171 | Christopher Mims on Our Interconnected Industrial Ecology

171 | Christopher Mims on Our Interconnected Industrial Ecology

As the holidays approach, we are being reminded of the fragility of the global supply chain. But at the same time, the supply chain itself is a truly impressive and fascinating structure, made as it is from multiple components that must work together in synchrony. From building an item in a factory and shipping it worldwide to transporting it locally, processing it in a distribution center, and finally delivering it to an address, the system is simultaneously awe-inspiring and deeply dehumanizing. I talk with Christopher Mims about how things are made, how they get to us, and what it all means for the present and future of our work and our lives.

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Christopher Mims received a bachelor's degree in neuroscience and behavioral biology from Emory University. He is currently a technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal. He has previously written for publications such as Wired, Scientific American, The Atlantic, and Smithsonian. His new book is Arriving Today: From Factory to Front Door — Why Everything Has Changed About How and What We Buy.


Jaksot(416)

30 | Derek Leben on Ethics for Robots and Artificial Intelligences

30 | Derek Leben on Ethics for Robots and Artificial Intelligences

It's hardly news that computers are exerting ever more influence over our lives. And we're beginning to see the first glimmers of some kind of artificial intelligence: computer programs have become mu...

21 Tammi 20191h 28min

29 | Raychelle Burks on the Chemistry of Murder

29 | Raychelle Burks on the Chemistry of Murder

Sometimes science is asking esoteric questions about the fundamental nature of reality. Other times, it just wants to solve a murder. Today's guest, Raychelle Burks, is an analytical chemist at St. Ed...

14 Tammi 20191h 15min

28 | Roger Penrose on Spacetime, Consciousness, and the Universe

28 | Roger Penrose on Spacetime, Consciousness, and the Universe

Sir Roger Penrose has had a remarkable life. He has contributed an enormous amount to our understanding of general relativity, perhaps more than anyone since Einstein himself -- Penrose diagrams, sing...

7 Tammi 20191h 35min

Holiday Message 2018

Holiday Message 2018

There won't be any regular episodes of Mindscape this week or next, as we take a holiday break. Regular service will resume on Monday January 7, 2019. In the meantime, here is a special Holiday Messag...

24 Joulu 201844min

27 | Janna Levin on Black Holes, Chaos, and the Narrative of Science

27 | Janna Levin on Black Holes, Chaos, and the Narrative of Science

It's a big universe out there, full of an astonishing variety of questions and puzzles. Today's guest, Janna Levin, is a physicist who has delved into some of the trippiest aspects of cosmology and gr...

17 Joulu 20181h 8min

26 | Ge Wang on Artful Design, Computers, and Music

26 | Ge Wang on Artful Design, Computers, and Music

Everywhere around us are things that serve functions. We live in houses, sit on chairs, drive in cars. But these things don't only serve functions, they also come in particular forms, which may be emo...

10 Joulu 20181h 10min

25 | David Chalmers on Consciousness, the Hard Problem, and Living in a Simulation

25 | David Chalmers on Consciousness, the Hard Problem, and Living in a Simulation

The "Easy Problems" of consciousness have to do with how the brain takes in information, thinks about it, and turns it into action. The "Hard Problem," on the other hand, is the task of explaining our...

3 Joulu 20181h 22min

24 | Kip Thorne on Gravitational Waves, Time Travel, and Interstellar

24 | Kip Thorne on Gravitational Waves, Time Travel, and Interstellar

I remember vividly hosting a colloquium speaker, about fifteen years ago, who talked about the LIGO gravitational-wave observatory, which had just started taking data. Comparing where they were to whe...

26 Marras 20181h 19min

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