Tencent is one of China’s biggest tech companies, running the popular Chinese messaging app WeChat and the world’s largest video game vendor. Now, it’s also an up-and-coming force in the field of carbon removal. Xu Hao, the vice president of Sustainable Social Value at Tencent, oversees two of those initiatives: the Carbon Neutrality Lab and CarbonX. He sits down with Sherrell Dorsey, host of the “TED Tech” podcast, to talk about how megacorporation can help advance the climate movement. He also explores the current state of carbon removal technology and how Tencent’s video games are becoming an unlikely source of climate education for hundreds of thousands of people. 

This is episode three of a four-part series airing this month on TED Tech, where host and climate tech journalist Sherrell Dorsey speaks with climate leaders  on the technology sparking a greener, more equitable future.

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The environmental impact of AI is a growing concern. In this episode, Sherrell sits down with Juan M. Lavista Ferres, the Chief Scientist and Lab Director of Microsoft’s AI for Good Research Lab, to discuss his work in using AI for conservation and sustainability. Whether it’s using AI to measure methane gas leaks or allowing AI to optimize healthcare procedures at reduced costs, Juan argues AI technology can advance conservation efforts and increase accessibility. Sherrell and Juan also discuss the paradox of AI—how to use the technology responsibly and avoid contributing more damage to the environment.

This is episode two of a four-part series airing this month on TED Tech, where host and climate tech journalist Sherrell Dorsey is in conversation with TED 2025 Countdown Summit speakers on the technology that can lead to a greener and more equitable future.

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When entrepreneur Samir Ibrahim asked farmers in Kenya what problem they most needed solved, the answer was simple: reliable access to water to irrigate their farms year-round. Samir is the CEO of SunCulture, a company replacing diesel- and petrol-powered water pumps with more affordable solar-powered ones. He sits down with Sherrell Dorsey, host of the “TED Tech” podcast, to discuss how he continues to innovate his product to serve smallholder farmers. Later, Sherrell chats with coffee farmer Josephine Waweru about how SunCulture’s pump revolutionized her farm and the advice she has for young people to succeed.

This is episode one of a four-part series airing this month on TED Tech, where host and climate tech journalist Sherrell Dorsey speaks with climate leaders on the technology sparking a greener, more equitable future.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, we’re featuring an episode from NPR’s science podcast Short Wave. In it, host Regina G. Barber talks to computer scientist Ilia Shumailov about maybe the buzziest topic around: AI. I’m sure you know AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT are trained on millions of examples of human-written text. Nowadays, a lot of content on the Internet is written by these generative AI models. That means that AI models trained now may consume their own synthetic content and suffer the consequences. What's the harm? Find out with this episode of Short Wave.

Follow NPR's Short Wave podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify for more episodes like this, featuring new discoveries, everyday mysteries and the science behind the headlines.

Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave.

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In a moment that stunned the world in 2019, the famed Notre-Dame in Paris went up in flames, threatening the future of the centuries-old Gothic treasure. Philippe Villeneuve, the chief architect of the cathedral’s restoration, recounts the collective effort to bring the building back to life while honoring its history. Listen for a story of craftsmanship, devotion and innovation — and learn how more than 2,000 hands worked to return this landmark to the world.

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Artificial intelligence could cost many of us our careers — but that doesn’t mean we should stop its development, says journalist Megan J. McArdle. As she watches AI encroach on her own craft, she shares a fresh take on the 19th-century Luddites, who tried to destroy machines that would upend their trade. Looking back, McArdle reframes today’s fears with a poignant question: If we halt progress to protect the present, what might we be stealing from the future? After the talk, Sherrell highlights how AI might not be replacing human jobs---but creating new ones.

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This is the surprising story of how Texas – rich in oil and gas – became America's biggest producer of wind energy. For our first episode, Ryan and Anjali talk with Pat Wood, once George W. Bush’s right hand man and head of Texas's Public Utility Commission, to uncover the innovative approach that turned Texas into a renewable energy powerhouse. It’s a story about what could get done before partisan politics got in the way of good climate policy, and it shows that economic incentives for consumers, government, and companies can play a huge role in supercharging clean energy.

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Who pays for an assassin on the internet? Dark web researcher Carl Miller spent years tracking down the answer to this question. In this chilling talk, he shares how he uncovered real kill orders placed online by seemingly ordinary individuals — and gives an unsettling look at what drives people to the brink. (Note: This talk contains descriptions of violence.)

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If food waste were  a country, it’d be the third highest emitter of greenhouse gas emissions after China and the US, says Apeel Senior VP of Operations Jenny Du. Following her talk at TED2025, Du sits down for a conversation with host Sherrell Dorsey on how her lab is creating plant-based coating that can help reduce food spoilage. From combating food deserts to extending shelf life, Jenny and Sherrell discuss how Apeel is using science and sustainability to revolutionize the global food system.

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Is space the “final frontier” — or the perfect place to revolutionize life on Earth? Space architect Ariel Ekblaw reveals how self-assembling structures could build orbiting real estate in space dedicated to solving humanity’s greatest dilemmas on Earth, leading to scientific and medical breakthroughs only possible in zero gravity.

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