The Future And You
Ideas and opinion about the future based on verifiable facts of today.
 
November 25, 2009 Episode

Doctor Gregory L. Matloff, C Bangs and Keith Comito are today's featured guests.

Doctor Gregory L. Matloff is an astronomer, author and professor; C Bangs is a professional artist and author; and Keith Comito is a mathematician, programmer and founder of OmegaSoft  which produces games and apps for the iPhone.

Topics: The future in general but also, extending human longevity, artificial intelligence, the Singularity, augmenting the human body and mind, the Fermi paradox, iPhone apps (such as Orbus which mimics an AI), and Michelle Phan who has become a celebrity on YouTube for her makeup tutorials.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the November 25, 2009 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 26 minutes] (These  interviews were recorded on October 3 and 4, 2009 at the Singularity Summit in New York City.)

Michelle Phan (BTW) has also posted helpful and clever tutorial videos on things that have nothing to do with makeup, such as how to use a black tee shirt to become a ninja in only 30 seconds, and how to stretch shoes that are too tight by placing Ziploc bags in them that are half-filled with water and putting them in the freezer overnight. Brilliant stuff.

 

Direct download: TFAY_2009_11_25.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

November 18, 2009 Episode

Peter Nygard (the internationally famous fashion designer) is today's featured guest.

Topics: how technology has transformed the fashion industry; and the pivotal role he played in the beginning and final negotiation of NAFTA. Also, as I interviewed him, my assistant Peggy Gregory noticed that his leather jacket bore the seal of the president of the United States of America. Asking about this, he explained that President Bush Senior--while visiting him on his island--took it off and gave it to him in return for one of his designer T-Shirts.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the November 18, 2009 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 26 minutes] (This interview was recorded on October 4, 2009 at the Singularity Summit in New York City.)

Peter Nygard is a fashion designer who's clothing, accessories, and home fashions can be found in Sears, Dillard's and countless other well known stores around the world. Enjoying a long and prosperous career, he owns a private island in the Bahamas called Nygard Key where he built a resort style mansion with a staff of 20, and owns a 133 feet long 727 as his private jet. He is friend to presidents, prime ministers, and celebrities of every media--TV, movies, music and print.

This episode is dedicated with special thanks to Greta Blackburn (an actress who appeared in many TV shows in the 80s and 90s such as Three’s Company and Dynasty, and several movies such as 48 Hrs and Yellowbeard, as well as the original version of the mini-series V). While I was busy interviewing futurists, Greta introduced my assistant Peggy to several noteworthy people we would have otherwise missed. One was Noel Patton of T.A. Sciences and another was today's guest, her friend, Peter Nygard. Greta was so modest that (though I kept thinking she looked familiar) I had no idea of her fame until I got home and looked her up online. If I had realized I would have asked her for an interview too.

 

Direct download: TFAY_2009_11_18.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

November 11, 2009 Episode

Ari Kiirikki, Vice President of Knome Inc. (the world's leading provider of personal DNA sequencing) is today's featured guest.

Topics: how you can have your entire DNA sequenced; the rate at which this expensive procedure is growing in popularity; how soon it will drop below $1000 (and may even reach $100); the new diagnostic powers general practitioners will gain using personalized DNA sequencing; cases in which the accidental discovery of extreme human genotypes have produced new drug therapies; why this technology will make the discovery of these extreme human genotypes far more common by making them far less random; speculation on ways widespread personal DNA sequencing might change online dating services; and how Knome Inc. is working to make personal DNA sequencing increasingly affordable and yet keep this data in the hands of the person whose DNA it is, and not in any database anywhere.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the November 11, 2009 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 20 minutes] (This interview was recorded on October 4, 2009 at the Singularity Summit in New York City.)

 

Direct download: TFAY_2009_11_11.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

November 4, 2009 Episode

Noel Patton (founder of T.A. Sciences) is today's featured guest.

Topic: A product available today which may extend human lives well beyond traditional limits. Specifically what this product is, how it functions within living cells, and some of the scientific and medical research verifying its effectiveness.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the November 4, 2009 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 23 minutes] (This interview was recorded on October 4, 2009 at the Singularity Summit in New York City.)

The product is called TA-65™ and is an enzyme (a single molecule) that activates telomerase. Discovered in 2001 by the California bio-tech company Geron, in 2002 it was licensed by T.A. Sciences. Telemerase reverses the normal loss of telemeres which occurs each time cells divide throughout a human life and which sets a limit (called the Hayflick limit) on the number of times human body cells can divide, and consequently how long a human can live.

 

Direct download: TFAY_2009_11_4.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT