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Articles

Notes and essays on progress:

The spiritual benefits of material progress » January 19, 2023
Why didn't we get the four-hour workday? » January 6, 2023
How to slow down scientific progress » January 5, 2023
2022 in review » December 31, 2022
Think wider about the root causes of progress » December 21, 2022
Beyond the moment of invention » December 16, 2022
When should we be surprised that an invention took “so long”? » November 16, 2022
Should we “go against nature”? » November 4, 2022
From technocracy to the counterculture » October 11, 2022
American invention from the “heroic age” to the system-building era » October 6, 2022
What happened to the idea of progress? » September 20, 2022
Towards a philosophy of safety » September 16, 2022
Why was progress so slow in the past? » September 1, 2022
A conversation about progress and safety » August 18, 2022
Technocracy and the Space Age » July 26, 2022
Highlights from the memoirs of Vannevar Bush » July 15, 2022
BBC Future covers progress studies » June 16, 2022
Reinventing the wheel » June 4, 2022
Can growth continue? » May 27, 2022
How curing aging could help progress » May 22, 2022
What are the best examples of catastrophic resource shortages? » May 4, 2022
Why pessimism sounds smart » April 25, 2022
Why “progress studies” is interdisciplinary » April 22, 2022
Is growth linear, not exponential? » April 20, 2022
The lure of technocracy » March 31, 2022
Flywheels of progress » March 23, 2022
What would a thriving progress movement look like? » February 24, 2022
What is a “philosophy of progress?” » February 4, 2022
Why do we need a NEW philosophy of progress? » January 25, 2022
Progress, humanism, agency » January 11, 2022
2021 in review » December 31, 2021
More power to you » December 15, 2021
The bonds of family and community » November 28, 2021
The poetry of progress » November 15, 2021
They don't make 'em like they used to » October 27, 2021
In the shadow of the Great War » October 18, 2021
Why liberals should care about progress (Symposium) » October 5, 2021
“Someone has to get hurt, occasionally” » September 12, 2021
We need a new philosophy of progress » August 23, 2021
My piece for MIT Tech Review on “solutionism” vs. complacency or defeatism » July 13, 2021
Winston Churchill, futurist » July 11, 2021
Why did we wait so long for the threshing machine? » June 29, 2021
I walk the (beta-stability) line » May 30, 2021
Did the Industrial Revolution decrease costs or increase quality? » May 20, 2021
We need a career path for invention » April 29, 2021
Why has nuclear power been a flop? » April 16, 2021
Highlights from The Autobiography of Andrew Carnegie » April 8, 2021
“Pump” Carpenter and the grain binder » March 31, 2021
A dashboard for progress » March 20, 2021
How to end stagnation? » February 28, 2021
Exponential growth is the baseline » February 21, 2021
Clarifications on tech stagnation » January 30, 2021
Technological stagnation » January 23, 2021
2020 in review » December 31, 2020
When life was literally full of crap » December 21, 2020
What is the “protein folding problem”? A brief explanation » November 30, 2020
The 300-year journey to the covid vaccine » November 9, 2020
Progress, stagnation, and flying cars » November 6, 2020
Video: The Non-Linear Model of Innovation (Slate Star Codex meetup) » November 1, 2020
Video: Five minutes on cement at Ignite Long Now » October 27, 2020
Innovation is not linear (for Works in Progress) » October 19, 2020
Technology and its side effects » October 13, 2020
“The growing gap between our power and our wisdom” » October 9, 2020
Some elements of industrial literacy » October 8, 2020
The Rise and Fall of American Growth: A summary » October 5, 2020
Industrial literacy » September 30, 2020
A dialogue with Dr. John K. Davis: is technology making things better? » September 22, 2020
Progress: Fluke or trend? » September 12, 2020
Progress studies is more than political engineering » September 11, 2020
Indignation in response to the 1890 census » September 8, 2020
The theme of the Three-Body Problem trilogy » September 2, 2020
19th-century progress studies » August 26, 2020
Why haven't we celebrated any major achievements lately? » August 17, 2020
Descriptive vs. prescriptive optimism » July 25, 2020
Crowdfunding a transcontinental railroad in 1857 » July 14, 2020
Teasing apart the S-curves » June 15, 2020
Pasteur's quadrant » June 5, 2020
Shuttling between science and invention » May 27, 2020
My current obsession: funding for research » May 14, 2020
How can nonprofits gain the advantages of the for-profit model? » May 5, 2020
Organizational metabolism and the for-profit advantage » April 29, 2020
Questions to ask about funding models » April 24, 2020
Funding models for science and invention » April 23, 2020
Funding models and progress » April 21, 2020
A builder manifesto » April 18, 2020
Pandemics and progress » April 7, 2020
Advanced stages of agriculture » March 29, 2020
“Definite” vs. “indefinite” optimism as a false dichotomy » March 28, 2020
What's the deal with enclosures? » March 26, 2020
Six stages of agriculture » March 25, 2020
Some agricultural terminology » March 24, 2020
Studying agriculture, with the garage door up » March 23, 2020
Leadership and progress » March 23, 2020
F. R. E. A. M. » March 20, 2020
Mark Lutter on progress studies and charter cities » March 16, 2020
Our best weapons against disease don't work on COVID-19 » March 10, 2020
How early American inventors funded their ventures » March 8, 2020
Epistemic standards for “Why did it take so long to invent X?” » March 1, 2020
Stagnation, scientific incentives, and funding models » February 23, 2020
Some things that happened in 1973 » February 22, 2020
The plight of the poor » February 19, 2020
Draining the swamp » January 28, 2020
2019 in review » December 31, 2019
More on polio and randomized clinical trials » December 27, 2019
Polio and the controversy over randomized clinical trials » December 20, 2019
Our weapons against infectious disease: a survey » December 12, 2019
Were vaccines relevant to 20th century US mortality improvements? » December 9, 2019
A letter on optimism » December 3, 2019
Slaying the speckled monster » November 21, 2019
In which I answer your questions about cement » October 31, 2019
Reframing “sustainability” » October 27, 2019
A dialogue on growth, progress, and “sustainability” » October 24, 2019
Iron: From mythical to mundane » October 22, 2019
Progress studies as a civic duty » October 14, 2019
Video: The History of Steel & the Roots of Progress » October 10, 2019
Progress studies as a moral imperative » September 7, 2019
Does invention come from deprivation or plenty? » August 18, 2019
Why did we wait so long for the bicycle? » July 13, 2019
Science and the Industrial Revolution » June 29, 2019
Science and steel » June 22, 2019
What's wrong with books on industrial history » May 12, 2019
One man's junk » April 28, 2019
The Antique Gas & Steam Engine Museum » April 21, 2019
The significance of electricity » March 31, 2019
Continental axes and the roots of progress » March 24, 2019
Why AC won the Electricity Wars » March 9, 2019
When innovation hits “snooze” » January 1, 2019
2018 in review » December 31, 2018
Navigating the high seas » November 24, 2018
Early cars: gas, electric & steam » November 17, 2018
Science and steam » October 27, 2018
The 13th labor of Hercules » September 3, 2018
Problem-solution history » August 11, 2018
Unsustainable » August 5, 2018
Learning the loom » May 27, 2018
The time machine » May 20, 2018
Out of whole cloth » April 21, 2018
Going for a spin » April 16, 2018
Learning with my hands » April 1, 2018
Enlightenment Now: A summary » March 11, 2018
Primitive thought » February 4, 2018
The first and true inventor » January 20, 2018
Instant stone (just add water!) » January 6, 2018
Twelve books from 2017 » December 31, 2017
And they shall walk » December 24, 2017
Why did we wait so long for the cotton gin? » November 25, 2017
Pesticides and old lace » November 4, 2017
What was the relationship of the Scientific Revolution to the Industrial? » October 29, 2017
That Senator really took a beating » October 17, 2017
The most peaceful time in history » September 21, 2017
The shadow of the moon » September 18, 2017
The story of materials » September 3, 2017
Turning air into bread » August 12, 2017
Vaclav Smil on “Making the Modern World” » July 15, 2017
Charting progress » July 11, 2017
Smart, rich & free » July 8, 2017
Nomad life » July 2, 2017
The beginning » June 25, 2017
Categorizing technologies » June 3, 2017
Trains and steamboats » May 25, 2017
The Malthusian Trap, analyzed » May 23, 2017
The Malthusian Trap? » May 21, 2017
Better living through chemistry » May 20, 2017
There are no natural resources » April 15, 2017
What is smelting? » April 15, 2017
What is steel? And how is it related to iron? » April 9, 2017
What is charcoal? And how is it different from coal? » April 9, 2017
What is an “engine”? » April 8, 2017
The significance of the steam engine » April 8, 2017
James Watt's steam engine » April 8, 2017
The Newcomen steam engine » April 2, 2017
Religious freedom and the Enlightenment » April 1, 2017
The virtuousness of technology » March 31, 2017
The Baconian program » March 30, 2017
The idea of progress » March 23, 2017
Don't read this blog » March 17, 2017
Motivation » March 17, 2017

Talks and interviews

Audio and video recordings—mostly me being interviewed, some talks or me interviewing others:

Podcast: Build for Tomorrow with Jason Feifer » December 29, 2022
Two podcast interviews: Arjun Khemani, Alex LaBossiere » November 4, 2022
Video: Foresight Institute meetup » September 29, 2022
Interviews: Jim Pethokoukis, Pod of Jake, Montessorium » September 1, 2022
Podcast interviews: Bretton Goods, Plugged In » July 12, 2022
Erik Brynjolfsson on automation, productivity, work, and the future » June 17, 2022
Interview: Hear this Idea with Fin Moorhouse and Luca Righetti » May 17, 2022
Interview: What Could Go Right? with Zachary Karabell and Emma Varvaloucas » April 1, 2022
Interview: Flies in the Ointment with Dima Shamoun » March 10, 2022
Interview: “A Case for Innovation and Optimism” » March 10, 2022
Interview: Where We Go Next with Michael Callahan » February 21, 2022
Interview: Austin Next with Jason and Michael Scharf » February 10, 2022
Interview in L'actualité (French) » February 3, 2022
Interview: Better Future with Bolek Kerous » January 30, 2022
Interview: Five Questions with James Pethokoukis » January 12, 2022
Interview: Boundaryless Conversations with Simone Cicero & Stina Heikkila » January 5, 2022
Video: The Wright brothers and their lessons for inventors and founders » December 21, 2021
Interview: Outlier Academy with Daniel Scrivner » December 15, 2021
Interview: “The Age of Unlimited Opportunity” with Austen Allred » December 13, 2021
Blog interview: Uncharted Territories with Tomás Pueyo » December 8, 2021
Video: The Energy of Tomorrow: The Promise, Failure, and Possible Rebirth of Nuclear Power » November 22, 2021
Two interviews: Clearer Thinking, The Bayesian Conspiracy » November 10, 2021
Interview: Machine Pix Weekly with Kane Hsieh » October 23, 2021
Interview: Thoughts in Between with Matt Clifford » October 11, 2021
Interview with Noah Smith » October 1, 2021
Interview: Idea Machines with Ben Reinhardt » September 29, 2021
Brief profile in the Christian Science Monitor » September 28, 2021
Interview: Vox calls progress studies “one of the more intriguing intellectual movements out there” » September 25, 2021
Interview: Ingenuism with Don Watkins » August 6, 2021
Interview: Titans of Nuclear with Bret Kugelmass » July 25, 2021
Short interview about my new book and the salon series » April 22, 2021
Interview: Futurati Podcast with Thomas Frey and Trent Fowler » April 18, 2021
Two new podcast interviews » February 8, 2021
Interview: Metamuse with Adam Wiggins and Mark McGranaghan » December 14, 2020
Video: Michael Strong on Montessori, the Socratic method, and Conscious Capitalism » October 22, 2020
Video: Manjari Narayan (@NeuroStats) on statistics past and present » October 13, 2020
Interview: Charter Cities Institute podcast with Mark Lutter » October 7, 2020
Interview: 52 Living Ideas with Shrikant Rangnekar » October 4, 2020
Video: Adam Wiggins on the history of industrial research labs » September 26, 2020
Video: Highlighter town hall with David King » September 25, 2020
Video: Adam Mossoff on the birth of patents, the American patent system, and “trolls” » September 12, 2020
Interview: Passionate Homeschooler with Joel Marquez » September 7, 2020
Interview: The Lunar Society with Dwarkesh Patel » August 28, 2020
Interview: AEI's Political Economy with Jim Pethokoukis » August 24, 2020
Interview: Venture Stories with Erik Torenberg » August 16, 2020
Interview: Post-Industrial Forum with Frode Odegard » August 11, 2020
Video: Progress Studies in K-12 Education with Ray Girn, Lisa VanDamme and Kyle Steele » August 2, 2020
Podcast interview: Build the Future with Cameron Wiese » August 2, 2020
Two new interviews: Salon of the Refused, Philosophy for Flourishing » July 24, 2020
Videos: Joel Mokyr, Anton Howes, Noor Siddiqui » July 24, 2020
Video: Deirdre McCloskey on bourgeois liberty and the Great Enrichment » July 7, 2020
Video: Tammy Winter and Trevor McKendrick on optimism, agency, and progress » June 30, 2020
Video: Max Roser on data-driven optimism, how to analyze COVID-19, and more » June 25, 2020
Video: Patrick Collison on R&D funding, Effective Altruism, fallibilism, and more » June 18, 2020
Video: Doing Better at Funding Scientific Research with Michael Nielsen and Celine Halioua » June 18, 2020
Two interviews: Neoliberal Podcast, Mr. Bright Side » June 15, 2020
Video: Tyler Cowen on progress, stagnation and complacency » June 10, 2020
Video of Matt Bateman on the life, career and philosophy of Maria Montessori » June 5, 2020
Talk recording: Progress studies and the progress movement, on 52 Living Ideas » May 25, 2020
Podcast Interview: Academy of Thought & Industry with Michael Strong » May 21, 2020
Podcast interview on Plugged In with Jordan McGillis » April 29, 2020
Interviews: Building Tomorrow, Antipessimists, Brown Political Review, Todd Nief » March 2, 2020
Two more interviews: Idea Machines, Only Everything » February 17, 2020
Interviews: Agora Politics, The Troubadour Magazine » February 15, 2020
Podcast interview: Palladium with Ash Milton » January 27, 2020
Podcast interview: Market Power with Craig Palsson » January 23, 2020
Podcast interview with Jordan Myers on “That's BS” » October 27, 2019
Podcast interview on Venture Stories with Erik Torenberg and Rob Tracinski » October 17, 2019
Podcast interview on “Self in Society” with Ari Armstrong » September 22, 2019

See also the list of all interviews.

Twitter digest

Links, quotes, charts, and other highlights from my Twitter feed:

Links and tweets, 2023-01-25 » January 25, 2023
Links and tweets, 2023-01-17 » January 17, 2023
Links and tweets, 2023-01-04 » January 4, 2023
Links and tweets, 2022-12-29 » December 29, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-12-20 » December 20, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-11-29 » November 29, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-11-22 » November 22, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-11-15 » November 15, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-11-01 » November 1, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-10-12 » October 12, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-10-05 » October 5, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-09-28 » September 28, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-09-20 » September 20, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-09-14 » September 14, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-09-08 » September 8, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-08-31 » August 31, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-08-23 » August 23, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-08-17 » August 17, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-08-09 » August 9, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-08-02 » August 2, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-07-27 » July 27, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-07-19 » July 19, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-07-12 » July 12, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-06-29 » June 29, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-06-20 » June 21, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-06-13 » June 14, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-06-08 » June 8, 2022
Links and tweets, 2022-05-30 » May 30, 2022

Announcements

Eli Dourado AMA on the Progress Forum » January 28, 2023
Tyler Cowen AMA on the Progress Forum » January 16, 2023
Announcing our incoming CEO » November 30, 2022
Ask Me Anything on the Progress Forum » November 21, 2022
Announcing the Progress Forum » November 17, 2022
Tomorrow: Panel discussion about the world of 2050 » October 26, 2022
Foresight Vision Weekend 2022 » October 5, 2022
Boston meetup next Wednesday, Sept. 21 » September 12, 2022
Event: How progress can go mainstream? with the Tony Blair Institute » September 1, 2022
Event in SF: Foresight Institute meetup, Sep 8 » August 25, 2022
Launching a new progress institute, seeking a CEO » July 18, 2022
Meetup in Boston this Thursday, July 14 » July 6, 2022
Future Forum, a conference to improve the future of humanity » July 1, 2022
Meetup in SF, June 11: Progress Studies + Effective Altruism » June 4, 2022
The concluding session of The Story of Industrial Civilization » April 28, 2022
Meetup in San Francisco, May 10, with Adam Thierer » April 21, 2022
Tickets available for Session 12 of The Story of Industrial Civilization: Can Progress Continue? » April 11, 2022
Event: Erik Brynjolfsson on Automation, Productivity, Work, and the Future » April 1, 2022
Wanted: Executive Assistant to help build the progress movement » March 23, 2022
Tickets available for Session 10 of The Story of Industrial Civilization: Safety » February 10, 2022
Event: Moral Foundations of Progress Studies, March 4–6 at UT Austin » January 26, 2022
Meetup in SF, Feb 26: Progress Studies + Effective Altruism » January 21, 2022
Tickets available for Session 9 of The Story of Industrial Civilization: Medicine » January 5, 2022
The Progress Forum » January 5, 2022
Tickets available for Session 8 of The Story of Industrial Civilization: Impacts on Commerce, Politics, and Culture » December 13, 2021
New edition of Where Is My Flying Car? » November 30, 2021
The Roots of Progress has been recognized as a 501(c)(3) non-profit » November 29, 2021
San Diego community meetup / happy hour, December 1 » November 24, 2021
Foresight Vision Weekend conference » October 29, 2021
Austin events November 4–6 » October 24, 2021
Tickets available for Session 7 of The Story of Industrial Civilization: Information » October 23, 2021
Tonight 10pm Pacific: Live on Clubhouse, The Good Times Show » September 29, 2021
Tickets available for Session 6 of The Story of Industrial Civilization: Transportation » September 29, 2021
Wanted: Chief of Staff » September 7, 2021
Tickets available for Session 5 of The Story of Industrial Civilization » August 25, 2021
The Roots of Progress is now a nonprofit organization » August 23, 2021
Tickets available for Session 4 of The Story of Industrial Civilization » June 28, 2021
Tickets available for Session 3 of The Story of Industrial Civilization » May 25, 2021
Tickets available for Session 2 of The Story of Industrial Civilization » May 4, 2021
Wanted: Research Assistant » April 19, 2021
I'm writing a book! And hosting a discussion series on it » April 5, 2021
Monday: Interview with Lisa Wehden at Reboot 2020 » November 6, 2020
Sunday: Talk at the Slate Star Codex meetup on the “linear model” of innovation » October 22, 2020
Event: Long Now Ignite talk » October 13, 2020
Wednesday: Manjari Narayan (@NeuroStats) on the history of statistics and the replication crisis » October 4, 2020
Sunday: Live interview with Shrikant Rangnekar of 52 Living Ideas » September 24, 2020
Event: Heroku founder Adam Wiggins on the history of industrial research » September 17, 2020
The Roots of Progress subscription: what would you be interested in? » September 9, 2020
Wednesday: Adam Mossoff on the philosophy and law of the patent system » September 7, 2020
Event: Town hall discussion on Highlighter » September 2, 2020
Sunday: Discussion of intellectual progress for LessWrong » August 28, 2020
Event: Jerry Neumann on managing innovation » August 24, 2020
Event: Dr. Laura Mazer, surgery professor at U. Michigan, on The Torch of Progress » August 16, 2020
Announcing the Study Group for Progress » August 14, 2020
Event: Progress Studies in K-12 Education with Ray Girn, Lisa VanDamme and Kyle Steele » July 24, 2020
Event: Joel Mokyr on “Attitudes, Aptitudes, and Progress: How the Modern Age Got Started” » July 7, 2020
What should I ask Deirdre McCloskey? Thursday 10am Pacific » June 30, 2020
What should I ask Max Roser? » June 18, 2020
Event: Doing Better at Staying Optimistic with Tamara Winter and Trevor McKendrick » June 18, 2020
Stripe Press to provide science & engineering books to Progress Studies for Young Scholars » June 12, 2020
Tyler Cowen, Patrick Collison, Max Roser, and Deirdre McCloskey on “The Torch of Progress” » June 4, 2020
New interview series: The Torch of Progress » May 31, 2020
Hosting a new Interintellect panel series: “Doing Better” » May 25, 2020
Where my support comes from » May 21, 2020
Saturday: Live interview about the field of progress studies » May 21, 2020
Announcing Progress Studies for Young Scholars, an online summer program in the history of technology » May 19, 2020
Tonight: Live interview on the race for a COVID-19 cure and the history of medicine » April 8, 2020
SF event this Friday: Co-hosting Long Now happy hour at The Interval » January 22, 2020
What podcasts should I go on? » January 16, 2020
Going full-time » October 28, 2019
Reddit community (subreddit) for Roots of Progress » October 26, 2019
Support this project on Patreon » September 8, 2019
Subscribe by email » January 12, 2019
Added a bibliography » April 9, 2018