SHIFT

If you listen to how technologists talk about the AI they’re building, you might hear some words that sound more religious than technical: transcendence, transformation, a new kind of being..? Meanwhile, multiple religious traditions have developed sophisticated frameworks for thinking about what makes something conscious, so while it’s been easy to assume that religion and technology don’t have much to say to each other, what if they actually do? We Meet:  Harvard Berkman Klein Center Fellow DZ Kalman works at the intersection of religion and technology. Credits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

AI is helping turn the dairy supply chain from push to pull, but milk still shows up whether anyone ordered it. Land O’Lakes’ CTO on AI in a business run by animals and weatherWe Meet:  Teddy Bekele is the chief technology officer at Land O'Lakes Credits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

What would you say if someone offered you a taste of a salmon filet that doesn’t contain fish?The protein content, carbs, and even the omega 3s are basically the same, but what it doesn’t contain are things like microplastics and mercury. Join us for a factory tour of a startup called New School Foods for a peek at the next-generation of plant-based protein.This episode originally aired in August 2025.We Meet:  New School Foods CEO Chris BrysonCredits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

As AI blurs the line between creator and machine, the rules around ownership, value, and originality are all being rewritten. This week, we explore what it means for the music industry.This episode was taped before a live audience in Amsterdam at the tech conference HumanX.We Meet:  Ghazi Shami is the Founder and CEO of EmpireAndrea Czapary Martin is the CEO of PRS for MusicCredits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.

As AI moves beyond the screen and into the physical world, the next generation of intelligent products will be defined less by bigger models than by context, trust, and the ability to act. We caught up with renowned industrial designer Robert Brunner at HumanX Amsterdam. Brunner designed a number of products that have gone on to define the way we live with technology, including Apple’s original PowerBook laptop and Beats by Dre. We Meet:  Robert Brunner, Founder & Creative Director of AmmunitionCredits:This episode of SHIFT was produced by Jennifer Strong with help from Emma Cillekens. It was mixed by Garret Lang, with original music from him and Jacob Gorski. Art by Meg Marco.