The Sniffer

Listen to writer/broadcasters Nora Young and Cathi Bond as they freak over the future. They can't believe it. Neither will you.

Battery life can be a real problem. Cathi Bond tells Nora about research out of Cornell, suggesting a proming model based on a more complex, folded shape. Best of all, it charges almost immediately. Read more at New Atlas here. What would it take to get you into a mall in 10 years? One vision from British retail development group, Westfield, is for a sort of one-stop retail, wellness entertainment hub (via Springwise). It's actually really quite cool. Check out the interactive images here.

Listen to writer/broadcasters Nora Young and Cathi Bond as they freak over the future. They can't believe it. Neither will you.

On this podcast, Nora Young talks about a few different stories about IKEA's expansion plans and new lines, including partnerships on surprising products like fragrance, expansion plans for Indian cities, and modular pieces that can be re-assembled into different kinds of furniture for small spaces. Cathi Bond points us to this Gizmodo article about the late painter, Bob Ross, whose PBS instructional show was a surprising hit. Now, his soothing voice is being used as a sleep aid. Apparently, Calm.com has added the audio from one of his episodes to their 'sleep tracks' series.   Article Links IKEA partnerships: http://fortune.com/2018/06/12/ikea-partner-lego-adidas-sonos/ IKEA expands in India: https://www.fastcompany.com/40584160/ikea-is-swapping-swedish-meatballs-for-samosas-in-its-india-stores Rumtid line borrows from design for outer space: https://www.psfk.com/2018/06/ikea-rumtid-urban-space.html Bob Ross sleep aid: https://gizmodo.com/this-bob-ross-sleep-mediation-is-the-mental-escape-i-ne-1826796037

Listen to writer/broadcasters Nora Young and Cathi Bond as they freak over the future. They can't believe it. Neither will you.

On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about this New Atlas article on the history of the drug, Ketamine, and new research into its potential as a treatment for depression, along with questions about how to avoid negative side effects. Nora Young chats about this article in The Outline on Spyce, a new restaurant in Boston, which is almost entirely automated. Is this a novelty, or a sign of the future?  Links:  The Outline: https://theoutline.com/post/4657/please-welcome-the-humanity-free-grain-bowl-lunch?zd=1&zi=gwqnvsso New Atlas: https://newatlas.com/psychedelic-medicine-ketamine/54970/

Listen to writer/broadcasters Nora Young and Cathi Bond as they freak over the future. They can't believe it. Neither will you.

We've both been very busy, so had to take a Sniffer break for a bit, but we're back with two fun, eco-friendly design stories for ya. Cathi Bond loves outdoor living, tree houses, and mini-homes, so she was in heaven when she found Sky-Pod, a gorgeous, teardrop shaped tree house inspired by Victorian crinolines (via New Atlas. Check out the images). Nora Young talks about Mylo, a leather-like material made from mycelium, which is the underground network underneath mushrooms (via Core 77, complete with images). She also mentions high end sneakers made from tree fungus. Cathi and Nora both mention Matt and Nat.

Listen to writer/broadcasters Nora Young and Cathi Bond as they freak over the future. They can't believe it. Neither will you.

We're back after a little break! This time, Nora talks about EMBER, a release of a large dataset of "avatars" of malware by a cyber security company. The idea is to use it to help machine learning learn to recognize malware (via Technology Review). Cathi talks about the city of Daye in China. Streets are equipped with technology to catch people jaywalking...and spray them with water! Read more at Gizmodo. Nora also mentions the book vending machine at The Monkey's Paw bookstore in Toronto (via Narcity).