Archive - Human Progress

Doomslayer: Progress Roundup

Poverty declines, permanent nuclear waste disposal, a new hepatitis B treatment, and more.

12 hrs ago • Malcolm Cochran

October 2026

You Don’t Have to Like Elon Musk to Value What He Builds

Society benefits from extraordinary innovators, even when their personalities make them difficult to tolerate.

Oct 30 • Marian L Tupy

Human in the Loop: Why Technology Destroys Jobs and Creates Better Ones

Past waves of automation have kept humans in the loop, and AI is unlikely to be different.

Oct 27 • Nathan Smith

Doomslayer: Progress Roundup

Record-low Amazon deforestation, quantum computing advances, a cleaner Thames, and more.

Oct 25 • Malcolm Cochran

The Preindustrial Past Was a Horror Story

Book announcement: "The Grim Old Days" is out now!

Published on Past Imperfect • Oct 23

Modern Transportation Deserves Our Awe

The burden of travel before the industrial revolution shows how much modern transportation has improved our lives today.

Published on Past Imperfect • Oct 20

Doomslayer: Progress Roundup

Richer millennials, Bangladesh’s first nuclear power plant, AI solves research-level physics problems, and more.

Oct 18 • Malcolm Cochran

Machines Can Crunch Numbers, but Humans Still Need to Understand Them

In the age of AI, humans remain the ultimate resource.

Oct 15 • Alexander C. R. Hammond

Agency and the Making of History

Psychologist Martin Seligman argues that belief in human agency has been a powerful driver of innovation and progress.

Oct 14 • Adam Omary and Johan Norberg

59:10

Doomslayer: Progress Roundup

Strong global trade, AI math papers, giant bugs, and more.

Oct 11 • Malcolm Cochran

Critiques of Progress, Pt. 1: The Revolt against Modernity

Some say the modern world could be better. Others say it is rotten at the core.

Oct 8 • Human Progress

The Mental Health Paradox

Psychotherapist Jonathan Alpert joins Adam Omary to discuss how therapy culture and psychiatric overdiagnosis may be worsening American mental health.

Oct 6 • Adam Omary

47:11

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