Future Tense

Mar 20 2025 243 ep. 29 mins 2.5k

Future Tense Podcast artwork

A critical look at new technologies, new approaches and new ways of thinking, from politics to media to environmental sustainability.

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Civility, trash talking and more sociable cities

Mar 20 2025 28 mins

It certainly feels like a very shouty world. But have we really reached a new low point in civility? And, if so, where to from here? We examine what civility really entails and how it can help foster cooperation but also lead to the submission of minorities. And did you know that even the design of our urban spaces can shape and limit acts of civility? So, how can we make our cit

Limitarianism — could a cap on wealth reduce inequality?

Mar 13 2025 28 mins

When a company CEO can be paid 1,000 times the average employee's salary it's probably time to take a long hard look at wealth inequality. And those calling for the rich to pay more aren't always the ones you'd expect – Patriotic Millionaires is a group of mega rich individuals demanding greater, not lesser taxation. Then there's the Dutch philosopher urging ordinary citizens to

Understanding attention and a craving for certainty

Mar 06 2025 28 mins

Are we really facing an attention crisis? Historian, Daniel Immerwahr, has his doubts. In fact, he says ours is an era of obsession as much as distraction and of zeal as much as indifference. Also, the paradox of certainty: we crave it, argues the University of Alberta's, Timothy Caulfield, even though it's so easy to fake. Guests Daniel Immerwahr — author and Professor of Hist

Flow Batteries, windships, and a new approach to off-grid solar

Feb 27 2025 28 mins

They're cheaper and safer than their lithium counterparts, they're easier to scale-up, and they can hold power for much longer than conventional batteries, so why aren't flow batteries better known? The technology has been under development for decades, but enthusiasts now say they're finding their place in the sun. Also, why more and more cargo companies are turning to wind-power;

Modern museums, accountability, and openness

Feb 20 2025 28 mins

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is opening-up its storeroom, turning the back end of the operation into a public resource. It's about attracting new patrons, but it's also about accountability, the Museum's managers have declared. Across the Western world museums are having to reexamine their mission and redefine the relationship they have with the public they're meant to

Nuclear tombs and the distant discourse of danger

Feb 13 2025 28 mins

A series of massive underground tombs for nuclear waste are currently under construction. They've taken decades to plan and build and they're designed to house the world's nuclear waste for millennia to come. So where are they being built? How safe will they be? And how to devise a toxic waste warning sign that will make sense to people living tens of thousands of years from now?

The danger of generational labelling

Feb 06 2025 28 mins

Terms like "Gen Z", "Boomer" and "Millennial" are popular, but they have no basis in science. Demographers and social scientists are now pushing back. Generational labelling, they argue, is akin to Astrology and while politicians, journalists and media influencers find them irresistible, they actually promote pseudo-science, sew social division and can reinforce prejudicial stereot

Could Utopian thinking save democracy?

Jan 30 2025 29 mins

Why does Utopian thinking get such a bad rap? It’s often derided as delusional and dangerous. But what if that stereotype is designed to limit our imagination and choices? We hear often that people are tired of democracy and turned off by short-term political thinking. So, is it time to be much more adventurous and ambitious – dare we say utopian – in our imagining of the fut

How to ensure privatisation serves the public good

Jan 23 2025 29 mins

Privatising public services like trains, hospitals or prisons — is a proven vote loser. But governments of both the left and right continue to privatise — when it suits them. And it suits them, it seems, when large sums of money are needed to pay down debt, or when a government seeks to off load risk and liability to the private sector. So, what conditions should be applied to

The vicious cycle of fear and anger — and how it traps society

Jan 16 2025 29 mins

Authoritarians rule through fear. We can clearly see that from China to the Middle East to eastern Europe. But why do we constantly overlook the way in which fear also shapes democratic societies? It's fueling populism and distorting our future focus. Then there's anger. It's inspired generations to man the barricades and right society's wrongs. But anger is increasingly becoming a