PopTech Videos: PopCasts

Inventor, engineer and MacArthur Genius Grant-winner, Saul Griffith thought he was an eco-prude until he audited his total power consumption and learned he burns three times the energy as the average European. So, he developed Wattzon.com, a free, online tool we can use to gauge our energy footprints and learn how to reduce our roles in climate change.

Imogen Heap is an ethereal, Grammy-nominated, electronic chanteuse. Bear witness to her powers of improvisation and see her perform the global smash hit “Hide and Seek” live on the Pop!Tech stage.

Chandler Burr was the New York Times’ first-ever fragrance critic. His knowledge of the history, culture, emotion, economics, science and global geography of scent may be unrivaled. Come along with Chandler as he leads the Camden Opera House on an interactive, hyper-articulate and hilarious olfactory journey.

You might think that genetically engineered agriculture and organic farming are diametrically opposed, but Pamela Ronald – chair of the Plant Genomics Program at UC Davis – argues the two go together like peanut butter and chocolate. In this informative Pop!Tech talk, Ronald describes how marrying organic farming techniques with G.E. crops holds the potential to help solve the impending global food crisis.

Internet guru Clay Shirky presents the chaos of the Web in stunningly clear terms, documenting what a “spontaneously, self-assembling, online philanthropic venture” tells us about human motivation. He explains “designing for generosity,” and what we can learn about it from the Josh Groban Foundation, Napster and a top online mobile phone forum.

Author of the striking book “The Big Sort: Why the clustering of like-minded America is tearing us apart,” Bishop is ringing an alarm bell on the country’s self-imposed “way-of-life segregation.” Here he details the increasing polarization of American communities and the corresponding impact on American culture, politics, economy and potential.

Rapidly-rising, uncategorizeable cellist Rufus Cappadocia performs on the PopTech stage.

The only conductor to ever lead the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, Zander is a prophet of human potential and an unrivaled champion of joie de vivre. Watch as he helps unlock the boundless potential of a 15 year old cellist and teaches the entire PopTech audience what it means to live in a world of possibility.

The legendary Stefan Sagmeister calls Bantjes "one of the most innovative typographers working today,” but on the PopTech stage she eclipsed that lofty praise, marrying poignant personal stories with visually stunning design. Prepare to be wowed as Marian holds forth on the infinity of inspiration and the inherent wonder in cathedrals, neurons, love letters…and cake.

A signature program of the PopTech Accelerator, Project Masiluleke, harnesses the power of mobile devices to help reverse South Africa’s crippling HIV/AIDS and TB crises. Partners from frog design, iTeach and the Praekelt Foundation discuss the program’s breakthrough approach, which endeavors to connect millions to testing and care.

Journalist, author and former pirate radio DJ Matt Mason argues that if you can’t stop the pirates – and you can’t – you should figure out how to out-compete them (like Apple did). Mason is an ardent believer that where there’s piracy, there’s market failure – and a big opportunity for organizations smart enough to understand that “you should talk to marketing before you talk to legal.”

Pop sociologist and best-selling author Malcolm Gladwell has honed in on a profound new question: what separates extraordinary and average people? Discussing findings from his much-anticipated book “Outliers,” Gladwell details how we’re squandering human potential everywhere from the football field to the classroom – and what we can do to change it.

Zainab Salbi, co-founder and president of Women for Women International, gives a voice to what she calls the “backline” of war—the often unheard and ignored experiences of women and their efforts to survive the terrifying consequences of the frontline.

Through a series of chemical reactions and a re-imagining of intellectual property practices, Jay Keasling and his partners at One World Health expect to have effective, affordable malaria pills in the hands of African children in a few years. Inspired? There’s more. Watch as Keasling describes the boundless possibilities of metabolic engineering and non-profit biotechnology.

Bill Shannon dances — on four legs. Born with a bilateral hip deformity, this ingenious performance artist’s work will challenge your notions of disability.