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New Foundations:
Stories of Innovation

New Foundations is a podcast from Economist Impact, supported by Pictet Wealth Management. We explore technological breakthroughs and bold ideas with the potential to bring about radical social, environmental and economic change — and look at the forces, and the actors, that will accelerate, slow down and shape that change. Season two now airing.

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Episode 1:A quantum leap for healthcare?

Quantum computers, which harness the peculiar and counter-intuitive properties of the quantum world, promise to usher in a step change in computing power that could transform our world. In this episode, we’ll be investigating what quantum computers might be capable of by looking at one promising area of its potential application: drug discovery and development. We explore with quantum computing expert Shohini Ghose and quantum entrepreneurs Pete Shadbolt and Robert Marino.
This episode is supported by Pictet Wealth Management and includes additional commentary from, head of macroeconomic research, Frederik Ducrozet.

Quantum computing has the potential to put us into a totally different regime in terms of being able to design and predict the properties of molecules, materials, physics, chemistry without having to do huge amounts of trial and error.Pete Shadbolt, chief strategy officer, PsiQuantum

Once an industry has fully integrated quantum computing, it will dramatically increase research and development, supply chain, but also crucially make these processes more sustainable.Frederik Ducrozet, head of macroeconomic research, Pictet Wealth Management

Despite the investments, novelties, and breakthroughs in developing drugs, the process is still very expensive and very long… quantum computers may solve major problems. Robert Marino, chief executive officer at Qubit Pharmaceuticals

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Episode 2:Can desalination counter the drought?

Half the world’s population could be living in areas facing water scarcity by as early as 2025. One solution to our water woes would be to turn our global abundance of salt water into clean, safe drinkable water. But in practice it has so far proved to be difficult to do in a way that is cheap, scalable and energy-efficient. Are things beginning to change? In this episode we’re looking at how leaps in desalination technology could help us address global water shortages and deliver universal access to safe, clean drinking water, sustainably. We investigate with water and desalination experts Will Sarni, Qilin Li, and Louise Bleach.
This episode is supported by Pictet Wealth Management and includes additional commentary from, head of ESG, Rosa Sangiorgio.

Water has always been a critical resource issue for economic development, business growth, ecosystem health and social well-being.Will Sarni, founder and chief executive, Water Foundry

The potential mismatch between decreasing water supply and increasing water demand could be accounting for around 45% of economic growth risk by 2050.Rosa Sangiorgio, head of ESG at Pictet Wealth Management

There is a lack of planning and a lack of recognition that we are going to be in this state for a very long time. We really need to plan fully for the situations that may be coming at us in the future. Qilin Li, associate director of the Nanotechnology Enabled Water Treatment Centre (NEWT) at Rice University

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Episode 3:How wearable tech is disrupting medicine

The market for smartwatches, wristband fitness monitors, smart rings and other wearable health trackers is booming. But could these devices and the data they capture actually transform healthcare? In this episode, we size up the potential of wearables to generate medical breakthroughs and even change how healthcare is delivered. We explore with Tom Hale, chief executive of Oura Health, and wearable tech researchers Jessilyn Dunn, Stephen Friend and Leo Wolansky.
This episode is supported by Pictet Wealth Management and includes additional commentary from Alexandre Tavazzi, Pictet’s head of CIO office and macro research.

We actually can see that somebody is coming down with an infection before they themselves know that they're sick. The implications of that are huge. Jessilyn Dunn, Duke University

With more than 20% of GDP spent towards healthcare in the US, there’s a significant room for cost savings by better treating diseases, and by improving screening and prevention. Alexandre Tavazzi, head of CIO office & macro research, Pictet Wealth Management

Should people share their data in sufficient quantity, we can start to see changes in population health at the earliest state possible and thus hasten the pace at which we can respond.Leo Wolansky, Rockefeller Foundation

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Episode 4:Internet everywhere

Some 3.5 billion people lack access to reliable, high-quality connectivity. But the race to connect the entire planet to the internet is gathering pace. Tech titans are backing megaconstellations of low-orbit satellites to envelop the earth's surface, and several enormous, continent-spanning undersea internet cables promise a big boost to African and Asian connectivity over the next year. Are these efforts enough to ensure universal and access to all? We explore with Teddy Woodhouse from the Alliance for Affordable Internet, Peter Micek from Access Now, Lourdes Montenegro of The World Benchmarking Alliance and Isfandiyar Shaheen, founder of Net Equity.
This episode is supported by Pictet Wealth Management and includes additional commentary from Christopher Seilern, senior financial analyst at Pictet.

Everyone should have access to this technology and everyone should have access on affordable terms. Teddy Woodhouse

What we’re so far witnessing is a massive shift in market share, and probably fewer increases in market growth. In Layman’s terms, that looks like economic efficiency more than it does economic growth. Christopher Seilern, senior financial analyst, Pictet Wealth Management

Lack of basic access to the internet is increasing not just economic inequality, but gender inequality. Peter Micek

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Episode 5:How brain-computer interfaces could change humanity

The ability to control machines with just our minds is the well-worn stuff of science fiction. But science and engineering advances in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have rapidly brought these fantastical ideas into the realm of science fact, with remarkable implications—allowing, for instance, paralysed patients to regain control of their limbs and communicate just by thinking. In this week's episode, we ask whether we’re at a turning point for BCIs, explore what the next decade looks like for medical and consumer applications, and how we can responsibly shape the technology’s development. Featuring Ian Burkhart, BCI pioneer, Florian Solzbacher, co-founder of Blackrock Neurotech, Rajesh Rao, professor of computer science at the University of Washington, and Nicholas Opie, founder of Synchron.
This episode is sponsored by Pictet Wealth Management and includes additional commentary from Adrien Brossard, senior healthcare analyst.

We have people driving vehicles and they are a quarter to three quarters of a second faster in their reflexes than the able-bodied person next to them. Florian Solzbacher, Blackrock Neurotech

The biggest challenge for the healthcare sector is to improve medical outcomes while at the same time limiting costs. There are many remaining unmet medical needs, and the only way to answer them is through further investment in research and technology. Adrien Brossard, senior healthcare analyst, Pictet Wealth Management

The technology is moving ahead, but we have a responsibility to start talking about the potential implications for human society. Rajesh Rao, University of Washington

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Episode 6:Can green hydrogen clean up heavy industry?

For decades, hydrogen has been hailed as a critical fuel of the future—a cleaner alternative to the fossil fuels which power heavy industry, our transport and our homes.
Cheaper renewable energy has begun to make “green” hydrogen production more competitive, and innovative ways to use the fuel are emerging too. So is the latest hype around hydrogen justified? What role will it play in powering our clean-energy future? Who will make it, how and for what?
We explore what is to come with green hydrogen entrepreneur Raffi Garabedian, industry analyst Meredith Annex from BloombergNEF and Martin Pei, chief technical officer at steelmaker SSAB.
This episode is supported by Pictet Wealth Management and includes additional commentary from César Pérez Ruiz, CIO and head of investments at Pictet.

Hydrogen is the technologically convenient and cost-effective solution to decarbonise a broad swath of industrial sectors that use energy or feedstocks that are carbon-based today. Raffi Garabedian, Electric Hydrogen

The technology behind hydrogen is already there. In 2022, there are proposals for 680 large-scale hydrogen projects - that’s the equivalent of $240bn of direct investments through 2030. Yet only about 10% of those have reached a final investment decision. César Pérez Ruiz, CEO and head of investments, Pictet Wealth Management

One of the biggest dangers with the hype around hydrogen right now is that we assume it’s a silver bullet for everything. That’s not the right way to think about hydrogen. Meredith Annex, BloombergNEF

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