Should the government be in the business of funding medical and scientific research? That's the question we explore in our 2012 Election series, 30 Issues in 30 Days.
Today Kara Miller looks at how much support the government should offer for medical and scientific research. Often, that support comes in the form of money — lots of money.
As Congress debates the impending "fiscal cliff," myriad programs are on the chopping block. On the one hand, taxpayers demand high return on the use of their tax dollars. On the other hand, medical and scientific research has yielded breakthrough vaccines, energy sources and new ways to communicate.
An operating room as you might expect to see it. Advances in medicine and communications could radically alter how physicians and surgeons do their jobs.
What if you could use a smartphone to check your vital signs? What if a doctor could download patient schematics and records instantaneously, issue a diagnosis and order treatment with a few simple tablet taps?
Today we're envisioning the future of medicine, from user friendly preventive care in the home, to cutting edge doctor's offices and operating rooms.
Once relegated to dreamy science fiction tales, robots are now real, increasingly practical, and ready to infiltrate homes, work spaces and places in between.
For a long time we've thought of robots as something foreign, not woven into our everyday experience. But now evidence is everywhere that robots are changing our lives — and our economy — even if we don't realize it. Robots pack our food, sew our clothes, and manufacture our computer chips.
So where is this all going? Can you imagine — or are you already seeing — a robot working next to you?
Harvard professor Michael Sandel has become famous for helping us think about moral dilemmas. Why do we make certain choices? And what is our rationale?
What is the value of life? This might sound like a rhetorical question but it’s one that that Brockton, Mass., native Kenneth Feinberg has been answering for years.
Harry West, CEO of Continuum, a global design and innovation consultancy based in Newton with offices around the world.
Continuum helped Holiday Inn rethink the experience for their visitors. Since formal dining was less popular, more options for meals on-the-run were introduced.
No Labels aims to move us beyond partisan gridlock to actually solve problems.
Our guest, Harry West, is the CEO of Continuum, "a global design and innovation consultancy." Dr. West talks to us about some of their past projects from helping Holiday Inn improve the experience for their guests to examining what types of openings are best on a water bottle.
Dr. West also talks about innovation and how globalism will impact what we think we need.
Education reform has not been a big talking point on the campaign trail. That could be because it’s a complicated issue—one that policy makers and politicians can’t agree on.
Kara Miller, host of Innovation Hub, will be moderating a panel titled "The New Economy: How Automation Is Changing the Game" on Sept. 27 at Suffolk University's Modern Theatre.
Come join us for this special event. Tickets are available through the Modern Theatre's website.
The panel will look at how the business and employment landscape has been — and will be — altered by increasing automation and better computers.
No matter where you live, you can get a hour of in-depth discussion every week. Discover great innovators - and trends that will change how we live and do business.
The Enron Corporation is a famous example of fraud and unethical behavior in the workplace.
Credit Modular Building Institute
This four-floor building in British Columbia was reconfigured from single-floor temporary housing for Olympic athletes during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. It also boasts good energy efficieny
We all know stories of people acting unethically in their business dealings.
Take, for example, Enron, a multibillion dollar energy company that spectacularly failed in 2001 and inspired the documentary "The Smartest Guys in the Room."
But, of course, ethical lapses did not end with Enron. There have been a slew of bank and investment banking scandals since - most recently Barclay's, which has been accused of - and fined for - manipulating lending rates.
Author Lisa Bloom says boys today have it rough. They're falling behind in school, getting caught up in prison systems. Kara Miller talks with Bloom about her new book "Swagger," which outlines what parents can do to keep them from falling into the traps that are keeping boys from reaching their potential.
President Obama surveys damage from this summer's wildfires in Colorado. Some experts say global warming could result in greater numbers of wildfires.
Credit NASA Earth Observatory
A 12-square-mile ice island breaks from the Petermann Glacier in Greenland. While these events occur naturally, scientists have noticed that the breaks are happening farther up the glacier.
Listen at 7 a.m. on Saturday or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.
Global Warming's New Reality
This year we’ve seen what many experts agree are real symptoms of global warming - from fires in Colorado to drought that now blankets more than 60% of the country. And this July was the hottest ever for those of us in the lower 48.
How difficult is it to make it in a world dominated by big corporations?
Kara Miller talks with entrepreneurs about finding success in the food industry. How do you make waves when you've got a small, natural product - especially when you're facing down behemoths like General Mills and Kraft?
Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, has famously lamented that few women occupy corner offices.
Credit Wikimedia Commons
Anne-Marie Slaughter, Princeton professor and former Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department, wrote an article in the Atlantic questioning whether women could have it all.
Credit zipcar.com
A study finds that consumers tend not to choose Zipcar for environmental reasons, though that is one of the company's selling points.
Re-imagine the city - the office buildings, the apartments, the houses. How would they look if we were trying to reduce our carbon footprint? Kara Miller talks with three people who have an interesting take on what, exactly, a greener, more sustainable city would look like and how it would function.
GUESTS:
Katie Swenson, vice president of design at Enterprise Community Partners
Jerry Hajjar, chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Northeastern University
Mark Webster, senior engineer at Simpson, Gumpertz, and Heger
We've heard the stories of people acting unethically in their business dealings. Take, for example, Enron, a multi-billion dollar energy company that failed spectacularly in 2001, or the slew of bank and investment scandals- most recently Barclay's, which has been accused of manipulating lending rates.
How do we consciously or unconsciously slip from ethical to unethical? Kara Miller looks into ethics in the workplace and the kind of business culture that makes slipping down the slope of immoral behavior acceptable.
Listen to the second segment with guest Brian Greene
This week on Innovation Hub, we talk to masters of the invisible, the barely visible and the just plain hard to see. Listen at 7 a.m. on Saturday or subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.
This year, we've seen what climate experts agree are real symptoms of global warming. From the Colorado wildfires that have charred much of the land, businesses and homes surrounding Denver, to the mid-Western drought that has been killing crops. A new study funded by the conservative Koch Brothers even has the most skeptical folks warming up to the reality of man made climate change. Kara Miller talks about global warming and the very real symptoms we're seeing play out across the world.
Once upon a time, we got much of our news from newspapers. But, over the last 60 years the popularity of television changed that. Will online news be just as much of a game changer?
Consumers often make things to use rather than to sell. They are behind many of the product modernizations of companies like Proctor and Gamble, but they’re not interested in the advertising side of innovation. Instead, users benefit simply from having their needs satisfied, while producers benefit from sales.
It's Monday, and that means we talk politics, as usual.
The mourning continues after July 20's shooting in a theater in Aurora, Colorado. While victims and communities grieve, debate continues over gun control, vigilance and protection. We look at how the Aurora tragedy may shape discussions in upcoming elections about community safety and the right to bear arms.
We’ve been wondering for a long time what the clothing of the future will look like. In a 1930s newsreel, designers tried to predict what people would be wearing in the year 2000.
Earlier this year we spoke with Marissa Mayer. The former Google executive has just been named CEO of Yahoo, making her one of the youngest women leaders in the tech industry. Mayer definitely has her work cut out for her — Yahoo has now had five CEOs in the last year alone — but that may not be the biggest challenge Mayer faces: she also announced her first pregnancy.
