Meanwhile in the future

current news Sept 2015

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learning

Gary Stewart grew up with a fairy tale notion of his birth father. So when he set out to search for him, the last thing he ever expected was to find himself in the middle of one of the biggest unsolved mysteries of all time.

Producer: Nancy Lopez
Sound Design: Leon Morimoto and Pat Mesiti-Miller

Here's a link to Gary's book, "The Most Dangerous Animal Of All"  http://www.harpercollins.com/9780062313164/the-most-dangerous-animal-of-all




Zodiac Signs / Snap Judgment, "Mystery Man"

What happens when women no longer have to physically bear children? Who wins? Who loses? Who takes artificial wombs to a far away planet to create a colony of super-beings? 

A Womb Away from Home

What would happen if the Earth suddenly had a second moon? This week, we work through the impact an additional satellite would have on our planet, from tides, to the night sky, to the potential destruction of Earth. Oh also there are space pirates. 

The Second Moon is a Harsh Mistress

This week’s future is a social experiment. What if Earth had a robotic overlord who decided to ban all weapons? All fights would have to be hand to hand. Would there be less death that way? Less casualties? What counts as a weapon anyway? Listen to the episode to find out!

Forcing the Hand

This week on Meanwhile in the Future we step onto the field and talk about contact sports. What would it take to create a future in which the most dangerous sports die out? What are those sports to begin with? What does a world without football look like?

The Most Dangerous Games

Over the past 85 years, antibiotics have been miracle drugs. They’ve kept infections at bay and opened up a world of medical possibilities: organ transplants, heart surgery, chemotherapy. But they’re not going to work forever. The age antibiotic resistance is coming. So what does a world without these drugs look like? 

Revenge of the Germs

What if we lived in a world where gender was more like hair color — something you could change at will, and that had little bearing on what other people thought of you?

Bye Bye Binary

In her new book, Reclaiming Conversation, Sherry Turkle examines how smartphones and social media have crowded out real conversation. She says “human relationships are rich, messy, and demanding. When we clean them up with technology, we move from conversation to the efficiencies of mere connection.” Turkle explores the power of face-to-face conversation in a time of “always on”technological connection.

Sherry Turkle: Reclaiming Conversation

Ever sit down on a city park bench and immediately notice your shoulders relax? Or feel your heart begin to pound as you navigate a tricky, crowded intersection? If so, then you know the power of the built environment to affect our bodies, brains, and behavior.

Cognitive neuroscientist Colin Ellard has made a study of how our city grids, storefronts, and streetscapes shape us. He’s led volunteers outfitted with sensors on walking tours through cities like Berlin and Mumbai, and watched subjects navigate virtual green spaces in his VR lab. Ellard joins Ira to talk about how we can measure the physical and mental effects of our streetscapes—and use that knowledge to build better.


Can Science Help Build Happier Cities?

What would it be like if we lived in a world where everything you do is subject to a rating dolled out by a combination of machines and other people? 

Reputationville

Flash Forward is a show about possible (and not so possible) future scenarios. What would the warranty on a sex robot look like? How would diplomacy work if we couldn’t lie? Could there ever be a fecal transplant black market? (Complicated, it wouldn’t, and yes, respectively, in case you’re curious.) Hosted and produced by award winning science journalist Rose Eveleth, each episode combines audio drama and journalism to go deep on potential tomorrows, and uncovers what those futures might really be like. The future is going to be weird, so let's get ready for it together.