Derek Thompson and the Moonshot Factory

Radio Atlantic

The Atlantic

Politics, News, Society & Culture

4.4 • 1.9K Ratings

🗓️ 12 October 2017

⏱️ 50 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Few journalists have gotten a peek inside X, the secretive lab run by Google's parent company Alphabet. Its scientists are researching cold fusion, hover boards, and stratosphere-surfing balloons. Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic, spent several days with the staff of X. In this episode, he tells Matt and Alex all about what he found, and what it suggests about the future of technological invention. Have thoughts or questions? Leave us a message! (202) 266-7600. Don't forget to leave us your contact info. Links:“Google X and the Science of Radical Creativity” (Derek Thompson, 2017)“The Promise and Peril of Universal Internet” (Dominic Tierney, 2015)“The Physics Nobel and the Fate of Bell Labs” (Edward Tenner, 2009)“How Should the U.S. Fund Research and Development?” (Robinson Meyer, 2016) “Google Glass” (William Brennan, 2014)The Gay and Wondrous Life of Caleb Gallo (Brian Jordan Alvarez and collaborators, 2017) — N.b.: Parental discretion is advised. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Inside the parent company of Google is a secretive laboratory known only as X.
0:06.0	Its scientists have looked into cold fusion, modeled hoverboards, and designed the world's
0:10.0	most advanced self-driving car.
0:12.0	Few journalists have been inside. Derek Thompson has.
0:16.2	What did he find? And what did he take away? This is Radio Atlantic.
0:36.9	Jeffrey Goldberg is out gallavinting this week, but here with me in New York.
0:40.8	What, where are you?
0:42.2	I am in New York. What? Where are you? I am in New York. Across the table. Wow this is this is the
0:47.6	best podcast ever already already. Already my esteemed co-host Alex Wagner, CVS Anchor, Atlantic Contributing Editor, an awesome person.
0:57.6	And live person in New York City with you.
0:59.8	You exist.
1:00.8	I couldn't be more excited.
1:01.8	You're a human.
1:03.0	With us today is Other Thompson.
1:06.0	Derek Thompson.
1:07.0	No relation.
1:08.0	No relation.
1:09.0	Atlantic Staff writer, author of the hitbook, Hitmakers, Oracle, and all things,
1:16.0	businessy and technological.
1:17.0	Oh, God, thank you, other Thompson.
1:19.0	Yeah, another human being sitting in the room.
1:21.0	Also, another human being in the room. This feels good. Listen, this is us. This feels good.
	...

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