AMA: Matt Clancy, Open Philanthropy

By Matt Clancy

Matt Clancy will be joining us for an AMA beginning Monday, February 13 until Wednesday, February 15. Matt is an economist specializing in science and innovation, currently working for Open Philanthropy. He previously worked at the Institute for Progress, and authors New Things Under the Sun. Get your questions in!

A Cure for My Cancer

By Virginia Postrel

Through a heartfelt accounting of her own battle with Her2+ breast cancer, now cured, Virginia enlightens us on the life-saving effects of Herceptin. The research for this drug was financed through the personal philanthropy of Ronald Perelman, owner of Revlon. Yet the bureaucracy of financing such a breakthrough via traditional science funding would have taken years, and resulted in a “Rose Bowl full of dead women”.

The Rise of Steel - Part I

by Brian Potter

Brian begins his multi-part elaboration on the foundational importance of steel to industrial progress. Steel is a cornerstone of modern life and the material processes that support and uphold it, and its recent development from iron is crucial to understanding the capacities of modern nations and societies.

Wanted: Technical Animator for Interactive Diagrams of Invention

By Jason Crawford

A call to digital animators: Jason and historian Anton Howes seek animators to build explorable explanatory diagrams on the history of the steam engine. If you are interested, please visit the post for full details, and email explorables@rootsofprogress.org if you think you are a good fit.