The Engine of Progress
The Engine of Progress
Exploring the people and ideas driving humanity forward.
By nearly all measures, humanity is better off today than at any other time in history — but the path to this moment was anything but smooth. In this special issue, we examine the nature of progress: what nurtures it, what stifles it, and what we can do to shape it more deliberately in the years ahead. Inside, futurist Peter Leyden makes the case that we’re entering a new Progressive Era. Boom Supersonic CEO Blake Scholl examines the role of government in creating enduring progress. And six fellows from the Roots of Progress Institute take us to ground zero of the modern progress movement: Progress Conference 2025. We hope you enjoy.
An introduction to “The Engine of Progress” from Jason Crawford, founder of the Roots of Progress Institute.
Jason Crawford is the founder of The Roots of Progress, where he writes and speaks about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress. He is also the creator[…]
Dispatches
At the foundation of America’s progress movement are immigrants who still believe this country can build.
Afra Wang writes Concurrent, a newsletter exploring the parallel and colliding tech and cultural currents shaping Silicon Valley, China, and beyond.
From treating specific diseases to targeting aging itself, Progress Conference 2025 explored the many routes to extending life.
Dr. Laura Mazer is a board-certified surgeon who transitioned to a career as a full-time educator. She now writes at the intersection of history and medical science, exploring how new[…]
To build a better world, we first have to understand how change actually happens.
Jeff Fong is a writer, technologist, and housing activist. He serves as National Board Chair at YIMBY Action, an organization pushing for more houses.
All of us — from technologists to policy wonks to storytellers — are contributing in our own way to the grand project of human progress.
Founder, Roots of Progress
With new labs, funding models, and institutions, metascience is reinventing the machinery of discovery.
Smrithi Sunil is a neuroscientist and biomedical engineer who writes about scientific progress and the process of discovery.
To turn technical breakthroughs into real-world change, AI must overcome the friction of politics, policy, and human institutions.
Anton Leicht writes and works on AI, political economy, and geopolitics. You can find his writing on Substack at Threading the Needle.
Barriers to energy abundance — and how to overcome them — were front and center at Progress Conference 2025.
Grant Mulligan is a writer, investor, and conservationist. You can find his writing on Substack at Progress Accumulation.
Perspectives
Before we can build the future, we have to imagine it.
by
The progress community’s refusal to apologize for wanting to build is deeply liberating.
Government-spec’d glory projects produce tech demos. Enduring progress demands a better way forward.
Blake Scholl founded Boom Supersonic with the goal of making high-speed travel mainstream and enabling a new world of human connection.
The case that a bipartisan movement structured around progress and reform may be reaching critical mass.
Peter Leyden is a longtime tech expert and thought leader on the future. He came to San Francisco to work with the founders of WIRED magazine at the beginning of[…]
“People got skeptical, fearful, doubtful of the very idea of progress in the 20th century and we allowed that to slow down progress itself.”
Jason Crawford is the founder of The Roots of Progress, where he writes and speaks about the history of technology and the philosophy of progress. He is also the creator[…]
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History shows that progress often depends on activists at both ends of the spectrum.
Jonny Thomson taught philosophy in Oxford for more than a decade before turning to writing full-time. He’s a columnist at Big Think and is the award-winning, bestselling author of three[…]
Common law has long balanced innovation and accountability. Can it do the same for AI?
Dean Woodley Ball is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and author of the AI-focused newsletter Hyperdimensional.
These expert-recommended books reveal how big ideas can shape — and sometimes redefine — human progress.
Jasna Hodžić, PhD, is a former plant ecologist and researcher turned science writer and editor.
Progress depends not only on technology and institutions, but also on our feelings about the future.
Jennifer Pahlka, author and Code for America founder, on what comes after Elon Musk’s failed attempt at government efficiency — and how we can modernize federal agencies to improve people’s lives.
Preindustrial life wasn’t simple or serene — it was filthy, violent, and short. The Industrial Revolution was imperfect, but it was progress.
Chelsea Follett is the managing editor of HumanProgress.org and a policy analyst at the Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity at the Cato Institute.
Real progress demands rules built for uncertainty — not for the few innovations dominating today’s tech landscape.
Christian Keil is the Vice President of External Relations at Astranis and previously served as a management consultant at Deloitte.
The case for robotaxis on the water.
Sampriti Bhattacharyya is the founder and CEO of Navier, a next generation company creating zero-emission marine vessels.