The Edge
A podcast for surviving our modern world. With help from UC Berkeley experts, California magazine editors Laura Smith and Leah Worthington explore cutting-edge, often controversial ideas in science, technology, and society. Should you be able to choose your baby’s IQ? Are algorithms really smarter than people? As we face a planet devastated by climate change, what is the future of food? All that and more. A production of California magazine and the Cal Alumni Association. // Reported and hosted by Laura Smith and Leah Worthington; produced by Coby McDonald; artwork by Michiko Toki; original music by Mogli Maureal
The Edge
Latest Episodes
#35 Robot Futures with Annalee Newitz
It’s the age of AI. Robots are getting smarter and learning to do our jobs at an alarming rate. And the question no one seems to be able to answer is: Will robots replace us all and rule the world? Or will we find a way to work in harmon...
#34 Digital Infrastructure with Nicole Starosielski
When you send a message to a friend—whether by text, email, or social media—you probably don’t think much about where it’s actually going. We’ve grown so accustomed to our free-floating devices and digital clouds and seemingly wireless conn...
#33 Talking to Whales with Gašper Beguš
For decades, researchers believed that whales communicated using a sort of underwater Morse code—simple, repeated patterns of clicks. But recent advances in technology have revealed a much more complex, even human-like language. Now, with a...