Future Now
40 episodes - English - Latest episode: 30 days ago - ★★★★★ - 17 ratingsBrought to you by the visionary minds at Institute for the Future, this captivating series delves deep into the ever-evolving landscapes of science, technology, and culture. In each episode, IFTF's distinguished researchers engage in riveting conversations with the world's most innovative scientists, engineers, trailblazers, and thought leaders, who are redefining the course of our collective future - here and now.
In this season, "Future Now" shines a spotlight on the bold endeavors to revolutionize enterprise and business practices. Our gripping discussions explore the pursuit of more humane, inclusive, and equitable outcomes, providing you with an exclusive front-row seat to the breakthroughs that will define tomorrow.
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Episodes
Future Now 018 — What Makes MiraCosta a Future-Focused Community College?
June 11, 2024 00:00 - 42 minutes - 50.2 MBIFTF Executive Director Marina Gorbis talks with Dr. Sunita “Sunny” Cooke, President of MiraCosta College, and Dr. Wendy Stewart, the college's Chief Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility Officer. They discuss how this institution serving North San Diego County in California has embraced foresight and futures thinking to become a future-ready public community college. The conversation explores MiraCosta's innovative degree programs designed to prepare students for emerging fields li...
Future Now 017 — Reimagining Food with Mark Bittman
May 24, 2024 00:20 - 58 minutes - 26.6 MBIFTF executive director Marina Gorbis hosts a conversation with award-winning food journalist Mark Bittman about The Bittman Project, which seeks to create community kitchens serving affordable, sustainable food. Joining the discussion are Kenneth Bailey, co-founder of the Design Studio for Social Intervention; Jerry Davis, a sociologist and the Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration at the University of Michigan; Douglas Rushkoff, writer and media theorist; and IFTF's...
Future Now 016 — "The Guarantee" author Natalie Foster
April 23, 2024 20:50 - 45 minutes - 53.7 MBNatalie Foster, author of "The Guarantee: Inside the Fight for America's Next Economy," is the president and co-founder of the Economic Security Project. She is also an alumna of IFTF's Future for Good Fellows program. Foster is a leading figure in the movement to create a more inclusive, resilient, and dignified economy for all Americans. In this conversation with Marina Gorbis, IFTF's Executive Director, Foster discusses the hard-fought progress being made to establish a new "guarantee eco...
Future Now 015 — "Bootstrapped" author Alissa Quart
March 19, 2024 00:00 - 30 minutes - 34.1 MBIn this episode, Alissa Quart discusses her latest book, "Bootstrapped: Liberating Ourselves from the American Dream." Quart and host Marina Gorbis take a deep dive into the origins and evolution of the "bootstrapping" myth, revealing the hypocrisies and hidden dependencies that underlie this pervasive narrative. From historical figures like Emerson and Thoreau to modern-day Silicon Valley icons, Quart exposes the cracks in the self-made success story. The conversation also delves into the pr...
Future Now 014 — "The Fantasy Economy" author Neil Kraus
February 29, 2024 00:00 - 41 minutes - 46.4 MBOur guest is Professor Neil Kraus from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls, the author of "The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform Movement" In this episode, Marina Gorbis and Neil discuss the long-standing economic myths, diminishing returns on educational investments, the surplus of degree holders in low-wage job markets, and the misleading narrative of labor shortages. The Fantasy Economy: https://tupress.temple.edu/books/the-fantasy-economy Institute...
Future Now 013 — Exploring economic alternatives with The New Yorker's Nick Romeo
January 22, 2024 00:00 - 53 minutes - 62.8 MBIn this episode of Future Now, author and journalist Nick Romeo discussed the themes of his latest book, "The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy." (https://bit.ly/482m57j) Nick challenges the inevitability of the current economic status quo, offering a thought-provoking discourse on potential alternatives, from restructuring labor markets and corporate dynamics to innovative political interventions for city governance. If you enjoyed this episode, you should listen to Nick’s Book Talk d...
Future Now 012 — Daron Acemoglu on the future of work and AI
December 03, 2023 00:00 - 29 minutes - 13.7 MBRenowned economist and author Daron Acemoglu discusses insights and revelations from his latest book, "Power and Progress: Our Thousand-Year Struggle Over Technology and Prosperity," with IFTF Executive Director Marina Gorbis. The conversation explores the intricate relationship between technology, economic growth, and societal well-being, examining how innovations have shaped prosperity throughout history.
Future Now 011 — Jules Terpak how AI will shape work and creativity
September 15, 2023 22:34 - 49 minutes - 22.5 MBIFTF Emerging Media Lab director Toshi Hoo speaks with Jules Terpak, a Gen Z content creator known for her work unpacking technology and culture trends on platforms like TikTok and YouTube. The conversation centers around the implications of recent breakthroughs in generative AI, particularly in how these advances may shape the future of work and creativity. Key Points: - Jules has been active on social media for over a decade, starting with YouTube at age 10. She's seen how platforms rise...
Future Now 010 — Astra Taylor on "The Age of Insecurity"
September 05, 2023 00:00 - 55 minutes - 65.6 MBIn this episode of Future Now, IFTF Executive Director Marina Gorbis speaks with author, filmmaker, and activist Astra Taylor about economic insecurity and building solidarity. They discuss Astra's new book "The Age of Insecurity," (https://houseofanansi.com/products/the-age-of-insecurity) which examines how insecurity stems from systemic forces, not individual failings. Astra and Marina explore the myth that insecurity fosters innovation, and how guaranteed assets like housing and healthcare...
Future Now 009 — Art Taylor on the Power of Futures Thinking
August 24, 2023 20:58 - 52 minutes - 57.5 MBIn this episode of Future Now, IFTF Executive Director Marina Gorbis speaks with Art Taylor, President and CEO of BBB Wise Giving Alliance (give.org). They discuss how Art first discovered futures thinking and how it transformed his approach to leading one of the nation's top charity evaluators. Art explains how attending IFTF's Foresight Essentials workshop opened his eyes to new ways of thinking about strategy and planning. Since then, he has applied foresight tools across his work, from pl...
Future Now 008 — Sci-Fi Author David Brin on AI's Past, Present, and Future
August 02, 2023 22:18 - 1 hour - 73.6 MBIFTF Executive Director Marina Gorbis and acclaimed science fiction author David Brin discuss the future implications of artificial intelligence (AI). The conversation centers on how to regulate and direct AI in positive directions for humanity's benefit. Topics include opportunities and risks inherent in AI. the need for regulated competition, ensuring equitable access to AI, funding "public good" AIs, and fostering agility and innovation in steering our AI future. Mentioned in this episode...
Future Now 007 — the Future of Employee Ownership with Alison Lingane
July 20, 2023 22:27 - 1 hour - 73 MBIFTF executive director Marina Gorbis talks with Alison Lingane, co-founder of Project Equity, a nonprofit working toward a future where employee ownership is a highly utilized business model that promotes equitable enterprise, maintains thriving local economies, and creates quality jobs that help workers advance their goals and increase their wealth. Mentioned in this episode: * Employee Ownership Equals. (n.d.). Retrieved July 20, 2023, from https://employeeownershipequals.org/ * Project ...
Future Now 006 — History of the California Labor School with Bill Shields
June 14, 2023 21:21 - 58 minutes - 67 MBIFTF Executive Director Marina talks with Bill Shields, the retired head of the Labor and Community Studies Department at the City College of San Francisco. They shed light on the history of the California Labor School, the subject of Bill’s book, "Free City.” Stay tuned as they unpack the profound influence of the California Labor School on San Francisco's labor movement and its community fabric, offering a rich perspective on labor and community studies.
Future Now 005 — The Future of AI with Ethan Mollick
May 22, 2023 00:00 - 40 minutes - 32.7 MBIFTF Research Director Toshi Hoo interviews Ethan Mollick, a professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a leading researcher in entrepreneurship and innovation. Join them as Ethan shares his fascinating and provocative insights on generative AI, its practical implications, and how it can transform teaching and learning at scale. Get ready for an engaging conversation that will leave you with new perspectives on the future of work and education. Shownotes: - Ethan...
Future Now 004 — The Education Myth with Jon Shelton
April 22, 2023 00:00 - 50 minutes - 58 MBIn today's episode, IFTF's Executive Director Marina Gorbis talks with Jon Shelton, Associate Professor and Chair of Democracy and Justice Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and Vice President for Higher Education of the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin. They discuss Jon’s new book, “The Education Myth,” which challenges the idea that education is a solution to all economic and social inequalities in society. Instead, Jon argues that we need to focus on other policy lev...
Future Now 003 — Chokepoint Capitalism with Cory Doctorow
April 17, 2023 00:00 - 53 minutes - 42.7 MBIn this episode, Marina talks with Cory Doctorow, a longtime journalist, science fiction author, and IFTF advisor, who co-authored the new book Chokepoint Capitalism. Marina and Cory explore the problems with the existing creative labor market and discuss systemic solutions to distribute wealth and resources in ways that will benefit creators and audiences alike.
Future Now 002 - Household CFOs and the Financialization of Society
March 31, 2023 19:58 - 15 minutes - 12.7 MBToday, we're exploring an intriguing question: How did we become a society of household CFOs? With the recent failure of Silicon Valley Bank, Marina Gorbis, IFTF Executive Director, and Jerry Davis, University of Michigan Professor of Management and Organizations, dive into this phenomenon and its implications for our society. Marina opens the discussion by highlighting how people in the US have become chief financial officers of their households, managing their investments and financial fut...
Future Now 001 - Equitable Enterprise: Moving Towards a Collaborative Economic System
March 31, 2023 19:51 - 1 hour - 65.5 MBIn this episode, we explore economic models that prioritize collaboration over financialization. The conversation is led by Douglas Rushkoff, host of the Team Human podcast, and features IFTF Executive Director Marina Gorbis and University of Michigan Professor of Management and Organizations Jerry Davis. They examine the systemic and structural problems of the current economic model and the challenges of transitioning away from shareholder capitalism towards a more inclusive and collaborativ...
BROADER SPECTRUMS OF MEANING a New Game of Hope - for upload
November 05, 2019 21:14 - 27 minutes - 11 MBThis is an excerpt from noted IFTF futurist Bob Johansen's book, Full-Spectrum Thinking, which goes beyond skills and competencies to propose five new leadership literacies—combinations of disciplines, practices, and worldviews — that will be needed to thrive in a VUCA world of increasing volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. This book shows how to (1) forecast likely futures so you can “look back” and make sure you’re prepared now for the changes to come, (2) use low-risk gami...
The Future of Computational Propaganda
February 06, 2018 00:32 - 34 minutes - 13.8 MBSam Woolley recently joined Institute for the Future as a Research Director and was previously the Director of Research at the Computational Propaganda Project at Oxford University. We asked Sam to share highlights of his research showing how political botnets—what he calls computational propaganda—are being used to influence public opinion.
Drew Sullivan of the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project
January 04, 2018 00:38 - 18 minutes - 7.57 MBIn 2016 , the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists released The Panama Papers — a massive cache of 11.5 million records leaked from the law firm Mossack Fonseca — revealing that several heads of state have been sheltering their personal wealth in offshore accounts to evade taxes. This wasn’t surprising, after all dictators are known for draining public coffers and hoarding the ill-gotten funds in secret accounts. What’s more disturbing is learning that well-known global corp...
Bob Johansen on the New Leadership Literacies
September 06, 2017 00:29 - 28 minutes - 11.4 MBOver the next decade, today's connected world will be explosively more connected. Anything that can be distributed will be distributed: workforces, organizations, supply webs, and more. The tired practices of centralized organizations will become brittle in a future where authority is radically decentralized. Rigid hierarchies will give way to liquid structures. Most leaders—and most organizations—aren't ready for this future. Are you? It's too late to catch up, but it's a great time to leap...
Hacking the Future of Work
August 29, 2017 22:32 - 23 minutes - 9.37 MBIn less than ten years, more than a half billion people will be trying to earn a living in the on-demand economy. It’s up to all of us to make sure this new economic system works for everyone. To help spark transdisciplinary research and development of Positive Platforms, IFTF’s Workable Futures Initiative, with the support of the Ford Foundation, hosted Positive Platforms Jams at our offices in Palo Alto while fellow travelers in our global network held satellite events at community hubs an...
Cosmetic Computing
March 31, 2017 00:26 - 23 minutes - 9.5 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with UC Berkeley computer scientist and artist Eric Paulos< about wild ideas for wearable technologies, from sensor-laden temporary tattoos to fingernail display screens.
DIY Neurotech
March 31, 2017 00:24 - 26 minutes - 10.7 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with Joel Murphy, co-founder ofOpenBCI, about the implications of low cost, open-source brain-computer interfaces.
You Can’t Consume Your Way Out of Global Warming
March 31, 2017 00:13 - 23 minutes - 9.33 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with inventor and MacArthur "genius grant" recipient
Recreational Genetics
March 31, 2017 00:11 - 24 minutes - 9.97 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with Murray Robinson, founder of Molquant, about new tools designed to make sense of the big data within the human genome.
What the Bugs Know
March 31, 2017 00:08 - 29 minutes - 12 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with evolutionary biologist Tamsin Woolley-Barker, author of Teeming: How Superorganisms work to Build Infinite Wealth in a Finite World, about what insects and fungi can teach us about politics, successful organizations, and the dilemmas of decision-making.
Mind Melding
March 31, 2017 00:04 - 33 minutes - 13.7 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with neuroscientist and IFTF fellow Melina Uncapher, CEO and co-founder of the Institute for Applied Neuroscience that brings scientific research about our brains to critical social issues.
Fueling Greener Fuels
March 31, 2017 00:02 - 23 minutes - 9.56 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with chemist Kendra Kuhl, CEO of Opus 12, about her technology for recycling carbon dioxide into useful fuels and chemicals.
Hacking Your Biology
March 30, 2017 23:57 - 28 minutes - 11.4 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with rogue biophysicist Josiah Zayner about affordable tools for DIY genetic engineering and how to hack your biome.
Alien Hunting
March 30, 2017 23:55 - 35 minutes - 14.4 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with Seth Shostak, senior astronomer at the SETI Institute, about the search for extraterrestrial intelligence.
Teaching Robots Teamwork
March 30, 2017 23:47 - 29 minutes - 11.9 MBInstitute for the Future researchers Mark Frauenfelder and David Pescovitz talk with University of Southern California roboticist Nora Ayanian about what robots can learn from humans working together, and vice versa.
When Everything is Media - The Future of Ambient Communications
March 25, 2017 23:44 - 28 minutes - 11.3 MBIFTF Research Director Bradley Kreit discusses IFTF's research into the technologies and societal forces that will transform when, where, how, and why we communicate in a world of ambient media.
Beyond Wearables: Get Ready for Broadcast Hugs and Books that Punch You in the Stomach
January 27, 2017 02:40 - 31 minutes - 12.7 MBA discussion with Miriam Lueck Avery, Research Director at Institute for the Future, on how wearables, implantables, and wireless networks will connect our communities and alter our anatomies.
What does it mean to be human in an age of machines?
November 08, 2016 22:55 - 34 minutes - 15.6 MBA discussion with Rod Falcon, Director of the Technology Horizons Program at Institute for the Future. In his 1854 book, Walden, Henry David Thoreau wrote, “Men have become the tools of their tools.” Thoreau's assertion is as valid today as it was when he made it over one hundred and sixty years ago. Whenever we shape technology, it shapes us, both as individuals and as a society. We created cars, and cars turned us into motorists, auto mechanics, and commuters. Over the centuries we’ve p...
Mike Zuckerman: The Secret Aid Worker
September 19, 2016 23:52 - 35 minutes - 16.3 MBIn 2013, Mike Zuckerman, a self-described culture hacker, attended the White House’s National Day of Civic Hacking. Inspired by what he’d learned there, Mike returned to San Francisco and founded [freespace], an organization that focuses on sustainability and urban tactical development. In the spring of 2016, Mike went to Greece where he spent four months rehabilitating an abandoned clothing factory in the industrial sector of Thessaloniki, turning it into a humane shelter that he and his col...
Imagining the Future is Creating the Future with Scott Barry Kaufman
May 26, 2016 00:29 - 15 minutes - 7.08 MBI wish Scott Barry Kaufman had been my college professor. Scott gives extra credit for daydreaming in his classes. That would have been an easy A for a space case like me. Scott is the scientific director of The Imagination Institute in the Positive Psychology Center at the University of Pennsylvania. The Imagination Institute's mission is to "make progress on the measurement, growth, and improvement of imagination across all sectors of society." One of the ways it’s doing this is by conduct...
Bitcoin is the Sewer Rat of Currencies
February 05, 2016 23:45 - 49 minutes - 67.6 MBWhen computer scientist Andreas Antonopoulos first heard about bitcoin in 2011 he dismissed it as “nerd money.” Six months later he happened on bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto’s now-legendary white paper written in November 2008. This nine-page, dryly-written document unrolled a blueprint for a system that would replace large swaths of the financial services industry with a globally-distributed encryption-based transaction network that wasn’t owned by anyone. After reading the white paper, A...
Redesiging a Broken Internet: Cory Doctorow
October 30, 2014 20:48 - 1 hour - 68 MBThe Internet we know today is only one possible interpretation of the original vision of an open, peer-to-peer network. Think of it as a first-generation Internet, built on a fragile global network of vulnerable codes subject to abuse and even collapse. This Internet is failing from too close an encounter with a triple shock: a massive economy built on mining terabytes of personal data, ubiquitous criminal penetration of financial and identity networks, and pervasive state intruders at all le...