Hello World - Bloomberg - All episodes

Hello World invites the viewer to come on a journey. It's a journey that stretches across the globe to find the inventors, scientists and technologists shaping our future. Each episode explores a different country and uncovers the ways in which the local culture and surroundings have influenced their approach to technology. Join journalist and best-selling author Ashlee Vance on a quest to find the freshest, weirdest tech creations and the beautiful freaks behind them.

Episode 1: New Zealand

This episode of "Hello World" offers a window into just how good New Zealand technology has become. Ashlee Vance covers the country's North Island, stretching from Auckland to the southern port and capital of Wellington - the home of Peter Jackson's movie making empire and an incredible hotbed of effects artistry.

Episode 2: Sweden : Inside Sweden's Silicon Valley

Hold on to your H&M cardigans! The world's funkiest tech and travel show hits Sweden. Tune in as host, Ashlee Vance, travels from Stockholm to Luleå, discovering how the Swedes got so good at making the things the whole world loves. His journey includes: a conversation with a face-swapping robot, fika with Spotify's Daniel Ek, and a look at how efficient energy is reimagining data centers and turbine power.

Episode 3: Israel : How Israel's Turning Soldiers Into Entrepreneurs 

Unit 8200 is an elite branch of the Israel Defense Forces, or IDF, that specializes in computer security and murkier, more controversial stuff, such as espionage and cyber attacks. The Unit resembles the National Security Agency (NSA) in the U.S. So it’s not that surprising that Unit 8200 and the IDF would give rise to clever, interesting tech startups. What’s remarkable is how Israel has turned its soldiers into entrepreneurs. Today, Israel has about 5,500 startups, and it added 1,400 new ones just last year. It has become a world leader not just in security but in chip, printing, biotech, and corporate software, as well. In this episode of Hello World Bloomberg Businessweek’s Ashlee Vance goes to Israel to discover how the IDF became such an efficient technology engine.

Episode 4: Iceland : How a Tech Powerhouse Was Born in the Middle of the Atlantic

On this episode of Hello World, we dive into Iceland’s tech scene, with a special focus on how the country’s land and history have shaped its innovations. We take a look at IceWind's new low-cost, super-durable wind turbines, rip across snowy volcanoes on steroidal vehicles built by Arctic Trucks, and go inside the universe of Eve Online. And that's just the start...

Episode 5: Mojave Desert : Welcome to the Wild West of American Innovation 

On this episode of Hello World, Ashlee Vance camps out in the Mojave Desert, where a breed of wild inventors have created a playground to push custom-created cars and spaceships to their limits.

Episode 6: Australia : Discover Australia's Tech Underground

On this episode of Hello World, Ashlee Vance visits his ancestral homeland of Australia, where polyamorous biohackers, Internet playboys, underwater drones and giant robotic dinosaurs are reigniting a long-dormant tech industry.

Episode 7: England : Inside the United Kingdom's Tech Renaissance 

In this episode of Hello World, Bloomberg’s Ashlee Vance heads to England to find out how the country is fighting to inject new life into its technology industry. The trip starts out in Bletchley Park. From there, it’s off to Cambridge, the heart of England’s technology scene. Vance hangs out with learned cows and artificial intelligence whizzes, bikes past Newton’s famed apple tree (at least a reasonable replica of it), and goes punting with the inventor of the Raspberry Pi computer. From Cambridge, it’s off to the Cotswolds and the headquarters of Dyson to see its latest creations. And then on to London to check out some startups and whine about Brexit while drinking the world’s most exotic cocktails at the Langham Hotel.

Episode 8: Japan : Meet the Inventors and Robots Powering Japan's New Tech Movement

On this episode of Hello World, Bloomberg Businessweek’s Ashlee Vance heads to Japan to find people who are trying to wake the country up from its technological slumber. His journey goes from Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka. Along the way, he meets with Japan’s top roboticists making lifelike androids. He heads to Hitachi’s vaunted research labs to see the machines – robot helpers and autonomous vehicles - that the company thinks will take care of Japan’s senior citizens in the years to come. And he hangs out with a host of eccentric characters from robotics hobbyists to the world’s most prolific inventor–an 88-year-old man who claims to have invented both the floppy disk and the most stimulating sex potion known to man.

Episode 9: Russia : A Look Inside Russia’s Creepy, Innovative Internet 

For the past five years, Russia’s been building walls around its web and packing it with tech oligarchs, startup cities, face-finding algorithms, hacker hunters, and, of course, a few bears. In this episode of Bloomberg's Hello World, Ashlee Vance travels to Mother Russia to see how they do tech.

Episode 10: Chile : Hunting for the Origins of the Universe in Chile's 

Chile may not jump right to mind as a technology hub. But it turns out that Chile is home to some of the world’s largest and most extraordinary technology projects, stretching from Santiago to the Atacama Desert. Hello World’s host Ashlee Vance traveled to Chile for two weeks to explore the country’s tech scene.