Robert J. Sawyer--Part 3. Topics: Microsoft's new HoloLens eyeglass computer which beats Google glass by providing a head up display over your entire field-of-view; the latest DARPA Robot Challenge showed us that robots are still amazingly slow, clumsy and bumbling; why the future popularity of sex robots is perfectly reasonable; making the case for human augmentation; why human augmentation will probably, over time, alter an individual's personality; benefits of the new laser-based carbon-dioxide scrubber for space travel; ideas on how to increase fairness in the judicial system; and the idea that if there had been as many smartphone video cameras during the civil rights movement as there are today, it probably would have proceeded a lot more rapidly and a lot less violently.

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers in history — and the only Canadian — to win all three of the world’s top Science Fiction awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. (The full list of includes: Frederik Pohl, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Robert J. Sawyer, Arthur C. Clarke, Connie Willis, Paolo Bacigalupi.) Robert J. Sawyer  is also an award-winning scriptwriter and an in-demand keynote speaker.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 29, 2015 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 43 minutes] This interview was recorded using Skype on March 22, 2015.

Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for his work as an author, futurist, magazine writer and award-winning podcaster. A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. For the last nine years he has produced a weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores (through interviews, panel discussions and commentary) all the ways the future will be different from today. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. Stephen is the author of an ebook about the future entitled: Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.

Robert J. Sawyer--Part 2. Topics: indicators we might see if the Internet were to wake up and become conscious as an artificial intelligence; clever things such a web-mind might do to make the world a better place; why Artificial Intelligence or Artificial Super Intelligence is not likely to be dangerous; why it is likely that we will develop artificial intelligence; the future of 3-D printers of ordinary stuff, and of organs for transplant; features of a post-scarcity world; epigenetics; the astounding wealth of knowledge we all have at our keyboards; the free audio books available for download from LibriVox; the Neanderthal Genome Project; and the ethical problems with cloning a neanderthal.

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers in history — and the only Canadian — to win all three of the world’s top Science Fiction awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. (The full list of includes: Frederik Pohl, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Robert J. Sawyer, Arthur C. Clarke, Connie Willis, Paolo Bacigalupi.) Robert J. Sawyer  is also an award-winning scriptwriter and an in-demand keynote speaker.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 22, 2015 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 38 minutes] This interview was recorded using Skype on March 22, 2015.

Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for his work as an author, futurist, magazine writer and award-winning podcaster. A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. For the last nine years he has produced a weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores (through interviews, panel discussions and commentary) all the ways the future will be different from today. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. Stephen is the author of an ebook about the future entitled: Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.

Robert J. Sawyer (the award-winning author and science enthusiast) discusses: radical life extension; how mind uploading might be misused in horrific ways; his critique of the methods used by the SETI project in their search for extraterrestrial civilizations; the most reasonable answers to the the Fermi Paradox; and his expectations concerning quantum computers, and why the NSA is buying them.

Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers in history — and the only Canadian — to win all three of the world’s top Science Fiction awards for best novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award. (The full list of includes: Frederik Pohl, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Kim Stanley Robinson, and Robert J. Sawyer, Arthur C. Clarke, Connie Willis, Paolo Bacigalupi.) Robert J. Sawyer  is also an award-winning scriptwriter and an in-demand keynote speaker.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 15, 2015 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 37 minutes] This interview was recorded using Skype on March 22, 2015.

Stephen Euin Cobb has interviewed over 350 people for his work as an author, futurist, magazine writer and award-winning podcaster. A contributing editor for Space and Time Magazine; he has also been a regular contributor for Robot, H+, Grim Couture and Port Iris magazines; and he spent three years as a columnist and contributing editor for Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. For the last nine years he has produced a weekly podcast, The Future And You, which explores (through interviews, panel discussions and commentary) all the ways the future will be different from today. He is an artist, essayist, game designer, transhumanist, and is on the Advisory Board of The Lifeboat Foundation. Stephen is the author of an ebook about the future entitled: Indistinguishable from Magic: Predictions of Revolutionary Future Science.

This is the 300th episode of The Future And You.

A hundred new 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.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 24, 2013 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 48 minutes].

And If you enjoy the many predictions in this episode you may also enjoy the 200th episode (May 25, 2011) which also contains over 100 predictions from past guests.

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].

Authors David Drake, John Ringo and Joe Haldeman are featured guests; as are Peter Stampfel (Editor at DAW Books) and three professional models: Aria Giovanni, Aimee Sweet and Linda Tran. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the June 1, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 104 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News-briefs concerning: the questionable ethics of the giant video game companies in general and Nintendo in particular; some hard numbers on global warming; the internal tug-of-war at CNN over Lou Dobbs and illegal immigrants; and how this show's host has been offered the email addresses of a quarter billion people.

[2] David Drake on the surprising truth of what's holding back the popularity of e-books. He also talks about his participation in the new online science fiction and fantasy magazine from Baen Books called: Jim Baen's Universe.

[3] Joe Haldeman has just won yet another Nebula award. Your host asks him to describe the ceremony, what emotions it produced in him and a bit about the book he won with which is called: Camouflage.

[4] The many disturbing trends within book publishing are explained by Peter Stampfel who has been the submissions editor at DAW books in New York City for twenty-five years. He also describes an obscure form of quasi-homosexual fan fiction called: Slash Fiction. A lifelong musician, he also provides a song from his CD The Jig is Up called: Song of Man.

[5] Chapter seven in our serialization of the novel: Bones Burnt Black.

[6] John Ringo makes the case for nuclear power (especially pebble bed reactors) and mentions his short story which will appear in Jim Baen's Universe.

[7] Celebrity interviews with three nude models who specialize in the erotic: Aria Giovanni (Penthouse Pet September 2000), Aimee Sweet (Penthouse Pet August 1998 and Perfect Ten model for Spring of 1998), and Linda Tran (who has appeared in magazines, calendars, videos and Pay-Per-View).

SF authors David Brin, Spider Robinson, Nancy Kress and Joe Haldeman are guests; as are Mike Treder (on nanotechnology), David Pascal (on cryonics) and from Red Dwarf (the award winning British science fiction TV comedy series) a celebrity interview with the British actress and stand-up comedian Hattie Hayridge.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 11, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 79 minutes] 

Topics include:

[1] The future dominance of women in America, and the hypocrisy within our government over the funding of global warming research. David Brin (bestselling author and scientist) tackles both of these subjects.

[2] Spider Robinson (bestselling author) explains why, thanks to the internet, it is no longer possible to think you are weird (even if you are), and how this has changed us. He also describes how he learned to appreciate technology the hard way: by living without it. (And once again, as an added bonus, you will hear a song from Spider's CD, Belaboring the Obvious. This one is called Oblivion.)

[3] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[4] How long until we fall into the next dark age? The award winning author Nancy Kress discusses this, and describes how malaria is spreading to villages higher up the sides of African mountains because the habitat of the malaria causing mosquito is expanding, apparently thanks to global warming.

[5] Will Hillary Clinton be sacrificed by the Democrats? The award winning author Joe Haldeman worries that Hillary's own party may not prove to be the strong ally she will need to win the presidency in 2008.

[6] Hacking nanotechnology: the future of NanoWarez. The world's hackers will someday shift their focus from turning your computer against you to turning your nanotech devices and implants against you. Just how dangerous this might get is described by Mike Treder, Executive Director of The Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.

[7] Foreign cryonics: the French have outlawed it, the Brits are with us, and the Russians secretly researched a lot more during the cold war than they are willing to share now. And what about pre-death freezing? It's still illegal everywhere, but the Scandinavian nations are lax on suicide. Might they be flexible about freezing the terminally ill? David Pascal (noted marketing consultant who specializes in Social Marketing) shares his considerable knowledge.

[8] Why science has become so much more powerful than religion (an essay by your host).

[9] A celebrity interview with the British actress and comedian Hattie Hayridge, who played Holly the computer (after the computer's sex change) on the award winning British science fiction comedy series Red Dwarf.

SF authors David Brin and Joe Haldeman are among the guests, along with: the head of a nanotech org, a marketing consultant, a cryonic insurance provider, and the actress Robin Curtis, who played a Vulcan Starfleet officer in two Star Trek movies.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 11, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 79 minutes] 

Topics include:

[1] David Brin (bestselling author and scientist) warns that Righteous Indignation is an addictive high chemically similar to heroin, and also describes our civilization's unfounded Crisis of Confidence.

[2] Predicting the risks and potential misuse of nanotechnology's vast and marvelous future is the mission of CRN: the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology. CRN's Executive Director, Mike Treder, provides a heads-up.

[3] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[4] More powerful than propaganda, social marketing has been used to engineer changes in the beliefs and behaviours of entire populations, and has suceeded with surgical precision. David Pascal, a marketing consultant who specializes in social marketing, explains this power; as well as how it is used--and misused--in today's american politics.

[5] Technological Immortality: will we develop it in the next few decades? The award winning author Joe Haldeman shares a few thoughts on the subject.

[6] A few more thoughts on technological immortality; this time from Rudi Hoffman, the world's leading cryonics insurance provider.

[7] A listener's comments on the host's use of the word dead when referring to the cryopreserved.

[8] She worked with Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner and the rest of the cast of Star Trek. A celebrity interview with the actress Robin Curtis, who played the Vulcan Starfleet officer Lieutenant Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as well as (the host's favorite of the Star Trek movies) Star Trek IV: The Journey Home.

SF authors Nancy Kress and Joe Haldeman are among the guests, as are: an astronomer, a recording label executive, a transhumanist, a cryonics insurance provider, two teenaged girls, and Pugsley and Wednesday from the beloved TV show The Addams Family.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 28, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 79 minutes] 

Topics include:

[1] As the internet slowly kills the old traditional recording labels, Magnatune (a new kind of label) is growing like a weed. John Buckman (Magnatune's founder and CEO) explains his company's strange motto: 'We are not evil.'

[2] The award winning science fiction author Nancy Kress talks about future medical advances, including the promise of, and the ongoing controversy over, stem cell research.

[3] An essay by your host on the probability that any extraterrestrial civilization we encounter will be near our scientific or technological level.

[4] The award winning science fiction author Joe Haldeman talks about faster than light travel (FTL), the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI) and mentions that some of his students at MIT have discovered exoplanets.

[5] Doctor Greg Matloff (astronomer, author and professor) also discusses the SETI program, as well as the problems that SETI scientists have when interpreting what appear to be genuine (but very brief) signals from intelligent aliens.

[6] The fourth installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[7] Rudi Hoffman (the world's leading cryonics insurance provider) grapples with cryonics' thorniest theological problem: 'If human beings actually do have souls, will cryopreserved people be impossible to re-animate?'

[8] Noted transhumanist, Lionel Vogt, explains why he believes that when AI (artificial intelligence) is finally a reality it will produce an explosion of technological advancement that is impossible for us to imagine today.

[9] A listener disagrees with the host's essay on cryonics from the previous episode.

[10] Halo Parties, fuzzy shoes, and the insistence that 'Final Fantasy will never die.' Two teenaged girls (Aliese, age 15; and Amber, 14) describe the strange trends and rising fads within their youthful universe.

[11] Was that Lurches real voice? And whose hand was it that played Thing? A double celebrity interview with Ken Weatherwax and Lisa Loring: Pugsley and Wednesday from the beloved old TV show The Addams Family.

SF authors Joe Haldeman and Nancy Kress, a transhumanist, a physicist, and Jason's mother from Friday The 13th are amoung the guests.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 15, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 79 minutes]

Topics include:

[1] Nanotechnological invisibility is being developed at MIT and is described by the award winning science fiction author Joe Haldeman, along with his personal feelings about cryonics, and his vision that, once they are developed, computers wired directly into the human brain may sweep the developed world as quickly as cell phones since those without them will be at a competative disadvantage.

[2] A new device which will allow planets orbiting other stars to be seen and studied by blotting out the light of the star which they orbit. Professor Grover Swartzlander of the University of Arizona in Tucson explains his invention.

[3] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[4] Award winning science fiction author Nancy Kress explains the growing controvercy over the genetic engineering of crops, or as they call them in europe FrankenFoods.

[5] Trends within the movie theater industry; revenues are down, but popcorn sales are up.

[6] A personal essay in which the show's host describes his mixed feelings about cryonics, entitled: 'Why I may not want cryonics afterall.'

[7] Transhumanist, Lionel Vogt, describes aspects of day-to-day life in the deep future such as the fear of living forever.

[8] A celebrity interview with Betsy Palmer who played Jason's mother (the axe-murdering, Mrs. Voorhees) in the original movie Friday The 13th.