The Ars Technicast

Today’s segment introduces guest Rodney Brooke and includes a discussion of the rigid segregation between human workers and robots that reigned in almost all factories until recently. Brooks started his latest company to disrupt this status quo. Its roots lie in safety concerns, and the troubles that befall legacy robots in the presence of chaotic, imprecise humans.

We start today’s installment by discussing an audacious project to resurrect the wooly mammoth—or at least certain of its genes, which allowed it to thrive in frigid regions. From mammoths, George and I turn to the topic of synthetic meats, which could enter our kitchens and bellies much sooner than most people think. We close by discussing an ambitious longevity project currently underway in George’s lab. It’s not about life extension—but aging reversal.

We begin today’s installment with a discussion of the strengths and shortcomings of the CRISPR gene-editing technique, which George co-invented. Though CRISPR is a great improvement on the nine techniques that preceded it, it isn’t the be-all, and will surely be displaced by more powerful approaches in the future. George discusses this, as well a wish list of improvements that he hopes its successors will bring.

Genomicist George Church talks about his disappointment with the Human Genome Project. He argues that his field’s true golden age began right after the Genome Project ended, and is now building extraordinary momentum. We discuss the blistering price/performance improvements in both DNA synthesis and sequencing. And for those who are new to this field, we arm you with highly accessible definitions of its four major domains (sequencing, DNA synthesis, DNA editing, and assembly).

Right now the U.S. tech economy is booming, but what will be the long-term effects of automation and AI? Are robots about to steal our jobs? Will Facebook throw the next election? Is social democracy doomed to be a casualty of the tech revolution? To answer these questions and more, we're turning to UC Berkeley economics professor Bradford DeLong. He's in conversation with Ars editor-at-large Annalee Newitz.

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talk to Catherine Bracy, founder of the TechEquity Collaborative, about Silicon Valley's equality issues and how to make the tech industry work for everyone. Recorded live August 16, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talk to Lisa Ling, former military drone tech and whistleblower about the dilemmas of drone warfare and surveillance, and also her experience as a whistleblower. Recorded live July 19, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Joe Mullin talk to Lindsey Dillon, UC Santa Cruz Environmental Studies Professor and chair of the EDGI (Environmental Data & Governance Initiative) steering committee, about rescuing EPA and other government data in the wake of the new US administration website removals. Recorded live June 21, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

What's it like to poke, prod, and blow up stuff for a living? Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talked with Norman Chan, the editor of Tested, Adam Savage's website and YouTube channel covering the intersections of technology, science, art, and pop culture. Recorded live May 17, 2017 at Eli's Mile High Club in Oakland, CA.

Ars Technica's Cyrus Farivar and David Kravetz talk with criminal defense attorney Mark Jaffe about his cases with Aurenheimer, Lostutter, and Matthew Keys in front of a live audience in Oakland, CA. Recorded at Eli's Mile High Cafe in Oakland, CA on April 19, 2017.

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz talks with Paleoclimatologist Lynn Ingram about climate change in front of a live audience in Oakland, CA. Recorded at Awaken Cafe in Oakland, CA on March 15, 2017.

Ars Technica's podcast continues with a series of live discussions about today's science, tech and culture recorded at Longitude, Oakland's premier tiki bar. Ars Technica's Cyrus Farivar and Annalee Newitz spoke with UC Hastings law professor Ahmed Ghappour, an expert in national security and cybersecurity, about what exactly are your rights at the border, and should you really hand over your social media passwords to a customs agent?

Ars Technica's podcast continues with a series of live discussions about today's science, tech and culture recorded at Longitude, Oakland's premier tiki bar. Ars Technica's Cyrus Farivar and Annalee Newitz spoke with Ti Chang, Co-Founder and VP of Design for Crave, a designer sex toy company.

Ars Technica's podcast continues with a series of live discussions about today's science, tech and culture recorded at Longitude, Oakland's premier tiki bar. Ars Technica's Dan Goodin and Annalee Newitz spoke with security researcher Morgan Marquis-Boire about online security and digital authoritarianism.

Ars Technica's podcast continues with a series of live discussions about today's science, tech and culture recorded at Longitude, Oakland's premier tiki bar. In this episode, Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar welcomed guest Ariel Waldman, author and founder of spacehack.org, and Director of Science Hack Day to talk about the possibilities of human space travel.

Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar met in front of a live audience at Longitude bar in Oakland, CA and spoke with Lee Cheng, Chief Legal Officer of Newegg, Inc. about how to fight patent trolls and the strange and ridiculous world of excessive patent litigation.

Ars Technica's podcast continues with a series of live discussions about today's science, tech and culture recorded at Longitude, Oakland's premier tiki bar. In this episode, Ars Technica's Cyrus Farivar spoke with Leslie Miley, a Silicon Valley engineer, about diversity (or the lack thereof) in the tech industry.

Ars Technica's podcast continues with a series of live discussions about today's science, tech and culture recorded at Longitude, Oakland's premier tiki bar. In this episode, Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Tiffany Kelly spoke with Hannu Rajaniemi about his origins as a novelist in science fiction and as a scientist, and subjects of LARPs, complex systems, DNA, sci-fi influences and limitations. 

What if we treated online harassment the same way we treat spam?  Ars Technica's podcast continues with a series of live discussions about today's science, tech and culture recorded at Longitude, Oakland's premier tiki bar. In this episode, Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar talk to journalist Sarah Jeong about spam, online harassment, examples and proposed solutions.

Ars Technica's podcast continues with a series of live discussions about today's science, tech and culture recorded at Longitude, Oakland's premier tiki bar. In this episode, Ars Technica's Annalee Newitz and Cyrus Farivar had a tremendously interesting conversation with UC Davis law professor Elizabeth Joh, who researches surveillance technology and policing.