#sustainability
82 episodes
#4286: How Print Reading Changes Your Brain vs. Google News
Print readers understand news better. Here's what the research says about how the medium shapes your comprehension.
#4233: How Old Planes Get Safer With Age
Why a 30-year-old cargo plane may be safer than a new passenger jet — and what that teaches us about sustainability.
#4102: Can Pine Furniture Survive Outdoors?
Why coating pine for outdoor use often makes things worse — and what actually works.
#4035: Why Buying Used Feels Broken
Why second-hand markets fail buyers and sellers — and how the circular economy’s UX problem hurts sustainability.
#3997: Do People Actually Like Living in Jerusalem's Towers?
New data shows high-rise residents report 12% lower life satisfaction. The real story is who suffers most—and why.
#3963: The Eurobox Dilemma: Best Available vs. Good
Is durable plastic a genuine sustainability win or just slower waste? A deep dive into Euroboxes, supply chains, and material lock-in.
#3937: The Third Pedal's Last Mile
Manual transmissions are vanishing fast. Here's what's driving the decline and what it means for drivers who still want three pedals.
#3866: What's Actually Inside Your Plastic Storage Bin?
Two bins can both say "polypropylene" — one lasts two years, the other two decades. Here's why.
#3783: The Ice Cream Algorithm: How Ben & Jerry's Engineers Flavor
Inside the melt rate index, cocoa butter barriers, and supply chain decisions shaping Ben & Jerry's 2026 lineup.
#3685: Ruling Pens, Grease Pencils, and the Case for Better Old Tech
Why a 400-year-old drafting tool outperforms modern alternatives, and how to spot genuinely superior antiques.
#3660: From Tweak to Revolution: Fixing Capitalism
A spectrum of proposals from better disclosure to degrowth — mapping every idea for fixing or replacing capitalism.
#3659: Late-Stage Capitalism vs Post-Capitalism: What Do These Terms Actually Mean?
Late-stage capitalism" is a mood, not a prediction. We break down where these terms come from and what they actually mean.
#3606: The Secret World of Dumpster Diving
What people really find in dumpsters—from $4,000 espresso machines to historical love letters.
#3580: The Fish That Changed Israel's Coastline
From psychedelic bream to invading rabbitfish — a tour of Israel's underwater world and the dinner plate.
#3536: Flat-Pack Houses vs 3D-Printed Homes: Which Works Now?
Flat-pack, 3D-printed, or moved on a truck? Which alternative housing approach actually works today?
#3510: Why Your Home Isn't Using Industrial Storage Standards
What if moving house meant clicking modules out and back in, done by lunch? The case for a DIN standard home.
#3456: How to Spot Clothes That Actually Last
Fabric weight, fiber length, and stitching density — the three signs a garment is built to survive.
#3455: The Rectangle Treaty: Inside Euro Box Standards
Can industrial plastic storage ever be sustainable? A deep dive into the VDA 4500 standard, material trade-offs, and the rectangle treaty.
#3430: Urban Farming: Soil, Community, and Real Livelihoods
What does an urban farmer's life actually look like? Not the glossy renders—the real dirt and daily work.
#3429: IKEA's Hidden Waste: When Storage Bins Don't Fit
IKEA changes product dimensions every nine days. The environmental cost of those missing millimeters? Nobody's measuring it.
#3324: How Companies Actually Measure Their Carbon Emissions
Spreadsheets, supplier calls, and accounting choices that can change your reported emissions by 10x.
#3277: The Store That Stocks Nothing That Breaks
Can a store succeed by selling only things that last forever? The economics of durability vs. disposable culture.
#3244: What the Fading American Dream Actually Measures
Absolute mobility fell from 90% to 50% in four decades. Here's how economists actually measure it.
#3243: Are We Modern Serfs? Land, Rent & Feudalism
How land ownership patterns mirror medieval feudalism—and what Henry George proposed to fix it.