Recode Decode: Susan Hockfield

Former MIT president Susan Hockfield talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, The Age of Living Machines: How Biology Will Build the Next Technology Revolution. In this episode: How Hockfield got to MIT; how the school creates innovation; how Route 128 lost the digital revolution to the west coast; Boston's new "regional advantage," sustainable energy; the convergence of biology and engineering; why Hockfield wrote "The Age of Living Machines"; "living machines" that can help us prevent diseases and detect cancer; the challenge of clean water; how some viruses can become rechargeable batteries; how to direct investment and political attention toward these technologies; urging technology forward during times of relative peace; what China and other countries learned from the United States’ post-WWII tech boom; and why the decline of trust in scientific expertise "terrifies" her. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices