Build For Tomorrow

The four-day workweek was once just an experiment. Now it’s regular life for many people. So what’s that like? In this episode, we look at the good, …

Do you wish you could predict the future? Not in a street-corner psychic kind of way, but in a more personal, meaningful way. How can you know what’s …

Climate change is described as a “generational battle,” in which young people care and older people don’t. But this is a perfect example of how we …

Who is to blame for people’s poor writing skills? It isn’t texting or tweeting. It’s a fateful decision made in 1875, from which we’ve never …

We like to laugh at lawmakers for their technology ignorance, like when Sen. Richard Blumenthal asked a Facebook executive if she’ll “commit to …

Sex robots?! For decades, people have debated their dangers or called them ridiculous. But what if these bots can actually be a good thing? Here is …

People worry that technology changes our brains. It’s the reason why tech critics talk about dopamine, a chemical that they say turns us into social …

Is everything really political these days? Or has it always been that way?

To answer that, let’s look at the story of knitting. Can anything get …

The most dangerous thing about smartphones, according to critics, is that we're never bored. Boredom is healthy, they say! But history and science may say otherwise. People have spent thousands of years desperately …

You might think you’re bad at talking with strangers. But in fact, you were built to talk to them — and you’re more natural at it than you know. In …

Many people are reminiscing about the things they enjoyed during Covid, which is a surprisingly common thing to happen after bad or challenging times. Why do we do this? Because our memories work in strange, unexpected, …

Are smartphones and social media addictive? Tech critics say yes. But actual addiction researchers say something else — and they point to ways in which our broad use of the word “addiction” can cause real harm. In this …

What was once only available to kings and queens, but that you can do today? The answer: Shocking stuff you've never even thought of. If you ever worry that our world is in decline, this episode can help put that in …

You’ve heard the story: Young people got “participation trophies” as kids, and it taught them to be entitled, lazy workers. But here’s what you …

You can learn a lot from a simple margarita… because when you take one home from a restaurant in America, you’re participating in a change that was hundreds of years in the making. In this episode, we dig deep into how …

We like to say that things were better before. But... what year was that, exactly? Join me on a trip through history, as we return to every supposed …

This podcast was called Pessimists Archive. Now it's called Build For Tomorrow.

Why? Because this show is optimistic — and it needed a name that reflected that. It's the same show you love, now with a name that loves you …

We once knew how to do important things... until new technology made us weaker, lazier, and dumber. That’s a story we’ve told ourselves for …

These feel like historic times… so how can we share our wisdom and experiences with future generations? Turns out, it’s really hard! This episode …

If you’ve ever voted in an election, watched the Bachelor, or worried about the end of days, then you’ve probably fallen for a specific rhetorical trick. In this episode, we explore the history of the phrase “the most …

We have a clear narrative about the 2016 and 2020 election hacking: It’s social media’s fault. But Russia has used the same strategy against America …

The fork isn’t just a tool for eating. It’s also one of the greatest symbols of individualism — a utensil that people opposed for thousands of years, …

People said radio was too addictive... then TV was too addictive... and now smartphones are too addictive! Why does every generation say the same …

What does it take for two different people to find common ground? To answer that, we dig into a nine-year-old mystery. In 2011, two very different …

People are refusing to wear masks during a pandemic. Why? To understand, we rewind to the “Anti-Mask League” of 1919 and to the opposition to seatbelt laws in the 1990s. Then we answer the big question: If people won’t …

Covid-19 has interrupted our world, but it's also likely to improve it. After all, history shows that massive disruption is followed by massive …

People love natural foods and natural products... but what is "natural," really? In this episode, we explore that question by going back to one of the very first times anyone claimed a natural product was better than a …

Today, people complain about self-obsessed millennials. Yesterday, they complained about children celebrating their birthdays. When the birthday …

Do you suffer from automobile face? What about airplane face? Or moving-picture face? These are just some examples from a strange historical pattern: …

The teddy bear: Is it cute and cuddly, or a “horrible monstrosity” that’ll destroy humanity? In 1907, many people feared the worst — that this new …

Vanity was born when the mirror was discovered. That’s what the Chicago Record wrote in 1895, around the time when mirrors became a household item. …

Roads weren't always for cars. In fact, highways were originally built for bikes! And now, as modern cities freak out over e-scooters, it’s worth …

In the 1950s, America declared war on the comic book. People feared that they’d turn children into hardened criminals, and so opponents burned them in large piles, states banned them, and the U.S. Senate investigated …

The elevator has had a lot of ups and downs. (Sorry, sorry.) As the innovation gained popularity in the late 1800s, it had a profound effect on the …

Kids! They’re lazy, narcissistic, and disrespectful -- or so says the older generation. But when you look back through history, you’ll discover that …

Why are new dances always so scandalous? Grinding, freak dancing, swing dancing, rock-n-roll -- each had their opponents. But at the beginning of it …

Today's internet can be a noisy and complicated place, but humanity has seen it all before. In the 1800s, the telegraph triggered many of the same questions and concerns that social media does today — about privacy, …

When chain stores were new, the reaction against them was fierce. Chain stores were accused of destroying democracy, of limiting freedom, of corrupting young people, and of being evil, evil, evil. But in reality, chain …

Today, novels are a wholesome alternative to modern vices. But long before television and video games, novels were the new and scary form of …

“A big humbug” -- that’s how one critic described America’s first subway system. Other opponents were more extreme. It would release dangerous …

This is a story about when a big industry stops competing, and starts trying to pass laws to protect itself instead.

Whatever you think you know of margarine, put that aside. When the spread was first invented in the …

As electricity began to light our world, resistance came from curious corners. “God had decreed that darkness should follow light, and mortals had no …

Pinball was banned from the 1940s to 1970s in many cities across America. New York City’s mayor made a show of bashing pinball machines with a hammer. Church ladies in suburban Chicago went on vigilante raids, ripping …

For 500 years, a succession of kings, sultans, and businessmen have tried to ban or destroy the world’s favorite morning pick-me-up. Among their …

“One might suppose that the popular prejudice against vaccination had died out by this time,” one writer complains. It sounds like a lament from …

For as long as chess has been around — and we’re talking 1,500-plus years — someone has tried to ban it. But why? The answer is complicated, but it begins here: For ages, global and moralistic leaders have viewed games …

When the bicycle debuted in the 1800s, it was blamed for all sorts of problems--from turning people insane to devastating local economies to destroying women's morals. We explore why the bicycle scared so many people, …

National pride can be good... but it can also make you foolish and wet. In the 1750s, a London man took to the streets holding an umbrella—and braved …

When the car began replacing the horse in the early 1900s, pessimists didn't celebrate. They called it "the devil wagon," and said its mission was to destroy the world. We explore why the horseless carriage was so …

In the early 1900s, recorded music was accused of muddling our minds, destroying art, and even harming babies. What was everyone so afraid of? In this episode, we dig into the early days of music and see what the …

We like to say that things were better before. But... when was that, exactly? We go back in time to find out -- exploring every moment that people …

Today's critics say that smartphones separate us. We no longer make the kind of in-person human connections that we once did, they say. Well...

In this episode, take a trip back to the 1980s — when the portable cassette …