At this year’s Cambridge Science Carnival, hosted by the MIT Museum, I set up with one big question: “If science could solve one problem for humanity in the next 50 years, what would you choose—and why?”

Fourteen curious minds, from ages 11 to 64, took the mic to share their answers. From eliminating waste and ensuring clean water, to achieving world peace and even resurrecting dinosaurs, their responses reflect a wide spectrum of hopes, challenges, and dreams for our future.

In this special live episode of Curiously, I bring you their voices, their ideas, and even my own take on this thought-provoking question.

In this episode, we’re venturing far beyond Earth with geneticist and computational biologist, Christopher E. Mason, author of The Next 500 Years: Engineering Life to Reach New Worlds. In his ambitious and fascinating book, Dr. Mason argues that humanity has a moral obligation to safeguard life by expanding into space, and he lays out a 500-year roadmap to make it possible. From genetic engineering to deep-space missions, his vision challenges us to rethink what it means to be human, and how far our creativity and science can take us.

Learn more about Dr. Mason's work on his website and follow him on LinkedIn.

In this episode, I’m trying something new with the podcast: more conversation, less script. Inspired by the “Talk of the Table” format from morning shows, I wanted to see what would happen if I stepped out from behind the interview questions and just reacted in real time on timely and topical subjects.

To experiment, I brought back past guest Katie Concannon, who many listeners liked for her humor and authenticity. Armed with topics that grabbed our attention, we went back and forth: sharing takes, trading stories, and letting the conversation flow wherever it wanted. It’s timely, spontaneous, and a chance for you to get to know us a better.