64 | Ramez Naam on Renewable Energy and ...

<p>Welcome to the November 2025 Ask Me Anything episode of Mindscape! These monthly excursions are funded by&nbsp;<a href="https://www.patreon.com/seanmcarroll" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Patreon supporters</a>&nbsp;(who are also the ones asking the questions). We ... Show More

<p>Science has an incredibly impressive track record of uncovering nonintuitive ideas about the universe that turn out to be surprisingly accurate. It can be tempting to think of scientific discoveries as being carefully constructed atop a rock-solid foundation. In reality, scien ... Show More

<p>The universe as revealed by physics is objective: it's out there, existing and behaving in ways that are completely independent of human thought. But the process by which we learn about the universe, and the language with which we talk about it, is extremely human-dependent. D ... Show More

<p>Billions of dollars are being spent by tech companies and investors on new technology to fight climate change. In the final episode of this series of Tech Tonic, Eric Toone, from Bill Gates’ Breakthrough Energy Ventures fund, tells FT columnist and host Pilita Clark why he bel ... Show More

<p>Nuclear fusion is the reaction that powers stars and scientists say replicating it on Earth could produce all the energy we’ll ever need without the CO2.&nbsp;But no one has yet made a fusion reactor that actually produces more energy than it uses. Fusion researchers say that’ ... Show More

<p>The excitement around ChatGPT and other large language models has put AI firmly in the spotlight in recent months. Public perception is that we’re entering a new age of AI; it is a brand-new technology that promises to change our lives. In the world of energy, though, AI is no ... Show More

Harnessing energy directly in space and from the ocean flow 

<p>Humans are responsible for emitting over 40 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year – and we all know that we need to reduce that figure to prevent devastating climate change. Listener Saugat wonders whether smart technology and artificial intelligence ... Show More

<p>The clean tech sector is a critical part of making the energy transition possible. With more and more capital flooding from outside investors into cleantech than ever before, the sector is set to become one of the critical keys in aiding and accelerating the energy transition. ... Show More

<p>After 30 years of R&amp;D and commercial proof, hundreds of billions in institutional dollars are pouring into now-conventional tech like wind, solar and batteries.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><p>But there’s a whole class of technologies that are ready to scale. And investors who are incre ... Show More

Not so long ago, all batteries were single use. And solar power was an emerging and expensive technology. Now, thanks to rechargeable batteries, we have mobile phones, laptops, electronic toys, cordless power tools and other portable electronic devices. And solar power is reducin ... Show More

<p>The climate crisis threatens the future of the planet. But don’t worry, technology will save us. At least that’s the message from startups, innovators and investors. Are they right? In a new season of Tech Tonic FT columnist and climate journalist Pilita Clark discovers the te ... Show More