Top 12 Ideas of 2012
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Stand Up
"Sitting kills you" is one of the refrains we heard often around the office this year. In a series of articles for the New York Times, journalist Gretchen Reynolds made a convincing case for the health benefits of standing and being active. She joined Fresh Air's Terry Gross for a conversation that covered everything from walking to chocolate milk. (Fresh Air, 5/9/2012)
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The Importance of Introverts
Susan Cain's book "Quiet", and her TEDTalk, started a conversation about the importance of introverts in a world--with its emphasis on collaborative work, open office floorplans, and charisma--that has come to favor extroverts. "Solitude is a crucial ingredient for creativity," Cain says, citing some of history's greatest artists and thinkers as having been introverts. (TEDTalks, 3/2/2012)
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Anti-Austerity
Austerity was trumpeted as the necessary cure to Europe's debt crisis, but 2012 saw an increase in opposition among the European populace. In fact our research showed a 236% increase in use of the term "anti-austerity" in the press in 2012. Greek and French citizens voted in new presidents who ran on anti-austerity platforms, and protests against austerity manifested themselves across Europe. The BBC's Steve Evans reported from Berlin. (Marketplace Morning Report, 11/14/2012)
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Open Education
Online education opportunities has been available for years, but 2012 seemed to us a tipping point for the trend with a small group of start-ups taking classes from several of the top universities in the world online. All Things Considered takes a look at the range of offerings available and the students pursuing them—from international aspirants to U.S. senators. (All Things Considered, 9/30/2012)
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Women End Wars
"It is more dangerous to be a woman than a soldier in conflict." UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet cited this quote from a former UN commander in her talk at the London School of Economics and then charted a path to peace and economic development centered around women. This idea found itself all over the media in 2012, reaching its peak with the national broadcast in the U.S. of the documentary film, "Half the Sky." (LSE Talks, 5/11/2011)
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Big Data Elections
Michael Lewis's "Moneyball" was passed around Silicon Valley like a handbook when it came out ten years ago, but it took until 2012 for the data-driven decision making process it champions to make a mark in the political world. Michael Sherer of TIME magazine joined the Marketplace Tech Report to discuss the level to which the Obama campaign used data analysis to allocate resources in battleground states. (Marketplace Tech Report, 11/9/2012)
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Same-Sex Marriage
In May Barack Obama became the first sitting U.S. president to declare his support for same-sex marriage. Later in the year, voters in Maine and Maryland went to the polls to make same-sex marriage legal - becoming the first states to approve the measure by popular vote. (Morning Edition, 5/10/2012)
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Personalized Medicine
Long a dream of researchers and patients, personalized medicine crept into the public consciousness in 2012. Tissue engineer Nina Tandon's TEDTalk oulines the process of making accurate, personalized tissue models from pluripotent stem cells—the possibility of testing drugs on cells that match your own. (TEDTalks, 12/6/2012)
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The Shared Economy
Although Airbnb has been on the ascent for years, 2012 was really the year that the shared economy and collaborative consumption entered the public consciousness. The question we're asking is which industry will this trend affect next? Rachel Botsman addressed the underlying systems of trust on which the idea is based in her TEDTalk from 2012. (TEDTalks, 9/24/2012)
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Is College Worth It?
The recent economic crisis has thrown into question the value of a college degree. However, statistics still suggest vast earning and health advantages associated with having college degrees. Freakonomics Radio asked some recent college graduates and educaton economists to discuss the subject. (Freakonomics Radio, 8/15/2012)
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Having It All
Can women have it all? Can anyone have it all— meaning success in their professional and personal lives? Sheryl Sandberg said yes, Anne Marie Slaughter said maybe not. A debate ignited. The ABC brought together a panel of women from different generations to address the issue. (Radio National Breakfast, 7/5/2012)
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Amnesty for the Undocumented
In August, the Obama administration instituted a deferred action program that allowed undocumented immigrants to remain in the U.S. for two years and apply for work permits. NPR's Ted Robinson spoke to a candidate for the program and discussed its political implications in the election year. (Morning Edition, 8/15/2012)
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