--- description: How network TV missed the diversity memo, the lead crisis beyond Flint, using brain scans to boost AI and more. title: TV Is More Like the Real World — Unless It's Network TV image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Ideas](/section/ideas/) ## Ideas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Innovation](/tag/innovation/) ## Innovation Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # TV Is More Like the Real World — Unless It's Network TV by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 8, 2016 5:00 PM CUT by [The Aspen Institute](/author/the-aspen-institute/) ## The Aspen Institute Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Feb 8, 2016 5:00 PM CUT **1\.** [**Television is looking more like the real world — unless you’re watching network TV.**](http://mic.com/articles/134351/representation-is-a-trend-on-tv-but-not-network-tv#.EPpKIvwi7 "undefined") By Manuel Betancourt in Mic **2\.** [**Flint’s water crisis is the tip of the iceberg. How did lead contamination take us by surprise?**](http://www.vox.com/2016/2/3/10904120/lead-exposure-flint-pennsylvania "undefined") By Sarah Frostenson in Vox **3\.** [**Better pictures of the human brain could make computers smarter.**](https://www.technologyreview.com/s/600721/better-brain-imaging-could-show-computers-a-smarter-way-to-learn/ "undefined") By Will Knight in MIT Technology Review **4\.** [**Is China lurching toward the same economic spiral that killed the Soviet Union?**](http://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/020216/will-china-suffer-fate-similar-soviet-union.asp "undefined") By Matthew Johnston in Investopedia **5\.** [**We should end our obsession with skinny phones.**](http://thenextweb.com/opinion/2016/02/07/5-reasons-its-time-we-stop-sacrificing-battery-life-for-skinny-phones/ "undefined") By Napier Lopez in the Next Web  [_The Aspen Institute_](http://www.aspeninstitute.org/ "undefined") _is an educational and policy studies organization based in Washington, D.C._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"OpinionNewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4211855/network-tv/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4211855/network-tv/"},"headline":"TV Is More Like the Real World — Unless It's Network TV","datePublished":"2016-02-08T17:00:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:26.977Z","description":"These are today's best ideas","url":"https://time.com/4211855/network-tv/","keywords":["Innovation","Television","China","Flint","AI","mobile phones"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"The Aspen Institute","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/the-aspen-institute/"}],"articleSection":"Ideas","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/ideas/","name":"Ideas"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/innovation/","name":"Innovation"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4211855/network-tv/","name":"TV Is More Like the Real World — Unless It's Network TV"}}]}] ```