The Works in Progress Newsletter

The Works in Progress Newsletter

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Least Village Has Its Blacksmith
The next section of Chapter 3 of Stewart Brand’s Maintenance on Books in Progress
 • 
Stewart Brand
 and 
Works in Progress
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Works in Progress
3
How Henry VIII accidentally started the Industrial Revolution, with Anton Howes
Episode three of the Works in Progress Podcast is about England's WORST king.
 • 
Sam Bowman
, 
Ben Southwood
, 
Anton Howes
, and 
Works in Progress
6
1:11:46
Tram trains
How to build cheap transit in smaller towns
 • 
Benedict Springbett
6
Predicting earthquakes
Achieving a 10-minute warning would save thousands of lives
 • 
Michael Ioffe
8
Stian Westlake on the intangible economy and paying for social science
Episode two of The Works in Progress Podcast is out now
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Stian Westlake
, 
Sam Bowman
, and 
Ben Southwood
2
58:40
What's new in biology: summer 2025
The first gonorrhea vaccination program, contact lenses that see infrared light, the protein behind sweet tastes, a baby cured with gene therapy, and…
 • 
Niko McCarty
 and 
Saloni Dattani
2
The end of lead
How a single taxi ride saved millions of lives
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Works in Progress
7

June 2025

Samuel Hughes on The Great Downzoning
Episode one of The Works in Progress Podcast is out now
 • 
Sam Bowman
, 
Ben Southwood
, and 
Samuel Hughes
2
1:09:31
The first non-opioid painkiller
Journavx was approved this year. Why did it take so long to develop?
 • 
Michelle Ma
8
How New Zealand invented inflation targeting
The political gamble that made modern central banking
 • 
Works in Progress
2
How to redraw a city
The planning trick that created Japan's famous urbanism
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Works in Progress
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