When it comes to medical emergencies, time is precious. But we’ve all seen ambulances or fire trucks stuck in traffic, sometimes barely inching along. One organization is trying to change that. United Hatzalah is a free emergency service that uses “ambucycles” or a motorcycle ambulance, to navigate the busy city streets of Jerusalem. It also uses an Uber-like app to send the nearest emergency medical professional to the person in need. Eli Beer, founder of United Hatzalah and inventor of the “ambucycle,” explains.

Ever since Bitcoin was created in 2008 it has gotten a lot of buzz. Wall Street, whole governments and even presidential candidates have expressed interest in the viability of the digital currency. But it hasn't exactly changed the world yet. Could it? New York Times reporter Nathaniel Popper has a new book out, Digital Gold: Bitcoin and the Inside Story of the Misfits and Millionaires Trying to Reinvent Money. He joins us to dig into the secretive history of Bitcoin.

Suzanne Muchin leads Mind + Matter Studio in Chicago. She and Amanda Lannert, CEO of Jellyvision, were tired of the trend pieces and think pieces about the problem of women being underrepresented in tech businesses that didn’t focus enough on tangible solutions. So they published a list of the five things they’re dedicated to actually doing to help boost women in the workplace. Suzanne joins us in studio to explain the piece in detail.

Washington tries to strike a balance between privacy and security, Reddit wants its users to stop harassing each other, and move over, Raspberry Pi! Now there’s Chip, the $9 computer. Those are a few headlines we’re talking about today on Tech Shift Week in Review. Our panelists are Jayna Cooke, CEO of EVENTup and Jen Myers, Founder of Code and Cupcakes Chicago and the director of Open Source Curriculum at Pluralsight.

Improvements in virtual reality may offer doctors a chance for advanced training in ways never before possible. Mary Spio is President and Founder of Next Galaxy. It focuses on developing consumer virtual reality technology. Next Galaxy recently partnered with Miami Children's Hospital to work on this kind of virtual reality application. Mary joins us to discuss what this new technology could mean for the future of surgery.

Many of us have opened news articles through Facebook’s app, and know it can sometimes take a while for the article to load on the mobile web. Well, Facebook is launching an instant articles feature, which allows stories to load more quickly on Facebook’s app. Casey Newton is the Silicon Valley Editor at tech news site The Verge and he joins us with details on this new feature.

After much fanfare, Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute is open. After winning a $70 million federal grant back in 2014 for advanced manufacturing, the UI Labs tech hub is up and running. UI Labs chairman Warren Holtsberg gives us the details.

Chicago has gotten a lot of attention for its open data efforts, but cities around the region are also getting into the space. Evanston launched its open data portal in February and is starting to see how citizens are using the information and where to go next. Luke Stowe, Digital Services Coordinator for the city of Evanston, joins us with more.

Uber is in the market for a new mapping system and sets sights on Nokia’s digital mapping service. Meanwhile, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants a universal taxi app for Chicago cabbies to compete with ridesharing services like Uber. We discuss some of the week’s biggest tech stories with Justin Massa of Food Genius and Wailin Wong, editor and writer for The Distance.

Lightning storms look cool - a brilliant flash of light in the dark, a massive bolt suddenly streaks across the sky. For the most part, we understand lightning. But what about thunder? Scientists from Southwest Research Institute have been conducting experiments to literally get a better picture of how thunder works. Dr. Maher Dayeh is a Space Physicist in the Space Science & Engineering Division at Southwest Research Institute and he joins us with details on the team’s experiment.