The Future And You
Ideas and opinion about the future based on verifiable facts of today.
 

SF authors Greg Bear, Spider Robinson and Nancy Kress are among the guests; as are experts in robotics, demographics and nanotechnology; along with the actor Michael Berryman, who may be best known as the star of Wes Craven's original version of the motion picture: The Hills Have Eyes.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 25, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 77 minutes] 

Topics include:

[1] Technological Immortality: when nearly everyone in the world is really, really old what kind of civilization will we have? The bestselling author, Greg Bear, paints a strange picture of the future. He also speaks about his movie deals, his involvement with The Science Fiction Museum in Seattle and his books, one of which, it turns out, is in publishing limbo.

[2] Computers implanted in the human body and wired into the human brain. Nancy Kress, the award winning author, points out that we already have a little of this but that far more is on the way.

[3] Non-lethal warfare and Non-violent religions: pointed comments from the bestselling author, Spider Robinson.

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

[5] How will nanotechnology change our wars? From battlefield nanotech that protects and augments the individual soldier, to nanotech manufacturing which may destabilize the global economy and lead to future wars: this, from Mike Treder, the Executive Director of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.

[6] A veteran of the televised Battle-bot competitions, Lionel Vogt (noted futurist and transhumanist) tells about some of the robots he has built.

[7] An essay by your host entitled: Why you will get two completely different answers if you ask a biologist or an evolutionist the simple question: 'Why is water clear?'

[8] The coming Latino dominance of the USA. Within sixty years the USA will be a Latino nation in the same sense that Brazil and Argentina are now. Based on current demographic trends, this does not seem a possibility but an inevitability. David Pascal, a marketing consultant, describes the statistics.

[9] Two thousand people singing happy birthday to, and then a brief celebrity interview with, the actor Michael Berryman who may be best known as the star of Wes Craven's original version of the motion picture: The Hills Have Eyes.

Direct download: TFAY_2006_3_25.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 2:41pm EDT

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.

Direct download: TFAY_2006_3_11.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 4:34pm EDT