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WSJ’s The Future of Everything
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WSJ’s The Future of Everything

Author: The Wall Street Journal

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75 Episodes
Student loan debt is now around $1.6 trillion. Some economists fear that debt is irreparably harming the U.S. economy. But over the past 50 years, the availability of federal student loans has changed higher education. It's led to higher attendance rates, but also higher tuitions and higher expectations from the college experience. In this episode of The Future of Everything: what structural changes could improve the lending program going forward - and how that could change what college looks like in the future. With WSJ reporters Melissa Korn and Josh Mitchell. Janet Babin hosts.
A recent surge in high-profile cyber attacks has companies playing defense. Some are turning to ethical hackers to find software bugs before the bad guys do. But as Ava Sasani reports, researchers are also developing new hardware - to try and stop hackers in their tracks. Janet Babin hosts.
Materials scientists are getting creative in the quest to quiet our increasingly noisy world. Using metamaterials - man made materials with special properties not found in nature - researchers could soon reduce or eliminate unwanted industrial sounds.
The battle against noise has been waged, rather quietly, for decades. And yet, urban noise pollution is getting worse. A growing body of evidence indicates that it is more than a nuisance- persistent exposure to noise can cause chronic health issues. Anyone can be impacted, but marginalized communities most often live closer to sources of unwanted noise. In this episode, we look at the impacts of urban noise, new efforts to understand and track it and consider design solutions that can help mitigate unwanted sound.
Singer-songwriter and producer Jacob Collier grew up producing music in his bedroom. After years of touring the world, the pandemic allowed him to return to that space - to continue developing his genre-bending music. In this episode, the five-time Grammy Award winner shares with host Janet Babin how the pandemic impacted his creative process, and how participatory music along with social media kept him connected to his audience.
The pandemic forced artists and musicians to learn how to collaborate remotely. Some of these newfound methods were so successful, they'll likely influence the future of music creation and performance in the post-pandemic world. In this episode we talk with record producer Oak Felder about what the pandemic year taught him and how it will continue to influence his creative process. He'll be leading a workshop at the up-coming Future of Everything Festival.
After years of being a museum novelty, digital art is starting to sell like hotcakes--and in some cases for millions of dollars--because of a crypto asset called nonfungible tokens, or NFTs. And it isn't just art--sales of digital collectibles of all kinds are benefiting from these blockchain-based certificates of authenticity. NFTs are making the market more accessible for artists, but in the future, they also could disrupt the entire economy of the art market.
Millions of people worldwide who survived an initial Covid-19 infection continue to struggle with debilitating symptoms months later. Physicians are unable to explain their illness. But there's now a name for it: Long Covid. The medical community is hoping that the data trove from Long Covid survivors can not only help them understand their conditions, but also how to treat illnesses with similar symptoms. In a previous version of this podcast released on March 26, we said that Body Politic published survey results in December. The Patient-Led Research Collaborative for Covid-19 published the paper.
The hallucinogenic compound psilocybin is undergoing a renaissance-not as a recreational drug but as a potential treatment for mental health conditions. We follow the journey of one participant of a scientific study into the psychedelic drug's effect on depression.
Trains that run from New York to California in a few hours, laptops that never overheat, and rockets that fly to Jupiter: These are some of the possibilities of superconductivity. After decades of failed experiments, a new discovery may have just gotten us a step closer.
When Chinese researchers published the draft genome of the virus that causes Covid-19 early last January, it altered the course of the pandemic--and possibly changed science forever. Will this spirit of information-sharing and collaboration persist beyond the current crisis?
In this episode, we feature a short documentary by Wall Street Journal senior personal technology columnist Joanna Stern that explores how we can use technology to tell our stories long after we die.
For the vast majority of humans, earth is our home. But that could soon change. Global efforts are underway to build sustainable habitats on the moon within the next decade or two. But beyond covering the necessities in an otherwise uninhabitable environment, we'll also need to consider the psychological effects of living in space, and what it will take to make the moon feel more like home.
Schools around the world are slowly adopting artificial intelligence to better tailor teaching to individual kids. One program maps a student's mastery of math; another assesses literacy and screens for dyslexia. Critics are skeptical that this technology is as effective as promised. Could surveilling students in this way do more harm than good?
Mobile Voting's Future

Mobile Voting's Future


As the U.S. gets ready for an election during a pandemic, we report on in-person voting options and review the security threats inherent in mobile or blockchain assisted voting. In a previous version of this podcast released on Oct. 2, we said that Bradley Tusk was funding mobile voting apps, including the Voatz app. Tusk Philanthropies has given funding to voting precincts to launch mobile voting pilot programs - not to the apps themselves.
The coronavirus pandemic led to blood-donation shortages across the world, outlining the fragility of the pipeline. That has brought fresh urgency to research that has been decades in the making but is only now starting to become a reality: The production of artificial blood. Last year, researchers began a pioneering clinical trial, and more are on the way, bringing us closer to a world where blood factories augment supplies.
What if we could alert whales to stay away from oil spills? Or hear from dolphins directly when they want treats? Seamless conversation between animals and humans is still a far-off goal. But scientists think that machine-learning tools could open the door to communication with marine mammals. Listen to the first part of this two-part series, Google AI Tries to Save the Whales.
In the Pacific Northwest, an increase in shipping traffic is further threatening the orca population, which has already seen its numbers drop in the face of food shortages and climate change. One of the biggest threats from the boats is noise pollution, which interferes with the whales' ability to communicate. Engineers at a unit of Google may have an answer: An alert system that relies on artificial intelligence.
The America's Cup, the world's oldest sailing competition, has a reputation for fostering innovation. In 2013, contestants began to use hydrofoils-underwater wings on the hull-to lift their boats out of the water during the race, allowing them to reach highway speeds and revolutionizing the sport. An Olympic sailor and a billionaire oil trader are now reimagining the technology to make passenger ferries faster and more eco-friendly.
In recent weeks, protests have erupted in response to police violence against citizens - specifically communities of color - forcing departments to reconsider how officers do their jobs. Police forces have been using tech - like Tasers and body cameras - to try and reduce the use of lethal force and improve accountability. In this episode, we'll explore how emerging technology - like virtual reality training - could improve police training by boosting empathy and tackling racial bias.
Comments (40)

Rebecca Conner

I appreciate the points made here about the loan system that is creating this debt but I feel we are missing the root cause....the price of college. Until universities are held accountable for their fees, finding ways to give them more money (aka the government taking on more debt to fund college tuition) isn't solving the problem. We should be examining the details of why colleges feel they can charge what they do? Has our loan system caused it? How about their ballooning administration's and campus build outs?

Sep 17th


A bit short-sighted re:AI. 😔

Aug 1st

negin shayesteh

what is the song played at the end called?

Jun 3rd

Old man

one of these women sounds like she's on a treadmill while she's talking. Out of breath and all hyped up

Dec 12th

Old man

Angie is a horrible and narrow minded person. Why would I do that? To avoid cruelty and murder of a sentient creature, and to help combat climate change Maybe?

Dec 7th

Abdullah ÖZDEMİR


Aug 5th


informative easy 2 understand cast..

Aug 3rd

C Mi

Can these technologies be implemented into police uniforms ? To protect law enforcement from making mistakes?

Jun 5th

Meditative Potato

Unsubscribing. Ridiculously shallow and biased, no moral concerns at all about using sentient beings as vessels for human spare parts. They are not your slaves, they are individuals! What makes you think your life is worth more than theirs? At least some debate could have been carried around the bioethical side of the matter. Instead, they presented it as a marvel, above any questions. I couldn't expect more from WSJ, which gladly cheers behind ruthless and exploitative capitalism, what's left for "inferior beings", right? Long live the all Christian and compassionate american way of life!

Oct 23rd
Reply (1)


Nothing works. This channel is broken.

Jul 22nd
Reply (1)

Maurizio Cieri


Jun 16th


I usually enjoy this podcast, but haven't found this episode or the last few very engaging.

Jun 11th

Matt Meshbane

not able to play anything on your channel, WSJ. Fix your shit.

Jun 7th

Dagad Miner

where has this episode gone?

Jun 2nd


Just use QR codes and problem is solved for retailers. No need to POS devices. The US needs to get with it

Apr 20th

Sam Carroll

NONE of these episodes are downloading. I've been trying for several weeks. I'm on Android, using the Castbox app. No problems with any other podcasts -- just this one.

Apr 10th
Reply (1)

Yunjing Luo

Repeat episode. Love the channel, but the new episodes have been released way too SLOW.

Mar 30th


Repeat episode.

Mar 29th

Tin Mann

i dont like these kind of stories! No injuries 4 u.s. solders! we have the CAP. to wipeout all of bad people without losing troops!

Mar 15th

Michael Parke

So SJP wants diversity in the workplace but only hires women?

Feb 15th
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