The IdeaList is a newsletter exploring social issues and ideas for making the world a better place.
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I work at an innovation lab for social good
I always stumble over my words when people ask what I do for a living. It’s probably because the name of my organization is such a mouthful. I’m an analyst at the Center for Radical Innovation for Social Change at the University of Chicago. Saying “Center for RISC” isn’t much help because then people think I work in insurance.
RISC is an innovation lab for social good, which means we generate creative ideas to make the world a better place and then we bring those ideas to life in the real world. Our work spans education, foster care, criminal justice, mental health, and more.
If you read our website, you’ll see that our lab is the “brainchild” of Steve Levitt, who you may know as a co-author of Freakonomics or from his podcast “People I (Mostly) Admire.”
This newsletter is about problems and ideas
My day-to-day work involves learning about big social issues and exploring ideas for making the world a better place, so this newsletter will serve as a way for me to share what I’m learning and workshop my thoughts and ideas. In each post, you’ll find:
My detailed thoughts on a big social issue
The Idea List, which explores interesting ideas from around the web
Some parting thoughts on innovation, life, and other stuff
I don’t pretend to know everything; in fact, I’m wrong often and change my opinion all the time. I’m not an expert in any of the issues I write about, but I do have a deep interest in finding creative ways to do good.
Posts reflect my own thoughts based on my understanding of the data and problems at the time of writing, although much of what you’ll read here is inspired by chats with co-workers and articles from other newsletters.
Subscribe if you’re interested in reading about…
Preventing temperature related deaths, drinkable sewage, and edible spoons
Putting fewer kids in foster care, extreme temperatures, and hero rats
Repurposing empty church space, floating cities, and time travel
Relieving burnout in 911 call takers, drilling for energy, and defibrillator drones
Keeping outer space usable, elderly loneliness, and smart toilets
