If you haven’t yet personally witnessed the very odd feeling of driving up to a four-way stop sign only to realize that the vehicle across the street from you has no driver behind the wheel, chances are you will soon enough. Like it or not, autonomous vehicles are coming, and this week on Sea Change Radio we are speaking with Samuel Abuelsamid, an expert on self-driving technology. We take a look back at the evolution of autonomous vehicles, examine the purported “full self-driving mode” offered by Tesla, and discuss some of the sustainability issues surrounding this technology.

The recent Supreme Court ruling Louisiana v. Callais not only eviscerated Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act and allowed states to enact discriminatory maps with impunity, it was also a brutal reminder that despite record low approval ratings for the current president, reversing the negative impacts of this administration will be a big job. This week on Sea Change Radio, we enjoy a wide-ranging political conversation with John Stoehr of The Editorial Board. We discuss why holding Trump administration actors accountable should be a primary short-term goal for Democrats, look at how the illegal US/Israeli war against Iran is a bridge too far for many progressives, and touch upon the upcoming Senate race in Maine between Graham Platner and Susan Collins.

Copper and steel were pivotal to the industrial revolution. But these days, it’s clear that continued reliance on these substances as our key building materials has devastating environmental implications, including habitat destruction from open-pit mining, water toxification from acid mine drainage, and air pollution from sulfur dioxide emissions. Fortunately there’s an emerging array of cutting-edge materials that hold promise for eco-conscious developers. A company named DexMat has developed a material called Galvorn, which is fantastical stuff right out of Spider-Man. This week on Sea Change Radio, we speak with Bryan Guido Hassin, the CEO of the Houston-based DexMat, to learn more about Galvorn. Hassin explains how Galvorn is made, what makes it different from conventional materials, and the many exciting potential applications of this futuristic stuff that could get your radioactive blood pumping.