Matt Purdy

Associate Producer

Innovation Hub
Ellis Island — which once welcomed millions of immigrants to the US — is pictured here shrouded in fog.

What immigration does for innovation

Global Politics

Some of America’s best scientists (think Einstein and Tesla) immigrated here from other countries. We talk with two economists who’ve calculated their impact on American innovation.

Empathy

How empathy leads us astray

Culture
Protesters dressed as robots demand a basic income

Swiss voters reject a plan to give everyone a guaranteed basic income

Economics
Doctors diagnose a patient remotely at the First Hospital of Zhejiang Province

When technology goes wrong in your doctor’s office, it can have serious consequences

Books
iphone broken

Why we don’t fix anything anymore

Technology
philly housing

Advocates are embracing a new first step to help the homeless: permanent housing

Development

It used to be much harder for the homeless to get permanent housing. But a new push to house the homeless before treating addiction or mental health issues is changing that.

Pasta

Paleo Schmaleo: Why the Paleo diet is wrong

Food

New research into how our brains grew so large flies in the face of the trendy Paleo diet.

volcano

Scientists are looking at riskier ways to reverse climate change

Environment

We may one day need a silver bullet to cool the climate down. A look at the options – and the unintended consequences.

Kids need more play time

The case for play

Education

In hunter-gatherer societies, kids learned through play. In today’s world, it’s still important for all kids to have more time to do so, a psychologist says.

Aging

‘The first person to live to 150 has already been born.’

Health

Aging is a disease — not just an inevitable process. That’s according to researcher David Sinclair, who explains why 150 year olds will be good for society.