Chris Baraniuk
@chrisbaraniuk.com
Freelance science and technology journalist. 11+ years experience. Irish/Polish. I write for the BBC, Wired, the BMJ, The Guardian, and others!
Newsletter: thereengineer.pro
Portfolio: chrisbaraniuk.com
HQ: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Newsletter: thereengineer.pro
Portfolio: chrisbaraniuk.com
HQ: Belfast, Northern Ireland
Thank you for saying so Adrian!
November 14, 2025 at 9:02 PM
Thank you for saying so Adrian!
And that is making me think pretty hard about how I refer to AI, and what details I add about it, in my own articles too!
November 14, 2025 at 6:39 PM
And that is making me think pretty hard about how I refer to AI, and what details I add about it, in my own articles too!
The article does spell this out TBF. And personally I think "AI" is a fine, if very imperfect, umbrella term. It's so succinct and established now I feel it's more about just educating people to understand there are many, very, very different types of AI.
November 14, 2025 at 6:38 PM
The article does spell this out TBF. And personally I think "AI" is a fine, if very imperfect, umbrella term. It's so succinct and established now I feel it's more about just educating people to understand there are many, very, very different types of AI.
In case you're wondering, machine learning (a fundamentally different technology) HAS been applied to reactor design:
AI-based design of a nuclear reactor core | Scientific Reports share.google/ugyv326CzHYS...
AI-based design of a nuclear reactor core | Scientific Reports share.google/ugyv326CzHYS...
AI-based design of a nuclear reactor core - Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports - AI-based design of a nuclear reactor core
share.google
November 14, 2025 at 6:33 PM
In case you're wondering, machine learning (a fundamentally different technology) HAS been applied to reactor design:
AI-based design of a nuclear reactor core | Scientific Reports share.google/ugyv326CzHYS...
AI-based design of a nuclear reactor core | Scientific Reports share.google/ugyv326CzHYS...
Finally, if you *do* decide to sign up for a paid subscription, for the rest of November you get 15% off the cost - to celebrate one year of The Reengineer!
There is plenty more to come. Bring on year two.
🥳🙌🍾
www.thereengineer.pro/subscribe?co...
There is plenty more to come. Bring on year two.
🥳🙌🍾
www.thereengineer.pro/subscribe?co...
Subscribe to The Reengineer
A newsletter about the people and technologies helping us to tackle, and survive, climate change. Click to read The Reengineer, by Chris Baraniuk, a Substack publication with hundreds of subscribers.
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:33 PM
Finally, if you *do* decide to sign up for a paid subscription, for the rest of November you get 15% off the cost - to celebrate one year of The Reengineer!
There is plenty more to come. Bring on year two.
🥳🙌🍾
www.thereengineer.pro/subscribe?co...
There is plenty more to come. Bring on year two.
🥳🙌🍾
www.thereengineer.pro/subscribe?co...
This week's special feature, which is about buildings in communities that are decarbonising, is a nod to the fact that the energy transition is playing out in LOTS of different ways.
I want you to share your examples with me. What else should I cover?
www.thereengineer.pro/p/let-there-...
I want you to share your examples with me. What else should I cover?
www.thereengineer.pro/p/let-there-...
Let there be warmth! The British churches putting their faith in heat pumps
Centuries-old buildings and graveyard bones aren’t getting in the way of decarbonisation
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:30 PM
This week's special feature, which is about buildings in communities that are decarbonising, is a nod to the fact that the energy transition is playing out in LOTS of different ways.
I want you to share your examples with me. What else should I cover?
www.thereengineer.pro/p/let-there-...
I want you to share your examples with me. What else should I cover?
www.thereengineer.pro/p/let-there-...
My stories have sometimes provoked debate. And I am grateful for some of the v thoughtful feedback readers have shared with me. I strive to take this on board because I want people to feel that they are part of this project, too.
Join The Reengineer community and we can explore this stuff together!
Join The Reengineer community and we can explore this stuff together!
November 14, 2025 at 12:27 PM
My stories have sometimes provoked debate. And I am grateful for some of the v thoughtful feedback readers have shared with me. I strive to take this on board because I want people to feel that they are part of this project, too.
Join The Reengineer community and we can explore this stuff together!
Join The Reengineer community and we can explore this stuff together!
I've been a freelance journalist for nearly 12 years. I have seen ups and downs but, honestly folks, journalism is in a tricky place right now. My plan is to grow the newsletter as much as possible so that it can, at least in part, support me. Every subscription counts!
November 14, 2025 at 12:26 PM
I've been a freelance journalist for nearly 12 years. I have seen ups and downs but, honestly folks, journalism is in a tricky place right now. My plan is to grow the newsletter as much as possible so that it can, at least in part, support me. Every subscription counts!
I have been aided and abetted in all this by the wonderful @duncanfyfe.net, who sub-edits all my stories, and @richardfisher.bsky.social, who is an eternal spring of advice and feedback.
November 14, 2025 at 12:25 PM
I have been aided and abetted in all this by the wonderful @duncanfyfe.net, who sub-edits all my stories, and @richardfisher.bsky.social, who is an eternal spring of advice and feedback.
This has been the most popular piece to date - read by thousands of people - on the solar energy boom in Central and Eastern Europe.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/eastern-eu...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/eastern-eu...
A strategic solar energy boom is afoot in Eastern Europe
Against the spectre of Russian aggression, renewables are in
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:24 PM
This has been the most popular piece to date - read by thousands of people - on the solar energy boom in Central and Eastern Europe.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/eastern-eu...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/eastern-eu...
And there have been some scoops, too. Such as new detail on a large-scale gas tracer test on the London Underground in 2007.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-worlds...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-worlds...
The world’s most potent greenhouse gas once drifted round a London Tube station
Sulphur hexafluoride has many fascinating uses – but it’s awful for the climate
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
And there have been some scoops, too. Such as new detail on a large-scale gas tracer test on the London Underground in 2007.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-worlds...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-worlds...
I hope that some of the stories have offered practical advice, or motivated people to think about resilience in their personal lives.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/climate-ha...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/climate-ha...
Climate hazards: ‘This flood sensor saved my basement’
How gadgets could alert you to the effects of extreme weather
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:21 PM
I hope that some of the stories have offered practical advice, or motivated people to think about resilience in their personal lives.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/climate-ha...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/climate-ha...
This was such a fun piece—which we syndicated on @wired.com from Chris's own excellent newsletter, the Reengineer. I wonder where else in the world such moves are being made.
www.wired.com/story/let-th...
www.wired.com/story/let-th...
British Churches Are Putting Their Faith in Heat Pumps
Ancient buildings and old bones aren’t getting in the way of the transition.
www.wired.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:20 PM
A key goal has been to get content like this in front of as wide an audience as possible. I'm really grateful to everyone who's subscribed and shared! And also to news outlets that have republished stories. As The Guardian did:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
How climate-friendly waterwheels are coming around again
From the Himalayas and Nepal to Northern Ireland, sustainable source of energy seems to be back in vogue
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:20 PM
A key goal has been to get content like this in front of as wide an audience as possible. I'm really grateful to everyone who's subscribed and shared! And also to news outlets that have republished stories. As The Guardian did:
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
www.theguardian.com/environment/...
Above all, I've aimed to speak to people who are involved in this stuff to find out what motivates them, and what ideas they have.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-big-co...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-big-co...
The big cover-up: ‘We should bring back old habits of shading windows’
Shutters and awnings can cool properties down, and look good, too
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:19 PM
Above all, I've aimed to speak to people who are involved in this stuff to find out what motivates them, and what ideas they have.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-big-co...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/the-big-co...
But I've also discussed various proposed solutions. How do they actually work? Who will they benefit? And what funky engineering is involved?
www.thereengineer.pro/p/a-matter-o...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/a-matter-o...
A matter of rust: how iron-air batteries turn corrosion into power
This tech is coming to multiple locations in the US – and also Ireland
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:18 PM
But I've also discussed various proposed solutions. How do they actually work? Who will they benefit? And what funky engineering is involved?
www.thereengineer.pro/p/a-matter-o...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/a-matter-o...
We need to understand this stuff better. For resilience, for safety, for economic stability.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/guess-what...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/guess-what...
Guess what! Climate change is coming for paint
Tougher coatings could stop civilisation from crumbling
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
We need to understand this stuff better. For resilience, for safety, for economic stability.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/guess-what...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/guess-what...
I've covered some subtle, and some surprising, impacts of climate change on technology and systems.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/hot-air-th...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/hot-air-th...
Hot air: the bizarre effects climate change could have on radio
From lost signals to super long-distance broadcasts
www.thereengineer.pro
November 14, 2025 at 12:17 PM
I've covered some subtle, and some surprising, impacts of climate change on technology and systems.
www.thereengineer.pro/p/hot-air-th...
www.thereengineer.pro/p/hot-air-th...