The Sniffer

On this podcast, Nora Young talks about a few different stories about IKEA's expansion plans and new lines, including partnerships on surprising products like fragrance, expansion plans for Indian cities, and modular pieces that can be re-assembled into different kinds of furniture for small spaces. Cathi Bond points us to this Gizmodo article about the late painter, Bob Ross , whose PBS instructi...

On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about this New Atlas article on the history of the drug, Ketamine, and new research into its potential as a treatment for depression, along with questions about how to avoid negative side effects. Nora Young chats about this article in The Outline on Spyce, a new restaurant in Boston, which is almost entirely automated. Is this a novelty, or a sign of the future? ...

We've both been very busy, so had to take a Sniffer break for a bit, but we're back with two fun, eco-friendly design stories for ya. Cathi Bond loves outdoor living, tree houses, and mini-homes, so she was in heaven when she found Sky-Pod , a gorgeous, teardrop shaped tree house inspired by Victorian crinolines (via New Atlas . Check out the images). Nora Young talks about Mylo, a leather-like ma...

We're back after a little break! This time, Nora talks about EMBER, a release of a large dataset of "avatars" of malware by a cyber security company. The idea is to use it to help machine learning learn to recognize malware (via Technology Review ). Cathi talks about the city of Daye in China. Streets are equipped with technology to catch people jaywalking...and spray them with water! Read more at...

On this podcast, Nora Young talks about a text Netflix has been conducting: offering kids virtual badges for watching certain episodes of kids' programming (via Engadget ). Cathi mentions her latest DVD purchase, Sabrina . Cathi Bond talks about Peloton (via PSFK ), which is basically gym spin class as a service. You buy the bike for your home, and a membership, and you participate virtually in a...

On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about Jimmy Wales' idea for Wikitribune: journalism that's crowdfunded, where the community decides what stories professional journalists will research and cover (via Wired UK ). Nora Young talks about SK Telecom out of South Korea. They're partnering with a VR developer to come up with a hologram avatar that lives in a cylindrical "HoloBox" in your home (via PSFK...

Hi again! On this episode, Cathi Bond talks about Satori, a new bit of malware that, like Mirai before it, can take control of internet- connected household devices and routers and harness them for botnets (via Technology Review ). Nora Young mentions this Spark interview with Finn Brunton on the black market for botnets. Meanwhile, Nora talks about this report on how fashion is starting to use th...

On this podcast, Nora Young talks about insurance company Arity's driver safety project. Drivers put an app on their phone that monitors whether drivers are picking up their phones or engaging with apps while they drive. It's a bid to charge people more or less for insurance, depending on whether they are distracted or not (via CNN ). Arity is a branch of insurance giant Allstate. Nora wonders whe...

On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about a surprising response to the problem of overwork in Japan: drones that chase employees out of the building by blasting annoying music (via New Atlas ) Nora Young talks about this article in Technology Review . It looks at the potential for brain-computer interfaces in the future. A brain surgeon and speculative fiction author believes in a possible future of...

For our annual holiday edition, Nora Young mentions a tweak to Google maps for transit (via Tech Crunch ) as well as a cool idea for a 3D printed watch (via New Atlas ). Custom fit! Cathi Bond has a gift for drivers: the FIXD dongle for diagnosing what's wrong with your car (via Daily Wise )! Happy Holidays from your Sniffer pals!

On today's podcast, Cathi Bond talks about these cool biodomes , geodesic domes designed to be partly nestled into the earth, and to resist intense climate events (via New Atlas ). Nora mentions this exhibit at the Royal BC Museum. Nora Young talks about barriers to working remotely, and whether truly realistic virtual reality might eventually bridge that gap (via Technology Review ) BTW, there's...

We're back after a little break! This time, Nora Young talks about this New York Times profile of author, Philip Pullman . In particular, she looks at his very specific rituals around writing. Nora and Cathi talk about journaling and their own rituals for writing. Nora's preferred method: pomodoro ! Cathi Bond looks at a study on the benefits of fasting, in particular, 5 days of 'regular' eating a...

In today's podcast, Cathi Bond talks about PSFK's report on the future of manufacturing and the possibility of more continuous feedback. Could it help reduce waste and increase customization? Nora Young looks at the interactive 'proof of concept' movie Otis (via Engadget ). You can watch and interact with Otis for free  here . Let us know what you think in the comments !

Welcome to season 13 (ack!) of The Sniffer! Thanks for staying subscribed; we really appreciate the support. On this podcast episode, Nora Young talks about this Technology Review profile of Douglas Eck, who works on creativity and AI at Google's Magenta. Meanwhile, Cathi Bond discusses Jack Ma's idea that in the future, we'll all work a 16 hour work week (via Gizmodo ).  What would you do if your...

This time, Nora Young and Cathi Bond commit to keeping journals after reading this article about the benefits of doing so. Writing out your thoughts reminds Nora of this Spark interview with philosopher Andy Clark , about the idea of "extended minds".  Cathi Bond offers you this summertime travel help: how to spot and deal with bed bugs (via Lifehacker )!

This time, Cathi Bond talks about a study testing the effectiveness of different virtual reality scenarios in managing pain. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a virtual reality scene at a calming beach was much more effective in pain relief, than one that was simply a distracting urban scene (via Medgadget ) Nora Young talks about an exhibit in London UK called Perfume: A Sensory Journey through Contemporar...

Nora Young talks about research into blocking specific memories in snails (via Motherboard )  Just in time for summer, Cathi Bond talks about the RhinoWolf tent system. You can sleep anywhere from one to 100 people by attaching more and more modular tents (via New Atlas ) 

On this podcast, Cathi Bond talks about the growing trend in robot policing (via New Atlas ) Nora Young talks about this Guardian article , which takes a walk through Amazon's latest bricks-and-mortar store in New York. In the wake of their purchase of Whole Foods, what's Amazon's end game?  

In this podcast, Nora Young talks about Triggr Health, an app designed to support people in recovery from substance abuse (via Technology Review ). Nora also mentions Cathi's fabulous story in the new collection, Any Other Way Cathi Bond talks about a fascinating Manual Standing Wheelchair that users can manipulate to raise themselves to a standing position (via MedGadget ) Here it is in action:

This time, Cathi Bond talks about Cover , an architectural startup that aims to give people customized, small houses - based on their preferences - at a lower cost than hiring an architect to design a home, but with more options than just buying a regular prefab (via PSFK ) Meanwhile, Nora Young talks about Adidas' plan to partner with innovative 3D printing company, Carbon , to produce customized...

Welcome back to the podcast! This time, Nora Young talks about this article over at Backchannel , and why some service-based startups are rejecting the 'Uber for X', gig economy model in favour of hiring actual employees. Meanwhile, Cathi Bond points to this Gizmodo article questioning why people still need to use Word. Cathi's been having her own frustrations, and wonders whether she should find...

Tim Berners-Lee, inventor of the Web and recent winner of the Turing Award , has been sounding the alarm about the sad, sad state of the Web (read it here in  The Guardian ). Cathi Bond has heard the alarm bells loud and clear. Is the promise of the Web as an open, democratic place dead? People have been talking about modular smart phones for a while now, where you swap out parts of your phone tha...

Cathi is a fan of "tap and pay" credit cards. But now she's wondering if they're really secure. She also mentions this security report about malware on phones installed somewhere along the supply chain.  Nora looks at Kerv , a cool-looking ring that gives you the ability for contactless payment without a card, or a phone, at all (via Tech Radar ). 

Cathi Bond talks about Swiss research into a process that supposedly stores summer heat for use in the frosty winter months. Read about the process here . Meanwhile, HOLY CATS! Nora Young talks about Boston Dynamic's cool/freaky new robot, Handle (via Mashable )

In this podcast, Nora Young talks about research suggesting pretty much any of us can be a troll, or otherwise just plain nasty online, given the right circumstances (via Technology Review ). And, Cathi Bond shares this video on the trend in Japan towards adult women being swaddled and rocked.