After a historic 355 days in orbit, NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei returned to Earth on March 30, 2022, breaking the record for the longest single spaceflight by an American. In this episode of Smart Talks with IBM, Malcolm Gladwell and Mark Vande Hei discuss conducting experiments in space, the impact of extended spaceflight on humans, and the spiciness of space chili peppers.

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When Mangesh Hattikudur (Part-Time Genius, Humans Growing Stuff) set out to do a big, sweeping show on astrology, he didn’t realize the first interview would change the course of his life. But as he tries to put his world back together, he realizes the incredible ways astrology presents itself in modern society: from NASA employees who keep their belief in astrology in the closet, to world leaders who’ve used astrologers to guide foreign policy, to moneyball statisticians who use astrology more than statistics to build baseball teams, to a little shop in India where your fortune was written for you centuries ago, and is waiting for you to come claim it. Over the course of 8 episodes, Mangesh tries to decipher why we keep looking to the stars for answers, and what happens when you don’t believe in astrology, but astrology keeps happening to you. Listen to Skyline Drive on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts. https://www.iheart.com/podcast/867-skyline-drive-104974284/

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We explore the hidden role of cobalt in the A.I. revolution. The element is a key ingredient of lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from cell phones to laptops to electric vehicles. But the way cobalt is mined is troubling. New Yorker journalist Nicolas Niarchos takes us to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounts for more than 70% of the world's cobalt supply. There, he exposes child labor in the supply chain and reveals a new frontier of competition with China. 

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In this special bonus episode, Oz and Karah share their trip to the Consumer Electronics Show. They present excerpts from a conversation with Matt Monahan of The Washington Post about how to best harness the power of AI, while avoiding common pitfalls. Matt is head of product for Arc Publishing, which began life as The Post's internal publishing suite, and is now licensed by hundreds of partner sites. Oz and Karah also discuss their highlights from the CES floor, including a device to track dogs' emotions. 

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In this special episode, Oz and Karah examine our evolving relationship with the technology we create. Karah meets Jason Cohen, CEO of Analytical Flavor Systems, to see if his team can hack her taste preferences, and use AI to create a new flavor of beverage that she will love. Oz and Karah also look ahead to Season 2, previewing stories they are excited to report, including algorithms that promise to optimize end-of-life conversations. And they share highlights from conversations with guests from Season 1 who shaped their thinking about AI: Yuval Noah Harari, Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Regina Barzilay of MIT.  

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The rules are changing. At a time when technology promises to allow the lame to walk and the blind to see, we're forced to ask: what makes us uniquely human? In this final episode of Season 1, we speak with the so-called "sage of Silicon Valley," Yuval Noah Harari, about humanity's future. We try out technology that claims to deliver on a miracle, and we meet the source of several new innovations being created by people normally left out of the laboratory.  In this episode: Professor Yuval Noah Harari, Sebastian Thrun of Google X and Kitty Hawk, Bryony Cole of Future of Sex, musician Noe Socha, and Dr. Andy Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh.  Special thanks to The Forward, and Make It All Work. 

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