Stephen Petranek

Technology forecaster

Stephen Petranek untangles emerging technologies to predict which will become fixtures of our future lives — and which could potentially save them.

Why you should listen

Writer and technologist Stephen Petranek became a reluctant doomsayer when his earliest TED Talk (“10 ways the world could end”) racked up 1.5 million views. But Petranek is in fact an optimist who believes that humanity will escape its predicaments -- literally. Within a century, he predicts that humans will have established a city of 80,000 on Mars: and that not only is that plausible, but it’s also inevitable.

Petranek is the editor-in-chief of the Breakthrough Technology Alert, a technology newsletter that ties scientific breakthroughs to investment opportunities. He's the author of the TED Book How We'll Live on Mars.

Stephen Petranek’s TED talks

29:25

Stephen Petranek

10 ways the world could end

Posted Sep 2007

17:01

Stephen Petranek

Your kids might live on Mars. Here's how they'll survive

Posted Apr 2016

More news and ideas from Stephen Petranek

Science

The most important star we’ve ever looked at (so far)

March 6, 2017

The strange behavior of Tabby’s Star, or KIC 8462852, has inspired modern astronomy’s wildest guessing game, with explanations ranging from aliens to sunspots. Writer Stephen Petranek got Tabby herself to assess the competing ideas.

Tech

Why The Martian’s Andy Weir loves Mars — but doesn’t want to go there

October 1, 2015

People are obsessed with Mars. But ... why? Two confessed super-fans, Andy Weir, author of "The Martian," and Stephen Petranek, author of "How We'll Live on Mars," share thoughts on why being Mars-mad is a reasonable state of mind.

Science

Book excerpt: How we’ll live on Mars

July 9, 2015

Author Stephen Petranek makes the case that humans will live on Mars in the not-too-distant future. He explains how and when this might happen -- and what risks those who head there first might face.