The wildfire that devastated Fort McMurray in 2016 burned more than 579,000 hectares of land, drove 88,000 people from their homes and caused nearly $10 billion in damages. It’s often seen as an outlier, a freak natural disaster. But extreme wildfires, like those that tore through Los Angeles earlier this year, are becoming more intense and harder to control. “We all saw the smoke, and too many of us have seen the fire,” says John Vaillant, author of Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast. “Weather is different now, and fire is different now.” Hotter, drier weather is turning our forests into kindling, and emergency responders are struggling to handle our new reality: intense, unpredictable fires fuelled by a changing climate. In this special episode, host Manjula Selvarajah sits down with Vaillant to better understand how we got here and to see if there is any way out.

Featured in this episode:

John Vaillant is a Vancouver-based author and freelance journalist. His latest work, the Pulitzer Prize–nominated Fire Weather: The Making of a Beast, chronicles how the 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire turned entire neighbourhoods into firebombs and destroyed 2,400 homes and businesses.

Further reading:

• Forged by fire: Fort McMurray 5 years after the disaster
• Canada needs to get ready for a future fraught with fire: How can the forest sector respond?
• FACT SHEET: Climate change and wildfires
• Canada’s 2023 wildfires emitted more carbon than most countries
• Landscapes turned into hellscapes, shock and the ongoing fight against wildfires in Los Angeles
• Los Angeles wildfires magnify California’s “insurance crisis” as homeowners face billions in losses

Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Fire alarm: Rethinking innovation in an increasingly volatile world.” This interview was recorded at MaRS Climate Impact on December 4, 2024.

Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

Can AI unravel the mysteries of human biology? Could it help design specialty treatments and cures for disease? Geoffrey von Maltzahn and his team at Generate:Biomedicines are bullish on both counts. AI has greatly accelerated progress in genome engineering, bioengineering and nanotechnology and they are getting closer to developing tailored therapeutics. “Six years ago, this was a crazy idea,” he says. “We’re now convinced that 100 percent of protein therapeutics are going to get created this way.” In this special episode of Solve for X, host Manula Selvarajah sits down with von Maltzahn to talk about where the science is now and where it is headed.

Featured in this episode:

Geoffrey von Maltzahn, general partner of Flagship Pioneering, is an inventor and entrepreneur who works at the intersection of biology and artificial intelligence, a specialization that makes him a world-renowned leader in generative biology.

Further reading:

• How generative biology can wipe out our most devastating diseases — for good
• How technology is tackling questions that confound modern medicine
• How we can deliver a better tomorrow through generative biology
• The frontiers of generative biology | MaRS Impact Health 2024

Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Cracking the code: How generative biology could transform medicine.” This interview was recorded at MaRS Impact Health in June 2024.

Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.

Featured in this episode:

Alison Nankivell has spent more than 25 years moving Canada’s economic needle forward. Before being named CEO of MaRS in early 2024, Alison held pivotal roles at the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan and Export Development Canada (EDC). At MaRS, she brings an experienced playbook to support startups working in climate, health and emerging technology.

Kris Bennatti is the CEO and co-founder of Hudson Labs, a Toronto-based startup that builds specialized financial software to help improve corporate accountability in capital markets.

Lise Birikundavyi is the co-founder and managing partner of BKR Capital, Canada’s first Black-led, institutionally-backed VC fund. Birikundavyi is a finance specialist who has worked with several international institutions, including the Jacobs Foundation where she managed its edtech impact investment strategy.

Corey Ellis is the co-founder and CEO of Growcer. The Ottawa-based startup develops commercial hydroponic systems that help communities grow indoor produce, year-round in any climate.

Charles Plant is a serial entrepreneur, innovation economist, fractional CFO and founder of The Narwhal Project, which helps tech startups raise capital and scale business.

Further reading:

• Welcome to the $100-million club
• Undervalued and ignored: Why young Canadian firms are looking to foreign investors and buyers
• Evolving ESG reporting regulations call for co-ordinated executive action in Canada
• DEI in Canadian workplaces is hitting a wall, subscriber survey shows
• North American outlook: Uncertain political environment adds to business, consumer fatigue
• Climate adaptation is as important as climate mitigation

Subscribe to Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World here. And below, find a transcript to “Innovation hotline: Answering the tech sector’s burning questions.” This interview was recorded October 17 in the MaRS Studio.

Solve for X is brought to you by MaRS, North America’s largest urban innovation hub and a registered charity. MaRS supports startups and accelerates the adoption of high-impact solutions to some of the world’s biggest challenges. For more information, visit marsdd.com.