Innovation starts with the spark of a big idea. If the idea gets traction, it can mean months and years of development, pitch meetings, tech revisions, and funding challenges. The pace is brutal but for a small group of people it’s all worth it. These are the select few who are driven by forces so large that they will tolerate any hardship to see their idea succeed. These are the people who change the world.
“The Big Idea” features three innovators (‘Solver teams’) and their stories as they explore groundbreaking solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges. These brilliant and bold innovators are united by their desire to use technology, science, and engineering to create radical, systemic change. From a solution to keep vaccine temperatures stable in remote places, to antiracist technology aimed at reducing the Black maternal mortality rates, to hands-on robot-building kits for Indigenous youth, these ideas are meant to shake up the status quo and ultimately, change the world.
“The Big Idea” is a Redglass Pictures Production and made possible by the generous support of HP.
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Founder, IDEABATIC
As a low-temperature system expert, Liao became determined to solve the problem of vaccine delivery. She created SMILE and founded IDEABATIC inspired by the thermodynamic term ‘adiabatic.’ Her vision is to help people using smart innovation and to encourage scientists and engineers to work on global problems.
Creator, IRTH App
Kimberly Seals Allers is an award-winning journalist, author of five books, international speaker, strategist and advocate for maternal and infant health. Kimberly is a leading commentator on birth, breastfeeding and motherhood and the intersection of race, policy, and culture. Kimberly is also deeply rooted in the lived experience of mothers across the socio-economic spectrum.
Youth Founder & Activist, The STEAM Connection
Danielle Boyer is a young indigenous (Ojibwe) robotics inventor and advocate for youth who has been teaching kids since she was ten. Driven by her families own inability to afford science and technology education, she is passionate about making education accessible and representative for her community so that no child is left behind. Danielle creates equitable and innovative learning solutions for Indigenous youths with robots that she designs, manufactures, and gives away for free.
When cryogenics expert Kitty Liao discovers that half of the world’s vaccines get spoiled during the last-mile of their delivery, she decides to dedicate her life to creating a solution. Liao embarks on her own arduous journey as she attempts to get her life-saving invention into the hands of the people who need it most.
Motivated by her own harrowing birth experience, journalist Kimberly Seals Allers is disrupting the hospital system to transform Black maternal health outcomes in the U.S. Her app turns reviews from Black and Brown birthers into a powerful tool for hospitals to change their practices -- but are they ready to listen?
After Ojibwe native Danielle Boyer joined the robotics team in high school, she realized how out of reach robotics are for low-income families. Since then, she’s made it her mission to create free robot kits to connect other Indigenous youth to the tech skills that will shape their future.
The Big Idea was produced by Sarah Klein and Tom Mason of Redglass Pictures.
Redglass Pictures is one of the world's leading production studios specializing in short non-fiction impact series for editorial outlets and brands.
Sarah Klein
Redglass co-founder Sarah Klein is an award-winning producer and director. Her early credits include the HBO documentary, Hard as Nails and the Arte film, The Good Mother. Redglass Pictures was formed in 2006 and since then, Klein has co-directed and produced many notable projects, including History of Memory for HP, and a series of short films for Ken Burns’ Cancer: The Emperor of Maladies, which won a DuPont Award. Among the many hats she wears at Redglass, Klein leads creative development and production. She has had the honor of interviewing: The Obamas, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, John Kerry, Michael Chabon, Warren Buffett, and JJ Abrams, to name a few.
Tom Mason
Tom Mason is the co-founder of Redglass, and in addition to co-directing and producing films with Klein, also serves as the principal of photography and post production. Mason’s cinematic approach to shorts comes from his deep roots in film and still photography, which he studied at Syracuse University. After receiving an Alexia Grant, Mason spent a year documenting the world of Russian adoption agencies. Some the projects he has co-directed at Redglass include George Saunders: On Story and Ken Burns: On Story with the Atlantic, and How To Win An Election for The New York Times.
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