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MIT Technology Review Narrated

MIT Technology Reviewwww.technologyreview.com
Welcome to MIT Technology Review Narrated, the home for the very best of our journalism in audio. Each week we will share one of our most ambitious stories, from print and online, narrated for us by real voice actors. Expect big themes, thought-provoking topics, and sharp analysis, all backed by our trusted reporting.
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Episodes

How did China come to dominate the world of electric cars?

From generous government subsidies to support for lithium batteries, here are the keys to understanding how China managed to build a world-leading industry in electric vehicles. This story was written by Zeyi Yang and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Jun 25, 202518 min

What’s next for our privacy?

The US still has no federal privacy law. But recent enforcement actions against data brokers may offer some new protections for Americans’ personal information. This story was written by Eileen Guo and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

May 14, 202519 min

The second wave of AI coding is here

A string of startups are racing to build models that can produce better and better software. They claim it’s the shortest path to AGI. This story was written by Will Douglas Heaven and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Apr 30, 202519 min

Quantum computing is taking on its biggest challenge: noise

For a while researchers thought they’d have to make do with noisy, error-prone systems, at least in the near term. That’s starting to change. This story was written by Michael Brooks and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Apr 23, 202522 min

Will we ever trust robots?

If most robots still need remote human operators to be safe and effective, why should we welcome them into our homes? This story was written by James O'Donnell and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Apr 16, 202523 min

The quest to figure out farming on Mars

If we’re going to live on Mars we’ll need a way to grow food in its arid dirt. Researchers think they know a way. This story was written by David W. Brown and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Apr 02, 202527 min

How tracking animal movement may save the planet

Researchers have been dreaming of an Internet of Animals. They’re getting closer to monitoring 100,000 creatures—and revealing hidden facets of our shared world. This story was written by Matthew Ponsford and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Mar 26, 202528 min

How the Ukraine-Russia war is reshaping the tech sector in Eastern Europe

Startups in Latvia and other nearby countries see the mobilization of Ukraine as a warning and as inspiration. They are now changing consumer products—from scooters to recreational drones—for use on the battlefield. This story was written by Peter Guest and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Mar 12, 202531 min

AI search could break the web

At its best, AI search can better infer a user’s intent, amplify quality content, and synthesize information from diverse sources. But if AI search becomes our primary portal to the web, it threatens to disrupt an already precarious digital economy. Today, the production of content online depends on a fragile set of incentives tied to virtual foot traffic: ads, subscriptions, donations, sales, or brand exposure. By shielding the web behind an all-knowing chatbot, AI search could deprive creators...

Mar 05, 202511 min

The messy quest to replace drugs with electricity

“Electroceuticals” promised the post-pharma future for medicine. But the exclusive focus on the nervous system is seeming less and less warranted. This story was written by Sally Adee and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Feb 26, 202539 min

The weeds are winning

As the climate changes, genetic engineering will be essential for growing food. But is it creating a race of superweeds? This story was written by Douglas Main and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.

Feb 19, 202519 min

Why AI could eat quantum computing’s lunch

Tech companies have been funneling billions of dollars into quantum computers for years. The hope is that they’ll be a game changer for fields as diverse as finance, drug discovery, and logistics. Those expectations have been especially high in physics and chemistry, where the weird effects of quantum mechanics come into play. In theory, this is where quantum computers could have a huge advantage over conventional machines. But while the field struggles with the realities of tricky quantum hardw...

Feb 12, 202518 min

Is this the end of animal testing?

More than 60 companies now produce organs on chips commercially, focusing on five major organs: liver, kidney, lung, intestines, and brain. They’re already being used to understand diseases, discover and test new drugs, and explore personalized approaches to treatment. Could this be the end of animal testing? This story was written by Harriet Brown and narrated by Noa.

Jan 29, 202521 min

Meet the divers trying to figure out how deep humans can go

Figuring out how the human body can withstand underwater pressure has been a problem for over a century, but a ragtag band of divers is experimenting with hydrogen to find out. This story was written by Samantha Schuyler and narrated by Noa.

Jan 22, 202525 min

Palmer Luckey on the Pentagon’s future of mixed reality

Palmer Luckey, the founder of Oculus VR, has set his sights on a new mixed-reality headset customer: the Pentagon. His company Anduril Industries, which focuses on drones, cruise missiles, and other AI-enhanced technologies for the US Department of Defense, announced it would partner with Microsoft on the US Army’s Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), arguably the military’s largest effort to develop a headset for use on the battlefield. Anduril’s contribution to the project will be Lat...

Jan 15, 202518 min

How covid conspiracy theories led to an alarming resurgence in AIDS denialism

Podcaster Joe Rogan, former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., and football quarterback Aaron Rodgers are all helping revive AIDS denialism—a false collection of theories arguing either that HIV doesn’t cause AIDS or that there’s no such thing as HIV at all. These ideas were initially promoted back in the 1980s and ’90s by a cadre of scientists from unrelated fields, as well as many science-adjacent figures and self-proclaimed investigative journalists. But as more and more evidence ...

Jan 08, 202534 min

How to fine-tune AI for prosperity

The newest versions of generative AI are bedazzling, with lifelike videos, seemingly expert-sounding prose, and other all too humanlike behaviors. Business leaders are fretting over how to reinvent their companies as billions flow into startups, and the big AI companies are creating ever more powerful models. Predictions abound on how ChatGPT and the growing list of large language models will transform the way we work and organize our lives, providing instant advice on everything from financial ...

Jan 01, 202533 min

Meet the radio-obsessed civilian shaping Ukraine’s drone defense

Despite it being over 100 years old, radio technology is still critical in almost all aspects of modern warfare—including in the drones that have come to dominate the Russia-Ukraine war. But before the war, there was a frightening vacuum of expertise. Serhii “Flash” Beskrestnov, who has been obsessed with radios since childhood, stepped in to fill it. Now, the unlikely hero is sharing expert advice and intel on the ever-evolving technology that’s taken over the skies. His work may determine the ...

Dec 18, 202424 min

ChatGPT is about to revolutionize the economy. We need to decide what that looks like.

You can practically hear the shrieks from corner offices around the world: “What is our ChatGPT play? How do we make money off this?” Whether it’s based on hallucinatory beliefs or not, an AI gold rush has started to mine the anticipated business opportunities from generative AI models like ChatGPT. But while companies and executives see a clear chance to cash in, the likely impact of the technology on workers and the economy on the whole is far less obvious. This story was written by editor at ...

Dec 11, 202428 min
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