Episodes

  • The world’s on the verge of a carbon storage boom

    The world’s on the verge of a carbon storage boom
    Nov 21 2024
    Pump jacks and pipelines clutter the Elk Hills oil field of California, a scrubby stretch of land in the southern Central Valley that rests above one of the nation’s richest deposits of fossil fuels. Oil production has been steadily declining in the state for decades, as tech jobs have boomed and legislators have enacted rigorous environmental and climate rules. Companies, towns, and residents across Kern County, where the poverty rate hovers around 18%, have grown increasingly desperate for new economic opportunities. In late 2023, one of the state’s largest oil and gas producers secured draft permits from the US Environmental Protection Agency to develop a new type of well in the oil field, which it asserts would provide just that. If the company gets final approval from regulators, it intends to drill a series of boreholes down to a sprawling sedimentary formation roughly 6,000 feet below the surface, where it will inject tens of millions of metric tons of carbon dioxide to store it away forever. Hundreds of similar projects are looming across the state, the US, and the world. Proponents hope it’s the start of a sort of oil boom in reverse, kick-starting a process through which the world will eventually bury more greenhouse gas than it adds to the atmosphere. But opponents insist these efforts will prolong the life of fossil-fuel plants, allow air and water pollution to continue, and create new health and environmental risks that could disproportionately harm disadvantaged communities surrounding the projects, including those near the Elk Hills oil field. This story was written by senior climate and energy editor James Temple and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com.
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    26 mins
  • Is robotics about to have its own ChatGPT moment?

    Is robotics about to have its own ChatGPT moment?
    Nov 13 2024
    Robots that can do many of the things humans do in the home—folding laundry, cooking meals, cleaning—have been a dream of robotics research since the inception of the field in the 1950s. While engineers have made great progress in getting robots to work in tightly controlled environments like labs and factories, the home has proved difficult to design for. Out in the real, messy world, furniture and floor plans differ wildly; children and pets can jump in a robot’s way; and clothes that need folding come in different shapes, colors, and sizes. Managing such unpredictable settings and varied conditions has been beyond the capabilities of even the most advanced robot prototypes. But now, the field is at an inflection point. A new generation of researchers believes that generative AI could give robots the ability to learn new skills and adapt to new environments faster than ever before. This new approach, just maybe, can finally bring robots out of the factory and into the mainstream. This story was written by senior AI reporter Melissa Heikkilä and narrated by Noa - newsoveraudio.com
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    26 mins
  • Gorillas, militias, and Bitcoin: Why Congo’s most famous national park is betting big on crypto

    Gorillas, militias, and Bitcoin: Why Congo’s most famous national park is betting big on crypto
    Nov 6 2024
    In an attempt to protect its forests and famous wildlife, Virunga has become the first national park to run a Bitcoin mine. But some are wondering what crypto has to do with conservation. This story was written by Adam Popescu and narrated by Noa (newsoveraudio.com)
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    34 mins
  • How gamification took over the world

    How gamification took over the world
    Oct 30 2024
    We live in an undeniably gamified world. We stand up and move around to close colorful rings and earn achievement badges on our smartwatches; we meditate and sleep to recharge our body batteries; we plant virtual trees to be more productive; we chase “likes” and “karma” on social media sites and try to swipe our way toward social connection. But instead of liberating us from drudgery and maximizing our potential, gamification has turned out to be just another tool for coercion, distraction, and control. Why did we fall for it? This story was written by Bryan Gardiner and narrated by Noa (newsoveraudio.com)
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    16 mins
  • Technology that lets us “speak” to our dead relatives has arrived. Are we ready?

    Technology that lets us “speak” to our dead relatives has arrived. Are we ready?
    Oct 23 2024
    Digital clones of people's dead relatives are far from perfect: they're occasionally impersonal and sometimes downright creepy. But if the technology might help us hang onto the people we love, is it so wrong to try? This story was written by news editor Charlotte Jee and narrated by Noa.
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    27 mins
  • Inside the quest to engineer climate-saving “super trees”

    Inside the quest to engineer climate-saving “super trees”
    Oct 16 2024
    A Silicon Valley startup wants to supercharge trees to soak up more carbon and cool the climate. Is this the great climate solution or a whole lot of hype? This story was written by Boyce Upholt and narrated by Noa.
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    36 mins
  • What is AI?

    What is AI?
    Oct 9 2024
    Artificial intelligence is the hottest technology of our time. But what is it? It sounds like a stupid question, but it’s one that’s never been more urgent. MIT Technology Review takes a deep dive into the competing answers from titans of industry and helps us understand how we got here—and why you should care, no matter who you are. This story was written by senior AI editor Will Douglas Heaven and narrated by Noa.
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    1 hr and 19 mins
  • The cost of building the perfect wave

    The cost of building the perfect wave
    Oct 2 2024
    The growing business of surf pools wants to bring the ocean experience inland, making surfing more accessible to communities far from the coasts. These pools can use—and lose—millions upon millions of gallons of water every year. With many planned for areas facing water scarcity, who bears the cost of building the perfect wave? This story was written by senior features and investigations reporter Eileen Guo and narrated by Noa.
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    27 mins