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Featured
The Rebirth of the City-State

The Rebirth of the City-State

Are technological, cultural, and environmental factors combining to disrupt the nation-state in favor of an ancient alternative?
Go to the profile of Corin Faife
Corin Faife2 days ago
The Problem With Smart Cities

The Problem With Smart Cities

It’s no use turning cities into data mines without putting human needs at the forefront
Go to the profile of Cat Matson
Cat MatsonMar 27
Mapped: America’s Healthiest Cities

Mapped: America’s Healthiest Cities

Communities beat out states when it comes to keeping you well
Go to the profile of Duncan Geere
Duncan Geere2 days ago
Metropolis: A Reading List

Metropolis: A Reading List

Every month, we like to compile a short reading list for our theme of choice. This month’s conversation around the future of cities…
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanApr 7
On Certainty and the Illusion of Control

On Certainty and the Illusion of Control

Why popular solutions often fail to address big problems—like climate change—and what this says about us all
Go to the profile of Josh Carroll
Josh CarrollMar 9
Made Of Money
For Unbanked Populations, the Future of Banking Is Pocket-Size

For Unbanked Populations, the Future of Banking Is Pocket-Size

A dispatch from the streets of Myanmar
Go to the profile of Fanny Potkin
Fanny PotkinMar 31
The Future of Money Depends on Busting Fairy Tales About Its Past

The Future of Money Depends on Busting Fairy Tales About Its Past

Want to disrupt finance? Start here.
Go to the profile of Brett Scott
Brett ScottMar 30
U.S. Debt Is Massive and Other Countries Are Desperate to Keep It That Way

U.S. Debt Is Massive and Other Countries Are Desperate to Keep It That Way

In 1998, Boris Yeltsin had a problem with debt. He followed the advice of so many lawyers who advertise on late-night television and…
Go to the profile of Annie Logue
Annie LogueMar 29
Power Up
What Does Your Energy Utopia Look Like?

What Does Your Energy Utopia Look Like?

When I asked how we should power utopia, I wasn’t expecting so many replies. Over the past month, we’ve heard a multitude of perspectives…
Go to the profile of Duncan Geere
Duncan GeereFeb 26
What It’s Like to Assess Perpetual Motion Machines for a Living

What It’s Like to Assess Perpetual Motion Machines for a Living

Vattenfall is Sweden’s state-owned energy company. Founded in 1909, it now provides power across northern Europe. It also has an R&D team…
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanFeb 26
A Coal Miner’s Daughter & the End of Fossil Fuels

A Coal Miner’s Daughter & the End of Fossil Fuels

Thursday is trivia night. At a pub in Santa Monica with beer-sticky floors and a few pool tables in the back, a woman wearing knee socks—no…
Go to the profile of Abigail Ronck
Abigail RonckFeb 25
Afrofuturism
Dreaming Up Inventions for an Afrofuturist World

Dreaming Up Inventions for an Afrofuturist World

Three magical tools necessary for both liberation and laughter
Go to the profile of Travis Alabanza
Travis AlabanzaFeb 2
An Afrofuturist Comic

An Afrofuturist Comic

An illustrated interview with Ikem Nzeribe, in which electric cats roam our cities and Miles Davis albums play on repeat
Go to the profile of Charlotte M L Bailey
Charlotte M L BaileyFeb 2
Fast Forward
Listening to Tomorrow

Listening to Tomorrow

A roundup of our month exploring the changing experience of music
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanDec 22, 2015
The Future of Music Is Not Male

The Future of Music Is Not Male

Women are demanding respect, autonomy, and credit in an industry that has long rebuffed them
Go to the profile of Laura Snapes
Laura SnapesDec 22, 2015
High Score: How Video Game Music Became the Soundtrack of a Generation

High Score: How Video Game Music Became the Soundtrack of a Generation

Game music has quietly infiltrated mainstream culture while retaining its unique appeal
Go to the profile of Duncan Jefferies
Duncan JefferiesDec 22, 2015
Future Of Food
Change Your Diet, Change Your Future

Change Your Diet, Change Your Future

What we learned this month exploring the future of food
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanDec 3, 2015
Harvesting Cities: Farms of the Future?

Harvesting Cities: Farms of the Future?

Turning cafes into farms could herald a greener, more sustainable food culture
Go to the profile of Steven Johnson
Steven JohnsonDec 3, 2015
The Secret to Health Isn’t the Food on Your Plate

The Secret to Health Isn’t the Food on Your Plate

The Mediterranean diet isn’t healthy just because of the ingredients — just as important is its communal side
Go to the profile of Yiannis Βaboulias
Yiannis ΒabouliasNov 30, 2015
Robots Vs Animals
Why I’m No Longer Scared of Robot Pets

Why I’m No Longer Scared of Robot Pets

How I learned to love BigDog, and other lessons from Robots vs. Animals month
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanNov 5, 2015
Mapped: The World’s Animal Robot Hotspots

Mapped: The World’s Animal Robot Hotspots

New artificial life forms are being created all over the planet. Here’s a quick safari of some of the most important centers for animal…
Go to the profile of Darren Garrett
Darren GarrettOct 30, 2015
Latest
Drones Are Hunting for Dubai’s Litterbugs

Drones Are Hunting for Dubai’s Litterbugs

…and five other stories from outside your news bubble
Go to the profile of Duncan Geere
Duncan Geere3 days ago
Welcome to Our April Theme: Metropolis

Welcome to Our April Theme: Metropolis

Introducing a month-long series about the future of cities
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanApr 4
South Korea Plans Lifelong Parenting Classes

South Korea Plans Lifelong Parenting Classes

…and five other stories from outside your news bubble
Go to the profile of Duncan Geere
Duncan GeereApr 4
Made of Money: We’re in the Black

Made of Money: We’re in the Black

March is over; yesterday we closed out our month-long series looking at the future of money and nationhood—at least officially, that is. We…
Go to the profile of Abigail Ronck
Abigail RonckApr 1
About
How We Get To Next
How We Get To Next

Inspiring stories about the people and places building our future. Created by Steven Johnson, edited by Ian Steadman, Duncan Geere, and Abigail Ronck. Supported by the the Lemelson Foundation, Gates Foundation, and Knight Foundation.

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Outside The Bubble
Sludge-to-Energy Tech Spreading Across China

Sludge-to-Energy Tech Spreading Across China

…and five other stories from outside your news bubble
Go to the profile of Duncan Geere
Duncan GeereMar 29
How to Make it Rain in the Desert

How to Make it Rain in the Desert

… and five other stories from outside your news bubble
Go to the profile of Duncan Geere
Duncan GeereMar 21
We Built This City on Plastic Waste

We Built This City on Plastic Waste

… and five other stories from outside your news bubble
Go to the profile of Duncan Geere
Duncan GeereMar 14
Playlist
How to Charge Your Phone Off-Grid

How to Charge Your Phone Off-Grid

A guide to turning energy from the natural world into electricity
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanFeb 5
Five Pioneering Music Videos You’ve Probably Never Seen

Five Pioneering Music Videos You’ve Probably Never Seen

I’m old enough to have grown up alongside the music video. I spent my teenage years hunched over a VHS video recorder trying to record…
Go to the profile of Matt Locke
Matt LockeDec 4, 2015
Robot Pets Are on Their Way

Robot Pets Are on Their Way

But Simulating Your Dog’s Brain Is Really Hard
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanOct 10, 2015
About Hwgtn

What is How We Get To Next?

How We Get to Next is about innovation, in the past and for the future.How We Get To Next is a sister project to Steven Johnson’s TV show and book, How We Got to Now, and is a Nutopia/Storythings initiative, supported by the Gates, Knight, and The Lemelson Foundations and edited by Ian Steadman, Duncan Geere and Abigail Ronck. ¶ Introducing the project, Steven wrote: ¶ “We all know that ‘innovation’ itself has become a buzzword. Yet the problem with the term is not its trendiness, but the fact that it is so regularly applied to such a small sliver of the world…
Go to the profile of Ian Steadman
Ian SteadmanSep 8, 2015
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