Freethink

Move the World

A man in a black tuxedo and sunglasses stands in front of a blue backdrop with the Breakthrough Prize logo and text.
The Race to AGI
Silicon Valley has entered its superstar engineer era
In the race to AGI, tech companies are borrowing playbooks from sports, finance, and film to land elite talent. Here’s why.
Rohit Krishnan
A white egg is centered on a colorful, abstract background resembling a digital DNA sequence with red and blue vertical patterns.
Series| The Freethink Interview
The conservationist using genetic technology to rewild the planet
Abstract geometric design with red and black grid patterns, a central white rectangle displaying the text "The Unlimited Horizon," and the number 8 in the top right corner.
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto
AI can dramatically expand human agency
Jason Crawford
A pair of smart glasses displays digital information on the lenses, including time, weather, Wi-Fi, and other icons.
Opinion
A personal assistant for everyone: The promise of ambient AI
We’re leaving the app era and entering the age of ambient AI: intelligent help that’s always on, but never in the way.
Daniel Jeffries
More Stories
The Freethink Interview
In this groundbreaking series, we host intimate conversations with tech and business leaders on the bleeding edge, exploring how technology works and its impact on people and society.
A gold DNA double helix structure is surrounded by three syringes with needles on a blue background.
2025: We’re not in a crisis. We’re in a transformation.
“We’re living in an extraordinary moment in history. We are at a moment here in 2025 where we have world historic game-changing technologies now starting to scale.”
Series| The Freethink Interview
40 generations of historians waited to read these scrolls. Now, we can.
A microchip with arrows pointing to it. Text below reads, "This Controls Everything" on a yellow background.
Series| The Freethink Interview
The war over microchips is coming, says Chris Miller | The Freethink Interview
“When we think about technology, we think of social media, search engines, apps on our phone; but undergirding all of this are chips.”
A close-up view of the Sun's surface, showcasing its bright, textured, orange appearance against a black background.
Series| The Freethink Interview
The solar revolution turning sunlight into synthetic fuel
“10 years ago, my colleagues and I looked at the prognosis for Climate Change, and it looked pretty hopeless. There really was no way out.” But something happened – something good.
A curated selection of thought leaders whose voices deserve to be heard now more than ever.
A man with gray hair and a mustache sits smiling in front of a blue background with "Freethink" and "Big Think" logos.
The Great Progression
Google AI exec: “The mistake would be thinking this is hype.”
Bestselling author and Google Labs’ Editorial Director Steven Johnson talks about the future of AI at Freethink’s Great Progression event.
Brandon Stewart
A man in a patterned shirt speaks on stage in front of a screen displaying "THE GREAT PROGRESSION 2025-2050" and the BIG THINK logo.
The Great Progression
Siri co-founder: “No matter how smart AI gets, it’s not going to solve all our problems by itself.”
Adam Cheyer, co-founder of Siri and VP of AI Experience at Airbnb, talks about the future of AI at Freethink’s Great Progression event.
Brandon Stewart
A woman with long blond hair wearing a striped shirt smiles while standing in front of a purple backdrop with "BIG THINK" and "EXPAND YOUR WORLD" logos.
The Great Progression
This conservationist is trying to bring extinct species back to life
Ryan Phelan, co-founder of Revive & Restore, talks about the future of conservation at Freethink’s Great Progression event.
Brandon Stewart
A collage featuring cows, a molecule model, charts, machinery, and the text "The Problem-Solving Animal" with the number 7 on a grid background.
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto
Problem-solving is fundamental to human nature
Believing in the next solution is not blind optimism or even wishful thinking — it is a recognition that humans are problem-solving animals.
Jason Crawford
A man with glasses and a patterned shirt gestures while speaking on stage in front of a blue background with white text.
The Great Progression
A call to innovators in Silicon Valley and beyond to help chart the new way forward
Peter Leyden sums up the key themes and big ideas of his new series at a Freethink Conversation in San Francisco.
Peter Leyden
Two women walk through a dry, withered maize field under a partly cloudy sky.
Technophobia
Technophobia has a body count
Activists push scary headlines about the harm they predict a technology will cause, but ignore the good things we stand to lose without it.
Daniel Jeffries
A man in a suit and glasses speaks into a microphone at the World Economic Forum, with the event's logo visible in the background.
The Race to AGI
The AGI economy is coming faster than you think
The impact of AGI on the economy will be big, it’ll happen fast, and it’ll be disruptive. Here’s how the disruption could play out.
Rohit Krishnan
A collage of scientific and technological images surrounds the text "The Problem-Solving Animal" and the number 7 on a grid-patterned background.
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto
It’s far too early to call “peak ideas”
Economic growth is driven by ideas, not resources — and as history shows, the well of innovation is unlikely to ever run dry.
Jason Crawford
Four children wearing blue headphones use desktop computers in a classroom, focusing on their screens.
The Great Progression
What if you could start civilization over with AI?
Innovators in every industry and field should adopt the same mantra: If you could start fresh with AI, then what would you do?
Peter Leyden
Four people sit on stage discussing "The Great Progression 2025-2050" at a panel event, with a screen and branded backdrop behind them.
The Great Progression
Three founders look to the future at Freethink’s inaugural Great Progression event
The tech community came together for the launch of the Great Progression event series, curated by Peter Leyden and produced by Freethink.
Peter Leyden
A graphic featuring industrial machinery, a historic portrait, Earth, and the text "The Problem-Solving Animal 7" on a grid background in orange and beige tones.
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto
Predictions of resource scarcity have a fundamental flaw
From where we stand, the true limits to growth are currently unknowable and need not affect any decisions we make today.
Jason Crawford
A collage featuring a hand using a smartphone, two men speaking into microphones, a vintage desktop computer, and a graph, with the text "The Flywheel" in the center.
The Techno-Humanist Manifesto
If progress has stalled, we need to know why
We need to figure out what drives progress, what might cause it to slow down or stop, and what, if anything, we can do to re-accelerate it.
Jason Crawford
A crowd of people in formal attire socialize at an indoor event with a large "Substack" sign illuminated on the wall above.
History
Why Substack will be the intellectual engine of the 21st century
The 21st-century version of the Royal Society could be the Substack network that we are just starting to build out today.
Peter Leyden
The Race to AGI
Cheap AI is causing a power shift in the world’s militaries
The militaries that leverage the low-cost capabilities of AI the most will have a decisive advantage in the future.
Rohit Krishnan
A chart titled "Our New Enlightenment Civilizational Timeline" shows green steps marking progress from 1980 to 2100, highlighting key phases of enlightenment and development across the years.
The Great Progression
How AI could usher in The New Enlightenment
AI could trigger a civilization-scale change for humanity the same way the steam engine helped usher in The Enlightenment 250 years ago.
Peter Leyden
The Great Progression
Hard Reset
A black robotic hand holding a small red object against a blue and beige gradient background.
Series| Hard Reset
How durable, inexpensive robotic hands are made
We met the team at PSYONIC, the minds developing one of the world’s most advanced robotic hands.
A person rides a bicycle between two modern white buildings under a clear blue sky, with large text reading "RESET THE CITY" above.
Series| Hard Reset
24 hours in an illegal, car-free community
What happens when you ban cars? Step inside the first walkable neighborhood of its kind in the US.
Gold lunar lander model with NASA and flag decals on a blue gradient background.
Series| Hard Reset
Moon landings are back, baby! Feat. Firefly Aerospace
“These investments we make in exploring our universe have always paid dividends. That drive to explore these frontiers is what forces us to be creative and inventive.”
A man with glasses and a beard holds a cylindrical object labeled "Transport Document" outside in front of an industrial backdrop.
Series| Hard Reset
Inside the insane lab making fuel from thin air
Come with us to visit Terraform Industries, the start-up harnessing artificial photosynthesis to make fossil-free fuel.
A man with glasses pours liquid from a plastic bag into a toilet against a blue background.
Series| Hard Reset
Why use pristine drinking water for toilets?
A person wearing a gray shirt is extending their hand with rings on each finger against a dark background with a green glow.
Series| Hard Reset
Can reality be expanded? This tech says yes.
Future Explored
Freethink's premier newsletter exploring the incredible technologies moving the world forward.
A collage of images of satellites and spacecraft.
Collection
Future Explored
This is Future Explored, your guide to world-changing technology. Each month, we explore the past, present, and future of innovation.
A side view of a humanoid robot with a sleek, rounded head and segmented body.
AI
Humanoid helpers are now entering our homes
Robotics startup 1X Technologies is now sending its humanoid robots into homes to help people with chores and provide companionship.
Kristin Houser
a sleek Cover unit with a patio and flowers in the foreground
Construction
Fire-resilient prefabs are helping LA build back better
Victims of LA’s wildfires are opting for tech company Cover’s prefab homes over traditional new builds. Here’s why.
Kristin Houser
Get inspired with the most innovative stories shaping the world around us.
Subscribe to Freethink on Substack
Explore all free newsletters
With Our Partners

Stories focused on interesting solutions to big problems. 

Prev
Next
Aerial view of a rural settlement with huts on the left, and a heat map of African croplands on the right, highlighting agricultural regions.
How local innovators are transforming the world 
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
These changemakers show that social innovation thrives when it draws on the knowledge and lived experience of the people impacted.
Alasdair Lane
Two women in patterned clothing stand in a forest. Aerial and crowd images are overlaid.
Why we need social innovation now more than ever
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
Social innovation is proving that when we work together across sectors, lasting change is possible.
Why are traditional climate solutions falling short in the American South?
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
Decades of disinvestment left Black communities in the South fighting for clean air and water. Now they’re showing the nation what justice looks like.
Jamie Carson
Three people stand outside a brick building, facing forward. The woman on the left wears a "Black Health Matters" shirt, the man in the center wears a blazer, and the woman on the right wears glasses and a blue blazer.
When pollution poisons a community, what does justice look like?
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
Toxic waste sites surround Black communities in the South, poisoning their air, water, and health. This is how they’re fighting back—and winning.
A police cap is covered with binary code on a bright yellow background.
Police spend 40% of their time on paperwork. Can AI help?
In partnership with Axon
Axon’s AI innovations promise to free officers from desks, but not without questions of ethics. CEO Rick Smith addresses concerns and community trust:
A person sits at a desk looking thoughtfully to the side. Behind them is a bookshelf full of books and a lit hanging lamp. The background has colorful static interference.
Series| In The Arena with Evan Baehr
Adapting education for an ever-changing workforce
In partnership with Arena Hall
At a time where AI is constantly shifting the workforce, how can you ensure your skills are cutting edge?
Individual with blue and red face paint, wearing a yellow headband and a necklace, in an outdoor wooded area.
Indigenous Peoples standing up to corporate greed
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
Indigenous Peoples’ lands are key to combating climate change, but corporate greed puts them at risk. Meet the land and environmental defenders fighting to hold them accountable.
A person wearing a headscarf and carrying a basket picks tea leaves in a green hilly landscape with a waterfall in the background.
Meet the guardians of Earth’s last untouched lands
In partnership with Skoll Foundation
This group makes up just 6% of the global population, but protects up to 80% of our remaining biodiversity. Meet the most committed keepers of planet Earth.
Industrial facility emitting smoke from multiple smokestacks under an overcast sky.
The hidden crisis of environmental racism – and the fight against it
In partnership with McNulty Foundation
Those on the frontlines of environmental degradation have the best solutions. This is their fight.
Two women and a young boy stand in front of a house while five individuals stand on the roof in the background.
The unsung heroes restoring America after disaster
In partnership with McNulty Foundation
When disaster strikes, the workers helping us rebuild are often exploited. Here’s a solution to protect and scale this urgently-needed labor force.
Original Series

This is a show about rebuilding the world from scratch and reimagining everything from first principles.

Watch the Series