Create the Future

First described in sci-fi writing in the '50s, the revolutionary dream of 3D printing became a basic reality in the 1980s. One field that is truly has transformed today is that of assistive tech and prosthetics.Host Roma Agrawal is joined by:Willy Allègre, biomedical R&D engineer at Electronic Lab of Kerpape Rehabilitation Center.Enzo Romero, inventor and researcher building prosthetics that incorporate haptic feedback.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find podcast transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.The 2025 Create the Trophy Competition is now open! The competition gives young people aged 14-24 the opportunity to get involved, testing their design skills using the latest in 3D-design technology. 

Super shoes are reshaping distance running. Thanks to innovative materials and construction, this new type of footwear is engineered to help runners go quicker with less effort. So how fast can we go in the future? And is it cheating?!Ready? Set ... Go! Host Roma Agrawal races through a fascinating conversation with:Jared Ward, long distance runner, Olympian, and BYU professor.Wouter Hoogkamer, researcher at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, who studies human locomotion and biomechanics.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find podcast transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.

Stronger than steel, more robust than concrete, more flexible than wood? Is bamboo the construction industry's new miracle material. And do bamboo buildings really perform better in earthquakes?Host George Imafidon constructs a fascinating conversation with Seb Kaminski, a structural engineering specialising in bamboo and seismic design.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find episode transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.

How might flocks of birds, nests of ants, and swarms of bees influence the future behaviour and self-organisation of robots? Welcome to the world of swarm engineering, where sci-fi meets bio-mimicry.George Imafidon hosts a soaring conversation with Dr. Razanne Abu-Aisheh, a robot swarms expert from Bristol University.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find episode transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.

Robotic spacecrafts? Manned missions to Mars? Affordable tourist trips to the stars? New life found? What is the likely future of space flight?Host Guru Madhavan pilots a soaring, speculative conversation with:Charles F. Bolden Jr., who in 2009 was appointed NASA Administrator by President Obama, making him only the second astronaut to hold that position.Professor Dava Newman, aerospace engineer, director of the MIT Media Lab, and holder of the Apollo Program Professor of Astronautics chair at MIT.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find podcast transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.

Could the creation of reversible glue unlock a new future for the way we recycle plastic bottles and their labels?Host George Imafidon gets stuck into a sticky conversation about glue with:Professor Mark Geoghegan, Roland Cookson Professor of Engineering Materials at Newcastle UniversityDr Adriana Sierra Romero, a nanotechnologist with a focus on polymer and polymer nanocompositesNew episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find episode transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.

Cement production creates around 7% of man-made carbon emissions. Meanwhile, in the UK crumbling concrete is forcing schools to close ...So how big a problem is concrete, exactly?! George Imafidon gets in the mixer to discuss it with:Prof. Kevin Paine, Director of the Centre for Climate Adaptation and Environment Research at the University of Bath, focussing on the development of smart and innovative concrete technology.Dr Cyrille Dunant, Principal Research Associate at the University of Cambridge, working on zero emissions cement.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find episode transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.

The way we make music is changing. AI songs are everywhere - even The Beatles used the technology last year. So what does a digitised, computerised future mean for the fate of artists and their acoustic instruments?Episode host Anna Ploszajski - a materials scientist and keen trumpeter - faces the music with:Lex Dromgoole, audio engineer & CEO of Bronze AI.Tom Fox, instrument maker, music hacker, & creative director of Hackoustic.New episodes - conversations about how to rebuild the world better - every other Friday.Find podcast transcripts on our website.Follow @QEPrize on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for more.