Archive - The Works in Progress Newsletter

The creation of instant coffee

The convenience of instant coffee masks a surprisingly difficult problem.

18 hrs ago • Works in Progress

Inflatable space stations, Out Loud

If we ever want to live in space, we need to work out a way of creating artificial gravity.

Apr 3 • Works in Progress

19:02

March 2026

It’s incredibly hard to deliver drugs to the right organ, especially to reach the brain. Microbubbles could change that.

Mar 31 • Ambika Grover and Works in Progress

Escaping the Ogallala trap

There is a closing window to stop Waymos from creating omnigridlock.

Mar 27 • Ben Southwood

The algorithm will see you now, Out Loud

Radiology combines digital images, clear benchmarks, and repeatable tasks. But replacing humans with AI is harder than it seems.

Mar 27 • Works in Progress and Deena Mousa

21:30

How live sports saved television

Television was the most eagerly anticipated technology of the postwar years. But it faced a terrible coordination problem.

Mar 26 • Virginia Postrel and Works in Progress

Did status signaling ruin architecture?

Episode 15 of the Works in Progress is about ornament, taste, and modernism.

Mar 25 • Works in Progress, Aria Schrecker, Ben Southwood, and Samuel Hughes

1:27:46

Sunscreen for the planet, Out Loud

The world is warming faster than we can cut emissions. Volcanoes are already cooling the planet, with particles that reflect sunlight. Maybe we can too.

Mar 20 • Works in Progress, Daniele Visioni, and Dakota Gruener

22:30

How to redraw a city, Out Loud

Japan faced some of the world’s toughest planning problems. It solved them by letting homeowners replan whole neighborhoods privately by supermajority…

Mar 13 • Works in Progress

35:04

How much more can we extend lifespans?

Mar 11 • Works in Progress, Aria Schrecker, Saloni Dattani, and Ben Southwood

1:25:27

How an unappetizing shrub became dozens of different vegetables

How a single unappetizing shrub became dozens of different vegetables.

Mar 9 • Works in Progress

Introducing Works in Progress Out Loud

Listen to Two is already too many by Phoebe Arslanagic-Little

Mar 6 • Works in Progress and Phoebe Arslanagić-Little

29:12

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