what this energy milestone actually means, and why geopolitics is unexpectedly accelerating the clean energy transition. Plus: forty years after the worst nuclear disaster in history, wildlife is flourishing inside the Chernobyl exclusion zone; a Utah startup claims it has grown functional human sperm in a lab — a potential breakthrough for male infertility; and NASA is branching into the human organ delivery industry. What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk Follow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/
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Can We Achieve "Super Abundance" Without AI Doom? | with Sebastian Mallaby
4w ago00:42:40Tap to summarizeWhat happens when the person building the world's most powerful technology is just as worried about it as we are? Sebastian Mallaby, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of The Infinity Machine, joins host Zachary Karabell to pull back the curtain on Demis Hassabis, the founder of DeepMind who is currently leading the global charge into artificial intelligence. From the "Ender’s Game" mission that drives Hassabis to the chilling logic of why machines might accidentally develop a "survival instinct," this episode explores the mindset of the people shaping our future. Mallaby and Karabell discuss the "infinity" of data required to make these systems work and why the massive hunger for compute power is reshaping the global economy in real-time . Drawing a haunting parallel to Alan Greenspan and the 2008 financial crisis, Mallaby asks a difficult question: Can "the man who knew" the risks actually prevent the catastrophe he sees coming?. Together, they navigate the tension between pure scientific discovery and cutthroat Silicon Valley competition, the potential for a "Nuclear Non-Proliferation" style agreement with China, and the hidden dangers of the "open vs. closed" model debate.What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.orgSubscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetworkFollow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkSubscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/Follow him LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zacharykarabell
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Trump’s Surprising Move on Psychedelics + A Record Year for Humpback Whales
4w ago00:11:09Tap to summarizeTrump just signed an executive order to fast-track psychedelic medical research. Emma Varvaloucas, the Executive Director of The Progress Network, breaks down how a 50-year political taboo went mainstream. Plus: San Diego achieves water independence and starts brewing beer from recycled sewage, a humpback whale stampede breaks a sighting record off South Africa, and gene-edited bananas that don't turn brown are finally here.What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope.For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.orgSubscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetworkFollow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkFollow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/
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Is the World Order Actually Disintegrating? | with Ian Bremmer
Apr 2200:40:41Tap to summarizeWhat happens when the rules of the global game are being rewritten in real-time? Ian Bremmer, the founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media, joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss how to navigate a world defined by a "long geopolitical recession" and the erosion of the post-1945 order. From the escalating conflicts in the Middle East and the surprising vulnerabilities of the economic models in the Gulf to the "asymmetric war fighting" that allows drones to bring the global economy to its knees, this episode reckons with a world that seems to be disintegrating rather than coming together. Bremmer and Karabell explore why we aren’t getting a better picture of what’s happening on the ground in places like Iran and Yemen, and whether the "noise" of modern social media is a tool for freedom or a new mechanism for state control. As political revolutionaries rise and established media organizations downsize, Bremmer and Karabell ask: is our current information environment worse than it was 30 years ago, or can individuals still "sniff out" the truth? And: Is this the peak of global chaos, or just a cyclical trough before a new rebound? What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrk Subscribe to Zachary’s Substack: www.edgyoptimist.substack.com/ Follow him LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/zacharykarabell Follow Zachary on X @zacharykarabell
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How Hungary Ousted an Authoritarian + Ocean Progress, Falling Rents, and Thailand’s New DM Laws
Apr 2000:10:53Tap to summarizeHungary just voted out its authoritarian prime minister of 16 years, and did it with an 80% voter turnout powered by Gen Z. Emma Varvaloucas, the Executive Director of The Progress Network, breaks down how they pulled it off and what it means for democracies under pressure elsewhere. Plus: over 10% of the world's oceans are now protected, US rents are finally dropping, and Thailand just criminalized online sexual harassment, including in your DMs. What Could Go Right? is produced by The Progress Network and Kaleidoscope. For transcripts, to join the newsletter, and for more information, visit: theprogressnetwork.org Subscribe to our (FREE) Substack newsletter: https://theprogressnetwork.org/newsletter/ Watch the podcast on YouTube: / theprogressnetwork Follow us on X, Instagram, Facebook, TikTok: @progressntwrkFollow Emma on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heyemmavarv/
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