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FUTURES Podcast

FUTURES Podcast

Luke Robert Mason

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1 Creator

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1 Creator

The FUTURES Podcast explores the multitude of possible tomorrows. Meet the scientists, technologists, artists and philosophers working to imagine the sorts of developments that might dramatically alter what it means to be human. Hosted by Luke Robert Mason.
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Top 10 FUTURES Podcast Episodes

Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best FUTURES Podcast episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to FUTURES Podcast for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite FUTURES Podcast episode by adding your comments to the episode page.

FUTURES Podcast - A New Science of Consciousness w/ Anil Seth
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01/05/22 • 76 min

Neuroscientist Anil Seth shares his thoughts on the role of neuroscience in explaining human consciousness, why our perception of reality might be a controlled hallucination, and how psychedelics are challenging our understanding of the mind.

Anil Seth is a Professor of Cognitive and Computational Neuroscience at the University of Sussex, where he is also the Co-Director of the Sackler Centre for Consciousness Science. Anil is also a Wellcome Trust Engagement Fellow, Co-Director of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) Program on Brain, Mind, and Consciousness, and Co-Director of the Leverhulme Doctoral Scholarship Programme: From Sensation and Perception to Awareness.​ Anil edited and co-authored the best-selling 30 Second Brain (Ivy Press, 2014), was consultant for Eye Benders (Ivy Press, 2013; winner of the Royal Society Young People’s Book Prize 2014) and contributes to a variety of media including the New Scientist, The Guardian, and the BBC. Anil also writes the blog NeuroBanter.

Find out more: futurespodcast.net

CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

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Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast

Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast

Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

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6 Listeners

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FUTURES Podcast - Visions of the Future w/ Pat Cadigan
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11/07/22 • 29 min

Cyberpunk author Pat Cadigan shares her thoughts on the role of science fiction in society, her methods for thinking about the future, and which elements of the cyberpunk genre have become features of our everyday reality.

Pat Cadigan was born in Schenectady, NY, and grew up in Fitchburg, MA. Attending the University of Massachusetts on a scholarship, she eventually transferred to the University of Kansas where she received her degree. Since embarking on her career as a fiction writer in 1987, her Hugo and Nebula Award-nominated short stories have appeared in such magazines as Omni, The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, and Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine as well as numerous anthologies. Her first collection, Patterns, was honoured the Locus Award in 1990, and she won the Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1992 and 1995 for her novels Synners and Fools. Pat Cadigan moved to the UK in 1996 and now lives in London.

Recorded live from the Science Museum, London on 26 October 2022.

Find out more: futurespodcast.net

Credits

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

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Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast

Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast

Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

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2 Listeners

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FUTURES Podcast - Rewiring the Brain w/ David Eagleman
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12/17/20 • 84 min

Neuroscientist David Eagleman shares his insights into the mystery of neuroplasticity, how modern technology impacts our brains’ development, and the different ways we might soon be able to augment our senses and enhance our cognition.

Dr David Eagleman is a neuroscientist and internationally bestselling author. He teaches brain plasticity at Stanford University, is the creator and host of the Emmy-nominated television series The Brain, and is the CEO of NeoSensory, a company that builds the next generation of neuroscience hardware. The author of seven other books, he lives in California.

Find out more: futurespodcast.net

CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST

Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast

Instagram: @futurespodcast

Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

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2 Listeners

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1 Comment

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FUTURES Podcast - Ensuring Humanity's Survival w/ Lord Martin Rees
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10/28/20 • 81 min

Astronomer Royal Lord Martin Rees shares his insights into the existential threats facing humanity, what it means to be a techno-optimist, and how we can plan for the long-term future.

Lord Martin Rees is a leading astrophysicist as well as a senior figure in UK science. He has conducted influential theoretical work on subjects as diverse as black hole formation and extragalactic radio sources, and provided key evidence to contradict the Steady State theory of the evolution of the Universe.

Martin was also one of the first to predict the uneven distribution of matter in the Universe, and proposed observational tests to determine the clustering of stars and galaxies. Much of his most valuable research has focused on the end of the so-called cosmic dark ages — a period shortly after the Big Bang when the Universe was as yet without light sources.

As Astronomer Royal and a Past President of the Royal Society, Martin is a prominent scientific spokesperson and the author of seven books of popular science. After receiving a knighthood in 1992 for his services to science, he was elevated to the title of Baron Rees of Ludlow in 2005.

Find out more: futurespodcast.net

CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST

Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast

Instagram: @futurespodcast

Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

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1 Listener

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1 Comment

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FUTURES Podcast - Ancestors & Ancient DNA w/ Prof. Alice Roberts
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01/10/22 • 53 min

Biological anthropologist Prof. Alice Roberts shares her insights on how sequencing ancient DNA can provide new evidence to help us understand our ancestors, what the latest archaeological discoveries reveal about the origins of homo sapiens, and how an appreciation of deep history can help us navigate the future.

Professor Alice Roberts is a biological anthropologist, author and broadcaster. She’s interested in the evolution, structure and function of humans, and our place in the wider environment. Having originally studied and practiced medicine, she then became a university lecturer, focusing on biological, evolutionary anthropology. She is passionate about public engagement with university research and teaching, and advocates a wider role for universities in society. She has been Professor of Public Engagement in Science at the University of Birmingham since 2012, and has worked extensively with the Wellcome Trust and other institutions in public engagement roles.

Find out more: futurespodcast.net

CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

FOLLOW

Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast

Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast

Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

1 Listener

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FUTURES Podcast - Bursting the Reality Bubble w/ Ziya Tong
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02/01/21 • 53 min

Science journalist Ziya Tong shares her insights into the hidden worlds that exist beyond the limits of the human senses, how illusions contribute to our understanding of reality, and how our collective blind spots are at the core of our current environmental crisis.

Ziya Tong is the Vice-Chair of WWF Canada. She anchored Daily Planet, Discovery Channel’s flagship science programme, until its final season in 2018. Tong also hosted the CBC’s Emmy-nominated series ZeD, PBS’ national prime-time series, Wired Science, and worked as a correspondent for NOVA scienceNOW.

Find out more: futurespodcast.net

CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST

Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast

Instagram: @futurespodcast

Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

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1 Listener

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FUTURES Podcast - God in the Machine w/ Dr. Beth Singler
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01/31/22 • 70 min

Anthropologist Dr. Beth Singler shares her thoughts on the misconceptions surrounding artificial intelligence, the dangers of treating humans like machines, and whether virtual reality could provide us with quasi-religious experiences.

Dr Beth Singler is the Junior Research Fellow in Artificial Intelligence at Homerton College, University of Cambridge, where she is exploring the social, ethical, philosophical and religious implications of AI. As an associate fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence she is collaborating on the AI Narratives and Global AI Narratives projects, as well as co-organising a series of Faith and AI workshops as a part of the AI: Trust and Society programme.

She has also produced a series of short films on the questions raised by AI, and the first, Pain in the Machine, won the AHRC Best Research Film of the Year Award in 2017. Beth has appeared on Radio4’s Today, Sunday and Start the Week, spoken at the Hay Festival as one of the ‘Hay 30’, the 30 best speakers to watch, as well as speaking at New Scientist Live, Edinburgh Science Festival, the Science Museum, Cheltenham Science Festival, and Ars Electronica. She was also one of the Evening Standard’s Progress 1000, a list of the most influential people, in both 2017 and 2018.

Find out more: futurespodcast.net

CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

FOLLOW

Twitter: twitter.com/futurespodcast

Facebook: facebook.com/futurespodcast

Instagram: instagram.com/futurespodcast

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1 Listener

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Senior Research Fellows Dr. Eleanor Drage and Dr. Kerry McInerney share their insights on how artificial intelligence will impact society, using a feminist lens to rethink innovation and the importance of language in shaping our understanding of ‘good’ technology.

Dr Eleanor Drage is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Cambridge Centre for the Future of Intelligence. She teaches AI Professionals about AI ethics at Cambridge and presents widely on the topic. She specialises in using feminist ideas to make AI better and safer for everyone. She is currently building the world's first free and open access tool that helps companies meet the EU AI act's obligations. Eleanor is also an expert on women writers of speculative and science fiction from 1666 to the present - An Experience of the Impossible: The Planetary Humanism of European Women’s Science Fiction. Dr Kerry McInerney (née Mackereth) is a Senior Research Fellow at the Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence at the University of Cambridge, where she co-leads a project on how AI is impacting international relations. Aside from The Good Robot, Kerry is the co-editor of the collection Feminist AI: Critical Perspectives on Algorithms, Data, and Intelligent Machines (2023, Oxford University Press) and the co-author of the forthcoming book Reprogram: Why Big Tech is Broken and How Feminism Can Fix It (2026, Princeton University Press).

This episode was recorded in front of a live audience for an event in partnership with SPACE4.

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

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Professor Frank Pasquale (Brooklyn School of Law) and Professor Steve Fuller (University of Warwick) debate whether humans should regulate artificial intelligence, and discuss the appropriate ways to safeguard the development of automation technologies.

Pasquale argued for a precautionary approach to the development of AI - one that favours a careful deployment of new laws for their usage. Whereas Fuller argued for a more proactionary approach to technological innovation - one that allows AI to developed unencumbered by the sorts of governance that might limit its scope.

This debate was recorded for SingularityNET as part of their Decentralised OS Web Series. This Bonus Episode is not sponsored content.

Frank Pasquale is Professor of Law at Brooklyn Law School and author of The Black Box Society: The Secret Algorithms That Control Money and Information. His work has appeared in the Atlantic, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Guardian, and other outlets.

Prof. Steve Fuller is Auguste Comte Professor of Social Epistemology at the University of Warwick, UK. Originally trained in history and philosophy of science, he is the author of more than twenty books. From 2011 to 2014 he published three books with Palgrave on 'Humanity 2.0'. His most recent book is Nietzschean Meditations: Untimely Thoughts at the Dawn of Transhuman Era (Schwabe Verlag, 2020).

Find out more: futurespodcast.net

CREDITS

Produced by FUTURES Podcast

Recorded, Mixed & Edited by Luke Robert Mason

FOLLOW FUTURES PODCAST

Twitter: @FUTURESPodcast

Instagram: @futurespodcast

Facebook: @FUTURESPodcast

bookmark
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Futurist Ari Wallach shares his insights into why we need ethical long-term visions that prioritise humanity, the importance of transgenerational empathy, and how to co-construct inclusive stories that imagine better tomorrows.

Ari Wallach is a futurist and social systems strategist. He is the founder and Executive Director of Longpath Labs, an initiative focused on bringing long-term thinking and coordinated behavior to the individual, organizational, and societal realms in order to ensure humanity flourishes on an ecologically thriving planet Earth for centuries to come. Ari is the author of Longpath: Becoming the Great Ancestors Our Future Needs by HarperOne. Ari’s TED talk on Longpath has been viewed over 2.5 million times and translated into 19 languages. Wallach was also the founder and CEO of Synthesis Corp., a New York-based strategic innovation consultancy whose clients included CNN, Volkswagen Global, The UN Refugee Agency and the US State Department. Wallach was the co-founder of the 2008 presidential initiative “The Great Schlep with Sarah Silverman” and most previously hosted Fast Company magazine's Fast Company Futures with Ari Wallach. He was most recently adjunct associate professor at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs, lecturing on innovation, AI and the futures of governance and public policy.

ABOUT THE HOST

Luke Robert Mason is a British-born futures theorist who is passionate about engaging the public with emerging scientific theories and technological developments.

He hosts documentaries for Futurism, and has contributed to BBC Radio, BBC One, The Guardian, Discovery Channel, VICE Motherboard and Wired Magazine.

CREDITS

Producer & Host: Luke Robert Mason

Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @FUTURESPodcast

Follow Luke Robert Mason on Twitter at @LukeRobertMason

Subscribe & Support the Podcast at http://futurespodcast.net

bookmark
plus icon
share episode

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FAQ

How many episodes does FUTURES Podcast have?

FUTURES Podcast currently has 87 episodes available.

What topics does FUTURES Podcast cover?

The podcast is about Ideas, Tech, Future, Design, Podcasts, Technology, Science and Philosophy.

What is the most popular episode on FUTURES Podcast?

The episode title 'A New Science of Consciousness w/ Anil Seth' is the most popular.

What is the average episode length on FUTURES Podcast?

The average episode length on FUTURES Podcast is 64 minutes.

How often are episodes of FUTURES Podcast released?

Episodes of FUTURES Podcast are typically released every 13 days, 23 hours.

When was the first episode of FUTURES Podcast?

The first episode of FUTURES Podcast was released on Dec 5, 2019.

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