Preview: WIRED 2015

While the talks varied from inspirational and heroic, with an amputee telling her tale of climbing Mount Everest, to technologically fantastic talks on sound sculptures and dancing cranes, a few recurring themes were revealed during the two days. 

The future of food was a central focus, with a tasting centre for food start-ups, and talks curated by René Redzepi’s MAD culinary symposium group. Several talks also explored our growing urban population and potential solutions, from a self-driving Uber system to biofuel made from coffee waste. 

‘For the first time we have become an urban species,’ said Arthur Kay, co-founder of Bio-Bean. ‘We talk about vast global challenges such as climate change, but these are urban problems, and it will fall on cities and their inhabitants to change them.’