Ecosystemic Futures

Transformational or transitional? Will AI elevate humanity, or exploit? This season of the Ecosystemic Futures podcast investigates the potential, practicalities, and perils of AI applications in society, industry, and policy.
Join co-hosts Dyan Finkhousen, Mark Stephen Meadows, Ed Powell, and James Villarrubia as they frame a pragmatic exploration of the history of AI, and the potential futures it may unlock.

Connectivity has unlocked paradigmatic shifts in work, workforce and workplace design.
But are we focused on the right problems? Are the Future of Work narratives missing the critical, nuanced opportunities for these shifts?
"Mark Zuckerberg pointed out that remote engineers were performing less well than engineers... what is fascinating about seeing these arguments is that they're essentially an admission of the company, that they are not investing in tooling, training and transformation to enable engineers to perform better remotely. When leaders put things out there like this, they think that it's an indictment on remote work, but it's actually an indictment on their own operations and their lack of evolution because someone can only perform as well as the system that they are performing within. And that's where the opportunity is. So much of this narrative is fixated on the where, but the real magic is in the how. How does work happen?" - Darren Murph
Today co-hosts Tom Cooke and Vik Shyam sit down with remote work pioneer Darren Murph to explore the problems worth solving. Darren is a visionary, supporting organizations in designing and scaling remote operations. Currently the VP of Workplace Design and Remote Experience at Andela, Darren hopes to unlock significant value as he enables remote work globally, encouraging others to pursue their purpose portfolios through work flexibility.
The Ecosystemic Futures Podcast is provided by Shoshin Works in collaboration with NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project - connecting with the world’s brilliant minds who are leading research and development in areas that will help us better innovate, operate, and navigate in our increasingly connected world.
Guest: Darren Murph, VP of Workplace Design and Remote Experience, Andela and Remote Work Pioneer, on Twitter @darrenmurph
Co-hosts:
Vikram Shyam, PhD, Futurist, Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project, NASA
Tom Cooke, Founder & CEO, Spacely
Series Host: Dyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin Works

The topic of climate change ignites impassioned debate worldwide - a topic that has made its way into mainstream dialogue, from wall street to mainstreet, and achieved an extraordinary amount of global investment. The ecosystemic implications of this are fascinating. A global issue - with implications for society, industry, economy and policy. A long-standing debate. Yet clear consensus and paths forward remain elusive, suggesting potential misalignment in systems of information, and incentive.
A leading concern is the belief that even the most aggressive reductions of greenhouse gas emissions are unlikely to prevent their harmful impacts - especially to those people, organisms and ecosystems that are already vulnerable. While many believe solar geoengineering shows great potential to manage some components of climate change - it also poses environmental risks and governance challenges of its own. As we consider the global level of discourse, investment in research and development, and regulatory activity - it’s imperative we
In this episode, our hosts Chris Potter and Marco Annunziata sit down with International Environmental Policy expert Jesse Reynolds to discuss the capabilities and limitations of solar geoengineering, and where we go from here.
Show Highlights:
“Cutting emissions is a collective action problem where everybody kind of wants to drag their feet and hope that the rest of the world does a good job. And then the benefits of costly emissions cuts go to the future, whereas the costs are born by the present.” –Jesse Reynolds
“Climate change economics often quickly gets into the trillions of dollars when you're talking about impacts or very aggressive emissions cuts. In fact, if anything, solar geoengineering looks too cheap, right? We don't need to reduce the cost. That's not a barrier here. So the question in terms of is it effective?It's yes ... but. It can be thought of best as a palliative or an analgesic, a type of a medicine that temporary suppresses some of the worst symptoms while a cure is being researched and implemented.” –Jesse Reynolds
“It turns out that the opponents of solar geoengineering have managed to stop these field experiments saying it crosses a rubicon, that this will legitimize something that we first need a global dialogue about. And you can see how it's the extremes feeding off of each other with the loser in this process being the generation of knowledge and trust that will be essential if solar geoengineering might be able to reduce climate change risks in the future, especially to the most vulnerable populations in the world.” –Jesse Reynolds
Guest:
Jesse Reynolds, Environmental Policy Expert
Co-hosts:
Marco Annunziata, Co-Founder, Annunziata + Desai Partners
Christopher Potter, Senior Research Scientist, Ecosystem Science & Technology Branch, NASA Ames Research Center

Join an extraordinary panel of experts in aerospace, energy, and ultra-advanced technologies as they explore the absolute outer bounds of physics and engineering.

This groundbreaking discussion, co-hosted by Anna Brady-Estevez, Dr. Hal Puthoff, Larry Forsley, and Dyan Finkhousen, convenes the world’s leading researchers and innovators to examine extended electrodynamics, lattice confinement fusion, zero-point energy, and advanced propulsion and discusses the implications for the future of technology and space exploration.

Featured Guests

• Dr. Hal Puthoff - EarthTech International
• Larry Forsley - Global Energy Corporation
• Phillip Lentz - UnSpace
• Richard Banduric - Field Propulsion Technologies
• Ankur Bhatt - Hoverr Inc.
• Louis Dechiaro – Richard Stockton College
• Chance Glenn - Morningbird Space
• MK Merrigan – MK Advisors
• Rima Oueid – US Department of Energy

Key Themes Discussed

• Extended Electrodynamics (EDI) and its applications
• Zero-point energy research and potential applications for unlimited power
• Advanced propulsion systems and breakthrough propulsion physics
• Quantum detection and sensing technologies
• The intersection of gravitational physics and electrodynamics
• Novel approaches to fusion and energy generation
• Materials science and programmable matter
• The convergence of theoretical physics and practical engineering

Looking Forward

The episode highlights the growing convergence of theoretical physics and practical engineering, suggesting we may be on the cusp of revolutionary advances in propulsion, energy, and communication technologies. The discussion emphasizes the importance of continued research, increased funding, and broader collaboration across disciplines to accelerate development in these crucial areas.

Presented by NASA Convergent Aeronautics Solutions Project in collaboration with Shoshin Works.

Hosts:

Dr. Anna Brady-Estevez, Co-Chair US interagency Space Economy & Advanced Manufacturing Working Groups

Dr. Harold (Hal) Puthoff is President & CEO at the Institute for Advanced Studies at Austin & EarthTech International, Inc.

Lawrence Forsley is the Chief Technology Officer of Global Energy Corporation

Dyan Finkhousen, CEO of Shoshin Works

Series Hosts:

Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research Center

Dyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin Works

In this data-driven episode of Ecosystemic Futures, host Marco Annunziata interviews Dr. Tiffany Vora, a molecular biologist, Singularity Fellow in Biotechnology, and Vice President for Innovation Partnerships at ExploreMars. Drawing from her background in pharmaceutical research, teaching at Stanford University, and extensive work in space innovation, Dr. Vora examines how synthetic biology advances

the development of specialized biosystems for space exploration.

The discussion explores her recent publication "Space Synthetic Biology: A Paradigm for Sustainability on Earth and Beyond," detailing how technological convergence enables us to read, write, and engineer the source code of life with unprecedented precision. Dr. Vora presents research on how advanced biosystems can solve critical space exploration challenges through on-demand manufacturing of medicines, materials, and food.

The episode offers actionable insights for leveraging genetic chassis organisms, flight-tested hardware for biological manufacturing, and shelf-stable reagents that deliver value for space missions and remote Earth locations. Dr. Vora outlines how these advanced biosystems can form the foundation of circular economies in space habitats where waste becomes valuable feedstock for new biological production cycles.

Highlights

• DNA as Programming Language: Life on Earth stores information as A, C, T, and G—a biological code we can now read, write, and edit with precision for space applications.
• Advanced Genetic Chassis: Researchers are developing customizable biological platforms that can be optimized for Mars's unique conditions, including radiation, salinity, and reduced light.
• Space Bioeconomy: "Making it" versus "taking it"—creating on-demand medicines, materials, and food in space solves critical up-mass constraints for long-duration missions.
• Extremophile Inspiration: Organisms that thrive in nuclear waste, salt flats, and other extreme Earth environments provide genetic blueprints for space-hardy biological systems.
• Flight-Tested Biomanufacturing: Developing hardware that enables small-batch, reproducible biological manufacturing in space environments has applications for both Mars missions and remote Earth locations.
• Circular Biosystems: Engineering biological processes where waste becomes feedstock for new materials and creates sustainable closed-loop systems essential for long-duration space habitation.

Join us for this exceptional discussion.

Guest: Dr. Tiffany Vora, Singularity Fellow in Biotechnology, and Vice President for Innovation Partnerships at ExploreMars

Host: Marco Annunziata, Co-Founder, Annunziata + Desai Partners

Series Hosts:

Vikram Shyam, Lead Futurist, NASA Glenn Research Center

Dyan Finkhousen, Founder & CEO, Shoshin Works