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Future Tense

A critical look at new technologies, new approaches and new ways of thinking, from politics to media to environmental sustainability.

society & culture tech news

All Episodes

0:28:38

How to start your own golden age

Future Tense ·

2025/06/19

History has many lessons for how to develop a successful civilisation. The trick is to understand the patterns that lead to optimism and innovation. So, where do we rate in the 21st century? Also, why all history is revisionist and why a healthy sense of revisionism drives a deeper understanding of the past, present and future.GuestsJohan Norberg — author and historian. Senior Fellow, Cato institute in Washington DCAssociate Professor Sarah Percy — Political Science and

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0:28:38

Australia and Canada — Strategic partners, but near...

Future Tense ·

2025/06/12

Australia and Canada share much in common, politically, historically and socially. Why then do we know so little about each other? In a time of global uncertainty does it make sense for Canada and Australia to build a closer bond? If the two prosperous liberal middle powers worked together more closely, could they be a greater force for positive change in the world?GuestsDr Andrew Lilco — Economist and Executive Director and Principal, Europe EconomicsN. Leo Crabe — lecturer and

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0:28:39

Reassessing the laws of war; and why progress isn't...

Future Tense ·

2025/06/05

The International commitment to ban landmines is wavering. Several European countries are reversing their opposition to using them. The shift comes as disarmament negotiators struggle to regulate the spread of "killer robots" — AI-controlled autonomous weapons. So, is the future of weapons containment and control under threat? And are treaties signed in peace always likely to be vulnerable during times of war?GuestsProfessor Sean Watts — Co-director of the Lieber Institute for Law

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0:29:10

Beyond the cloud — storing data in space

Future Tense ·

2025/05/29

Researchers and corporations are already working to relocate data servers beyond the Earth's atmosphere — on satellites.Data servers are essential to the functioning of the modern world, but they're both power and water hungry. When they're built, they often meet with community concern and environmental protest.So, why not build data centres in space where solar energy is abundant? What could possibly go wrong?GuestsDr Domenico Vicinanza — Associate Professor of Intelligent Systems

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0:28:38

Forgetting, not memory, moves us forward

Future Tense ·

2025/05/22

Forgetting is the only safe response to the world's problems, from a geopolitical perspective, according to author and journalist David Rieff. Sometimes it’s too dangerous to remember. And forgetting is also a good thing in your personal life, say scientists. It moves us forward. The science of memory is giving way to the science of forgetting. Forgetting used to be seen as a failure of the brain, but new research suggests it’s a crucial part of the way our minds function. Original

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0:28:38

Bitcoin boom or digital deception?

Future Tense ·

2025/05/15

Donald Trump is establishing a US Strategic Bitcoin Reserve. He wants it to rival the country's stockpile of gold. He boasts America will one day be the "Bitcoin superpower of the world", but what's his end game and what will it mean for future global finance? Questions are already being asked about why he's chosen to largely deregulate the cryptocurrency sector and whether his family's personal crypto interests are now driving US policy.GuestsAssociate Professor Larisa Yarovaya —

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0:29:10

Can the oceans solve our carbon removal problems?

Future Tense ·

2025/05/08

There's been growing research and investment in projects that use the oceans to artificially remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Such techniques involve both a biological and a chemical approach.To date, carbon removal technologies have been largely land-based, using giant air-purification machines, or planting trees to consume and store carbon. Those efforts have struggled to gain scale and acceptance. So, will a marine-based approach make any difference? It's a

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0:28:38

YouTube turns 20; and the interesting side of boredom

Future Tense ·

2025/05/01

YouTube is the second biggest website in the world, containing more than 14.8 billion videos. It's been a huge success, but its public image as a haven for influencers and digital monetisers belies its true character and role. Ryan McGrady from the University of Massachusetts takes us inside the online behemoth. Also, perspectives on boredom, its purpose and prevalence; its relationship to time, and why the measures we undertake to fight boredom so often backfire.GuestsIsabella Lee

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0:28:38

Remember the Jevons Paradox!

Future Tense ·

2025/04/24

We like to think that increases in efficiency lead to greater sustainability – to lower resource use. But from cars to computers to bitcoin, it seems the reverse is true – efficiency stimulates demand. It’s an oft forgotten rule of economics called the Jevons Paradox, and it might explain why the demand for almost everything keeps going up even while we simultaneously fret about over-consumption. Also, would you accept a parcel from a stranger, take it on the bus or train with you,

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0:28:38

The power and peril of the optimistic mind

Future Tense ·

2025/04/17

Human beings have a bias toward optimism, says astrophysicist turned author and editor, Sumit Paul-Choudhury. While we may not always acknowledge it, the power of optimism is what drives our species forward. But beware of the modern craze for "Manifesting" — wishful thinking, no matter how intense, only has impact if it's married to action. Also, why we need to rethink globalisation's bad rap. International relations expert, Inanna Hamati-Ataya, argues there are no pure cultures

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0:28:37

Future Tense ·

2025/04/10

Artificial intelligence, it turns out, has a heavy human backend — they're called "data labellers"; they mostly live in developing countries, and there are ethical questions about their pay and work conditions. So, why aren't we talking more about them? Also, Google and other search companies have begun replacing hyperlinks with AI summaries. It's a move seemingly in line with our AI obsessed times, but what will it do to the tapestry of the internet? And will it simply make online

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0:28:38

The roots of techno-authoritarianism

Future Tense ·

2025/04/03

Does the spirit of the "Futurist" movement live on today in the likes of Elon Musk and America's intrigue of techno-oligarchs? The Italian poet and fantasist Flippo Tommaso Marinetti almost died in a car crash, and out of that experience was born the "Futurist" movement. It went on to inspire the fascism of Benito Mussolini with an energetic emphasis on disruptive technology, conflict and creating an authoritarian future.GuestsAnnalee Newitz — Journalist and authorDr Jonathan White

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0:28:38

Some challenges to conventional economic thinking

Future Tense ·

2025/03/27

Does modern economic thinking act as a roadblock to change? Economists Kate Raworth and Rainer Kattel certainly think so. The alternatives they propose involve acknowledging limits not just obsessing about growth. And a caution from design and management expert Raz Godelink – it always pays to be skeptical when big business puts on the sustainability suit. GuestsKate Raworth – Economist and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab Raz Godelnik – Associate Professor of Strategic

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0:28:38

Civility, trash talking and more sociable cities

Future Tense ·

2025/03/20

It certainly feels like a very shouty world. But have we really reached a new low point in civility? And, if so, where to from here?We examine what civility really entails and how it can help foster cooperation but also lead to the submission of minorities.And did you know that even the design of our urban spaces can shape and limit acts of civility? So, how can we make our cities more sociable?GuestsDr Eduardo Sadoval — Social Roboticist, UNSWDr Saara Liinamaa — Associate

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0:28:38

Limitarianism — could a cap on wealth reduce inequality?

Future Tense ·

2025/03/13

When a company CEO can be paid 1,000 times the average employee's salary it's probably time to take a long hard look at wealth inequality. And those calling for the rich to pay more aren't always the ones you'd expect – Patriotic Millionaires is a group of mega rich individuals demanding greater, not lesser taxation. Then there's the Dutch philosopher urging ordinary citizens to put a cap on their own personal wealth. She calls her approach Limitarianism. Also, Rewilding the

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0:28:38

Understanding attention and a craving for certainty

Future Tense ·

2025/03/07

Are we really facing an attention crisis? Historian, Daniel Immerwahr, has his doubts. In fact, he says ours is an era of obsession as much as distraction and of zeal as much as indifference. Also, the paradox of certainty: we crave it, argues the University of Alberta's, Timothy Caulfield, even though it's so easy to fake.GuestsDaniel Immerwahr — author and Professor of History, Northwestern University and a contributing writer at The New YorkerTimothy Caulfield — author and

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0:28:38

Flow Batteries, windships, and a new approach to...

Future Tense ·

2025/02/27

They're cheaper and safer than their lithium counterparts, they're easier to scale-up, and they can hold power for much longer than conventional batteries, so why aren't flow batteries better known? The technology has been under development for decades, but enthusiasts now say they're finding their place in the sun. Also, why more and more cargo companies are turning to wind-power; and do developing countries need to rethink their approach to off-grid power.GuestsEmeritus Professor

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0:28:38

Modern museums, accountability, and openness

Future Tense ·

2025/02/20

The Victoria and Albert Museum in London is opening-up its storeroom, turning the back end of the operation into a public resource. It's about attracting new patrons, but it's also about accountability, the Museum's managers have declared. Across the Western world museums are having to reexamine their mission and redefine the relationship they have with the public they're meant to serve. We explore why and how. We also look at the balance that's being struck between the physical

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0:28:38

Nuclear tombs and the distant discourse of danger

Future Tense ·

2025/02/13

A series of massive underground tombs for nuclear waste are currently under construction. They've taken decades to plan and build and they're designed to house the world's nuclear waste for millennia to come. So where are they being built? How safe will they be? And how to devise a toxic waste warning sign that will make sense to people living tens of thousands of years from now?Also, the latest research on how climate change is beginning to impact on internal migration within

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0:28:38

The danger of generational labelling

Future Tense ·

2025/02/06

Terms like "Gen Z", "Boomer" and "Millennial" are popular, but they have no basis in science. Demographers and social scientists are now pushing back. Generational labelling, they argue, is akin to Astrology and while politicians, journalists and media influencers find them irresistible, they actually promote pseudo-science, sew social division and can reinforce prejudicial stereotypes. So why are generational labels so popular?GuestsProfessor Bobby Duffy — Director of the Policy

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333 results

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