WELCOME TO MATT RIDLEY'S BLOG

A Silicon Valley Legend Discusses Innovation and More The first half of my much-anticipated interview with Silicon Valley legend Naval Ravikant in May is now available. We discussed my new book How Innovation Works and more. It was a wonderful discussion, and I appreciated hearing the perspective of a true entrepreneur and innovator. You can listen […]

Doomsday thinking about the environment has been popular for decades. My article for PERC: In 1980, the year that PERC was founded, I spent three months in the Himalayas working on a wildlife conservation project. The purpose was to do wildlife surveys on behalf of the Indian government in the stunningly beautiful valleys of the […]

Provided we learn the lessons of the first wave we will have little to fear as we reopen our economy My article for the Telegraph: It is now three weeks since thousands of protesters first gathered in Trafalgar Square, and two weeks since London filled with even larger crowds, few of whom wore masks or […]

My article for the Inside Sources network: It will be an innovation that eventually defeats the virus: a new vaccine, a new antiviral drug — or a new app to help us avoid contact with infected individuals. So the one thing the world needs more than anything else is an incentive to innovate. Here’s an […]

My article for The Times: The agriculture bill before the House of Lords today offers a chance for plant breeders to make safer, more productive crops that need fewer chemicals. Britain has a long track record of safe and efficient plant breeding but the industry is unable to use the latest techniques because of a […]

Answering Questions About Innovation, Coronavirus, and More In a few minutes, I will be returning to The Yaron Brook Show for another interview. A lot has happened in the 2.5 months since my last visit, so I am sure we will have a lot to discuss. We will be discussing not just innovation and the […]

A strange obsession with mathematical modelling has compromised the country’s covid response My article for The Telegraph: The scientific establishment in this country has had a bad war. Its mistakes have probably made the Covid-19 epidemic, as well as the economic downturn, worse. Britain entered the pandemic late, with lots of warning, so we should […]

From lethal pandemic to common cold: what we can learn from the events of 1889-90 My article for Spectator: The killer came from the east in winter: fever, cough, sore throat, aching muscles, headache and sometimes death. It spread quickly to all parts of the globe, from city to city, using new transport networks. In […]

Update on Reviews, Events, and More I have taken a break from media appearances since Thursday—I needed a rest, and I’d say I like birds even more than innovation—but it was a wonderful first two weeks for me and for the book, thanks to you. Here’s an update on the launch, and what’s planned for […]

Research into the origins of the new coronavirus raises questions about how it became so infectious in human beings My article for the Wall Street Journal: New research has deepened, rather than dispelled, the mystery surrounding the origin of the coronavirus responsible for Covid-19. Bats, wildlife markets, possibly pangolins and perhaps laboratories may all have […]