On the NPR TED Radio Hour Sunday 13th of December 6pm

'Open-source'

The era of open-source has led to countless innovations. When does it work and when is it chaos? 

In the 1980s, scientists at a nuclear research lab in Switzerland were asking how they could share and collaborate on massive, complex projects. Sir Tim Berners-Lee, then a contractor, answered by inventing the World Wide Web.

New media expert Clay Shirky explains how the ideas behind open-source have been used for centuries: from the Enlightenment to the digital era.

The conversation with new media expert Clay Shirky continues. He tells the story of programmer Linus Torvalds and how his vision for the open-source operating system Linux impacted more than just the tech world.  

Pia Mancini wants to upgrade democracy with the open-source mobile platform, Democracy OS. It aims to bring citizens inside the legislative process, and to get politicians to actively listen to what they say.

Instead of architects creating buildings only for those who can afford to commission them, what if regular citizens could design and build their own houses? Designer Alastair Parvin says it's possible.

Designer Alastair Parvin explains how open-sourcing design and letting everyone feel empowered to build their own homes could upend the future of architecture.

David Lang became an amateur oceanographer by getting a network of ocean lovers to team up and build open-sourced, low-cost underwater explorers.

The TED Radio Hour, Sunday's from 6pm on Newstalk 106-108 FM.

Listen back here.