World Changing Ideas

We know that corporations have known about their own role in climate change for some time but while they might be accountable, individuals are also responsible for managing their own carbon-producing behavior. On today's episode, we’re looking at a decades-long blame game and then we'll find out about the recent SEC ruling that could change the way companies operate when it comes to climate change...

Last month, UN members convened at the UN Environment Assembly and passed a historic resolution to end plastic pollution. On this week's episode we're looking at what plastic is, how it can biodegrade, what biodegradable even means and what we can do to start taking plastic out of our everyday life. Dr. Ting Xu is a professor in the Department of Science Engineering and the Department of Chemistry...

A few weeks ago, we went up to Stowe, Vermont and rode on Taiga's new electric snowmobiles. It was a fun experience testing out its new model, which is much quieter than traditional gas-powered snowmobiles.

On today's episode, we’re going to look at methane. While we know that a major source of greenhouse gases is carbon dioxide, methane also plays a huge part. It doesn't stay in the atmosphere as long as carbon dioxide but one molecule of methane has more than 80 times the warming power of a molecule of CO2. Lena Hoeglund Isaksson is a senior research scholar at the International Institute for Appli...

This episode we're looking at the potential philosophical problem behind implementing carbon removal strategies. Could they inadvertently cause industries to stop trying to curb emissions in the first place? Would this be like a get-out-of-jail-free card for people? American University's Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy Co-director Simon Nicholson helps explore this thorny topic, along...

When it comes to curbing greenhouse gas emissions, the words decarbonize and carbon negativity get bandied about. To help dissect what those mean, Talib chatted with Simon Nicholson, an associate professor in the School of International Service at American University and the director of the Institute for Carbon Removal Law and Policy. Gaurab Chakrabarti is the CEO and co-founder of Solugen, a comp...

On this episode, we’re talking about something that’s at the heart of the climate crisis - how do we get more people to care about it? Fast Company Senior Staff Editor Jeff Beer joins Talib to discuss it.

We're kicking off a new season by delving into our world's most challenging issue: climate change. We all know that it's a crisis we need to fix before it's too late. Instead of focusing on the doom and gloom though, we're going to look at the innovative ways entrepreneurs and scientists are tackling it. Dr. Kim Cobb is a climatologist at Georgia Tech and she lays out the very real goals we need t...

In this episode, host Abigail Bassett is joined by Lenovo’s Calvin Crosslin to talk about how companies can incorporate diversity and inclusion into their product design - plus a conversation with Carnegie Mellon’s Eric Anderson about how ensuring the inclusivity and accessibility of products has become a business imperative.

In this episode, host Abigail Bassett is joined by Lenovo’s Vlad Rozanovich to talk about how the tech company looks at product design through a sustainability lens - plus a conversation with actress and activist, Sophia Bush on a bold new Lenovo-led initiative to help prevent the extinction of endangered species and support a local community on its journey to sustainability.

We’re kicking off this new season with a special series completely dedicated to climate change. We’ll cover everything from the decarbonization of the chemical industry to how we can take plastic out of our cleaning supplies. We’ll be talking with people who saw a problem and were determined to fix it. Tune in every Wednesday starting on February 23rd.

We cover a lot of creative ideas on the show but they’ve all been tools or innovations that mainly help people. So, today we’re going to take a look at something that will benefit animals. Specifically: endangered species. Talib talks about his chat with Cake Founder Stefan Ytterborn about how e-bikes are helping anti-poaching efforts in Southern Africa. For more info, check out: ridecake.com and...

Hey everybody, welcome back and hope you all had a healthy and happy holiday season! January is a month for reflection and fulfilling resolutions so we thought we'd talk about sugar-or rather-a new sugar substitute. Talib chatted with Supplant's biochemist, Tom Simmons and Per Se Chef Thomas Keller to discuss their partnership of using fiber-based sugar in foods, including Per Se's shortbread reci...

The Year Ahead: Innovation For All is a new mini series from FastCo Works and Capital One. Join host Julianne Pepitone as she explores how companies can focus on their core values and develop more authentic mission statements. In this episode, Julianne talks with Capital One President of Financial Services Sanjiv Yajnik about why he thinks innovation is not just something applied to high tech tool...

Every major successful technology goes through key phases - from early adopter beta testing to 1.0 rollouts to mainstream adoption. Artificial intelligence is no different as it went from research lab demonstrations to business tool to consumer-focused digital assistants and more. AI is now an established technology but one with a lot of untapped potential. And one of the key areas of AI developme...

Today we have a special holiday episode where Talib chatted with Creative Conversation Host KC Ifeayni and The New Way We Work Host Kate Davis to reflect on the past year here at Fast Company and to share some of their New Year's resolutions. 

We’re taking a look at some of the highlights from the show and since we’re about to jump into a new year, it seemed like a good idea to end on an uplifting note. Over the summer, Talib chatted with WaterBear Co-founder and CEO Ellen Windemuth about why she wanted to create an on-demand environmental streaming service dedicated to fighting climate change.

On “Innovator’s Inspiration,” we go behind the scenes of the world-changing ideas we cover and really dive into what motivated our guests to come up with their ideas.  On this episode, we hear from American Forests Senior Director of Urban Forestry Maisie Hughes about which innovations she finds inspiring.

On “Innovator’s Inspiration,” we go behind the scenes of the world-changing ideas we cover and really dive into what motivated our guests to come up with their ideas.  On this episode, we hear from Another Tomorrow CEO and Founder Vanessa Barboni Hallik about which innovations she finds inspiring.

Environmental Justice covers a lot of areas, including cultural, social, and economic elements. On this episode, we wanted to dive into how tree equity can help create more socioeconomic equity in urban landscapes. Talib chatted with Maisie Hughes, the senior director of urban forestry at American Forests about the wide-ranging benefits of planting and maintaining more trees in cities. For more in...

In the holiday spirit of generosity and gratitude, we wanted to bring you one of our favorite interviews from this past year. In March, Talib chatted with Gravity Payments Founder and CEO Dan Price about his decision to give all of his employees a $70,000 minimum wage. To learn more about Dan Price and Gravity Payments, check out: https://www.fastcompany.com/90477926/gravity-payments-is-expanding-...

Back in May, we learned about the lowest carbon footprint sneaker with Cariuma cofounders David Python and Fernando Porto. Today we’ll be diving into a different type of clothing - luxury fashion. Talib sat down with Vanessa Barboni Hallik, the founder and CEO of Another Tomorrow, an end-to-end sustainable design company to chat about technology-enabled transparency and a circular economy. To lear...

On this episode of “Innovator’s Inspiration” we're talking with A Kids Company About CEO and Founder Jelani Memory to hear his thoughts on other innovations and find out what he’d be doing if he wasn’t running a new media company.

Racism is an elusive concept but one that pervades almost every facet of society. It's been the architect of many injustices, and it’s something this country is continuing to face on a daily basis. Talib chatted with Jelani Memory to hear what his experience was like figuring out how to talk to his own children about racism, and how that experience ultimately led him to create a media company call...

On this episode of “Innovator’s Inspiration,” we're hearing how hive Co-founder and CEO Jenifer Willig was inspired to take on malnutrition through video games. For more about Jen and Lifepack, check out ahive.com and lifepack.org.