Ben Southwood
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Ben Southwood
@bswud.bsky.social
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Founder and editor of Works in Progress magazine.
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Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
Never before have I been as intrigued by a phrase as I was after reading the title "Inflatable space stations"

Super cool new article by @angadh.com on how to create artificial gravity in space 🛞
worksinprogress.co/issue/inflat...
Inflatable space stations - Works in Progress Magazine
If we ever want to live in space, we need to work out a way of creating artificial gravity.
worksinprogress.co
November 21, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
The print edition of Works in Progress is now available in:

• Canada 🇨🇦
• Australia 🇦🇺
• the European Union 🇪🇺 🇮🇪 🇩🇪

Subscribe today for 6 beautiful issues a year. The first edition ships in 2 weeks! 🥳
worksinprogress.co/print/
Print - Works in Progress Magazine
worksinprogress.co
November 4, 2025 at 12:38 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
Write for us!

Here are 26 ideas of articles we'd like to commission.
www.worksinprogress.news/p/more-artic...
Drugs that last for months. A new generation of long-acting drugs like lenacapavir points to a different approach to prevention: take one dose, stay protected for half a year (and possibly more). What are the different ways scientists are designing medicines that last so long in the body, and what trade-offs come with durability? Crafting a universal flu vaccine. Each year, scientists study the strains circulating in the population, predict which will dominate, and reformulate the vaccine to match. When those predictions miss, protection drops, and updating the formulation takes time. Could we create a single vaccine that protects against all forms of influenza? The mosquito we should just get rid of. One mosquito species is responsible for most cases of dengue, Zika, yellow fever, and chikungunya: Aedes aegypti. It thrives in cities, breeding in bottle caps and flower pots, and has adapted perfectly to human life. But now scientists have tools, like gene drives and Wolbachia bacteria, to suppress or even eliminate it. What makes this one mosquito species so harmful to us? How might we eliminate it? Successful pension reforms in recent history. Australia successfully moved its population to a retirement savings plan (‘Superannuation’) in the early 1990s. Silvio Berlusconi’s governments in Italy drove reforms that moved much of the population from ‘defined benefit’ pensions to savings-focused ‘defined contribution’ pensions. What can other states learn from these experiences to reduce their own future retirees’ dependence on working age populations? Heathrow’s surprising efficiency. Europe’s busiest airport desperately needs more physical infrastructure, especially runways. But it is remarkable how well it has done with just the two runways that it has. What has it done to engineer around this constraint? Everyday progress in cosmetic technology. Plastic surgery was once a byword for wealth but many interventions are now commonplace. The frontier seems to be pushing out as well: consider the latest Kardashian facelift or the improvement of hair systems. We want to read a piece on the lack of stagnation in appearance-enhancement, either a case study on a specific procedure or an article on the field overall. Blockers to AI automation. We recently ran a piece on why AI hasn’t replaced radiologists. What are similar stories in other fields? The type of piece we will consider is a detailed case study of capability that already (plausibly) exists, but that has been less impactful than people hoped. We’re not that interested in speculation based on abilities that models may have in the future. Inversely, if there are areas which haven’t been covered well elsewhere where models have been surprisingly effective at displacing humans, feel free to pitch us as well. The land that lived with malaria for millennia. For thousands of years, malaria haunted the Italian peninsula, from the Pontine marshes near Rome to its southern coasts. Then, within a few decades in the mid-20th century, it was eliminated. How did a disease so deeply rooted in Italy’s history disappear so quickly, and what does the story tell us about public health and environmental change? Why does Asia have higher density than Africa? Across MENA, South Asia, and South-East Asia, many cities are made up mostly of mid-rise apartment buildings, often clustered together at densities equal to or greater than those of nineteenth century Europe. In Sub-Saharan Africa, by contrast, urban densities tend to be low, with single-story buildings making up most of the urban area. This pattern holds even in cases of African countries with higher incomes than many Asian countries (e.g. Botswana, South Africa, Gabon, Rwanda). What is the cause of this? What does it teach us about the drivers of urban density?
November 8, 2025 at 3:06 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
Five years after we started it, I'm super happy to share that Works in Progress is now available as a print magazine! 🥹

It'll have everything on web and more. You can subscribe today for $100/£75 to receive 6 beautiful, 120-page issues of our magazine a year.

worksinprogress.co/print
Works in Progress - Now in print.
September 17, 2025 at 2:35 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
charlescmann.bsky.social
From @worksinprogress.blogsky.venki.dev, a tribute to Daniel Shoup, the Savanarola of Parking, the Jane Jacobs of Stationary Vehicles, who died on February 6: worksinprogress.news/p/the-prophe... Map shows N. American cities Shoup's ideas have changed.
From article, map of 30+ North American cities that have adopted Shoup's ideas abolished minimum off-street parking requirements citywide. Not shown: Anchorage, which did this in 2022.
February 20, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
collectifission.greennuclear.online.ap.brid.gy
"France built 40 nuclear reactors in a decade. Here’s how they did it, and how the world can follow their lead today."

https://worksinprogress.co/issue/liberte-egalite-radioactivite/
How France achieved the world's fastest nuclear buildout
France built 37 nuclear reactors in ten years. To do this required making sure local communities shared in the benefits of atomic power.
worksinprogress.co
September 6, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
I'm usually not a train history enthusiast, but I loved this piece by Benedict Springbett with a history of suburban rail & metros.

And how to connect up suburban rail lines with tunnels, to get a new metro system at a fraction of the cost of a completely new one!
The magic of through running - Works in Progress Magazine
Commuter trains often stop at the edge of cities. Building a short tunnel to join them up is often by far the most efficient way to improve a city's transport.
worksinprogress.co
June 15, 2025 at 7:18 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
carto-graph.bsky.social
I’ve written an article for @worksinprogress.bsky.social about through running. It’s the most cost-effective way of upgrading railway lines in nearly all British cities.

worksinprogress.co/issue/the-ma...
The magic of through running - Works in Progress Magazine
Commuter trains often stop at the edge of cities. Building a short tunnel to join them up is often by far the most efficient way to improve a city's transport.
worksinprogress.co
June 12, 2025 at 4:17 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
The latest issue of Works in Progress is out today!

- One weird trick to build a metro
- The FDA's secret liberalisation of animal drugs
- How Japan builds infrastructure through cities
- Brain-computer interfaces
- How NZ invented inflation targeting

And more! worksinprogress.co
Homepage of newest issue of Works in Progress magazine, featuring pieces on through running, redrawing cities, animal drug regulation, inflation targeting, and more.
June 12, 2025 at 12:58 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
LAUNCH DAY 🚀

Today I’m launching a new podcast, Hard Drugs, with Jacob Trefethen (@jacobtref.bsky.social)

Our first episode is about lenacapavir — a new HIV drug that blocks infections with an efficacy rate of nearly 100%, and which could completely change the fight against HIV worldwide.
Lenacapavir: The miracle drug that could end AIDS
Hard Drugs · Episode
open.spotify.com
June 11, 2025 at 2:16 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
eugenevinitsky.bsky.social
Unfortunately housing theory of everything is correct and you can't unsee it once you see it:
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-ho...
The housing theory of everything - Works in Progress Magazine
Western housing shortages drive inequality, climate change, low productivity growth, obesity, and even falling fertility rates.
worksinprogress.co
May 29, 2025 at 11:18 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
britishprogress.org
💫 We’re launching the Centre for British Progress

Our founding essay: Rediscovering British Progress is a case for growth that drives shared progress, rooted in Britain's values and industrial heritage.

It all starts with a postcard from 1870 👇

britishprogress.org/articles/red...
Cover of the essay Rediscovering British Progress available at https://britishprogress.org/articles/rediscovering-british-progress
April 3, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
gilesyb.bsky.social
Incredibly good historical account of land taxes and why they failed under Lloyd George

worksinprogress.co/issue/the-fa...

Note to self: read more Works in Progress!

@watlingsamuel.bsky.social is the author I think
The failure of the land value tax - Works in Progress
Land value taxes are once again becoming a popular all-purpose solution to housing issues. But implementing them in early 1900s Britain destroyed the then-dominant Liberal Party.
worksinprogress.co
March 22, 2025 at 9:40 AM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
ruxandrabio.bsky.social
Many women face a choice between career advancement and motherhood. But emerging technologies could allow women to have it all.

All in this piece on how the gender pay gap arises & fertility tech 🧵

worksinprogress.co/issue/fertil...
Fertility on demand - Works in Progress
Many women face a choice between career advancement or motherhood. But emerging fertility technologies could allow women to have it all.
worksinprogress.co
March 15, 2025 at 12:02 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
dingdingpeng.the100.ci
Reading an excellent article on pineapples rn which really makes me want to go buy one worksinprogress.co/issue/king-o...
March 14, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
stefanschubert.bsky.social
Nice article by my friend John Halstead and Phil Thomson

The title might undersell it a bit, though - the most interesting and important part is imo about comparably low rates of intergroup violence among hunter-gatherers. (And the reasons farmers were different)

worksinprogress.co/issue/the-pr...
March 14, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
alfredtwu.com
Ever wonder why apartment buildings look the way they do? I wrote an article on the building and zoning codes - such as height limits in the US and daylight access in China - that determine the design of apartments.

worksinprogress.co/issue/chines...
March 14, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
rechelon.bsky.social
"Our ancestral environment therefore created evolutionary pressures that equipped us with a natural aversion to violence, a taste for vengeance, and the capacity to solve conflicts through cooperation."

Again, retaliation against bastards UNDERPINS mutual aid.
worksinprogress.co/issue/the-pr...
The prehistoric psychopath - Works in Progress
Life in the state of nature was pleasant, cooperative and longer than you might think. Most of our ancestors avoided conflict. But this made them vulnerable to a few psychopaths.
worksinprogress.co
March 14, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
Our latest issue of Works in Progress dropped today!

- The steam networks of NYC
- Prehistoric violence
- Urbanism with Chinese characteristics
- Extending the fertility window
- The Hanseatic League's rise and fall
- The pineapple: the king of fruits
- The land value tax

worksinprogress.co
Homepage of Works in Progress magazine, with articles: Steam networks, King of fruits, Fertility on demand, The rise and fall of the Hanseatic League, The prehistoric psychopath, The failure of the land value tax, Chinese towers and American blocks.
March 13, 2025 at 2:46 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
maiamindel.bsky.social
Especially liked this one

worksinprogress.co/issue/the-fa...
March 13, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
andersem.bsky.social
Love this big finish by @alfredtwu.com comparing the history & outcomes of Chinese & US housing regulations worksinprogress.co/issue/chines...
Whether xiaoqu, 5-over-1, or urban villages, with near certainty we can predict what new Chinese and American neighborhoods will look like by extrapolating from two publicly available documents that 99 percent of their residents have never heard of: the US International Building Code and the Chinese national code. This should make us more optimistic about the ability of vigorous reformers to change and improve cities. Modern urban form is not always, and perhaps not even usually, an emanation of deep cultural preferences. Changing it does not necessarily mean changing the hearts of millions of people. To build very differently would not take overthrowing twenty centuries of urban culture. It would merely mean tweaking these obscure and somewhat arbitrary documents.
March 13, 2025 at 5:06 PM
bswud.bsky.social
Dora is going to be a lamb in next week’s nativity.
December 9, 2024 at 9:20 AM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
scientificdiscovery.dev
Madrid tripled the length of its metro system in just 12 years, faster and cheaper than almost any other city in the world.

Left: in 1994
Right: after 2007

Cost per mile: £64–91 million

(around 7x cheaper than London's Jubilee & Northern line expansions & 14x cheaper than Toronto's Ontario line)
Madrid's metro system in 1994 - diagram of metro lines Madrid's metro system after 2007 - diagram of metro lines.
December 6, 2024 at 1:23 PM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
roadscholar.bsky.social
Does HS2 have a future?

And why does that question hinge on an unseen government document and a sugar mill in Nottinghamshire?
December 7, 2024 at 10:48 AM
Reposted by Ben Southwood
andersem.bsky.social
It’s widely accepted *that* less expensive housing markets see less homelessness, but this important piece shows *why*: family & friends have more space to spare worksinprogress.co/issue/why-ho...
Why housing shortages cause homelessness - Works in Progress
Why do high-cost cities have more homelessness? It's not just about rents — it’s also about the rooms friends and family can’t afford to share.
worksinprogress.co
December 5, 2024 at 6:18 PM