Research has shown that people like "really new products" more when storytelling is used to help them understand what a product is about. Storytelling is a useful tool for new products, as people use mental simulations to imagine what it can do, how they could use it and whether it has value.

With America now starkly divided, many are struggling to comprehend the views they missed in the run-up to the 2016 election. PodcastS-Town, which has gained over 1.8 million subscribers, is the timely tale of a New York-based journalist seeking to understand an eccentric from Shit Town, Alabama.

DonorSee is helping restore people's trust in charities by giving them hard evidence of the effect of their donations. With a model based on complete transparency, DonorSee is making the impact of charity more appreciable in a time when people are increasingly cynical about charity's effectiveness.

Studies show that our ability to empathise has greatly diminished over the last 30 years. It’s due in part to the uptake of smartphones and social media – we’re all too busy thinking about ourselves. But while it might be part of the problem, could technology also be used to make us more empathetic?