Best Case Scenarios

Ramez Naam, technologist, author, and clean-energy investor, shares bold forecasts for solar, batteries, nuclear, and fusion. He sketches cheap solar becoming dominant, the role of big long-distance transmission, grid-scale and vehicle storage tradeoffs, and how affordable power could reshape industry, water use, and geopolitics. The conversation stays future-focused and optimistic.

Drew Endy, a Stanford bioengineer who helped found gene synthesis firms and leads bio-policy and education work, imagines a future of abundant, low‑impact biology. He discusses e‑bio (electricity to biomass), personal biomakers on kitchen counters, rethinking agriculture and materials, biosecurity and governance, and how engineered cells could become everyday medical and manufacturing tools.

Brad Templeton, longtime self-driving car and urban mobility expert, discusses the next 25 years of transportation. He explores robo-taxis, cheaper on-demand rides, electrified fleets, delivery robots, and how cities could reclaim space. He also considers freight automation, new vehicle interiors, tunneling, and shifting norms like fewer teen drivers.

David Eagleman, Stanford neuroscientist and science communicator, explores the next 25 years of brain science. He discusses AI boosting thinking, in-home monitoring and robots for early dementia detection, nanorobotics and brain read/write interfaces, psychedelics and ethics, and whether consciousness or memory uploading could ever be recreated.