The Future Perfect 25

The Yale economist has spent his career seeking out what’s most effective in helping the poor.

A third of suicides are due to pesticide consumption. The Center for Pesticide Suicide Prevention has a plan to prevent them.

The CEO of Evidence Action is disrupting international development by finding low-cost solutions to widespread problems.

The journalist is covering the role that the world’s largest carbon emitter plays in the climate fight.

The Lead Exposure Elimination Project is already getting results in countries where lead-based paint is still used.

Wegrzyn is the first head of the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, which aims to generate game-changing advances in medicine.

From the return of nuclear war to the danger of AI weapons, Tegmark is tackling humanity’s greatest threats.

The Princeton economist is using innovative techniques to explore how immigration has changed the world.

Protecting those who have been left behind by industrialization.

Millions rely on foreign aid and antipoverty programs. Economist Rachel Glennerster measures their impact and ensures that if they don’t work now, they will later.

The thinker fueling the growing progress studies movement.

Scientists, investors, and entrepreneurs want in on the meat-free revolution. Specht has been there to guide them — and accelerate the whole field.

She survived the bombing of Hiroshima — and has spent her life campaigning against atomic weapons.

Employing cryptography to ensure that CRISPR is used for good.

Figuring out what practical economic policies could make life better for women.

Xue and the China Plant Based Foods Alliance have built support for alternative meat production across China.

Roser’s project, Our World In Data, provides free, digestible data visualizations contextualizing the world’s biggest problems — and the progress humanity has made.

Robinson gives readers grounded sci-fi with a soaring spirit.

Transparency, accessibility, and understandable analyses are all ways this researcher delivers science to the masses.

The European Union could ban cages for farm animals as soon as 2027. It’s the culmination of decades of strategic campaigning and coalition-building.

The Breakthrough Institute co-founder helped lay the intellectual foundation for a more effective approach to fighting climate change.

From kidney donations to human challenge trials for Covid-19 vaccines, Josh Morrison shows the vast good any individual can do.

From mastering games to decoding proteins, Hassabis is shepherding the next generation of artificial intelligence.

The columnist and academic offered smart insights and actionable advice during the pandemic.

Now the Nobel-winning biochemist wants to ensure her invention is used ethically.

The economist has conducted and popularized research that can help break our policy deadlocks on guns and crime.

For meat alternatives to take off, we don’t just need startups — we need more research and new structures to advance the field.