Flash Forward

Jul 15 2024 185 ep. 34 mins 73.1k

Flash Forward Podcast artwork

Flash Forward is a show about possible (and not so possible) future scenarios. What would the warranty on a sex robot look like? How would diplomacy work if we couldn’t lie? Could there ever be a fecal transplant black market? (Complicated, it wouldn’t, and yes, respectively, in case you’re curious.) Hosted and produced by award winning science journalist Rose Eveleth, each episode combines audio drama and journalism to go deep on potential tomorrows, and uncovers what those futures might really be like. The future is going to be weird, so let's get ready for it together.

Copy RSS

Subscribe on Podcast Addict

A Womb Away From Home

May 12 2015 12 mins

What happens when women no longer have to physically bear children? Who wins? Who loses? Who takes artificial wombs to a far away planet to create a colony of super-beings? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Moon is a Harsh Second Mistress

May 19 2015 15 mins

What would happen if the Earth suddenly had a second moon? This week, we work through the impact an additional satellite would have on our planet, from tides, to the night sky, to the potential destruction of Earth. Oh also there are space pirates. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Forcing the Hand

May 26 2015 10 mins

This week’s future is a social experiment. What if Earth had a robotic overlord who decided to ban all weapons? All fights would have to be hand to hand. Would there be less death that way? Less casualties? What counts as a weapon anyway? Listen to the episode to find out! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Most Dangerous Games

Jun 02 2015 12 mins

This week on Meanwhile in the Future we step onto the field and talk about contact sports. What would it take to create a future in which the most dangerous sports die out? What are those sports to begin with? What does a world without football look like? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Revenge of the Germs

Jun 09 2015 15 mins

Over the past 85 years, antibiotics have been miracle drugs. They’ve kept infections at bay and opened up a world of medical possibilities: organ transplants, heart surgery, chemotherapy. But they’re not going to work forever. The age antibiotic resistance is coming. So what does a world without these drugs look like? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoic

Never Lay Me Down to Sleep

Jun 16 2015 12 mins

If there was a drug that meant you never had to sleep again, would you take it? Would those who didn’t need to sleep have special advantages over those who did? All that and a side of zombies, in this week’s episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Day the Internet Broke

Jun 23 2015 17 mins

If you’re reading this, you have access to the Internet. But what would happen if the Internet suddenly went away? And what would it take to make that happen? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supernova Next Door

Jun 30 2015 15 mins

We often think of stars as twinkling, harmless little points of light that fill our night sky with majesty. But stars can be dangerous too. When they come to the end of their lifespan, some stars explode fantastically as supernovae. So what would happen if one of those giant explosions happened nearby? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Bodybuilders

Jul 07 2015 12 mins

We all want to be our best selves. But what if you could add almost anything to your body and mind? A camera here, an exoskeleton there. This is the world that some biohackers imagine—one in which humans can extend their abilities beyond the limits biology has set for us. But what does that world look like? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Grounded

Jul 14 2015 11 mins

Need to get from New York to Paris? Or San Diego? Chances are you’re not taking a car or a bus or a boat to go there. Instead, you’d hop on a plane. But aside from hurting your wallet, commercial flights also hurt the planet, contributing to the continuous input of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere that is in turn contributing to climate change. So what if we stopped flights?