logo
episode-header-image
May 2021
4m 45s

The future of flying is electrifying | C...

TED
About this episode

If you’re a frequent flier, you’re also a major polluter. What if there was a way to travel the world with less impact on the environment? In this quick, exciting talk, aviation entrepreneur and TED Fellow Cory Combs lays out how electric aircraft could make flying cleaner, quieter and more affordable -- and shares his work on Electric EEL, the largest hybrid-electric plane ever to fly.

Vote for our show in the Signal Awards for Most Inspirational podcast!


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
How to stop homelessness before it starts | Jen Loving
Homelessness can feel like an issue that’s too big and complicated to fix, something we've learned to walk past. Jen Loving, who leads the nonprofit Destination: Home, has spent her entire life proving that mindset is wrong. She shows why we must stop waiting until someone is pus ... Show More
11m 50s
Oct 14
AI brain fry is real. Here’s what leaders can do | Julie Bedard
Workers everywhere are quietly redesigning their jobs around AI, boosting productivity but also creating new kinds of problems. AI advisor Julie Bedard thinks she has a fix. She shares new research on three areas for leaders to focus on — including how to avoid "AI brain fry" — a ... Show More
11m 25s
Oct 13
Why it's so hard to listen when you disagree | Emily Kasriel
Do you avoid talking to people you disagree with? Author and mediator Emily Kasriel thinks you should try it out. She explains why engaging with ideas that bother you is one of the most powerful things you can do — and presents her framework for “deep listening” that can help you ... Show More
13m 32s
Recommended Episodes
Feb 2025
Are electric planes the future?
How to make a battery powered plane that can fly long distances, whilst carrying passengers, is a key challenge facing the aviation sector.As the world tries to reduce its consumption of fossil fuels, researchers are looking to make flight more sustainable to deal with ever growi ... Show More
17m 28s
Sep 2019
Flying Green
Flying, for many of us, is now routine. For a few of us it is a weekly, maybe even daily, event. At the same time global protests, concerned with the pressing danger of climate change and the need to reduce CO2 emissions, are gaining attention and causing alarm. So, will we ever ... Show More
27m 41s
Nov 2023
Electric Planes Take Off
Planes contribute 9% of the world’s carbon pollution, but electrifying them has always seemed impossible; batteries have never been powerful or light enough to carry themselves. But in 2023, batteries reached a tipping point in power and weight. Beta Technologies, based in Vermon ... Show More
40 m
Nov 2022
Climate tech to save the planet: How to keep flying
<p>As more people fly, aviation is on track to becoming a much bigger problem for climate change. Host Pilita Clark, FT columnist and climate journalist, looks at the potential for a more sustainable aviation industry, a sector that’s struggled to come up with new technology to c ... Show More
24m 30s
Aug 2023
Reducing the Carbon Footprint of Aviation
Kennedy Ricci, President of 4AIR, discusses making air travel more sustainable. Hosts: Carol Massar and Tim Stenovec. Producer: Paul Brennan. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information. 
7m 38s
Jan 2020
Aviation Demand: Come Fly With Me, and Everyone Else
Do you fly more than you used to, or less? For most of the world, the answer is more, and it’s likely to be more for the foreseeable future. This week, Switched On speaks with BloombergNEF oil demand analyst David Doherty about aviation’s current and future demand paths. Expandin ... Show More
20m 38s
Oct 2023
Do airports dream of electric planes?
Become a sustaining member today. For $5 a month, we'll send you an Outside/In baseball cap. The first 250 people to donate during our fall fund drive will also receive a "ginkgo love" sticker. Support Outside/In today! Flying is a mess. Underserved airports, a global pilot short ... Show More
36m 25s
Jan 2022
The future of flying
The pandemic has been very hard on commercial aviation, but most experts believe the sector will soon be growing again – fast. The BBC's Theo Leggett takes a look at what new technologies are out there. Sandra Bour Schaeffer, Chief Executive of Airbus Upnext, tells him what the a ... Show More
17m 28s