John Thackara

John Thackara|Essays

From Druids to Biorefineries: Innovation in a Small Nation

Small nations can be flexible in ways that big one cannot.

John Thackara|Essays

How Do You Make a Website for Transition?

A new book, The Transition Companion, ia an online directory of Transition Ingredients and Tools and a set of Ingredients and Tools Cards.

John Thackara|Essays

Man and Nature, Re-Connected

John Thackara|Essays

Design and Health: Flipping the Pyramid

It's easy for two people to look at the same information — such as this chart (above) about health costs — and perceive totally different things.

John Thackara|Essays

Turn-Key Food Hives

There's almost no contact between the health apps crowd and the food system crowd.

John Thackara|Essays

The Compost Candidates

The movement for a global democracy is an ecology, not a single homogeneous movement.

John Thackara|Essays

5% Health: The Risk of Catabolic Collapse and Peak Fat in Modern Health Systems

The writer, at Mayo Clinic's "Transform" conference, asks: Are high-end medical systems the best place to focus design's creative capacity?

John Thackara|Essays

World Capital of Wellbeing

Aalto University in Helsinki has made wellbeing their spearhead project in next year's World Design Capital [WDC] festivities.

John Thackara|Essays

Iceland: Eaten Alive, or Growing to Live?

Exploding the myth of Iceland's "green" energy — with alternative suggestions

John Thackara|Essays

In Praise of the Feral: Update on Xskool

Convention centres are expensive, filled with hard surfaces, and tend to foster groupthink — and abstract groupthink at that.

John Thackara|Essays

From Powerpoint to Permaculture, From Me to We

On Sweden's first Future Perfect festival.

John Thackara|Essays

Water: The Bad News and the Good News

A new book by Alex Prud’homme called The Ripple Effect addresses the “vast and desperately serious subject” of water.