At How We Get To Next, we love going deep on a subject. Sometimes that means a wide-ranging reading list; other times, it could be anything from reported stories to visual essays. Our contributors go to extra, multi-part lengths to explore the future of the future, and give you both broader and deeper knowledge about the world.
Our series look at big questions about the future from a variety of angles: Are we ready for the next pandemic? What will life be like under massive biometric ID systems? Do we truly only have 60 harvests left? How do artists’ visions of the future influence the world to come?
Disability Futures
We can’t think about the future — of health, of technology, of community — without centering disability. This series explores how, in the words of Rebecca Sanchez, it “invites us to reconsider how we relate to and with other people.”
Isla Del Encanto
After Hurricane Maria destroyed many of the island’s farms, Puerto Rico now imports 85 percent of its food. But from gardens to labs, bakers to distillers, Puerto Ricans are seeking agricultural sustainability and sovereignty. The four-part series is available in both English and Spanish.
The Roots of an Epidemic
Tuberculosis is the leading cause of death from an infectious agent around the world. But to stop the disease, we need more than technological advancement. This four-part series explains how global health problems need political solutions.
A Noxious Problem
The biggest killer in the world today is air pollution. Regulatory corruption, global inequality, and naive techno-optimism all play an integral role in why this crisis continues to get worse—and this three-part series will explore how to fix it.
Breaking the Cycle
This three-part series explores the past, present, and future of reproductive health in India, from population control to on-the-ground interventions to the potential for men and women to share contraceptive responsibility.
A Visual History of the Future
Decades ago, artists’ imaginings formed high expectations about the world to come. Were these just fantasies — or did their visions of the future actually help to shape it? A six-part visual essay series on the ways we imagined tomorrow.
The ID Question
Who decides who you are in the digital age? What if your only hope of rising out of poverty rests on an ID card that you can’t get? As ID systems are increasingly digitized, this series of essays and videos interrogates the future of identification.
The Human Machine
Everyone in the world is dependent on technology; there is no “natural” state for humans, not since we mastered fire. This eight-part series explores the increasingly blurry lines between the humans and machines.
Fowl Plague
The world may be in the early scenes of a disaster movie. Avian influenza—better known as bird flu—is a handful of genetic mutations away becoming airborne. A five-part series—plus explainers, comics, and more—about our next pandemic.
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