Works in Progress Podcast

ตอน

• Inventing the second malaria vaccine with Katharine Collins 27.05.2026 2ชม. 15นาที

  Malaria is caused not by a virus or bacterium, but by a complex, shape-shifting parasite that has evolved alongside us for millennia. This has made vaccine development a brutal challenge.In this episode, Jacob and Saloni are joined by Katharine Collins, who co-invented the second malaria vaccine, called R21, during her PhD. They discuss the gruelling process of reverse-engineering a vaccine and eureka moments along the way. They ask whether the biggest barriers to new vaccines are scientific or financial, and what it will take to finally eradicate one of natureʼs most vicious killers.Hard Drugs is a podcast from Works in Progress about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.You can watch or listen on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/ Acknowledgements:Aria Babu, editor at Works in ProgressGraham Bessellieu, video editorAlice Edwards, captionsAbhishaike Mahajan, cover artAtalanta Arden-Miller, art directionDavid Hackett, composerWorks in Progress & Coefficient Giving ThesisKatharine Collins (2014). R21, a novel particle based vaccine for a multi-component approach to malaria vaccination.BooksR. Killick-Kendrick (2012). Rodent Malaria.Michael Kremer and Rachel Glennerster (2004). Strong Medicine: Creating Incentives for Pharmaceutical Research on Neglected Diseases.Articles and reportsSaloni Dattani (2023). Why we didn’t get a malaria vaccine sooner. https://worksinprogress.co/issue/why-we-didnt-get-a-malaria-vaccine-sooner/ Jerome P Vanderberg (2010). Reflections on Early Malaria Vaccine Studies, the First Successful Human Malaria Vaccination, and Beyond https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2637529/Pratik Pawar (2022). It Took 35 years to Get a Malaria Vaccine. Why? https://undark.org/2022/05/25/it-took-35-years-to-get-a-malaria-vaccine-why/ Ernst R. Berndt, Rachel Glennerster, Michael R. Kremer, Jean Lee, Ruth Levine, Georg Weizsacker & Heidi Williams (2005) Advanced Purchase Commitments for a Malaria Vaccine: Estimating Costs and Effectiveness. https://www.nber.org/papers/w11288 Ryan Duncombe, Karam Elabd and Justin Sandefur (2024). Avoiding Another Lost Decade on Malaria Vaccines https://www.cgdev.org/publication/avoiding-another-lost-decade-malaria-vaccines  
• Where did all the good sculptors go? 20.05.2026 1ชม. 19นาที

  The Trump administration wants to bolster traditional art. Their attempt to revive sculpture, a mass statue-building program, is doomed. America doesn’t have the sculptors, foundries, and workers to make hundreds of bronze or marble sculptures. North Korea would be in a much better position.Sam and Samuel sit down with our Art Director, Atalanta, a sculptor by training, and talk all things sculpture. They discuss how art education has become de-skilled, how sculpture has always been the best art form for mass production and the surprising places the tradition has been kept alive. 
• The evolution of bacteria 08.05.2026 11นาที

  Generations of microbes evolve in hours, not millennia. By speeding up Darwin’s clock, scientists have watched evolution happen in real time, and it’s changed how we understand natural selection. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-evolution-of-bacteria-2/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Kevin Blake Read by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• What is local government good for? 06.05.2026 1ชม. 2นาที

  Local government works best when areas can compete with each other and capture some of the upside of economic growth. Ben sits down with Judge Glock to discuss how well-structured local incentives helped make Loudoun County, Virginia, the global capital of data centers — and helped France build so many nuclear power stations.They discuss which public goods local government is best placed to provide, why America has better housing outcomes than its reputation suggests, and when national government needs to constrain local power.Read Judge Glock's piece on why water in America is too clean here: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-gold-plating-of-american-water/
• Washer woman: The invention of dishwashers 01.05.2026 9นาที

  In 1965, married American women did 34 hours of housework weekly. By 2010, that had fallen to 18 hours. The dishwasher wasn’t the only cause, but it certainly helped. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/inventing-the-dishwasher/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Erin BraidRead by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• The triumph of logical English 24.04.2026 40นาที

  English prose has become much easier to read. But shorter sentences had little to do with it. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-logical-triumph-of-english/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Henry Oliver Read by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• How to speed up clinical trials 22.04.2026 56นาที

  Drug development has never been more expensive, in terms of output per dollar spent. This trend, called Eroom's law, is surprising, considering incredible technological advances.Ben and Saloni talk to Ruxandra Teslo about why this has happened and what can be done about it.How can we reform clinical trials to make them more efficient and abundant? Why are so many pharma companies moving early trials to Australia? What's wrong with ethics boards and how can we fix them without compromising on safety?
• How to spot a monopoly: Measuring competition 17.04.2026 25นาที

  Competition makes capitalism work. A new method for measuring it may be the holy grail of economic regulation.  You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-to-spot-a-monopoly/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Brian Albrecht Read by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• The death rays that guard life: We can use ultraviolet light to disinfect public spaces 10.04.2026 24นาที

  We disinfect water before we drink it. Germicidal ultraviolet could make airborne disease as rare as those carried by water. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-death-rays-that-guard-life/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Gavriel Kleinwaks & Karam ElabdRead by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• Issue 23: Egg freezing, Australian refugee policy and ASML 08.04.2026 1ชม. 5นาที

  You should freeze your eggs. Contrary to popular myth, egg freezing works very well and if you freeze your eggs in your twenties or early thirties, you have a very good chance of having a child.European leaders are looking to copy Australia's example and cut migration from boat-bound refugees but they are in danger of learning the wrong lessons. Offshore detention was the most widely publicized aspect of their refugee policy but it didn't work. Turnbacks were much cheaper and more effective.Ben, Aria and Pieter discuss different articles in the new issue of Works in Progress. They discuss how Britain lost its position as the world leader in nuclear power, why ASML is so successful, how envy killed the first bus, and how cool neo-traditional temples are.Buy your copy here: https://worksinprogress.co/print/
• Inflatable space stations: Creating artificial gravity so we can live in space 03.04.2026 19นาที

  If we ever want to live in space, we need to work out a way of creating artificial gravity.You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/inflatable-space-stations/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Angadh Nanjangud Read by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• The algorithm will see you now: Why radiologists haven't been replaced by AI 27.03.2026 21นาที

  Radiology combines digital images, clear benchmarks, and repeatable tasks. But replacing humans with AI is harder than it seems. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-algorithm-will-see-you-now/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Deena Mousa Read by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• Did status signaling ruin architecture? 25.03.2026 1ชม. 27นาที

  There are basically no ugly buildings from before 1930. There are definitely none from before 1830. Why? Is it survivorship bias? Have we demolished all the ugly old buildings and only kept the most beautiful and prestigious buildings? Is it just a matter of taste? Perhaps we haven't come round to liking modern buildings yet but we will. Is it because ornament is too expensive to reproduce now labor costs are too high? Is it because ornament is too cheap because of mass manufacturing and elites want to signal distinction from poor people who can now afford to cover their buildings with ornament too? Samuel, Ben and Aria discuss the merits of these different theories and what actually makes some architecture beautiful. If you enjoyed this episode, you'll enjoy Samuels many essays on beauty in architecture.Cheap ornament and status games: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/cheap-ornament-and-status-games/The beauty of concrete: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-beauty-of-concrete/Making architecture easy: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/making-architecture-easy/Against the survival of the prettiest: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/against-the-survival-of-the-prettiest/
• Sunscreen for the planet: Geoengineering a cooler planet 20.03.2026 22นาที

  The world is warming faster than we can cut emissions. Volcanoes are already cooling the planet, with particles that reflect sunlight. Maybe we can too. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/sunscreen-for-the-planet/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Daniele Visioni & Dakota Gruener Read by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• How to redraw a city: Land readjustment in Japan 13.03.2026 35นาที

  Japan faced some of the world’s toughest planning problems. It solved them by letting homeowners replan whole neighborhoods privately by supermajority vote. You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/how-to-redraw-a-city/ And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.co Words by Anya Martin Read by Stuart Ritchie Music by David Hackett
• Longevity 11.03.2026 1ชม. 25นาที

  There are some animals that can live for hundreds of years. Do the secrets to human longevity lie in a lobster's ability to regrow felled limbs, in a Greenland shark's ultra-slow metabolism, or in an elephant's extreme cancer resistance? Aria, Ben and Saloni discuss why human (and pet) lifespans have increased so much over the past centuries and what we else we can do to age more slowly.For more, read Aria's piece on longevity: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/the-perks-of-being-a-mole-rat/
• Two is already too many: Why South Korean birth rates are so low 06.03.2026 29นาที

  Every hundred South Koreans today will have only six great-grandchildren between them. The rest of the world can learn from Korea’s catastrophe to avoid the same fate.You can see the images, graphs and read the article at https://worksinprogress.co/issue/two-is-already-too-many/And you can find the rest of Works in Progress at worksinprogress.coWords by Phoebe Arslanagic-LittleRead by Stuart RitchieMusic by David Hackett
• Should everyone be taking statins? 27.02.2026 2ชม. 54นาที

  Heart disease is the leading cause of death worldwide, but it’s also one of medicine’s biggest success stories. Since the 1950s, the risk of dying from cardiovascular disease has fallen dramatically, thanks to public health efforts, emergency care, medical innovation, and surgeries.In this episode, Jacob and Saloni explore the cholesterol revolution: from statins discovered in fungi to new drugs that cut LDL cholesterol by 60% and last for months, driven by breakthroughs in genetics, monoclonal antibodies, RNA therapies, and modern medicinal chemistry. They talk about how cholesterol travels through the bloodstream, how it causes atherosclerosis and heart disease, and why it took nearly a century for scientists to form the consensus that lowering cholesterol saves lives.Hard Drugs is a podcast from Works in Progress and Coefficient Giving about medical innovation presented by Saloni Dattani and Jacob Trefethen.You can watch or listen on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts.Chapters: 0:00:00 Introduction13:35 The decline in heart disease mortality31:02 Surprising facts about cholesterol55:40 The lipid hypothesis: 7 lines of evidence for the harms of LDL cholesterol1:22:15 How cholesterol works1:30:40 The discovery of statins1:48:44 Should everyone be on statins?1:57:10 PCSK9 drugs and beyond2:22:56 Summary Saloni’s substack newsletter: https://www.scientificdiscovery.dev/Jacob’s blog: https://blog.jacobtrefethen.com/ Acknowledgements:Aria Babu, editor at Works in ProgressGraham Bessellieu, video editorAbhishaike Mahajan, cover artAtalanta Arden-Miller, art directionDavid Hackett, composerWorks in Progress & Coefficient GivingBooksDaniel Steinberg (2007) The Cholesterol Wars.Jie Jack Li (2009) Triumph of the Heart: The Story of Statins.Blog postsJames Stein (2025) Lipid and lipoprotein basics series. https://jamesstein18.substack.com/p/part-i-lipid-and-lipoprotein-basics ArticlesAkira Endo (2017) Discovery and Development of Statins https://doi.org/10.1177/1934578X1701200801 Joseph L Goldstein, Michael S Brown (2010) History of discovery: The LDL receptor. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2740366/ Patty W. Siri-Tarino and Ronald M. Krauss (2016) The early years of lipoprotein research: from discovery to clinical application https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27474223/ Eun Ji Kim and Anthony S. Wierzbicki (2020) The history of proprotein convertase subtilisin kexin-9 inhibitors and their role in the treatment of cardiovascular disease https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32537117/ Patrick W. Siri-Tarino et al. (2010) Saturated fat, carbohydrate, and cardiovascular disease. https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.94.9.4312Saloni Dattani (2025) Death rates from cardiovascular disease have fallen dramatically — what were the breakthroughs behind this? https://ourworldindata.org/cardiovascular-deaths-declineCholesterol Treatment Trialists’ (CTT) Collaboration (2010) Efficacy and safety of more intensive lowering of LDL cholesterol: a meta-analysis of data from 170,000 participants in 26 randomised trials. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(10)61350-5E. J. Mills et al. (2011) Efficacy and safety of statin treatment for cardiovascular disease: a network meta-analysis of 170,255 patients from 76 randomized trials. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20934984/Julia Brandts and Kausik K. Ray (2023) Novel and future lipid-modulating therapies for the prevention of cardiovascular disease. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41569-023-00860-8 VideosNinja Nerd (2018) Lipoprotein metabolism https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQY0xpwqPfQ 
• Why Europe has stagnated 25.02.2026 1ชม. 29นาที

  Europe is now much poorer than America. Is it because Europe doesn’t have a big tech giant? Can we blame the bureaucrats in Brussels? What happened to make Germany ban combustion cars? Should we turn Europe into a playground for American and Asian elites? Are the far right going to solve Europe’s energy problems by burning coal to own the libs? Pieter, Sam and Aria discuss why Europe hasn’t grown very much and what we can do to save it. 
• Inflation in Rome, Weimar Germany and Soviet Russia with Mark Koyama 11.02.2026 1ชม. 17นาที

  People hate inflation. It undermines faith in the government so people obstruct policies that require faith in the state, like nuclear power, and in democracies it drives them to vote for extremist parties. Ben and Pieter sit down with economic historian Mark Koyama and discuss the fallout of historical inflation crises from the Roman Empire to Weimar Germany. Ben reveals his hidden libertarian 'Gold Bug' tendencies.