Wonderland Podcast With Steven Johnson

In the final episode of the season, we explore ornamentation, the non-medical application of a device made with gold leaf, and how the MIT Media Lab stays creative. Special guests: Joi Ito, Director of the MIT Media Lab, and Cindy Hsin-Liu Kao, a Ph.D. at the Media Lab working on the DuoSkin project in collaboration with Microsoft Research.

An investigation into one of humanity's oldest and most ubiquitous inventions: the ball. From Egyptian rituals to the birth of the rubber industry to new digital balls that can be controlled by software programs, the ball has played a surprisingly transformative role in society. Special guests: John Fox, author of The Ball: Discovering the Object of the Game, and Melissa Coleman of Hackaball.

An exploration of the cultural shift that began with a leisure space of idle chatter and led to some of our most productive modern work environments being deliberately designed to make space for play. With special guests Matt Haughey of Slack and MetaFilter, Audrea Hooper of Zappos, and Andrew Sinkov and the conference rooms of Etsy HQ.

From the thrilling story of the Pepper Wreck and its salvage to the strange tale of a 12 year old slave who solved the riddle that changed the global footprint of the vanilla trade forever, a look at how playful spices remade the map of the world with special guests Filipe Vieira de Castro and Patricia Rain.

A look into how games and childhood play encourage the kind of adaptive, flexible thinking we need to navigate a complex world. Special guests: Alison Gopnik, Shawn Green, Daniel Chao, and Asi Burak.

An investigation into the surprising history of games designed to change our political values, from the radical origins of Monopoly to a brand-new spin on Pokémon GO created to mobilize swing state voters in the 2016 presidential campaign. Special guests: Jane McGonigal, Mary Pilon, and Asi Burak.

An exploration of the power of play, from screen-based games like Pokemon Go or Minecraft, to the imaginative worlds of children inventing playgrounds out of everyday life, with special guests Alison Gopnik, professor at Berkeley and author of The Gardener and the Carpenter, Youngna Park, head of product at Tinybop, Clive Thompson, journalist and author of Smarter Than You Think, and Ian Bogost, philosopher and video game designer.

A mysterious stranger in San Francisco's Union Square helps jumpstart a sonic revolution with a malfunctioning tape recorder. The story of how experimental sounds become part of the musical mainstream, with special guests Brian Eno, Alex Ross, Caroline Shaw, Carla Scaletti, and Antenes.

A look back at the origins of Spacewar!, the first original video game and one of the most influential pieces of software ever written. With special guests Stewart Brand and Spacewar! creator Steve Russell.

An eight-year-old boy's encounter with a robotic toy doll ends up changing the course of technological history. Steven Johnson talks with special guests Ken Goldberg and Kate Darling, as we look at the uncanny world of emotional robotics. What if the dystopian future turns out to be one where the robots conquer humanity with their cuteness?