Innovation Hub

Paul Farmer's Vision for Health

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:19:19 +0000

Humanitarian doctor Paul Farmer explains how global health is rooted in community. Read his recent Atlantic article about the Rwandan health recovery here.

Your Genes: Patent Pending

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:07:52 +0000

Can companies own pieces of us? We look at the Supreme Court's Myriad Genetics case.

The Science of Competition

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:29:07 +0000

From soccer games to corporate boardrooms, what helps us win? Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman, bestselling authors of "Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing," investigate the art of competition.

Rivalry: A Double-Edged Sword

Kara Miller and Edgar B. Herwick III — Fri, 10 May 2013 14:28:08 +0000

What makes sports rivalries different than other forms of competition? Edgar B. Herwick III, chief of WGBH’s Curiosity Desk, shares his insight.

Dan Pink's Idea Economy

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:28:46 +0000

Dan Pink, author of “To Sell is Human” and “Drive,” says that in the 21^st century economy, ideas are currency.

The End of the Resume

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 03 May 2013 14:15:42 +0000

Matt Richtel, journalist for the New York Times and author of “The Cloud,” says big data could be the new monster.com. Read his recent New York Times article on big data and hiring here.

Sal Khan Reinvents Education

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:28:24 +0000

Sal Khan, founder of Khan Academy, talks about the digital education revolution and his book, "The One World School House: Education Reimagined."

Saving Humanity from Itself

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:33:45 +0000

Between our booming population and the threat of climate change, is humanity reaching the end of its resources? Charles C. Mann, author of “1491,” “1493,” and the National Magazine Award-nominated “State of the Species: Does Success Spell Doom for Homo Sapiens,” shares his theory.

The Power of Negative Thinking

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:32:27 +0000

Can optimism be a stumbling block on the road to happiness? Oliver Burkeman, author of "The Antidote: Happiness for People who Can't Stand Positive Thinking," shares his theory on the limits of optimism and the power of negative thinking.

Innovation Spotlight: Colin Angle

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 13:30:14 +0000

This week we're putting iRobot co-founder and CEO Colin Angle in the innovation spotlight. See why he's not afraid of a little setback — in his own words.

Counterfeit Culture

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:42:51 +0000

A look at counterfeited products — from fake handbags to knock-off perscriptions — with Alina Halloran, Vice President of Global Online Brand Protection Services at OpSec Security, and Renee Richardson Gosline, Assistant Professor of Marketing at MIT’s Sloan School.

How to Fund Innovation

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 17:41:36 +0000

How can we fund innovation? Josh Lerner, author of “The Architecture of Innovation: The Economics of Creative Organizations” and a professor of Investment Banking at Harvard Business School, shares his insights.

David Kennedy: Unorthodox Ways to Stem Crime

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:20:34 +0000

David Kennedy shares the surprising (and surprisingly kind) methods he uses to stem inner-city crime.

Cook Like You're A Modernist

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 15:00:47 +0000

What's the secret to a perfect meal? Nathan Mhyrvold, former Microsoft CTO and author of "Modernist Cuisine," shares his high-tech techniques.

Michael Sandel on America's Commodification

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:06:09 +0000

Should we always reward the highest bidder? The moral limits of markets with Harvard's Michael Sandel, author of “What Money Can’t Buy: The Moral Limits of Markets.”

Who's on Top? Ranking Business Innovation

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 14:05:39 +0000

If you were going to rank companies based on innovation, rather than size or net worth, where would you start? Hal Gregersen, co-author of “The Innovator’s DNA” and Forbes’ Most Innovative Companies and professor at INSEAD, shares his methodology.

The American Plutocracy

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:45:23 +0000

Pull out your sixth grade government flash cards— is America a plutocracy? Kara Miller asks Chrystia Freeland, editor of Thompson Reuters Digital and author of “Plutocrats: The Rise of the New Global Super-Rich and the Fall of Everyone Else.”

The Future of Books

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 22 Mar 2013 15:40:25 +0000

With the rise of the e-book and the advent of self publishing, what does the future hold for the publishing industry? Kara Miller asks Taryn Roeder, publicist at Houghton Mifflin and Eve Bridburg, a literary agent and executive director of Grub Street.

Cyber College: Innovative or Detrimental?

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 14:19:19 +0000

Do we need to redefine higher education? And should our new definition include more online learning? Kara Miller asks Andrew Delbanco, a professor of American Studies at Columbia and author of “College: What It Was, Is, and Should Be,” Daphne Koller, a professor at Stanford and co-founder of Coursera, and Prateek Tandon, an economist at the World Bank.

University Presidents on the Future of College

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 13:48:18 +0000

What's the future of higher education? There might be no one better to answer the question than Lawrence Bacow, the former president of Tufts, and Joseph Aoun, the president of Northeastern.

What Makes Us Happy?

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:03:32 +0000

What really makes us happy? Sonja Lyubomirsky, author of "The Myths of Happiness," debunks happiness lore and shares the science behind true satisfaction.

Jared Diamond: Lessons for Modern Society

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 15:00:50 +0000

From penicillin to iPhones and x-rays to lattes, there's a lot to love about the modernization of Western culture. After all that innovation, what could we learn from traditional societies, ones with little exposure to modern culture? As it turns out, Jared Diamond argues, quite a lot.

Spotlight: Women in Business

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:44:01 +0000

Businesswomen have been making headlines recently — from Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer's controversial stance against telecommuting to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg's upcoming 60 Minutes interview, which will air March 10.

With this flurry of focus on women at the top of the corporate ladder, we dug into our archives to share an interview with Mayer when she was a Vice President at Google. The segment also features insight into the role gender plays in the boardroom from Fox Business Network Anchor Liz Claman.

Learning from Lincoln

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:01:41 +0000

Did Abraham Lincoln craft an innovative leadership style? Harvard Business School professor Nancy Koehn thinks today's business leaders should take notes from the wartime president.

The Changing of the Corporate Guard

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 16:00:50 +0000

What will unify the companies of tomorrow? Well, the fact that they don't look anything like the companies of today. Kara Miller asked Bob Pozen, former chairman of MFS Investment Management, author of “Extreme Productivity,” and lecturer at Harvard Business School and Maynard Webb, former CEO of LiveOps, former COO of eBay, and author of “Re-booting Work” — how can businesses survive the transition?

Be Productive: Take the Day Off

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 15:59:33 +0000

What's wrong with the way we work? Jason Fried, co-founder of 37signals and co-author of "Rework" has a few ideas, and he shared them with Kara Miller.

Yahoo's 'No Working From Home' Policy: What Do You Think?

Kinne Chapin — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 20:15:52 +0000

Earlier this week, Yahoo! CEO and former Innovation Hub guest Marissa Mayer debuted a bold new company policy: no more working from home. Instead of telecommuting, sending emails, or participating in conference calls, Mayer ordered employees back into the office, citing the importance of face to face communication.

Why Kids Must Fail to Succeed

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:19:43 +0000

What makes some kids straight-A students who go on to college and success in the job market? What makes some of their peers struggle and drop out of school? Kara Miller asks Paul Tough, author of "How Children Succeed: Grit, Curiosity, and the Hidden Power of Character."

Robert Langer: Scientific Superman?

Kara Miller and Kinne Chapin — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:18:28 +0000

How does a scientist keep coming up with new ideas, new research, and new discoveries? Kara Miller asks one of America's foremost scientists, Robert Langer.

The Century of Urbanization

WGBH News — Fri, 22 Feb 2013 16:16:08 +0000

In hundreds of years, when people read the history of the 21st century, they may well call it the century of urbanization. The century in which hundreds of millions of people — billions, ultimately — left their homes in rural areas and crowded into cities, looking for new and better lives.

But how will that migration affect the planet?