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

Rhonda Leigh Jones (author of erotic romance novels, and just back from a year living in and participating in the Eastern European culture of Romania) is today's featured guest.

Sex, BDSM, and life in Romania verses American are the general topics of the interview. Specifics topics include: the sexiness of the Joker from Batman; sexual repression within our culture; surprises from living a year in Romania; how her novels differ from the BDSM movies The Story of O and The Secretary; other alternative lifestyles such as polyamory; many people who are dating and in relationships rarely talk about sex, and when they do, rarely describe what they actually want; differences between occasional kink and lifestyle kink; people consider murder less a crime than rape even though it's possible to recover from rape but not from murder; that goth is mostly about music and only secondarily about style; and the goth scene in Romania.  Also, how Romania differs from America in terms of music, sexual attitudes (both kinky and non), clothing styles, culture, employment, crime, living conditions (it being a former communist nation), even how Romanians differ from Americans when just standing in line.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 31, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 67 minutes]

The Maestro's Butterfly and The Maestro's Maker are the first two novels in her erotic romance series which explores the dark side of eroticism using Vampires as some of the principal characters and the erotic elements of BDSM. Both novels are now also available as downloadable audio books. (Her publisher Ravenous Romance released her second novel only days after this interview was recorded.) Rhonda Leigh Jones has a Bachelors in English, and is a former newspaper reporter.

Sound-bites from the interview: 'There is so much kink out there.'

'Sexual attitudes in Romania are simultaneously more open and less open.'

'My novels are for people who like the dark side of eroticism; these are kinky vampires. It's an exploration of power dynamics: of domination and submission, and also of corporal punishment. There's a lot of corporal punishment in my writing.'

'People, if they are like me, get into BDSM because they don't skydive. A little bit of fear is the ultimate aphrodisiac.'

 

Direct download: TFAY_2008_12_31.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

R.U. Sirius (Editor-In-Chief of the new Transhumanist Magazine called H+ as well as writer, talk show host, and cyberculture icon) is today's featured guest.

R.U. Sirius tells how Timothy Leary (his friend and fellow cyberculture activist) helped him trick William Gibson (the reclusive author of the seminal cyberpunk novel Neuromancer) into providing them with an interview for Mondo 2000 (the cyberculture magazine of which R.U. Sirius was editor and co-founder).

He also talks about his work with Bruce Sterling (SF author and cyberculture leader); his candidacy for president in 2000; how the decline of print magazines is opening up the possibility that the new transhumanist magazine H+ may become a print magazine; and he accepts an invitation from me (your host) to do two personal appearnces inside the virtual world of Second Life.

And somewhere in the middle of all this he finds time to talk about technological enhancements to our IQ and mood; the accuracy of Ray Kurzeil's time-line; artificial intelligence; diminishing privacy; biotechnology; Amazon's Kindle; virtual reality; and why molecular manufacturing might become the magic bullet to end scarcity, increase health and extend human longevity.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 24, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 51 minutes]

R.U. Sirius (who was born Ken Goffman) may be best known as co-founder and the original Editor-In-Chief of Mondo 2000 Magazine from 1989–1993. He was Editor-In-Chief of Axcess magazine in 1998, and GettingIt.com from 1999-2000. He was also chairman and candidate in the 2000 U.S. presidential election for The Revolution Party; which had a platform that was a mixture of libertarianism and liberalism. He has been a regular columnist for Wired News and the San Francisco Examiner, a contributing writer for Wired and Artforum International. And he has written for Time, Esquire, Rolling Stone and many other publications. Altogether, he has written several hundred articles and essays.

News Items in this episode include: [1] Review of Robot Magazine. A glossy, full-color, 80 page-thick magazine crammed with articles about how to make robots, program robots, where to get robot parts, and what happened at all the latest robot competitions. [2] Kim Stanley Robinson will be in Second Life for an open forum discussion on Saturday, January 17, 2009. Beginning at Noon Pacific Time, it will be hosted by my friend Sophrosyne Stenvaag as part of her series of open forum discussions with people who are shaping the future, entitled Sophrosenye's Saturday Salon. [3] I attended my first baby shower inside Second Life. On December 14, 2008 Giulio Prisco (in Spain) threw the shower for Amara Graps (in Denver). Photos I took are on my Flickr page.

 

Direct download: TFAY_2008_12_24.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

R.U. Sirius (writer, editor, talk show host, and cyberculture icon) is today's featured guest.

As Editor-In-Chief of a new magazine called H+ (which is written by transhumanists, for transhumanists) he describes how he was recruited, his goals for its future, and admits (possibly for the first time) that he is a transhumanist and has been one, possibly his whole life.

Timothy Leary (who he recruited as a regular writer for Mondo 2000) in the 1980s, he points out, wrote about and promoted many ideas that today are widely considered transhumanist in nature. He suggests that although Timothy Leary did not describe himself as one, he might be considered an early transhumanist.

He also answers the host's question: How many of your articles, over the years, have been rejected because they were too controversial? And: if human longevity is developed, how will carrying our sometimes controversial reputations for centuries change our lives? He also talks about his expectations concerning artificial intelligence and the Singularity.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 17, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 49 minutes]

H+ magazine is available worldwide as a free download in PDF format. The first issue of is out. Your host has read it, and enjoyed it very much. Many of its articles were written by people who have been a guest on The Future And You.

Previously, R.U. Sirius (who was born Ken Goffman) was best known as co-founder and the original Editor-In-Chief of Mondo 2000 Magazine  from 1989–1993. He was Editor-In-Chief of Axcess magazine in 1998, and GettingIt.com from 1999-2000. He was also chairman and candidate in the 2000 U.S. presidential election for The Revolution Party; which had a platform that was a mixture of libertarianism and liberalism. He has been a regular columnist for Wired News and the San Francisco Examiner, a contributing writer for Wired and Artforum International. And he has written for Time, Esquire, Rolling Stone and many other publications. Altogether, he has written several hundred articles and essays.

News Items in this episode include: [1] This is Third Anniversary episode of The Future And You. [2] The Future And You, and other podcasts, can be listened to by phone. Podlines assigned this show the phone number  +1 (210) 957-5545 . [3] The Annual Death Stacks Tournament (a game invented by your host) has been invited to become part of the IAGO World Tour by The International Abstract Games Organization. [4] New Scientist Magazine reports that eating food with heavier isotopes of hydrogen and other atoms might lengthen human lives.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_12_17.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Brain Wang (writer, speaker and noted futurist) is today's featured guest.

Biases remain strong, Brian says, within government and the scientific community that have prevented the funding of some nanotechnology projects while promoting others. Brian explains how these biases are misused to secure funding for projects which have nothing to do with nanotechnology, at the cost of those that do.

Brian also talks about: Bussard Fusion (not to be confused with the interstellar ramjet also invented by Doctor Robert Bussard); types of nanotechnology and how each would change our lives and our civilization; the military's attitude toward nanotechnology; the need to quit keeping all our eggs in one basket and spread a meaningful portion of our species throughout the solar system; how future space wars in our solar system will differ from ground-based wars; that solar cells are likely to become cheap by 2015; and what a 'Mundane Singularity' might be like (one without AI or molecular manufacturing) and how much change such a Singularity might still produce in our lives.
 
Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 10, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 57 minutes]

Brian Wang is a long time futurist, who has been involved with nanotechnology associations since 1994. He is a Senior Associate of the Foresight Institute, a member of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology Task Force, and on the Advisory Board of both the Nanoethics Group and the Lifeboat Foundation.

He is the author of Predictions For a Technological Future, Now Until 2050; The Impact of Nanofactories on Jobs in the USA; and Considering Military and Ethical Implications of Nanofactory Level Nanotechnology. He has also been involved in e-commerce, Internet startups and real estate investing. He is a competitive dragon boat racer and has competed at the World Club Crew Championship.

His blog is NextBigFuture.com, but he is also a featured blogger on Michael Anissimov's acceleratingfuture.com, and on Ray Kurzweil's kurzweilAI.net.

News Items in this episode include: [1] CNN has laid off its entire Science and Technology reporting team including their Senior Science Reporter Miles O'Brian; [2] Jimmy Wales, co-founder of Wikipedia, describes his efforts to get China to lift their ban on Wikipedia; [3] The City State of Extropia inside Second Life celebrated its first anniversary (your host's photos may be viewed on Flickr).

Direct download: TFAY_2008_12_10.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

David Orban (futurist, speaker and business executive) is today's featured guest.  This is the second half of his interview. (The first half is in the episode dated October 29, 2008.)

Spimes, some people call them. What are spimes? What are the benefits and dangers of this new Internet expansion? What will be the uses and misuses? How will spimes impact people's lives? How will portions of the Internet migrate to this Spimey Network.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 3, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 56 minutes]

Also included are an update on the host's ongoing recovery from surgery; listener feedback; and an announcement that Sophrosyne's Satruday Salon will resume on December 6, 2008 with Information Week’s Mitch Wagner as guest speaker.

David Orban is the founder of WideTag, Inc. which is working to place CO2 sensors into cell phones so that the CO2 concentrations within a nation or continent can be mapped with unheard of precision.  He is also Founder and Director of Singularity Institute Europe; an Advisory Board Member of the Lifeboat Foundation; Founder and CEO of Questar; Founder of Vulcano; and a Founding Member of Lunarez.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_12_3.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

I've switched from using the prescription pain medicines to using a maximum dose of Tylenol.  I still have to use my left hand for everything but the throbbing pain is gone and only the temporary pains of moving my arm in the numerous wong directions remain. Also I'm getting back more and more range of motion in my shoulder.  The therapist says I'm progressing very well.  On the other hand, it's still a little embarrassing that my sister Peggy had to change my flat tire today while I just stood around and watched with my arm in the sling.  As to the show: I'm eager to get back to producing it.  Maybe I will be well enough to do a show next week, maybe.  We'll see.  I appreciate everyone's patience.

 

Category:general -- posted at: 11:49pm EDT

My recovery and my therapy are still proceeding well.

I will have to wear the sling and sleep in an easy chair until I see the doctor on December 8. He might let me stop wearing the sling. Although, to be honest, the sling is still very helpful right now.

I've been using my left hand for everything including operating my computer mouse. But last Saturday I made the mistake of controlling the mouse with my right hand. After a couple hours of that my arm was killing me so bad I had to go back to a full dose of pain medicine. The pain didn't returned to normal until Sunday evening.

I haven't figured out how to shave left-handed, so I'm growing a full beard. I might keep it after my right arm gets better. I'm not sure yet.

 

Category:general -- posted at: 8:14pm EDT

My recovery from surgery (14 days ago on October 29, 2008) is coming along well. My doctor and physical therapist are both pleased with my progress. Though I still take it every six hours, I've reduced my pain medicine to its minimum dose, and I can mostly take care of myself at my own house.

Thank you for the many wonderful messages wishing me a speedy recovery. It's always great to hear that there are people who don't like it when I'm hurting. This little post is to give you a clearer sense of how things are progressing.

I spent the first week after the operation living with relatives. And even though I'm living in my own house again, they still have to come get me to take me to my physical therapy twice a week since it's against the law to drive while taking my prescription pain medicine.

My surgery was an arthroscopic procedure to repair a 'full-thickness tear of the rotator cuff.' I've learned that this is a very common injury. My surgeon does two or three of these surgical repairs every week. The rotator cuff is a sheet of tendon like material that covers the shoulder joint like a hood. But its not there to just to cover it. The cuff is structural. The portion of the rotator cuff in my arm that was torn was the part that curves over the top of the shoulder and attaches the upper end of the muscle which raises my arm, to the bones of my shoulder.

The surgical procedure involves placing two anchors in the bone, then using sutures to draw the rotator back into contact with the bone and roughing up the mating surfaces enough that they bleed and so can begin to heal back together. Later, the anchors will be absorbed into the body.

With stitches inside my shoulder, the things I'm not allowed to do mostly center around not raising my right arm. It's not enough to not raise it often. I have to not raise it ever. I have to protect my arm from moving in any direction that will tear the stitches holding the rotator together. To aid in this they gave me a sling to keep my arm in for a month or two. It's very lightweight, surprisingly comfortable, closes with Velcro and is completely black. And since there might be a danger of rolling onto my arm while sleeping, I'm not allowed to sleep in a bed. I'm required to sleep in an easy chair.

I am extremely right handed, so normally my left hand doesn't know how to do anything. But I'm learning how to eat and brush my teeth and even use a computer mouse with my left hand. I've also learned that by pushing my keyboard back a foot or more from the edge of my desk, and then resting the entire weight of my right arm on the desk, I can type. But I can't lift my right arm from the desk since that is very painful and might tear the stitches. Instead, I have to lift the entire weight of my right arm with my left arm.

Another learning experience involved voting. I'm an American, and the U.S. General Election was just six days after my operation. So I sat in the passenger seat of the car wearing my hospital robe and with my arm in a sling and my head full of medicine while my 72 year old mother walked inside and brought two pole workers out to me with a computer tablet style voting machine. I may have spent less time at the poles than anyone in America that day. We were there ten minutes.

I still don't know how many weeks my show will be on hiatus. One more week, maybe two, we'll see. In the meantime, I will try to keep you up to date as to my condition. One last note: December will be the show's three year anniversary. I'll see if I can't come up with something special. Bye for now.

 

Category:general -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

The surgery on my right shoulder went very well. It was performed seven days ago on October 29, 2008. I am now in physical therapy and on medicines for the pain.

Unfortunately, thanks to the pain of moving my right arm combined with the mental sluggishness I'm getting from the pain medicines, my hope of doing an episode of The Future And You this week is out of the question. Even simple tasks like eating, showering and typing this tiny message all involve huge effort, moderate pain and vast amounts of concentration and cleverness since even the most basic bodily movements have to be reinvented from the bottom up.

I don't know how many weeks of recovery I will need before I can start producing episodes again. Maybe this will be the only week I miss, or maybe it will take two or three. One thing is for sure: I don't like sitting on the sidelines. The future is coming faster every day and I want to be in the thick of it.

I'll be back soon. In the meantime I'll keep you updated each Wednesday.

Category:general -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

David Orban (futurist, speaker and business executive) is today's featured guest.

The Internet is big and still growing. How it grows and where it grows changes with time. During the next few years one of its massive growth spurts will be into devices that are not physically connected to the net. This transition has already begun. It is moving into the billions of cell phones. But next will come other simpler objects, like shoes and clothes and toys and toasters.

Spimes, some people call them. What are spimes? What are the benefits and dangers of this new Internet expansion? What will be the uses and misuses? How will spimes impact people's lives? How will portions of the Internet migrate to this Spimey Network. David Orban covers all these topics as well as the backlash Walmart and Darman each received over their use of RFID chips in their products.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 29, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 49 minutes]

David Orban is the founder of WideTag, Inc. which is working to place CO2 sensors into cell phones so that the CO2 concentrations within a nation or continent can be mapped with unheard of precision.  He is also Founder and Director of Singularity Institute Europe; an Advisory Board Member of the Lifeboat Foundation; Founder and CEO of Questar; Founder of Vulcano; and a Founding Member of Lunarez.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_10_29.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Chris Phoenix (nanotechnology scientist, author and researcher) is today's featured guest. (This is the second half of the interview we started last week.)

Chris Phoenix is the co-founder and Director of Research for CRN (the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology). He is also a Scientific Advisor for The Nanotechnology Group, Inc., on the Scientific Advisory Board for Nanorex, Inc. and a Senior Associate at the  Foresight Nanotech Institute.

Topics discussed include: his ideas about the Singularity; why molecular manufacturing may prove to be impossible to regulate; his theory concerning the Cambrian Explosion; his programming work with Doctor Aubrey de Grey concerning human life extension; his several talks at the BIL conference (which is held the same week as the more famous TED conference); and a cure for dyslexia.

He also suggests the possibility that an artificial intelligence of superhuman intellect might use our increasingly Byzantine system of laws to manipulate civilization since it will understand them and we won't; and the possibility that by coming as a series of many small changes the big changes of the next few decades may quietly sneak up on most people without their awareness.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 22, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 55 minutes]

Chris Phoenix has worked in the field of advanced nanotechnology for over 15 years. He has a Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems and a Master's in Computer Science, both from Stanford University.

He has written many articles, essays and research papers about various areas of nanotechnology including medical applications and molecular manufacturing, such as his peer-reviewed paper, Design of a Primitive Nanofactory, as well as his comprehensive outline of Thirty Essential Nanotechnology Studies

Direct download: TFAY_2008_10_22.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Chris Phoenix (nanotechnology scientist, author and researcher) is today's featured guest.

Chris Phoenix is the co-founder and Director of Research for CRN (the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology). He is also a Scientific Advisor for The Nanotechnology Group, Inc., on the Scientific Advisory Board for Nanorex, Inc. and a Senior Associate at the  Foresight Nanotech Institute.

Topics discussed include: an anecdote about the nanotechnology class he took from Eric Drexler; the state of nanotechnology--and especially molecular assemblers; his four different speaking topics at this year's BIL conference; and the work being done by Zyvex.

He also explains the ideas he presented when he spoke at Doctor Aubrey de Grey's Third SENS Conference on the topic Getting Ahead of Aging; as well as some of the ways nanotech might help in life extension, the potential benefits of nanotech as a replacement for human blood, how soon he expects human longevity to become indefinite, and what methods he thinks are the most promising.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 15, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 52 minutes]

Chris Phoenix has worked in the field of advanced nanotechnology for over 15 years. He has a Bachelor of Science in Symbolic Systems and a Master's in Computer Science, both from Stanford University.

He has written many articles, essays and research papers about various areas of nanotechnology including medical applications and molecular manufacturing, such as his peer-reviewed paper, Design of a Primitive Nanofactory, as well as his comprehensive outline of Thirty Essential Nanotechnology Studies

Direct download: TFAY_2008_10_15.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Julie Grimaldi, president of Police Futurists International, is today's featured guest.

The mission of Police Futurists International is to foster excellence in policing by promoting and applying the discipline of Futures Research.

Topics discussed include: ways CSI and other TV shows deviate from the reality of police work; inflammatory video clips of police misconduct posted onto youtube; flash cameras at intersections which produce automated traffic ticket; how high gas prices affect police departments; Tasers and other less-than-lethal weapons; how dashboard video cameras mounted in police cars can be used as evidence; the Internet and cyber-crime; international crime; and other trends which will affect the future of law enforcement.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 8, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 53 minutes]

In addition to being president of Police Futurists International, Julie Grimaldi is a member of the International Association of Law Enforcement Planners (IALEP).

Julie Grimaldi has worked as a researcher, project manager, analyst and advisor to the Ontario Provincial Police senior and executive command staff on strategic issues and initiatives relevant to policing since 1990. Prior her work for the OPP she conducted research as a consultant to the Ontario Board of Parole. She holds an honours bachelor’s degree from York University (double major Law & Society/Philosophy), and a master’s degree in criminology from the University of Toronto.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_10_8.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Rudi Hoffman, the world's leading cryonics insurance provider, is today's featured guest.

You can too take it with you!  How combining cryonics and insurance can let you leave your million dollar insurance death benefit to yourself. It may allow you to wake up a century or two in the future, not just healthy but also wealthy. Cryonics is not just for today's rich. Ordinary people with moderate incomes can afford cryonic suspension by funding it with insurance.

Rudi also describes one of the principal enemies of the fledgling cryonics services: the powerful funeral industry. This is a David and Goliath story of a nationwide big-money operation trying to stamp out two tiny business facilities. One industry financed by millions of customers per year; the other by dozens. Hardly a fair fight.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 1, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 85 minutes]

Writing cryonic insurance since 1994, and with more than 80% of the world's market share, Rudi Hoffman is the world's leading cryonic insurance provider. He has been an insurance agent and professional financial planner since 1980. He is on the Board of Advisers for the Lifeboat Foundation, and is a Senior Associate with the Foresight Institute.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_10_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Larry Niven, the award-winning author of Ringworld, The Mote In God's Eye, and many other hard science fiction novels, is our featured guest.

He reveals that Robert A. Heinlein was the secret proofreader for his and Jerry Pournelle's novel The Mote In God's Eye. He describes Jerry Pournelle's personal edit war in Wikipedia, how they and other science fiction writers are helping the Department of Homeland Security, and his own work on Land of the Lost, The Outer Limits, and Star Trek the Animated Series.

He also discusses illegal organ banks, room temperature superconductors, and agrees that there is a possibility that your host's personal theory may be correct concerning high-temperature lifeforms having evolved in the ocean of liquid iron surrounding the earth's core.

Other topics include: nanotech molecule chain, how to move the earth, the Neanderthal Genome Project, human rights for AIs, the Wikipedia page concerning Jesus, exoplanets, the singularity, and the persistent rumors about a movie version of Ringworld.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 24, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 74 minutes]

Larry Niven's writing is primarily hard science fiction of an adventurous style which often involves large science concepts and theoretical physics. His fantasy includes The Magic Goes Away series which treats magic as a non-renewable resource. He has also written humorous stories; such as those collected in The Flight of the Horse. He has won the Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_9_24.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Doctor Adrian Bowyer (inventor of the RepRap machine) is our featured guest.

The RepRap machine is the first machine in all of human history that can make most of its own parts. Not all of them (at least not yet) but most. This means that with a good bit of human assistance and intervention it can do two things that for six hundred million years only biologically living things could do: Reproduce and Evolve.

What's more, the material the machine needs to make more of itself can be grown in your garden. And Doctor Bowyer (who is an engineer and mathematician at the University of Bath in England) has made the design of the machine freely available to anyone who would like to build one by declaring it Open Source.

All this would be meaningless of course if the machine could only make more copies of itself but it has already made shoes, coat hooks, door handles, gears, plastic jewelry, cups, flasks, and a shot glass for toasting its own creation.

A few months ago on May 29, 2008 its first offspring, its first 'child machine,' was assembled and was immediately used to make one of the components needed to make a grandchild machine. Which means that its reproduction and evolution has already begun.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 17, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 83 minutes]

Where this will all lead is still uncertain. If the good doctor has his way, in a few years millions of them will exist in homes all around the world, happily churning out useful and decorative household items at ridiculously low cost.

From New York City to Bangladesh, no place would be left out. If enthusiasm remains strong, they might quickly spread everywhere. Because if your friend or neighbor or relative has one and you don't, you can ask them to have theirs make one for you too.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_9_17.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Nick Bostrom (author, lecturer, philosopher at Oxford University, co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association and of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies) is today's featured guest.

Topics include: artificial intelligence, the future of civilization, transhumanism, the singularity, mind uploading, human extinction risks including the Toba super volcano, his simulation argument, and much more.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 10, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 74 minutes]

Doctor Nick Bostrom is a philosopher at Oxford University, and is the Director of the Oxford Future of Humanity Institute. In 1998, he co-founded (with David Pearce) the World Transhumanist Association, and in 2004, he co-founded (with James Hughes) the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies (IEET).

In addition to his writing for academic and popular press, Nick Bostrom makes frequent media appearances in which he talks about transhumanism-related topics such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, cloning, mind uploading, cryonics, and the simulation argument.

He has a background in cosmology, computational neuroscience, mathematical logic, philosophy, and artificial intelligence, and is the author of the book Anthropic Bias: Observation Selection Effects in Science and Philosophy.

His research interests include the philosophy of science, probability theory, and the ethical and strategic implications of anticipated technologies. He has been a consultant for the Central Intelligence Agency in the U.S., and for the European Commission and the European Group on Ethics in Brussels.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_9_10.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Neal Barrett Jr., the award-winning author of over fifty novels of science fiction, fantasy, mystery/suspense, and historical novels, as well as 'off-the-wall' mainstream fiction, is today's featured guest. 

In today's interview Neal Barrett Jr. provides us with his assessment of the future. 'I have seen entirely too much of what's going on; of the good and the bad and the indifferent.' he said. He also said, 'Every emperor and king and president and governor and mayor promises you what they are going to do. And how many of those things are still undone? The Pharaoh of 3000 BC hasn't kept his promises yet; so we're pretty far behind.'

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 3, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 41 minutes]

Neal Barrett Jr.'s novel Through Darkest America, was reviewed with the phrase, 'A book of astonishing power.' The Washington Post gave his novel The Hereafter Gang an even more enviable review which ended with the sentence, 'It is one of the great American novels.' 

He did the novelization of the motion picture Dungeons & Dragons, and his novel Pink Vodka Blues was optioned and purchased by Paramount Pictures. He followed that with Dead Dog Blues, Skinny Annie Blues and Bad Eye Blues.

Reviewers have defined Neal Barrett Jr.'s work as 'Stories that defy any category or convention.' He is the author of Perpetuity Blues, Interstate Dreams, and Ginny Sweethips' Flying Circus.

He was Guest of Honor and Toastmaster at the 55th World Science Fiction Convention in 1997, and this interview was recorded the day before his 77th birthday while he and this show's host were both at the 2006 World Fantasy Convention in Austin Texas.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_9_3.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

David Pearce, the British philosopher, activist and co-founder of the World Transhumanist Association, is today's featured guest.

Topics include: Wireheading, recreational drugs, chewing coca leaves for micro-doses of cocaine, the abolition of suffering in all sentient life, veganism verses vegetarianism, why he is a founding member of the Order of Cosmic Engineers, the journal Medical Hypotheses, how he learned that he was a transhumanist, and how this lead to his co-founding of the World Transhumanist Association.

David also describes some of his essays such as: The Good Drug Guide, Superhappiness, Utopian Surgery, The Wired Society, The Hedonistic Imperative, and his Critique of Huxley's Brave New World.

His book-length manifesto The Hedonistic Imperative details how he believes the abolition of suffering can be accomplished in the coming decades through 'paradise engineering.' And he predicts that our descendants will enjoy genetically preprogrammed bliss that is orders of magnitude richer than anything accessible today.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the August 27, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 67 minutes]

In addition to co-founding (with Nick Bostrom) the World Transhumanist Association, David Pearce also co-founded the Abolitionist Society and serves as its honorary president. He is currently the director of BLTC Research; he serves on the editorial review board of the scientific journal Medical Hypotheses; and he is a vegan and a transhumanist. (Wikipedia article which has many more links to his work.) 

Direct download: TFAY_2008_8_27.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Les Johnson, author, lecturer and NASA scientist, is today's featured guest.

Topics include: one of NASA's advanced electromagnetic propulsion systems which uses no fuel and no rocket engines whatsoever; NASA's near future projects such as the next lunar lander and the new heavy lifting vehicle Aries V; and how we might eventually find ourselves fulfilling the vision of his non-fiction book: Living off the Land in Space.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the August 20, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 65 minutes]

Les Johnson is a NASA physicist and manager, as well as the author of popular science books and articles. He serves as the Deputy Manager for the Advanced Concepts Office at the NASA George C. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.

Les has been on CNN, Fox News, NPR, The Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and in the New York Times. He made a few brief speaking appearances on camera in the BBC documentary series Space (released as Hyperspace in the USA) which was hosted by Sam Neil. He was the technical consultant for the movie Lost in Space. He is a frequent, and very popular, speaker at SF&F conventions concerning space and science. And he consulted on the books Deepsix by Jack McDevitt and War Surf by M. M. Buckner. (Two authors who have been interviewed on this show.)

Les Johnson's non-fiction books include: Living off the Land in Space (which he co-wrote with Gregory L. Matloff and C Bangs) and his latest Solar Sails: A Novel Approach to Interplanetary Travel (which he co-wrote with  Giovanni Vulpetti and Gregory L. Matloff). Nature (the highly-respected scientific journal now in its 139th year of publication) reviewed this book and placed it on their Recommended Reading List for the Spring.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_8_20.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Ben Goertzel, noted scientist, author, futurist and pioneer in the field of Artificial Intelligence, is today's featured guest. Topics he discusses include: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI), the singularity, transhumanism, human immortality and how long he expects to live, and why (like your host) he is a founding member of the Order of Cosmic Engineers.

Highlights of the interview include: The mechanism of human empathy seems to have been identified, and so can be reproduced in AI; even AI that is radically different in its thinking from human beings. Doctor Goertzel explains that this empathy is not based on emotion, and he emphasizes that he does not want to create an AI which is governed by its emotions.

He stresses that the human mind does not qualify as a completely 'General Intelligence' but lies somewhere on the spectrum between AGI on one end and 'Narrow AI' on the other. This is one of several reasons why he does not expect AGI to be achieved by mimicking the workings of the human brain.

He describes how our brains fool us into believing that we understand our actions and decisions when we don't. And why modeling an AI too closely on the human brain might make it too, vulnerable to false notions.

He also says, 'I think virtual worlds are going to be absolutely critical to the development of Artificial General Intelligence.' As well as 'Right now connecting AI's to virtual worlds is probably the best way to get an AI to have a general human-like embodied experience.'

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the August 13, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 74 minutes]

Ben Goertzel has a PhD in mathematics from Temple University, and has held several university positions in mathematics, computer science, and psychology, in the US, New Zealand and Australia. He is the Author of over 70 research papers, journalistic articles and 8 scholarly books dealing with topics in cognitive sciences and futurism. He has spent over 20 years in artificial intelligence research and commercialization. 

The former Chief Technical Officer of Webmind, a thinking machine company with 120 employees, he is today the CEO of Novamente, and is the Principle architect of the Novamente Cognition Engine. He is also the Director of Research, at the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_8_13.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Owner of the BDSM and fetish performance-art theatrical troupe in Charlotte NC called Purgatory, our guest today goes by the name of 'Torch.'

Purgatory's live events feature a festival atmosphere, dance music by DJs, and performances of a BDSM and fetish nature which are partly scripted and partly improvisational. In addition to describing Purgatory, Torch also talks about: the confusion between BDSM and Goth; BDSM becoming trendy and fashionable; how the internet has changed BDSM, and the difficulty of staying 'tougher' than Christina Aguilera.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the August 6, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 45 minutes]

Also included are comments from Davey Beauchamps (author and anthologist), and a brief mini-interview concerning Big Mamma's: the classic burlesque and vaudeville show in Charlotte NC which includes magicians, jugglers, a freak show, and 'girls who strip down to pasties and twirl their tassels.'

Direct download: TFAY_2008_8_6.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Catherine Smith (insect genetics lab-tech), Bruce Gehweiler (publisher at Marietta Publishing), Mike McPhail and his wife Danielle Ackley-McPhail (authors), Warren Buff (chairman of the SF&F convention Stellarcon), Shannon Souvinette and her daughter Elaina (art show organizers at LibertyCon), Shannon Presley (Radio DJ at WBVR), Klon Newell (book dealer), and David Benedict (of the Atlanta Radio Theater Company) are our guests today.

This is the second of our two episodes containing interviews recorded at the SF&F convention LibertyCon on July 12, 2008. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the July 30, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 80 minutes]

Topics covered by our various guests include trends in: digital art, genetic methods of insect control, electronic publishing (especially as relates to Amazon's new Kindle ebook reader), gaming, the dark truth about fairy legends, space exploration, scientific peer review journals going online, government regulations, and how writers may soon have little need of publishers.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_7_30.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Authors David B. Coe and Travis Taylor; artist David Mattingly; and convention organizers Uncle Timmy, Brandy Spraker and Derek Spraker are our guests today. 

Topics: David Mattingly discusses trends in the digital production of commercial art.  Travis Taylor talks of the launch vehicle that will replace the soon to be retired Space Shuttle.  David B. Coe describes his take on our escalating energy crisis and the bold proposals of T. Boone Pickens.

Recorded at the SF&F convention LibertyCon on July 12, 2008, and hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the July 23, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 68 minutes]

David Mattingly is an award winning illustrator and painter who has done over five hundred science fiction and fantasy book covers.  The former head of the matte department at Walt Disney Studios, he has worked on the movies The Black Hole, Tron, Dick Tracy, Stephen King's The Stand and most recently I, Robot.

David B. Coe is an award winning author of epic fantasy novels, including those of his series Winds of the Forelands, who holds a doctorate in environmental history.

Travis Taylor is a research scientist and the author of scientifically accurate science fiction.  His novels include Warp Speed, The Quantum Connection, Von Neumann's War, and his latest novel: One Day on Mars.

Our other guests include several of LibertyCon's organizers: Uncle Timmy: the con chairman.  As well as Brandy Spraker and Derek Spraker both of whom wear many organizational hats. 

Direct download: TFAY_2008_7_23.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Harry Turtledove, David B. Coe, and Toni Weisskopf are our featured guests today. Interviewed as a group and recorded before a live audience, they discuss the future of books and the trends they see in publishing.

In the process of sharing their vision of the future they also share many personal anecdotes about themselves and about famous authors they have met, including: Robert A. Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, L. Sprague de Camp, Mike Resnick, Sarah A. Hoyt, Lois McMaster Bujold, Charles Sheffield and Catherine Asaro.

Harry Turtledove is an award winning science fiction & fantasy author best known for his novels of alternate history. He holds a Ph.D. from UCLA in Byzantine history. (Web, Wiki

David B. Coe is an award winning author of epic fantasy novels who holds a Ph.D. in environmental history. (Web, Wiki)

Toni Weisskopf is an award winning editor and the head of Baen Books: the world renowned publishing house of SF&F hardbacks, paperbacks and electronic books. Baen Books was founded by Jim Baen, and is the owner of Jim Baen’s Universe Magazine, where your humble host is a columnist and contributing editor. (Web, Wiki)

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the July 16, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 69 minutes] This interview was recorded on July 12, 2008 at the Science Fiction and Fantasy Convention in Chattanooga TN called LibertyCon.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_7_16.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Mark Forman, who has lived and worked in Taiwan for over twenty years and is host of the podcast Big in Asia, is our featured guest. (His websites: business, personal, podcast.)

An eye-witness to the trends which are shaping Asia's rapidly changing future, Mark Forman is an American businessman from Brooklyn New York who studied Chinese language and culture at the University of Arizona and, during the last two decades, has traveled a great deal in China as well as within many of its neighboring countries.

In today's interview he describes his personal observations of the changes sweeping the Asian world and especially Greater China. Greater China is a term commonly used in business and economics to indicate not just mainland China, but also the regions that it governs, such as Hong Kong, as well as the regions it does not govern, such as Taiwan. 

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the July 9, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 59 minutes]

While the topics covered in this interview range all over Asia, much of the focus is on mainland China and its relationship to other countries. This is because of all the countries in Asia, China has the biggest influence on the rest of the world and yet (since the Bamboo Curtain is only now beginning to fall) for most Westerners it is the least understood. 

Topics discussed include: the transformation of China from an anti-business communist economy to a pro-business free-market economy; the rise of Chinese consumerism; how internet access (including Google and Wikipedia) are eroding Chinese government censorship and forcing a new openness; the possibility of democracy taking root in China, and how a non-western democracy might be defined; the 2008 Olympics in Beijing; and of course much, much more.

 

Direct download: TFAY_2008_7_9.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Kevin J. Anderson, the best selling science fiction and fantasy author, is our guest today.  (His website.)

Co-author of the Dune prequels, his original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series and the Nebula Award-nominated Assemblers of Infinity. A prolific science fiction author, he has had at least 32 of his novels on the various best seller lists including the famous New York Times Bestseller's list. His books have been translated into at least twenty-four languages, and have sold over 16 million copies worldwide. He has written spin-off novels for Star Wars, StarCraft, Titan A.E., and The X-Files. In addition to all this, he has served as a judge in the Writers of the Future contest.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the July 2, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 56 minutes]

In today's interview Kevin J. Anderson describes his ideas and observations on a variety of topics such as the current global energy crisis, peak oil theory, solar and nuclear power, and his new purchase of a fuel efficient car.

Having returned from a month long promotional tour of Australia and New Zealand, he describes his surprise at how different public opinion about Global Warming is down there compared to in the US. There is an overwhelming acceptance of the concept, and crowds greet Al Gore with the admiration and enthusiasm usually reserved for rock stars.

He is not comfortable that we will soon retire the space shuttle with nothing to replace it. Even now, he points out, we have to ask the Russians to take our astronauts up to the international space station for us. 

He also ponders some serious questions: If the Middle Eastern dictators thumb their noses at China, the Chinese government--which unlike the USA does not set limits on how it treats its own people much less outsiders--may very well invade the oil rich countries and take their oil by force. And if future nanotechnology allows everyone to have everything they want what kind of civilization will we have? Will people still work? Will most crime go away? What in our lives will remain the same? 

Direct download: TFAY_2008_7_2.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Catherine Asaro, physicist and Nebula award winning author, is our featured guest. (Her website) She discuses nanotech, biotech, artificial intelligence and the singularity. She also describes her expectations concerning aging and longevity, oil and alternative energy; and she agrees to let the host arrange for her to do a personal appearance inside Second Life.

She mentions that she has begun composing music on the computer, says a few words about her new novel (The Night Bird) and briefly lets slip that she will be consulting with a game developer (which she could not name) to help them with aspects of the new game they are designing. 

When asked questions which form the core beliefs of The Order of Cosmic Engineers (web) (a new international organization of which your host is a founding member) she displays a remarkable level of agreement. 

As a tutor to gifted children she sees how the world view of children today is radically different than those held by children just twenty or thirty years ago. Their vision of the world has been transformed by the Internet and cell phones into something far more global and far less tied to ones specific locality. 

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the June 25, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 66 minutes]

Catherine Asaro is the author of 23 novels which have been described as a blend of hard science fiction, romance and space adventure. 11 of her novels belong to her Saga of the Skolian Empire. Her novel The Quantum Rose won the Nebula Award for best novel of 2001 and she is a three-time winner of the Romantic Times Book Club award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

From UCLA she received a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry. From Harvard she received a Masters in Physics and a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics.

She has done research at the University of Toronto in Canada, the Max Planck Institut für Astrophysik in Germany, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her research involved using quantum theory to describe the behavior of atoms and molecules. She was a physics professor until 1990, when she established Molecudyne Research.

A former ballerina, she has performed with ballets and in musicals on both the east and west coast of the United States. In the 1980’s she was a principal dancer and artistic director of the Mainly Jazz Dancers and the Harvard University Ballet. 

She has also published short stories, reviews, essays, and scientific papers in refereed academic journals. Her paper Complex Speeds and Special Relativity, which appeared in the April 1996 issue of The American Journal of Physics, forms the basis for some of the science in her novels.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_6_25.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Authors Robert V. Aldrich, Michael D'Ambrosio and Steve Cross are our featured guests today. Recorded on location at ConCarolinas (web): the science fiction and fantasy convention held a few weeks ago in Charlotte NC.

Robert V. Aldrich (web) (author of the anime-style novels Crossworld and Queendom) describes trends in anime, manga, illegal downloading as well as the movies Speed Racer and Ironman. Michael D'Ambrosio (web) (author of the Fractured Time trilogy) has been expanding his career into screenwriting and so describes the trends he sees in that difficult and highly competitive field, as well as in movie deals and promotion. Steve Cross (web) briefly describes his first novel: Discarded Faces.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the June 18, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 41 minutes]

Also mentioned in this episode is the news that the host is one of the founders of a new international organization called The Order of Cosmic Engineers.  (The Order's Prospectus)

Direct download: TFAY_2008_6_18.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT

Professor Amy H. Sturgis is our featured guest.  She talks about many of the trends she sees in colleges in general, and the increasing scholarly studies of science fiction and fantasy literature and media in particular. She also mentions her work for StarShipSofa, the enthusiasm students have for classes on speculative fiction, and how these studies augment their study of history.

Amy H. Sturgis earned her Ph.D. in Intellectual History from Vanderbilt University, and she teaches Interdisciplinary Studies at Belmont University. In the field of science fiction/fantasy studies, she has multiple books, book chapters, and articles to her credit on subjects such as J.R.R. Tolkien, H.P. Lovecraft, Harry Potter, Star Trek, Gothic literature, and Arthurian legends, among others.

She is a regular speaker at universities and conventions across the U.S. and Canada, and she is often interviewed by national radio programs, television shows, and newspapers as a genre expert. In 2006, she was honored with the Imperishable Flame Award for Achievement in Tolkien/Inklings Scholarship.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the June 11, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 36 minutes]

Direct download: TFAY_2008_6_11.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Gary Jones (from the TV shows Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis) is joined by the authors Mike Resnick and David B. Coe, and the editor of Orson Scott Card's online magazine, Edmund R. Schubert. Recorded at the science fiction and fantasy convention ConCarolinas in Charlotte NC, this episode is dedicated to ConCarolinas.

ConCarolinas is very special to your host for several reasons. Six years ago, it became the first con he ever attended as part of the entertainment; for the last five years they have hosted an annual tournament for a game he invented (Death Stacks); and because they have always treated him as though he was part of their family.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the June 4, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 70 minutes]

Other guests in this episode include: Gail Martin (fantasy author and video podcaster); Mike Pederson (editor of Nth Degree Magazine and founder of RavenCon); Podcasting's Rich Sigfrit (voice actor and producer of many podcasts); Davey Beauchamps (writer and anthologist); Neury Steinhour (host of Artist Ally Podcast); Warren Buff (StellarCon's new chairman); Tom Barisford  (spokesperson for a writers group called Charlotte Writer's Night Out); Chris Hensley (a self-described low-level flacky); As well as Tera Fulbright, Glen Beattie and a variety of anonymous fans.

Topics covered include trends in books, comics, writing, podcasts, standup comedy, TV shows, as well as anecdotes about Kelly Lockhart and the late Jim Baen, and just exactly who kissed who to raise $100 during the charity auction.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_6_4.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Two Radio DJs, each from a different part of the country and having traveled a different career path, describe the trends which are forcing commercial radio to change from what it once was into what it is yet to become.

Kelly Lockhart (website) started his DJ career in Key Largo Florida, when fresh out of the military and has worked at radio stations in Atlanta, Tallahassee and Chattanooga. He is a feature writer for The Chattanooga Pulse newspaper, is an award-winning advertising copywriter, is the lead guitarist for the popular 70’s style rock band Moccasin Bend, and for two decades worked in radio and television both on the air and behind the scenes.

Shannon Presley (website) is currently an on-air personality and webmaster for the #1 radio station in south central Kentucky: The Beaver--WBVR. She is also a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, is a Board Member for the Glasgow Highland Games, and helps with 18th century events at Mansker's Station.

Kelly talks about the downside of voice tracking and worries that traditional radio is dying. Satellite radio, he says, will have its day in the sun but podcasting will replace them both. This final dominance of podcasting will come when podcasts become commonly available in cars, because the drive time commute is the key. He does emphasize that radio can save itself if it does the right thing. This is the thing that Oprah and Howard Stern both do.

Shannon is less worried about radio's future. She does not see satellite radio as a threat to ground-based radio because ground-based is local and gives listeners a local connection to things like bad weather. She also describes the good side of voice tracking; and even insists that people do like to hear some local commercials because that lets them know about concerts and special events, as well as sales and bargains.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 28, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 68 minutes]

Shannon also talks about topics unrelated to radio such as: digital photography, PDAs, historical research for reenactments of frontier life, shopping on eBay, advancements in the medical field such as diabetes, identity theft, the government overstepping people's rights, and recalls when owning a VIC-20 computer made you Hot Snot.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_5_28.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Five professional artists discuss the trends in the popular arts, including comics, Muppets, children’s book illustrations, commercial art and movie animation (both hand-drawn and CGI) and much, much more. Each artist shares anecdotes from their experiences and describes the trends they see within their specific field.

They five artists are:

Cheralyn Lambeth, who worked on the Muppet costumes for Sesame Street Live! worked with Jim Henson Productions on the TV series Dinosaur! and the film The Muppet Christmas Carol, and also worked as a prop maker for Paramount Production Services. (IMDb)

Steve Bennett, a manga artist with three webcomics online and a career history that stretches back to working in an anime production studio in Japan as a teenager. (webpage)

Richard H. Green, who worked at Walt Disney Studios on: Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Beauty and the Beast, and Rescuers Down Under.

Scott Stewart who has been the principal artist for many projects including children’s books, comic books and coloring books which are marketing tie-ins to famous properties including Spiderman, Superman and The X-men. (webpage)

S.L. Gallant, who has done a number of comic book tie-ins for movies from DreamWorks such as Madagascar, has done cartoon ads for Kraft Foods such as the Cool Aid Man and Cheesaurus Rex, and has also worked for Dark Horse Comics. (webpage)

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 21, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 84 minutes]

Direct download: TFAY_2008_5_21.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:09am EDT


Paul Fischer, Information Technology professional and one of podcasting’s pioneers, is our guest today. The team of Paul Fischer and Martha Holloway are widely known for their Balticon Podcast and A.D.D. Podcast.

In this interview Paul describes:

How cellular phone companies manage to charge $3 for only part of a song when the entire song can be bought on Amazon.com for under a dollar. And why this eight billion dollar ringtone business in the US is even worse in Europe where ringtones cost individual users about $30 per year, every year, because they are rented.

How the F.C.C. has failed the American public in their assigned mission, and why they do not care that they have failed. Ways the American cell phone companies have perverted the rules that are supposed to govern their operations.

The sad fact that Police and Fire Department cellular systems all take a back seat to commercial cellular systems in terms of quality, bandwidth, priority and deployment. And which cities are taking serious steps to fix this problem.

Why the Japanese all have better cell phone service and bandwidth than Americans, so much so that watching live streaming internet TV on their cell phones has lost its novelty.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 14, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 58 minutes]

Paul Fischer also talks about his involvement with Balticon, and how this led him and Martha Holloway to create the Balticon Podcast. He mentions that Neil Gaiman was one of his favorite guests, and describes Neil Gaiman as a joy to interview, a genuinely nice guy, as well as a modern renaissance man who seems to do everything well. Paul also talks about his interviews with others including the brilliant artist Joe Bergeron.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_5_14.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Katherine Kurtz, the best selling author of many fantasy novels including those in her Deryni Series, is our featured guest, in an interview recorded at the science fiction and fantasy convention, RavenCon in Richmond Virginia.

In this interview Katherine Kurtz talks about: her writing methods and style; which of her books were the most difficult to write and which ones were the most fun, and shares anecdotes from her travels, her life and her work. A friend of Anne McCaffery, Katherine has lived for a number of years in Ireland but recently moved back to the United States – the nation of her birth.

Concerning the future: Katherine describes trends within publishing today and the future of electronic publishing, and how our lives are being changed by cell phones, IM, high speed internet and online catalogs. She also discusses the annoyance of popup ads and junk-mail, her opinion of Wikipedia, and the seduction of the internet as a time-vampire. She also predicts that physical mail (as opposed to email) will someday become rare.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 7, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 48 minutes]

News items in this episode include:

1) Sophrosyne Stenvaag announces that Extropia Core (the futuristic city-state within Second Life which your host visits frequently) will Co-Host part of the NASA Future Forum next week on May 14, 2008, which will feature a preview of NASA’s Constellation Program – America’s return to the Moon and beyond. The keynote address which will be broadcast live on NASA TV will be given by NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, who is known inside Second Life as Xena Dahl. Soph explains how listeners can attend and participate.

2) Your host also thanks Zada Zenovka for her kind gift of a new pair of designer eyes for his avatar within Second Life. Zada is one of the two artists who crafted the custom made body and skin for the author David Brin when he made a personal appearance inside Second Life a few weeks ago as part of Extropia's celebration of Yuri's Night.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_5_7.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Authors C.J. Henderson, Allen Wold and Michael Ventrella are joined by Thomas cmdln Gideon (digital media activist and host of The Command Line podcast), The Wombat (RavenCon's Fan Guest of Honor back in 2007), as well as Bill Mann, Tera Fulbright and many others in this special episode recorded on location at the science fiction and fantasy convention in Richmond Virginia called RavenCon.

Also included is an exclusive interview with one of the inside experts on a new massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game called Beyond Protocol which is currently in beta test.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 30, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 77 minutes]

C.J. Henderson is the award-winning author of fifty novels including the Teddy London supernatural detective series. Allen Wold is the author of nine novels and five nonfiction books. And while Michael Ventrella has just released his first novel, he is best known as one of the founders of Animato Magazine and of the LARP NERO.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_4_30.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


David Brin, fresh from a personal appearance inside the virtual world of Second Life, is our featured guest. The best selling science fiction author, scientist and public speaker, expands on the ideas he presented there and describes his impression of that virtual world based on his first-hand experience.

David Brin has won multiple Hugo and Nebula awards and is the author of the novel Kiln People and The Life Eaters as well as six novels within his Uplift Series. He holds a Bachelor’s in astronomy, a Master’s in applied physics, and a Doctorate in astrophysics.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 23, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 49 minutes]

David Brin's appearance inside Second Life was part of the annual world-wide celebration of Yuri's Night, which commemorates the first human flight into space by Yuri Gagarin in 1961.

For nearly two hours David Brin spoke to an overflow crowd in the grand meeting hall in the Central Nexus Building inside the city-state of Extropia inside Second Life. He was interviewed by Sophrosyne Stenvaag in an expanded version of her Sophrosyne's Saturday Salon which is held every week.

Wearing a photorealistic body specially crafted for this event by the avatar artists Zeroe Auer and Zada Zenovka, David spoke about the strengths and weaknesses of virtual worlds as a place to discuss ideas--and did so while experiencing those very strengths and weaknesses as he discussed ideas. (My photos of his event may be found on Flickr.)

The city-state of Extropia has become a popular meeting area within Second Life for those who are curious about the future because it features weekly events to discuss various futuristic topics. The organization SL-Transhumanists, for example, hosts lectures and discussions about the many aspects of transhumanism such as nanotech, genotech, AI and the Singularity.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_4_23.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Randal L. Schwartz, the widely known computer programmer and programming consultant, is our featured guest today.

Randal has acquired a level of renown through his longstanding work in popularizing and promoting the programming language called Perl. He has authored and co-authored many widely used books on the subject, and has written over 200 articles about it for various computer magazines.

He is also the co-host of FLOSS Weekly (a podcast from the TWiT podcasting Network which features prominent guests from the free software/open source community).

In today’s interview Randal discusses the following topics:

How ethanol is not only raising food prices world-wide but its production is also a major source of carbon dioxide (a concern for Global Warming), some have suggested that switch grass may be a better answer. Google's announced desire to offer free nation-wide wireless internet access; and the legal catch-22 that municipalities have always found themselves in when they tried to provide wi-fi at the taxpayer's expense. How passports with RFID chips can be hacked wirelessly as you walk through an airport; why it is that Japanese users are getting 25 times faster high-speed internet than American high-speed users; and how Netflix.com is scrambling to keep Hulu.com from outpacing them.

Randal also describes his involvement with Geek Cruises and the Scientific American Cruises; his podcast FLOSS Weekly (which stands for Free Libre Open Source Software and may be found at twit.tv/floss); and his enthusiasm over a powerful new programming language called SeaSide. (Examples, BTW, of open source software include: Wikipedia, Blender, Gimp and Open Office.)

Randal also gets to gloat over his prediction from last year because the New York Times has reported that pacemaker heart implants with wi-fi internet connections can be hacked through the internet by a hacker on the other side of the world, who can make the device stop working or even give the patient electric shocks strong enough to kill.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 16, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 69 minutes]

Randal L. Schwartz is a founding board member of the Perl Mongers, the worldwide Perl grassroots advocacy organization and, since 1985, has owned and operated Stonehenge Consulting Services which specializes in the teaching, training and programming of Perl.

Also included in this episode is your host's eyewitness report on the Yuri's Night celebration that took place on April 12 in the city state of Extropia inside Second Life. David Brin (the award-winning and best-selling author) was the featured speaker. David was easily recognizable since his avatar wore a photorealistic skin created for the occasion by a skilled avatar artist.

During the all-day festivities in Extropia your host: met two NASA representatives as well as some Russians, drove a moon buggy; sat inside a life-sized model of Yuri Gagarin's space capsule, danced with a wide variety of beautiful women, admired Vidal Tripsa's space suit (possibly the sexiest space suit ever), watched David Brin pack the house for his open forum discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of virtual worlds such as Second Life, and took over 300 photos of the day's events. (Many of which can be viewed on Flickr.)

Direct download: TFAY_2008_4_16.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Greg Bear, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of more than thirty books of science fiction and fantasy, is our featured guest today.

Greg Bear has served on political and scientific action committees and has advised Microsoft Corporation, the U.S. Army, the CIA, Sandia National Laboratories, and Homeland Security. And just recently--like your host--he has joined the advisory board of the Lifeboat Foundation.

In today's interview Greg Bear describes his TV appearance on The Daily Show with John Steward, movie deals which are in the works for his novels, and his recollections of his many conversations with the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke, including the very first time he met Sir Arthur back in 1968 when Greg was only 16 years old.

He also talks of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, technological immortality, mind uploading, and why he disagrees with some of the expectations of Transhumanists, and most of the expectations of Singularitarians.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 9, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 62 minutes]

Greg also discusses physics and string theory; life on extrasolar planets (including the surprisingly numerous super-hot planets which often orbit their stars in a matter of days); the world wide annual celebration of Yuri Gagarin's first human flight into space (which your host will be celebrating inside Second Life); Sir Arthur C. Clarke's many contributions to civilization; how technology will change future battlefields; and how Russia seems to be heading back into the cold war.

He also reveals his excitement that The Science Fiction Museum in Seattle will be expanding to include fantasy, and possibly horror as well. He was on the advisory board for the science fiction museum in Seattle along with Ray Bradbury, Octavia Butler and Sir Arthur C. Clarke.

Greg Bear's novel, Quantico, is a near-future thriller; while Darwin’s Radio and Darwin’s Children form a sequence about viruses and human evolution. Blood Music deals with biotechnology, nanotechnology (including grey goo), the nature of consciousness and artificial intelligence.

News items mentioned in this episode include:

Robert J. Sawyer the award-winning author made two personal appearances inside Second Life on Sunday, April 6, 2008. The first in the Central Nexus building in Extropia Core, the second at a meeting of the Extropia Book Club.

David Brin the award-winning author will be making a personal appearance inside Second Life on Saturday, April 12 in Extropia Core as part of the annual world-wide Yuri's Night celebrations of the first human in space. He will be the Spotlight Guest at Sophrosyne's Saturday Salon. Soph will interview David in an open discussion event from 1 PM to 2:30 PM Pacific Time.

I am the Very Model of a Singularitarian is a clever music video now on youTube. Written and sung by Charlie Kam to the tune of Gilbert and Sullivan's I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General from the popular musical play The Pirates of Penzance.

www.WikiPatents.com is a public community which features a wiki-like interface for reviewing, rating, and discussing US patents and pending patent applications. It also offers free patent PDF downloads, file histories, and advanced patent searching. Users may also vote on the marketability and technical merits of patents and patent applications.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_4_9.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Dr. Gregory L. Matloff, astronomer and author of six popular books on astronomy and astronautics, is our featured guest. His latest book, Living Off the Land in Space, was co-authored with NASA’s Les Johnson and Brooklyn artist C Bangs.

Future and current trends in spaceflight and propulsion are covered in this interview, as well as all the following topics: where the big money will be made in space; space-based solutions to our energy problems on earth today; the inflatable space habitats and hotels that Robert Bigalow has started building; practical methods of asteroid mining and diverting; ion drives and solar sails; the likelihood of a new international space race; exoplanets in general but especially the new developing possibility of earth-like planets orbiting the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

Doctor Matloff also talks about the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke's book Rendezvous with Rama which opens with an asteroid impact wiping a quarter of Europe's cities and population off the map; new estimates of the Tunguska impact of 1908; as well as one particular earth-grazing asteroid which will be taking two pot-shots at humanity during the next two decades.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 2, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 71 minutes]

Doctor Matloff makes it clear that the future of spaceflight is Not likely to look like the spaceflight of the past. Nor is it likely to resemble the spaceflight generally described in science fiction.

One of his early books, The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer's Guide to Interstellar Travel, was co-authored with MIT science writer Eugene F. Mallove. Doctor Matloff has consulted for NASA on in-space propulsion systems and methods of protecting Earth from threatening objects. And he has also contributed to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), atmospheric modeling, space astronomy and navigation, and studies to produce energy from the wind.

News Items described in this episode include:

Robert J. Sawyer (bestselling author and former guest on this show) will be making a personal appearance inside Second Life. He will discuss the future of: AI, robotics, life extension, SETI, and more. Afterward, he will join the Extropia Book Club for their discussion of his latest novel, Rollback, which is now a finalist for the Hugo Award. The event will be held on April 6, 2008 at high noon (Pacific Time) in the Central Nexus building in Extropia Core inside Second Life.

The New York Times has reported that pacemakers are now vulnerable to hacker attacks because device makers have begun designing them to connect to the Internet wirelessly.

Google wants to offer nationwide Wi-Fi to everyone in America for Free. (This is not an April Fools joke.) On March 21, 2008 Google submitted a six-page letter to the FCC outlining processes and tests to avoid interference if they are granted use of a portion of those radio frequencies which will become available in 2009 when television ceases to broadcast analog transmissions.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_4_2.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Kim Stanley Robinson, the best selling and award-winning science fiction author is our featured guest. Probably best known for his Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars); his other novels include: Fifty Degrees Below, Forty Signs of Rain, The Years of Rice and Salt, and most recently, Sixty Days and Counting.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 26, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 83 minutes]

In today’s interview Kim Stanley Robinson covers many topics: his conversations with Sir Arthur C Clarke; how the TV show 24 encourages and justifies the use of torture; his observation that terrorists have become an exaggerated enemy; why English has become the world language; the vision he has tried to put forth in his latest novel Sixty Days and Counting; how frustrating it is that there are lots of exoplanets but we can't go look at them; and his worry that people are losing interest in space exploration because our ability to travel has not extended to the stars and is limited to our own solar system.

He also speaks to the difficult issues of the deeper future including: his opinion of the Singularity; his expectations of Artificial Intelligence; why he has moderated some of his views about Nanotechnology (he used to be more dismissive); and just how long he thinks human longevity might become stretched.

He also responds to the host's questions:  What would people do differently if we all knew we were going to live for 300 years? How would this change civilization?

Kim Stanley Robinson's writings have won the Hugo, the Nebula, the Asimov, the John W. Campbell, the Locus, and the World Fantasy Awards. He has a Bachelors degree in literature, a Masters in English, and a Ph.D. also in English. He considers science fiction to be one of the most powerful of all literary forms, which explains why his doctoral thesis was titled The Novels of Philip K. Dick.

Other items in this episode include: the recent death of Sir Arthur C. Clarke (one of the hosts personal heroes); how the upcoming Yuri's Night celebrations will take place in two worlds instead of one (the anniversary of the first human in space); LED light bulbs; and an essay concerning the host's new theory about the origin of NGC-6543, also known as the Cat's Eye Nebula.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_3_26.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google (yes, THE Google) is our featured guest today.

Peter is co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, the leading textbook in the field of AI. He has written more than fifty publications in the computer sciences - concentrating on Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, and Software Engineering. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery. And he was the head of the Computational Sciences Division at NASA Ames Research Center, making him NASA's senior computer scientist.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 19, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 97 minutes]

Will machines someday think as well as humans? Will they think in the same way we do? Will they plan, be creative, invent things that are new and innovative? Will they feel emotions as we do? Will they feel compassion, fear, fondness, attachments based on familiarity?

Peter Norvig answers all of these questions, as well as the obligatory scary question: If the IQ curve of AI rises long enough for their IQ to match our own, why would that curve stop rising? Won't their IQ continue increasing until they are ten times smarter than us, and then a hundred, and then a thousand? At what point might this stop? Is there a limit? Do you fear superhuman AI? Should anyone?

He also describes his work at NASA concerning the Remote Agent and Mars Exploration Rovers, and what role AI played in it. He talks of the work Google is doing in AI, why Google is interested in AI, and if Google plans to have its search page converse with users.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_3_19.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


David B. Coe the award-winning, and critically acclaimed, author of nine fantasy novels (some of which have been translated into no less than six languages, including Russian, German, Dutch, and French) is our featured guest today.

David has a doctorate in American history from Stanford University, and he enjoys nature photography, bird and butterfly watching, and playing guitar.

David talks about Wikipedia, e-books and Amazon's Kindle, Green investment funds, solar power, his belief that clean coal is decades away, and he once again emphasizes that if his fellow environmentalists are going to get serious about global warming they will have to find a way to embrace nuclear power.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 12, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 82 minutes]

David also describes the changing corporate climate concerning environmentalism. Being Green has become the In Thing for corporate marketing. Wal-Mart has become a leader in promoting Green. Saving the environment is now widely seen as good business.

He explains why official decisions concerning which birds are, and are not, defined as separate species are based mostly on science, but also partly on politics, emotionalism, local tradition and sentimentality. An avid bird and butterfly watcher, he describes the trends in both, and mentions that butterflies are like the canary in the coal mine: they are an early indicator of damage to an ecosystem.

He also responds with surprising candor to the host's question: For each of the current candidates (John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton) what is the best and worst things that would probably happen during their presidency?

Others who provide comment, feedback or receive an honorable mention in this episode include: Randal L. Schwartz, Shaun Ferrell, Rich Sigfrit, Mur Lafferty, Tee Morris, Khannea Suntzu and Extropia DaSilva (for her blog post entitled Snowcrashing into the Diamond age).

Direct download: TFAY_2008_3_12.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Michael Anissimov, the well known futurist, blogger and transhumanism activist is today's featured guest.

Michael talks about many future-oriented topics such as: transhumanism and the singularity; cryonics and Paris Hilton; solar power verses nuclear power; synthetic biology and Craig Ventor's new artificial organism; and his own involvement with the founding of the Immortality Institute.

The Immortality Institute is a life extension activist organization that today includes hundreds of paying members and an active online community. Michael was one of its co-founders though he was still in High School at the time.

Currently Michael is the Lifeboat Foundation's fundraising Director for North America; He is very much involved with the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology; and was recently voted to join the board of the World Transhumanist Association.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 5, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 71 minutes]

In this interview Michael expresses his enthusiasm about the ongoing revitalization of the World Transhumanist Association, which includes the new webzine being put together by R. U. Serious.

He also discuses two technologies he feels could have a radical destabilizing effect on the world once they reach a certain threshold--which they may do within 20 years. These technologies are molecular nanotechnology (MNT) and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). While their potential benefits are great, if not handled with extreme caution, he feels these technologies could cause disaster.

He also describes the trends he sees going on within the transhumanist movement today, and how he expects these trends to play out during the next few years. For example, he sees that the general public is beginning to warm up to transhumanist ideas thanks to movies and TV; but that there is still a lot of fear of transhumanism among the religious right. He agrees that there are a lot of closet transhumanists who haven't come out yet. But he also says the new transhumanists seem to be of all ages, not just young people. He sees the next few years as a time of much greater acceptance of the transhumanist ideas and idealism.

Michael is a science and technology writer and consultant based in San Francisco. He has given talks on futurist issues at seminars and conferences in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and at Yale University. His blog (acceleratingfuture.com) has become one of the primary focal points within the futurist community, including the communities of transhumanists and singularitarians. His blog features his own writings, the writings of others, as well as many important links to other sources of information about the future.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_3_5.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Philippe Van Nedervelde, international spokesperson for the Lifeboat Foundation, is today's featured guest. (He is also Executive Director for the Foresight Nanotech Institute in Europe, and a Global Task Force Member for the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.) Philippe describes the Lifeboat Foundation, its work to define and evaluate the many coming risks to humankind, and how the foundation has already begun formulating specific recommendations on how we may prepare for these risks.

This episode also contains an essay by your host describing the dramatic changes which the internet will experience in the next five to ten years; as well as an announcement of a presentation which will be given on March 9, 2008, at Extropia Core inside Second Life by the esteemed pioneers of international transhumanism and extropy: Natasha Vita-Moore and Anders Sandberg. Their topic: Do humans have a natural right to augmentation and enhancement?

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 27, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 93 minutes]

Some of the risks include: unfriendly AI (Artificial Intelligence), devastating asteroid strikes, bioweapons and pandemics, replicating and nonreplicating nanoweapons, nuclear, biological, and nanotechnological attacks. But one of the scariest of these has become known as ADC (Asymmetric Destructive Capability), in which large scale destruction can be accomplished with relatively small scale resources. Another scary risk is called SIMaD, which stands for Single Individual Massively Destructive, or as Philippe describes it, The Unabomber on steroids.

Philippe Van Nedervelde is a regular keynote speaker at conferences and other events, and has made presentations throughout Europe to audiences of all sizes and compositions including academic, business and governmental such as European Union parliamentary hearings.

He is the award-winning founder, CEO and majority-owner of E-spaces, a VR production house which has delivered networked or multi-user Virtual Reality or tele-virtuality and interactive 3D graphics projects for customers including NASA, UNESCO, the European Commission, Flemish Government, Ericsson Business Networks, Nokia and IBM.

Philippe holds a master's degree in communication as well as a post-graduate degree in Media and Information Science from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_2_27.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Giulio Prisco (futurist, scientist, corporate consultant and until recently the Executive Director of the World Transhumanist Association) is today's featured guest. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and on the Global Task Force on Implications and Policy for CRN, the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.

Argent Bury (a digital person living exclusively within Second Life) provides an essay concerning the tension between immersionists and augmentationists within her virtual world.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 20, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 79 minutes]

Giulio Prisco also covers the prejudice and intolerance between immersionists and augmentationists, and mentions that the day before the interview, Cervantes University held its very first college class within Second Life, and discusses many aspects of the future of virtual realities.

A virtual reality expert and consultant for companies wishing to use and benefit from many different VR platforms, Giulio describes what's available now, and what will be available in the decades to come. From the current photorealistic graphics, to the total immersion through full sensory feedback directly wired into the human nervous system.

He describes various VR platforms including Second Life and its competitors, as well as the possibility that all the platforms will become linked together into a unified whole, just as the internet was once many separate little nets that could not share content.

Giulio Prisco is also the Director of the futurist consulting consortium called FutureTag, as well as founder and CEO of Metafuturing (a company specializing in Science and Technology Consulting, Internet Services and Virtual Reality). Based in Madrid, Spain, he founded the Spanish transhumanist group FASTRA. He is a former physicist and computer scientist, as well as a former manager at ESA: the European Space Agency.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_2_20.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Catherine Asaro, scientist and Nebula award winning author, is our featured guest; while Glen Walkerson who writes tech-manuals for the F-16 fighter jet provides a brief bonus interview.

Catherine Asaro describes her thoughts on the rise of nanotechnology, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the ongoing feminization of civilization, and how non-lethal weapons might alter the nature of war. Glen Walkerson shares a few comments on the new F-22 fighter jet, which is under production, as well as the F-35 fighter which is still in development.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 13, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 41 minutes]

Catherine Asaro is the author of 16 novels which have been described as a blend of hard science fiction, romance and space adventure. 11 of her novels belong to her Saga of the Skolian Empire. Her novel The Quantum Rose won the Nebula Award for Best Novel of 2001 and she is a three-time winner of the Romantic Times Book Club award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

From UCLA she received a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry. From Harvard she received a Masters in Physics and a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics.

She has done research at the University of Toronto in Canada, the Max Planck Institut für Astrophysik in Germany, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her research involved using quantum theory to describe the behavior of atoms and molecules. She was a physics professor until 1990 when she established Molecudyne Research.

A former ballerina, she has performed with ballets and in musicals on both the east and west coast of the United States. In the 1980’s she was a principal dancer and artistic director of the Mainly Jazz Dancers and the Harvard University Ballet.

She has also published short stories, reviews, essays, and scientific papers in refereed academic journals. Her paper Complex Speeds and Special Relativity, which appeared in the April 1996 issue of The American Journal of Physics, forms the basis for some of the science in her novels.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_2_13.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Paul Levinson (author, media commentator and professor) shares his ideas concerning nanotechnology, SETI, the Fermi Paradox, the probability and impact of our finding another Earth, and the impacts already made upon society by PayPal and eBay. He also explains why he believes that Wikipedia is one of the most exciting innovations in communication today.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 6, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 55 minutes]

Paul Levinson is professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. He has a Bachelors in Journalism, a Masters in Media Studies and a Doctorate in Media Ecology.

He is the author of five novels of science fiction and/or fantasy; as well as nine non-fiction books. He served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America from 1998 to 2001.

As a commentator on media, popular culture, and science fiction he has been interviewed over 500 times on television and radio. And his op-eds have appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, New York's Newsday, and the New York Sun.

Prior to his academic career, Paul Levinson was a songwriter, singer and record producer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with recordings by the Vogues, Donna Marie of The Archies and Ellie Greenwich. As a radio producer he worked with Murray the K and Wolfman Jack.

Also included in this episode: (a) a piece of music from Chris Armstrong's CD entitled: AI Awakens; (b) how to visit Boc Cryotank (your host's avatar in Second Life) at Sophrosyne's Saturday Salon (a weekly gathering of transhumanists, extropians, and other future-minded people); (c) your host's birthday; and (d) the news that your host has accepted an invitation to join the advisory board of the Lifeboat Foundation.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_2_6.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Eric Flint, best selling author of more than 25 novels of science fiction and fantasy, as well as editor-in-chief of the online science fiction and fantasy magazine Jim Baen's Universe, is this week's featured interview.

In a rare interview recorded in front of a live audience, Eric shares anecdotes from behind the scenes of his many collaborations with authors such as David Weber, David Drake, Dave Freer and Mercedes Lackey.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 30, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 73 minutes]

A prolific collaborator all through his career, Eric describes the ups and downs of collaborating on a novel: how it works and what goes wrong when it doesn't. A former political activist, he describes the events that lead up to his entering the Writers of The Future Contest, and how winning it changed his life.

Six drunk friends collaborating is how he describes the crude beginnings of what later evolved into his first Joe's World novel.

He also mentions stories about his friend, the late Jim Baen, founder of Baen Books. And he mentions what actions Toni Weisskopf (the new head of Baen Books) used to insure stability at Baen after Jim's untimely passing.

Eric Flint also touches on electronic publishing. He says, Baen is quite aggressive in moving toward electronic publishing. And it would be foolish not to be. Baen is the premier electronic publisher in science fiction; it's not the biggest in print, but it is the biggest in electronic publishing.

Also included is an update on your host's exploration of the online virtual world called Second Life, such as his attending Sophrosyne's Saturday Salon (a weekly gathering of transhumanists, extropians, and other future-minded people hosted by Sophrosyne.) Listener feedback is provided by Peer Infinity, a transhumanist resident of Second Life.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_1_30.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


George Dvorsky, executive editor of betterhumans.com, is this week's featured interview. Betterhumans.com is a webzine with News, Articles, and interactive features serving the transhumanist community. George Dvorsky is also the co-founder and president of the Toronto Transhumanist Association and has served on the Board of Directors for the World Transhumanist Association.

One of Canada's leading futurists, activists and award winning bloggers, George Dvorsky has written and spoken extensively about the impacts of cutting-edge science and technology.In this capacity he has been interviewed by: The BBC, Radio Free Europe, and by the British newspaper The Guardian. He's also been on the Canadian television news-magazine The Hour.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 23, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 84 minutes]

Topics include:

Why there is a negative perception of transhumanism in the general public, and what we can do about it.

Why the mainstream medical community is working hard to achieve the goals of transhumanism (without realizing it) and will continue to work toward them with or without our encouragement.

The vaccination of children is a perfect example of the transhumanist ideal, George explains, since it is an engineered hyper-immunity produced by technological intervention.

Why the complete end of personal privacy may be unavoidable and imminent.

We as a species find ourselves living with an increasing array of apocalyptic technologies, George says, and we have to learn how to live with these things since we can't un-invent them.

His personal expectations of The Singularity.

Life extension in general, and how long he personally expects to live.

Why the areas of transhumanist thought that remain controversial are those more removed from just keeping people healthy, and more in the direction of making people better than they ever were before. These areas include such things as increasing the human IQ, life extension, and wiring computers directly into the human brain.

As well as many other subjects.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_1_23.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Matt Browne, an IT professional living in Frankfurt Germany, is this week's featured interview. With a Masters degree in Computer Science and Computational Linguistics, Matt Browne has been involved in projects developing natural language processing with a strong focus on machine translation systems.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 16, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 87 minutes]

Matt talks about natural language processing and how long it might be before a computer passes the Turing Test; human resistance to the creation of human level artificial intelligences; and how this will lead to the singularity. But also how, long before The Singularity, huge profits will be made with AI applications.

He also describes catastrophic dangers to the human race such as super volcanoes and asteroids, and why this has lead him to become a member of The Life Boat Foundation.

He also covers many of the social and political trends growing in Germany and throughout Europe. Including his observation that prosperity is on the rise in Europe and all around the world; and how it is that English is becoming the common world language, and why the French are not happy about it.

Matt is also the author of the Hard SF novel The Future Happens Twice in which he explores concepts such as: interstellar space colonization using frozen embryos; earth-like extrasolar planets; embryo-splitting technology and artificial wombs; the cryopreservation of human embryos; children being raised by sophisticated androids; and human survival threatened by an impending extinction-level event.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_1_16.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Timothy Zahn, the bestselling author, is this week's featured guest. Possibly best known for his Thrawn Trilogy, which is a series of Star Wars novels set in the time after the movie Return of the Jedi.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 9, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 60 minutes]

In this interview Timothy Zahn discusses several of his fears, hopes and worries about the future. He also talks about Wikipedia, Earthlike exoplanets, and how his master's degree in physics contributes both to the hardness of his science fiction and to the strength of his faith in God.

After describing his ideas in science, theology and sociology he lightens the conversation with anecdotes of how he became a Star Wars playing card, as well as a question on the TV game show Jeopardy.

News items in this episode include an announcement that the host of The Future And You (Stephen Euin Cobb) is now inside the virtual world Second Life and is going by the name: Boc Cryotank.
Direct download: TFAY_2008_1_9.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT


Jack McDevitt, the best selling author, kicks off the show's new weekly format. Each weekly episode will feature a single guest interviewed in greater depth than ever before possible.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 1, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 53 minutes]

Jack McDevitt discusses how he has used the internet and email for research; science fiction on TV and in movies; what he learned by being a teacher and a newspaper reporter; and the novels that changed his life which include Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and the young adult stories in The Voyage of the Space Beagle.

He also talks about writing alternate history involving Sir Arthur Conan Dole's Sherlock Holmes, and he describes one of his favorite science fiction movies, the low-budget but brilliantly written film: Time Quest.

News items include (a) this program's new weekly format (b) our much shorter readings of stories from Jim Baen's Universe Magazine, and (c) Sir Arthur C. Clarke's 90th birthday. The legendary science fiction author celebrated the happy occasion a few weeks ago (December 16, 2007) by posting online a video Birthday Message to the entire world. (Sir Arthur is one of a handful of people who shaped and altered the course of your host's life, and was instrumental in his becoming a transhumanist over 30 years ago.) Listener Feedback includes emails examining whether or not guest interviews on this program should be censored.

Direct download: TFAY_2008_1_1.mp3
Category:podcasts -- posted at: 12:01am EDT