Regina G. Barber

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You're listening to Short Wave from NPR.

Hey, Short Wavers, Regina Barber here with a list.

made from our friends over at MIT Technology Review.

This is Amy Nordrum, executive editor of that newsroom, and she says that this list describes which technologies they think matter most each year.

We're really looking for high-impact advances that we think will change the way we live and work in the future.

This year, Amy says a large chunk of the list is on AI technology because that area has taken off.

But they've also included other important advances that may not have risen above the noise for people not paying close attention.

So today on the show, we go through some of the top 10 breakthrough technologies of 2026 by MIT Technology Review, including Amy's favorite on the list.

You're listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from NPR.

OK, Amy, let's start in the land of EVs.

Right now, they're generally made with lithium ion batteries.

But mining lithium is it's harmful to the environment.

It can have like poor labor conditions and it's a finite resource.

So you all focus on sodium ion batteries.

What's the big deal there?

What would this switch mean for the EV market in the long term?