The Future And You
Ideas and opinion about the future based on verifiable facts of today.
 
The Future And You -- May 25, 2011

This is the 200th episode of The Future And You.

Over a hundred never-before-heard predictions about the future from dozens of past guests, a few possible future guests, several listeners and an assortment of people actively building the future we are all going to live in.

Predictions and Congratulations from: Larry Niven, Joe Haldeman, Frederik Pohl, Catherine Asaro, Harry Turtledove, Gregory Benford, John Varley, Extropia DaSilva, CJ Cherryh, CJ Henderson, David Orban, Dave Freer, Giulio Prisco, Mike Resnick, Michael Anissimov, David Brin, Barry Hayworth, Paul Fischer, Cathe Smith, Michael D'Ambrosio, Tim Bolgeo (AKA: Uncle Timmy), Bryan Bishop, James Maxey, Robert Hooker, David Drake, Charlie Stross, Nancy Kress, Hildy Silverman, Michael Vassar, Randal L. Schwartz, David B. Coe, R.U. Sirius, Kevin J. Anderson, Amara D. Angelica, Gail Z. Martin, Philippe Van Nedervelde, Dale Baker, Vernor Vinge, Wayne Rooney, Larry Bowman, Joseph Sullivan, Charlie Kam, Dr. Anders Sandberg, Davey Beauchamp, Timothy Zahn, Sarah A. Hoyt, and Podcasting's Rich Sigfrit.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 25, 2011 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 90 minutes].

Direct download: TFAY_2011_5_25.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:41am EDT

The Future And You -- May 18, 2011

Michael A. Stackpole  (New York Times best selling author) is today's featured guest.

Topics: why print publishing is now in a severe crisis; how some literary agents have taken on a conflict of interest in their attempt to help their clients benefit from electronic rights; how the big book publishers will no longer publish any physical book if they can't get the far more lucrative electronic rights; when it is to an author's advantage to skip having physical books made at all, and just go with the more profitable ebooks; how much his agent gets from his ebooks; and his warning for writers about ridiculously bad ebook deals. He also gives book cover tips, and describes the Zapptek Legend Maker.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 18, 2011 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 33 minutes]. 

Michael A. Stackpole is a science fiction and fantasy author best known for his Star Wars and Battletech books. Begining in 1977, he worked as a designer of role-playing games for various gaming companies. In the 1980s he began designing computer games for Coleco and Interplay Productions, such as Bard's Tale III, Wasteland, Star Trek: 25th Anniversary and Star Trek: Judgment Rites. He also created the role-playing game Mercenaries, Spies and Private Eyes, which provided the game mechanics for Wasteland. In 1987 he began writing novels set in the BattleTech universe, and became one of the most popular authors in that genre. He was then selected to write a number of novels in the Star Wars universe. He is also a popular pocaster, essayist, speaker and has an asteroid named after him. 

Special Announcement: The 200th episode of The Future And You is only one week away. To commemorate this milestone I (your host) am asking every listener who will, to sit down and email me something I can read into the 200th episode.  

You can also email to me (as an attachment) an audio file.  This will be less work for me since I can just drop it into the show, and it will let everyone hear you speaking in your own voice.  If you do send an audio file as an attachment, please keep it short--no more than two minutes. 

Please send me: your prediction of what is to come in the future; or a trend you have observed which you think others have missed; or your assessment of what is good or bad about this show; or your notion of who was the best interview I've ever recorded and why. Or send me something I wouldn't even think to ask for, but you are certain everyone would like to know. 

Send it soon, because I start production of each episode several days before it goes public.  If you send it later than May 21, 2011 it might not be included. Send all these emails to: stepheneuincobb@gmail.com  Or you can message me through my facebook account.

Direct download: TFAY_2011_5_18.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:00am EDT

The Future And You -- May 11, 2011

Nathan P. Butler (a professional educator with eight years of teaching experience) is today's featured guest.

Topics: Practical verses theoretical matters in the classroom based on his years of experience as a teacher in public schools. Also: anecdotes from the early days of Internet radio, as well as some behind the scenes stuff from StarWarsFanworks and ChronoRadio.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 11, 2011 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 37 minutes]. 

Nathan P. Butler holds a 'Masters in Education with a Specialization in Integrating Technology in the Classroom.' He is also a groundbreaking podcaster, having been a podcaster years before podcasting had a name or a standardized means of distribution. He is also a mover and shaker in Star Wars Fandom through his work in with ChronoRadio and StarWarsFanworks, and for having written an exhaustive thousand-page-long chronology of the Star Wars universe which is titled 'Star Wars Timeline Gold.'

Special Announcement: The 200th episode of The Future And You is only two weeks away. To commemorate this milestone I (your host) am asking every listener who will, to sit down and email me something I can read into the 200th episode.  

You can also email to me (as an attachment) an audio file.  This will be less work for me since I can just drop it into the show, and it will let everyone hear you speaking in your own voice.  If you do send an audio file as an attachment, please keep it short--no more than two minutes. 

Please send me: your prediction of what is to come in the future; or a trend you have observed which you think others have missed; or your assessment of what is good or bad about this show; or your notion of who was the best interview I've ever recorded and why. Or send me something I wouldn't even think to ask for, but you are certain everyone would like to know. 

Send it soon, because I start production of each episode several days before it goes public.  If you send it later than May 20, 2011 it might not be included. 

Send all these emails to: me@stevecobb.com

Direct download: TFAY_2011_5_11.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:34am EDT

The Future And You -- May 4, 2011

Stephen Euin Cobb (author, futurist, magazine writer--and your host) is today's featured guest.

Topics: Progressive Auto Insurance Company now offers lower rates--if they can place a device in your car to spy on you; a new robotic seagull developed for aerial spying; a new system which can test 10,000 chemicals for toxicity in a single move; the rapidly growing number of universities in the US which offer degrees in robotics; an artificial pancreas for controlling blood sugar for type 1 diabetics has completed its first successful tests in human patients (great news for The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, chaired by Mary Tyler Moore, which has been pushing this project for years); and a new treatment for high blood pressure requires only a one-time dose of radio waves delivered by catheter, for some patients it can completely eliminate prescription medicines.

Also: why investing in diamonds is catastrophically threatened by our ability to manufacture ever larger, ever cheaper, and ever more flawless artificial diamonds; why De Beers and the entire natural diamond industry is so scared of this that it is pouring huge quantities of money into the invention of detectors which can identify the synthetic from the natural stones; and research that these synthetic diamond detectors don't actually work. 

Note: Diamonds made in the earth and diamonds made by humans are both exactly the same chemical substance; just as water made in the lab and water that falls from clouds is the same chemical substance. Only the origin is different. (Granted, natural diamonds often have pretty colors due to impurities from nature which is a naturally impure system, but if desired we can always add a little dirt in the lab, instead of trying to make them as perfect as possible.)

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 4, 2011 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 28 minutes]. 

Stephen Euin Cobb is an author, futurist and host of the award-winning podcast The Future and You. He was a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine for three years; and has written for Robot Magazine, H+ Magazine, Grim Couture Magazine, and Space and Time Magazine. He is also a game designer, artist, essayist, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation.

Direct download: TFAY_2011_5_4.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 3:01am EDT