What Could Go Right?
It's easy to be pessimistic, especially with headlines dominated by global challenges like a changing geopolitical landscape, the rise in authoritarianism, and a seemingly unstable global economy. But what if, despite all that, humanity is actually making progress?Join Progress Network Founder Zachary Karabell every Wednesday as he chats with leading experts like Ian Bremmer and Anne Marie Slaughter to challenge the negativity and find out whether we should be so pessimistic about everything from sustainability and polarization to the future of work. Plus, start your week right with Progress Network Executive Director Emma Varvaloucas, who delivers a weekly dose of essential good news every Monday. If environmental success stories and medical breakthroughs are your thing, you won’t want to miss it.Tune in to discover the evidence for progress and find your reason for cautious optimism.
Episodes
June 17, 2026 • 58 mins
We hear often that freedom of speech is under threat. And it’s easy to feel like things have never been worse in that regard. But is that really true? Dinaw Mengestu, an acclaimed novelist, MacArthur Genius grant recipient, and president of PEN America, joins host Zachary Karabell to examine the true state of free speech in the United States and abroad.
Mengestu shares his personal journey of immigrating to the United States...
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This week’s progress report highlights a tiny detail in Toy Story 5 that is a game changer for representation and the future of animation. We’re also celebrating a major win for the LGBTQ community in Budapest that comes just in time for the end of Pride month. Plus, there is good news in the growing industry of accessible travel and an AI-created vaccine that could change how we protect ourselves from future pandemics....
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June 10, 2026 • 38 mins
Anthony Scaramucci is famous for his turbulent eleven-day stint in the Trump White House. But his time in the political and financial wringer has given him a distinct perspective on resilience, failing humbly, and owning your mistakes.
He joins Zachary to ask the big questions: Are we just trapped in a predictable 80-year cycle of national crisis? And if so, how do we push through the chaos to reach an era of renewal? Moving past ...
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The Supreme Court ruling banning race-based affirmative action is almost three years old, and almost nothing has played out as expected. Black and Hispanic enrollment dropped at the country's most elite universities, but rose at the vast majority of colleges across the US. And in a twist nobody planned for, the end of race-based admissions may have quietly accelerated the rise of class-based affirmative action.
Plus, scienti...
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June 3, 2026 • 46 mins
What does a future where autonomous weapons and artificial intelligence collide on the battlefield look like? Sarah Kreps, a Cornell University professor and former US Air Force officer, joins host Zachary Karabell to navigate the rapidly evolving landscape of drones and military AI.
The conversation looks beyond the doomsday prognostications surrounding lethal tech. Kreps shares insights from her time in the military around 9/11,...
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A rare strain of Ebola is making headlines — but before you spiral, there's more to the story than what meets the eye. The Democratic Republic of Congo has successfully contained 15 previous outbreaks, and scientists are working around the clock on experimental treatments. We know one thing for certain: this is not the 2014–2016 outbreak.
Plus: India is on its way to becoming the first major country in history to...
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May 27, 2026 • 49 mins
What happens when the traditional ways we gather and mourn start to disappear? Bestselling author Bruce Feiler joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss his latest book, A Time to Gather, and explore the modern celebration recession. Instead of yielding to isolation, Feiler reveals a surprising grassroots renaissance of human connection happening right now.Feiler shares deeply personal stories, from navigating his father's funeral to ...
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The pandemic triggered something unexpected: American fathers started working less and spending significantly more time on childcare and housework — and new research suggests it wasn't remote work or job loss driving the shift, but a genuine realignment of gender norms.
Plus: some scientists are calling this the biggest advancement in cancer treatment in 15 years – a drug called daraxonrasib which is nearing FDA ...
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May 20, 2026 • 52 mins
Why does historic abundance breed widespread cultural anger? Nick Gillespie, editor-at-large of Reason Magazine and host of the Reason podcast, joins host Zachary Karabell to unpack the great conundrum of the 21st century: why humans have more security and financial means than ever before, yet feel increasingly dissatisfied. In a world deeply divided along absolute binary lines, Gillespie explains how a philosophy of libertarianism...
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France just passed a landmark law allowing the return of cultural artifacts taken from nations during the colonial era — a long-overdue step nearly a decade in the making.
Plus: all 50 U.S. states have now enacted rape kit reform, cutting the national backlog in half; violent crime in major American cities is falling faster than you might expect; and a new drug is doing something doctors have never been able to say abo...
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May 13, 2026 • 53 mins
What happens when our biological need for certainty clashes with an increasingly unpredictable world? Simone Stolzoff, author of How to Not Know, joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss why our modern intolerance for uncertainty is fueling a global anxiety crisis. Rather than seeing the unknown as a threat, Stolzoff argues that uncertainty is the fundamental birthplace of scientific breakthroughs, original art, and human progress.
...
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Gene therapy has been quietly pulling off miracles, and this week, it got its Oscars moment. Emma Varvaloucas, Executive Director of The Progress Network, breaks down how a husband-and-wife scientific team's decades-long quest has restored sight to over 100 blind Americans, and how a brand-new drug called Otarmeni just became the first-ever FDA-approved gene therapy for genetic deafness. The science is extraordinary. The price tags...
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May 6, 2026 • 36 mins
What happens when the global energy supply faces its greatest disruption since the 1970s? Jason Bordoff, a leading energy expert and former advisor in the Obama White House, joins host Zachary Karabell to navigate a world where the Strait of Hormuz is closed and gasoline prices are soaring.
The conversation moves past the immediate panic at the pump to look at the future of how we power our lives. Bordoff shares person...
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For the first time in over a century, renewables have knocked coal out of the top spot for global electricity generation — and solar is the reason why. Emma Varvaloucas, Executive Director of The Progress Network, breaks down what this energy milestone actually means, and why geopolitics is unexpectedly accelerating the clean energy transition.
Plus: forty years after the worst nuclear disaster in history, wildlife is flouri...
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April 29, 2026 • 42 mins
What happens when the person building the world's most powerful technology is just as worried about it as we are? Sebastian Mallaby, the Pulitzer Prize-nominated author of The Infinity Machine, joins host Zachary Karabell to pull back the curtain on Demis Hassabis, the founder of DeepMind who is currently leading the global charge into artificial intelligence.
From the "Ender’s Game" mission that drives Hassabis to the chill...
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April 27, 2026 • 11 mins
Trump just signed an executive order to fast-track psychedelic medical research. Emma Varvaloucas, the Executive Director of The Progress Network, breaks down how a 50-year political taboo went mainstream. Plus: San Diego achieves water independence and starts brewing beer from recycled sewage, a humpback whale stampede breaks a sighting record off South Africa, and gene-edited bananas that don't turn brown are finally here.What Co...
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April 22, 2026 • 40 mins
What happens when the rules of the global game are being rewritten in real-time? Ian Bremmer, the founder of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media, joins host Zachary Karabell to discuss how to navigate a world defined by a "long geopolitical recession" and the erosion of the post-1945 order.
From the escalating conflicts in the Middle East and the surprising vulnerabilities of the economic models in the Gulf to the "asymmetric war fighti...
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April 20, 2026 • 10 mins
Hungary just voted out its authoritarian prime minister of 16 years, and did it with an 80% voter turnout powered by Gen Z. Emma Varvaloucas, the Executive Director of The Progress Network, breaks down how they pulled it off and what it means for democracies under pressure elsewhere.
Plus: over 10% of the world's oceans are now protected, US rents are finally dropping, and Thailand just criminalized online sexual harassment,...
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April 15, 2026 • 54 mins
What do we do when our systems stop working? Anne-Marie Slaughter, the CEO of New America, former Director of Policy Planning at the U.S. State Department under Secretary Hillary Clinton, and one of the most influential voices in American foreign policy joins Zachary Karabell to reckon with a country in the middle of a massive realignment.
From democratic reform and the collapse of the two-party system to America's fraying role on...
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October 8, 2025 • 54 mins
Let’s close out Season 7! Zachary and Emma look back on seven months of thought-provoking positive conversations, from global politics to the depths of sci-fi, exploring how to stay hopeful in a world hooked on negative news. They dive into protecting your mental health by controlling your news intake while also celebrating how social media platforms empower 8 billion voices to be heard!What Could Go Right? is produced by The...
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