PODCAST · society
What Could Go Right?
by The Progress Network with Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas
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.
Episodes
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How a Radical Hippie Experiment Changed American Policing
What do anarchist hippies and police officers have in common? We dive into a fringe hippie experiment that turned into a template for police departments across the country. Additionally, we’re talking about a historic trip to the International Space Station and the forgotten reason we have modern...
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Are We Becoming Too Afraid to Take Risks? | With Allison Schrager
As modern society grows wealthier and more technologically advanced, our increasing obsession with safety is quietly stalling human progress. Economist and author Allison Schrager joins host Zachary Karabell to break down the hidden costs of our increasingly risk averse culture and explain why...
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Why Scientists Are Suddenly So Optimistic About Alzheimer’s
Why are researchers and doctors who treat dementia so happy right now? Experts think we're in a new optimistic age for Alzheimer's research with new treatments and new diagnostic tools that are changing the landscape. That’s our main story on the What Could Go Right Progress Report. We're also...
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The Race for the Arctic Has Already Begun. Is America Ready? | With Rana Foroohar
There was a time in American history when everything was about ships. For centuries, power on the seas was necessary for economic success, but U.S. maritime power isn’t what it used to be. That change has never been more important than in the growing territorial tension in the Arctic Circle....
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AI Experts Are Warning About Human Extinction. Here’s What They’re Missing
After a former Anthropic researcher quit and gave a doomsday warning about artificial intelligence, a debate on a human extinction event is raging in the media. Could AI get too smart too fast? Are we really in danger of AI going rogue and killing off humanity, or is it all an overblown...
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The Science of Sports Betting: How Gambling Apps Are Changing Our Brains | with Dr. Brendan Dwyer and Isaac Rose-Berman
Legal betting has exploded in the US. With the phone in your pocket, you can bet on the specific outcome of a game or who will attend the next State of the Union address. But legal betting has plenty of controversy, including how it affects sports fandom and the way it’s marketed to young men.…
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The World Map You Grew Up With Is Wrong
Maps have distorted the true size of the African continent for 500 years, but a new UN resolution is changing that. Progress Network Executive Director Emma Varvaloucas examines this historic shift toward a more accurate projection to correct centuries of cartographic bias. Plus: a biological...
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Could Reparations Actually Happen in America? With Prof. Dorothy Brown
In the United States, we have constant debates about long-standing systemic issues like classism, racism, and economic inequality, and we speak about these issues as if they are complicated and impossible to address. But what if history tells us that we already have the solutions to some of our...
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AI Was Supposed to Destroy Jobs. Here's What Actually Happened
There’s been a lot of doom and gloom around artificial intelligence taking our jobs. Even founders of AI companies like Sam Altman have said that many jobs will go poof and disappear. But is the AI job apocalypse all hype, or are we just in the calm before the storm? We dive in. We also discuss...
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Why We Can't Picture a Good Future Anymore | With Ari Wallach
Are we trapped in a cultural doom loop that forces us to fear the future instead of dreaming of a better one? In this episode, futurist Ari Wallach joins host Zachary Karabell to examine why modern society defaults to short-termism and how we can fundamentally redesign our approach to tomorrow....
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AI Designed a Cancer Therapy, Cyborg Bugs Are Saving Lives, and the Farmworkers Who Fought Back
What if you never have to wear a pink ribbon again? For years, experts called the medical dream of a personalized cancer vaccine impossible. Now, a new therapy written by an algorithm is making it happen. We're also talking about how Australian cyborg cockroaches could come to the rescue at…
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Alien Civilizations, Mars Colonization & Humanity in the Age of AI | With Dr. Dakotah Tyler
Is interest in space dying, or are we on the brink of our greatest interstellar discoveries? In this episode of What Could Go Right, Zachary Karabell sits down with Dr. Dakotah Tyler, an astronomer and astrophysicist who pivoted from a promising college football career to unraveling the mysteries...
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Introducing: The Ongoing Transformation
This week, we want to share a podcast from our friends at Issues in Science & Technology. It’s called The Ongoing Transformation and it looks at how science and society are continually transforming each other. From countless ads to outright scams, spam is an annoying constant of online life. But...
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Social Media Is Making Politics Feel Worse Than It Really Is | With David Pakman
David Pakman is the founder and host of The David Pakman Show, one of the most watched independent progressive podcasts and online political shows. He's built an audience of over 6.7 million subscribers across social media platforms through calm, fact-based analysis and critical thinking. David...
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The Crime Wave Is Over. Why Does Nobody Believe It?
The media is constantly telling us that danger is everywhere. Between true crime binges and political rants, we're led to believe that our streets are a war zone. However, recent statistics released by the FBI tell a completely different story. Plus, we'll get into why video game fans have the...
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The AI Future Isn’t Inevitable. So Why Are We Told It Is? | With Carissa Véliz
Being a human being is an anxious experience, and to calm the fear of uncertainty, we’re obsessed with predicting the future. Whether spiraling about changes to the economy, politics, or culture, we’re desperate to know what’s coming around the corner. In this episode, host Zachary Karabell is...
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Why the Experts Were Wrong about India
Winston Churchill predicted this nation would collapse, but today India is experiencing a massive economic glow up as it rapidly lifts hundreds of millions out of extreme poverty. We also investigate why crucial historical signs are quietly vanishing from America's national parks, and how an...
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How Haters Can Accidentally Make You Happier | with Ronda Rousey
The concept of the American Dream calls up images of enormous money and fame that most of us will never see. But what happens to someone who actually becomes mega famous? Is it truly something to strive for? Is the cost worth it? Ronda Rousey, the superstar MMA fighter turned graphic novelist,...
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The Case for Rewriting Nature's Code | with Ben Lamm
Words like "de-extinction" and "cloning" are often associated with dystopian science fiction stories, but reality tells a more hopeful tale.Ben Lamm, CEO and co-founder of Colossal Biosciences, joins host Zachary Karabell to argue that de-extinction, genetic engineering, and biotechnology can fix...
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Global Shark Conservation Sees Historic Regulatory Breakthroughs
After decades of facing severe overfishing and cultural stigma, global shark populations are finally rebounding thanks to strict new international trade bans and expanding marine sanctuaries. Emma Varvaloucas, Executive Director of The Progress Network, shares how much our views and treatment of...
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Why the Economic Numbers Don't Match How You Feel | With Mark Zandi
There is a massive chasm between what official data tells us about the financial landscape and how average Americans actually experience their daily lives. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's, joins Zachary Karabell to break down why this disconnect exists and how a skewing of income...
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The Invisible Arms Race Against Wildfire Smoke
While the severity of North American wildfires and their deadly smoke has undeniably increased, humanity is quietly winning an invisible technological arms race against our changing atmosphere. Emma Varvaloucas, Executive Director of The Progress Network, explores how eight decades of...
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The Case for Embracing Limits | with David Epstein
We live in an era of limitless options, but infinite choice might actually be paralyzing our ability to make decisions and find satisfaction. David Epstein, bestselling author of Range and the new book Inside the Box, joins host Zachary Karabell to argue that we severely overvalue complete…
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Opening a Nearly 2,000-Year-Old Treasure + Reviving Eyes for Science and Shark-Spotting Drones
Researchers just used machine learning to read a carbonized Roman scroll that hasn't been opened in 2,000 years. In this week’s progress report, Emma Varvaloucas dives into a technological breakthrough that is unlocking an ancient library buried by volcanic ash in 79 AD. Plus: a groundbreaking...
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The Era of Mass Incarceration May Actually Be Ending | with Alex Duran
The American criminal justice system is often viewed as an unfixable and intractable problem. But shifting demographics and new approaches to community investment might actually bring a natural end to the era of mass incarceration.Alex Duran spent 12 years in New York maximum security prisons...
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Average Joes Making Positive Change
Emma is on vacation! Which means this week, we’re doing something a little different. Before she left, she put together this roundup of stories about amateur do-gooders pitching in to make the world a better place: Wombat watchers in Australia helping to mitigate the spread of a deadly disease,...
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The Case Against Cynicism | with Greg Jackson & Steven Johnson
Despite record highs in life expectancy and historic lows in violent crime, society remains convinced that everything is completely broken. Steven Johnson (The Infernal Machine) and historian Greg Jackson (host of History That Doesn’t Suck) join Zachary Karabell at the Aspen Ideas Festival to...
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Can We Please Celebrate America's 250th Without Whitewashing the Past? | with Alexis Coe
Approaching the 250th anniversary of the United States brings up a familiar tension over whether we should celebrate our triumphs or relentlessly critique our failures. Most citizens tend to view the past with a thick lens of nostalgia, convincing themselves that earlier eras were inherently…
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The Race to Catalogue Biodiversity + Brain Implants and Sweating Robots
On this week’s progress report, we're in the golden age of species discovery. We’ll also get into the incredible story of a paralyzed man who can continue to work and communicate thanks to a groundbreaking brain implant, and researchers at Arizona State University hope a shivering, breathing,...
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How to Read Economic News Without Spiraling | with Alex Mayyasi
Every time we open a news app, we are hit with a fresh wave of economic dread. But why does the financial forecast always sound like a pending apocalypse, even when the data tells a remarkably stable story? Longtime Planet Money contributor Alex Mayyasi joins host Zachary Karabell to offer a…
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The Odds Favor Democracy + Safer Prenatal Screening and Good News for Disenfranchised Voters
A study covering 22 countries over almost three decades has some surprising news about democracy. Plus, a new blood test for pregnant women could eliminate the need for invasive screening. Several states are making progress on voting rights by rolling back Jim Crow-era bans. And Sweden becomes…
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Is Free Expression Actually Under Attack? | with Dinaw Mengestu
We hear often that freedom of speech is under threat. And it’s easy to feel like things have never been worse in that regard. But is that really true? Dinaw Mengestu, an acclaimed novelist, MacArthur Genius grant recipient, and president of PEN America, joins host Zachary Karabell to examine the...
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The 30-Year Animation Problem Pixar Just Solved + Accessible Travel is Booming and AI-Designed Vaccines
This week’s progress report highlights a tiny detail in Toy Story 5 that is a game changer for representation and the future of animation. We’re also celebrating a major win for the LGBTQ community in Budapest that comes just in time for the end of Pride month. Plus, there is good news in the...
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Surviving the 80-Year Cycle of American Crises | with Anthony Scaramucci
Anthony Scaramucci is famous for his turbulent eleven-day stint in the Trump White House. But his time in the political and financial wringer has given him a distinct perspective on resilience, failing humbly, and owning your mistakes. He joins Zachary to ask the big questions: Are we just…
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What Really Happened After the Affirmative Action Ban + Deep Sea Discoveries and Moon Base Missions
The Supreme Court ruling banning race-based affirmative action is almost three years old, and almost nothing has played out as expected. Black and Hispanic enrollment dropped at the country's most elite universities, but rose at the vast majority of colleges across the US. And in a twist nobody...
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Why AI and Drones Won’t Bring the Apocalypse | with Sarah Kreps
What does a future where autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence collide on the battlefield look like? Sarah Kreps, a Cornell University professor and former US Air Force officer, joins host Zachary Karabell to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of drones and military AI. The...
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What the Headlines Aren’t Telling You About Ebola, Plus India's Solar Revolution and a Chicago Medical Miracle
A rare strain of Ebola is making headlines — but before you spiral, there's more to the story than what meets the eye. The Democratic Republic of Congo has successfully contained 15 previous outbreaks, and scientists are working around the clock on experimental treatments. We know one thing for...
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The Surprising Ritual Renaissance | with Bruce Feiler
What happens when the traditional ways we gather and mourn start to disappear? Bestselling author Bruce Feiler joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss his latest book, A Time to Gather, and explore the modern celebration recession. Instead of yielding to isolation, Feiler reveals a surprising...
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American Dads Are Stepping Up, Hope for Pancreatic Cancer Patients, and Oklahoma Bans Child Marriage
The pandemic triggered something unexpected: American fathers started working less and spending significantly more time on childcare and housework — and new research suggests it wasn't remote work or job loss driving the shift, but a genuine realignment of gender norms. Plus: some scientists are...
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Real Progress: Why We Ignore How Good We Have It | with Nick Gillespie
Why 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…
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Looted Artifacts Returned, Rape Kit Backlogs Slashed, and a Fatal Disease That's Now Treatable
France 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...
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The Case for Not Knowing | with Simone Stolzoff
What 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…
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Gene Therapy Is Giving Blind People Their Sight Back + The UK Bans Smoking Forever and Solar Power From Space
Gene 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…
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Why $6 Gas Isn't the End of the World | with Jason Bordoff
What 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...
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Chernobyl’s Unintended Nature Reserve + The End of the Coal Era and a New Frontier in IVF
For 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...
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Can We Achieve "Super Abundance" Without AI Doom? | with Sebastian Mallaby
What 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...
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Trump’s Surprising Move on Psychedelics + A Record Year for Humpback Whales
Trump 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...
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Is the World Order Actually Disintegrating? | with Ian Bremmer
What 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...
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How Hungary Ousted an Authoritarian + Ocean Progress, Falling Rents, and Thailand’s New DM Laws
Hungary 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…
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Do we need a NEW America? | with Anne-Marie Slaughter
What do we do when our systems stop working? Anne-Marie Slaughter, the CEO of New America, former Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department under Secretary Hillary Clinton, and one of the most influential voices in American foreign policy joins Zachary Karabell to reckon with a...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
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.
HOSTED BY
The Progress Network with Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does What Could Go Right? have?
What Could Go Right? currently has 255 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is What Could Go Right? about?
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...
How often does What Could Go Right? release new episodes?
What Could Go Right? publishes regularly with 255 episodes available. Check the episode list for the typical release schedule.
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You can listen to What Could Go Right? on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts What Could Go Right??
What Could Go Right? is created and hosted by The Progress Network with Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas.
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