Works in Progress

Works in Progress is an innovative online magazine focused on presenting fresh ideas and narratives about progress. It showcases original content from some of the most intriguing minds globally. This initiative is supported by a grant from Emergent Ventures.

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How to write for Works in Progress

2 weeks ago | worksinprogress.co | Pieter Garicano

We’re looking for new authors and article pitches. We are interested in a wide range of article types. Some of our best articles have been journalism about breakthroughs in science and technology, like Stephan Guyenet’s early piece on the effectiveness of GLP-1 agonists like semaglutide, and Hiawatha Bray’s on the many uses for silk. One of our pieces is a ‘how to’ – Nan Ransohoff’s guide to creating an advance market commitment.
King of fruits - Works in Progress

1 month ago | worksinprogress.co | Ruxandra Teslo |Samuel Watling |Étienne Fortier-Dubois

In 2020, an odd food product hit the shelves of North American supermarkets, courtesy of the agrofood company Del Monte. It was a new type of pineapple, called the ‘Pinkglow’, notable for the color of its flesh: not the typical yellow, but a striking pink. It retailed for US$49, ten or twenty times as much as a regular pineapple. The hefty price tag was justified by the Pinkglow’s long development time. Del Monte claims it spent 16 years genetically engineering it.
Why housing shortages cause homelessness

Dec 5, 2024 | worksinprogress.co | Ben Hopkinson |Virginia Postrel |Niko McCarty |Xander Balwit

24 Mins Why do high-cost cities have more homelessness? It’s not just about rents — it’s also about the rooms friends and family can’t afford to share. Diona’s mom gave her one week’s notice. There were too many kids and too little space. If 17-year-old Diona didn’t find someone to stay with, she would be forced to check herself and her 3-month-old son into a homeless shelter. Because she was a minor, doing so would put her baby ‘into the system’. She was determined not to let that happen.
How big data created the modern dairy cow

Dec 5, 2024 | worksinprogress.co | Salim Furth |Ben Hopkinson |Virginia Postrel |Jared Hutchins

25 Mins What do cryogenics, butterfat tests, and genetic data have in common? They’re some of the reasons behind the world’s most productive dairy cows. Here’s how it all started. No matter where you are in the world, there’s a good chance the milk or cheese you’re buying is the product of the US dairy industry. Even if it didn’t come from American cattle, the cow that produced the milk could well have been inseminated by an American bull.
The world of tomorrow

Dec 5, 2024 | worksinprogress.co | Salim Furth |Ben Hopkinson |Niko McCarty |Xander Balwit

31 Mins When the future arrived, it felt… ordinary. What happened to the glamour of tomorrow? Progress used to be glamorous. For the first two thirds of the twentieth-century, the terms modern, future, and world of tomorrow shimmered with promise. Glamour is more than a synonym for fashion or celebrity, although these things can certainly be glamorous. So can a holiday resort, a city, or a career. The military can be glamorous, as can technology, science, or the religious life.
How the war on drunk driving was won

May 17, 2024 | worksinprogress.co | Anya Martin |Ben Adler |Samuel Hughes |Nick Cowen

Issue 15Spotlight Article37 Mins Deterrence alone might not stop crime. But, as the campaign against drunk driving shows, it could help create the norms that do. My grandfather, an Essex doctor in general practice, was a pillar of his local community. An anxious and conscientious man, he was the kind of doctor who would visit unwell patients late into the night just to check their cases had not deteriorated into emergencies. His wife, my grandmother, was a magistrate.
The entrepreneurial state

Nov 15, 2023 | worksinprogress.co | Mano Majumdar |Ulkar Aghayeva |Tom Ough |David Schonholzer

Words by18 Mins War is hell. But by allowing more effective states to rule productive regions, it may have been a catalyst for Europe’s early modern advancement. One of the most fundamental facts of life is that where you are born is a huge determinant of how your life will turn out. Someone’s chance of leading an economically secure life is vastly higher if they happen to be born in Zurich, Seattle, or Kyoto rather than Mumbai, Nairobi, or Caracas.
Watt lies beneath

Nov 15, 2023 | worksinprogress.co | Mano Majumdar |Ulkar Aghayeva |David Schonholzer |Tom Ough

27 Mins The earth’s core is hot. So hot, that if we drilled deep enough, we could power the world millions of times over with cheap, clean energy, supporting renewables when the wind isn’t blowing and the sun isn’t shining. But getting there is tough. The deepest hole humanity has ever dug is the Kola Superdeep Borehole.
The cocktail revolution

Nov 15, 2023 | worksinprogress.co | Mano Majumdar |Ulkar Aghayeva |David Schonholzer |Peter Suderman

16 Mins Cocktails aren’t what they used to be – and that’s a good thing. The search for fresher and more novel ingredients from ever further afield continues to revolutionize mixology for the better. If you’ve sidled up to bars over the past decade or two, you’ve probably noticed a change. Gone are the days of boat-sized, vaguely fruity concoctions listed out on a menu of x-tinis; of haphazardly made Old-Fashioneds topped with club soda and what might as well be a complete fruit salad.
Waking up science’s sleeping beauties

Nov 15, 2023 | worksinprogress.co | Mano Majumdar |David Schonholzer |Tom Ough |Ulkar Aghayeva

15 Mins Many scientific papers receive little attention initially but become highly cited years later. What groundbreaking discoveries might have already been made, and how can we uncover them faster? The scientific literature is vast. No individual human can fully know all the published research findings, even within a single field of science.