Hannah Ritchie: The Future Is Not Bleak

Game maker and developer Neal Agarwal runs the website neal.fun, where you can play experiences he’s created. Spend Bill Gates’s money, explore the deep ocean, or create a password that fits increasingly infuriating requirements. Neal and Hank talk about what the web is for, why most of Neal’s ideas come from childhood, and how, in a world of apps, Neal is carving out his own space on the internet. Plus, what’s Neal’s next big idea?Play Neal's games at neal.funGot a question or a comment? You can reach us at [email protected] us on social media @humanswithhank

Dr. Joia Mukherjee is a public health and infectious disease specialist. She’s worked for Partners In Health for over 25 years, where she helps deliver medical care to the poorest nations. Joia and Hank talk about how inequity leaves many people sick, why market forces fail most people, and whether we’re prepared for another pandemic (spoiler: we’re not). Plus, what bacteria would you find in a hippo bite?

Chris La Tray is an Anishinaabe/Métis storyteller and Montana’s former poet laureate. He’s also a citizen of the Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indian. He and Hank talk about his memoir Becoming Little Shell, and what it’s like to realize you’re from a tribe not recognized by the U.S. government; how he was gifted a quest; why he despises being an American; and how convenience isn’t progress. Plus, the Ojibwe word for chickadee is probably the best thing you’ll hear all day.Chris's Substack is An Irritable Métis: https://chrislatray.substack.com/

Kal McRaven, known as FunkyFrogBait, is a YouTuber with more than 3 million followers who makes video essays calling out some of the internet’s worst trends. They talk with Hank about their homeschooling and evangelical Christian upbringing, why they incorporate humor when describing upsetting things, and if what they make is real journalism. Plus, how sometimes you have to let the Jenga tower fall to reconstruct your life. You can find Kal on social media @funkyfrogbaitGot a question or a comment? You can reach us at [email protected] us on social media @humanswithhank

Jennifer Sciubba is a political demographer and the president and CEO of the Population Reference Bureau, so she’s a pretty good authority on what global data says about falling fertility rates (news flash: they are!). She and Hank talk about why predictions beyond 30 years are just for play, whether we’re reproducing ourselves in other ways apart from procreation, the problems that arise when you have fewer humans, and the dangers of trying to control fertility rates. 

Comedian Gianmarco Soresi thinks the plot of Black Swan — the perfect performance followed by death — is a beautiful end to life. He talks with Hank about how comedy is like building a table when the ruler is always changing, how he strives to be Mozart but is more like Salieri, and how he thinks Trump uses comedy to push his political agenda. Plus, what happened when Gianmarco was booked for an 85-year-old’s birthday party?You can find Gianmarco on social media @gianmarcosoresiGot a question or a comment? You can reach us at [email protected] us on social media @humanswithhank

Tessa Violet is a singer-songwriter and former YouTuber whose new album, There Will Be Joy, is a meditation on internal growth. Tessa and Hank talk about their long friendship, what it’s like to go viral in Russian under dubious circumstances, and how Tessa’s experimentation with psychedelics changed her life. There Will Be Joy will be out in its entirety in January 2027. You can find Tessa on social media @tessaviolet. For upcoming announcements from the singer, sign up here: https://laylo.com/tessavioletGot a question or a comment? You can reach us at [email protected] us on social media @humanswithhank

Ted Dintersmith is a Stanford engineering Ph.D., a successful venture capitalist, and now a committed math reformer. Hank and Ted talk about why questions are more important than answers, how AI is going to impact education, and Ted’s book Aftermath: The Life-Changing Math That Schools Won’t Teach You. Got a question or a comment? You can reach us at [email protected] us on social media @humanswithhank

T-Pain is a Grammy-winning artist, songwriter, and music producer. These days he produces music while streaming live on Twitch so that people can see exactly how human his process is. On this episode, T-Pain and Hank talk about the pain of success, what happened to his career when AutoTune got cancelled, and why it's key to just let it go. Plus, Hank shares his love for “Shawty Get Loose.”Got a question or a comment? You can reach us at [email protected] us on social media @humanswithhankFind T-Pain on Twitch @TPain

Hannah Ritchie is a data scientist, author, and deputy editor of Our World in Data — and she's convinced the world is making more progress than the headlines show. Hannah and Hank talk about why incremental change is good but not sexy, a few of the 50 climate questions she tackles in her new book Clearing the Air, and why cement, of all things, has her the most excited.Got a question or a comment? You can reach us at [email protected] us on social media @humanswithhankFind Hannah Ritchie on her Substack By the Numbers