How to Change the World: The History & Future of Innovation
Sam Webster Harris chronicles the complete history of innovation from the Stone Age to the modern day. Learn how transformative ideas build upon each other to change the world and shape the future of humanity. Every breakthrough that changes civilization begins with curiosity. From the first controlled fire to artificial intelligence. Follow the journey, step-by-step, tracing the evolution of human progress and society. On the way, uncovering the nerdy stories and fun facts behind world-changing inventions and the mental models that drive systemic change. Each episode is a deep dive into innovation patterns and the threads that shape our world: - From Leonardo Da Vinci dissecting human bodies to editing our own DNA - Maritime Navigation sets the course for Interstellar exploration - Hammurabi's legal code is relevant in algorithmic governance Modern revolutions in technology and the future of AI are a continuation of core needs of their human creators. Our desire for leverage shows up time and again in the history of civilization. Drawing insights from psychology, economics, and anthropology, we explore how change makers in history like Galileo, Newton, and Tesla didn't just discover big ideas. They transformed civilization itself. Their playbooks reveal timeless strategies for anyone seeking to understand how the world works. This isn't surface-level history. It's intellectual history told through narrative learning—connecting past invention stories to the future of technology, future of society, and patterns of history that will define the Anthropocene. Whether you're fascinated by the timeline of human history, founder stories, or the psychology of change, each episode delivers actionable mental models wrapped in engaging storytelling. Learn something new about human progress while discovering your own potential to change the world. For the intellectually curious seeking to understand innovation, drive progress, and glimpse the future of humanity. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
What is the best way to tackle the question "How to change the world"? Learn about our plan to dissect the history and future of innovation.
This show will dissect how the world really works and the impact of the biggest inventions that lead to a step change. We'll also tell the stories of the greatest innovators from history and understand their mental models, mindsets and habits.
In this promo, Host Sam Webster Harris expla...
"The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it" - Alan Watts
This opening episode invites you on a journey, not just through time, but through perspective.
From fire-starting hominids to spacefaring technologists, we are going to trace the ripples of human imagination that turned tools into empires, and sparks into systems.
In this introduction episode:
- Set the tone for the podcast
- Explain what the show is an...
What lies at the core of human progress? This episode sets the scene for all human innovation.
For 3.5 million years, humans and our ancestors were stuck in the Stone Age until 10,000 years ago we finally broke out of it and all manner of invention was let loose.
We study tribal life across the world from anthropological records and archeology to reconstruct the lifestyle of our ancestors and the forces against them. From per...
Innovations have huge impacts on humanity. We build out a system to rank world change.
Everything seems so important these days:
- This war will BREAK the economy
- If you feed your toddler THIS, you don't deserve to be a parent
- A new iPhone update changes EVERYTHING...
We sense check what matters to humanity and what is just noise.
It's easy to tell that the invention of Writing itself is more important than Velcro. But...
Do we really control fire? The lesser-known fact of fire is that an individual human is completely dependent on it to survive. Furthermore, Society itself is built on fire and would collapse totally without it
While you're patting yourself on the back for lighting that barbecue, fire has been pulling the strings for 2 million years, reshaping our anatomy, rewiring our brains, and dictating our social structures.
It transforme...
Why do some ideas and technologies proliferate, whilst others die painfully?
Innovations aren't just bound merely the laws of Physics, but also the powerful laws of Nature and Biology.
In the "Lessons of History", Will and Ariel Durant propose the 3 Laws of Biology. Extending on the work of Charles Darwin with a lens of history. They explain the rules that govern life on earth and how it applies to humanity. In this episode, Sam ...
How language and cooperation shaped our world and human society.
Discover how language transformed from simple signals to complex communication, enabling us to cooperate, create cultures, and build civilizations. We explore the evolution of human imagination, the role of gossip, the development of societal morals, and the paradoxical nature of human violence and compassion.
Additionally, we discuss the future of communication...
This episode explores systems thinking and it's impact on innovation. Most problems in the world aren't random accidents, they're built into the systems we live in. They drive the currents that change the world.
Systems Thinking is a key idea in science, politics and business, but it knows no boundaries as systems show up everywhere. When challenges overwhelm us instead of giving up hope and blaming the mysterious 'system', we c...
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