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, and then deli...
Apr 24, 2025•29 min
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 and globalisatio...
Apr 17, 2025•29 min
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 information e...
Apr 10, 2025•29 min
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. Guests Annalee Newitz — Journalist and author Dr Jonathan White — Professo...
Apr 03, 2025•29 min
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. Guests Kate Raworth – Economist and co-founder of Doughnut Economics Action Lab Raz Godelnik – Associate Professor of Strategic Design and Ma...
Mar 27, 2025•29 min
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? Guests Dr Eduardo Sadoval — Social Roboticist, UNSW Dr Saara Liinamaa — Associate Professor, Depart...
Mar 20, 2025•29 min
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 Internet – how to pu...
Mar 13, 2025•29 min
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. Guests Daniel Immerwahr — author and Professor of History, Northwestern University and a contributing writer at The New Yorker Timothy Caulfield — author and Professor of law...
Mar 07, 2025•29 min
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. Guests Emeritus Professor Maria Skyll...
Feb 27, 2025•29 min
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 artefact and its...
Feb 20, 2025•29 min
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 countries. Guests...
Feb 13, 2025•29 min
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? Guests Professor Bobby Duffy — Director of the Policy Institute, Ki...
Feb 06, 2025•29 min
Why does Utopian thinking get such a bad rap? It’s often derided as delusional and dangerous. But what if that stereotype is designed to limit our imagination and choices? We hear often that people are tired of democracy and turned off by short-term political thinking. So, is it time to be much more adventurous and ambitious – dare we say utopian – in our imagining of the future? Guests Professor William Paris – Assistant Professor, Department of Philosophy, University of Toronto Professor Barba...
Jan 30, 2025•29 min
Exploring new ideas, new approaches, new technologies — the edge of change.
Jan 26, 2025•29 min
Privatising public services like trains, hospitals or prisons — is a proven vote loser. But governments of both the left and right continue to privatise — when it suits them. And it suits them, it seems, when large sums of money are needed to pay down debt, or when a government seeks to off load risk and liability to the private sector. So, what conditions should be applied to ensure that privatisations truly serve the public interest and don't simply decrease competition? Guests Owen Hayford — ...
Jan 23, 2025•29 min
Authoritarians rule through fear. We can clearly see that from China to the Middle East to eastern Europe. But why do we constantly overlook the way in which fear also shapes democratic societies? It's fueling populism and distorting our future focus. Then there's anger. It's inspired generations to man the barricades and right society's wrongs. But anger is increasingly becoming a driver of commerce. There's billions to be made in getting you riled up and keeping you that way. Fear fuels anger,...
Jan 16, 2025•29 min
Algorithmic feeds are meant to personalise our online experiences, but increasingly they're flattening our culture and fostering a dull conformity, according to best-selling author Kyle Chayka. And the influence they exert on our lives is increasingly physical not just digital. Also, data scientist Gloria Mark who has crunched the numbers on how our attention spans have fared over the past decade or so. If you can keep focused, you might find it fascinating. Guests Professor Gloria Mark – data s...
Jan 09, 2025•29 min
In our uber-connected world, the development and management of really anything is becoming increasingly complex. Planning for the future has to involve more than just grand ambitions, it also needs to be alert to unintended consequences. Otherwise things you didn't even dream about will go wrong and that can prove enormously costly. Part of the solution is to think past the immediate and adopt a systematic approach to thinking. Guests Dr Edward Crawley – Ford Professor of Engineering, Massachuse...
Jan 02, 2025•29 min
Nostalgia triggers our emotions and that in turn makes us vulnerable to manipulation. We speak with Richard King about the commodification and weaponisation of nostalgic sentiment. Also, New York Times critic-at-large, Jason Farago, on why he believes our cultural age might be the least innovative in half a millennium. Guests Richard King – author and critic Jason Farago – author, social commentator and critic-at-large, The New York Times Further information Richard’s Griffith Review essay - Nos...
Dec 26, 2024•29 min
Most people want to eat better. And many of us have embraced the trend toward "natural" foods and conscious eating. We equate "natural" with healthy, nutritious and virtuous, but that can often be way off the mark. New research shows many healthy alternatives are anything but. And our embrace of the term natural is more about expressing identity and morality rather than healthy eating. Empowering people to understand what and how they should eat is what it should be about – and one way to do tha...
Dec 19, 2024•29 min
Methane levels are going up — not down, despite decades spent trying to reduce emissions from agriculture and landfill. But some countries are bucking the trend, we find out who and how. Breeding sheep and cattle to burp less is one way to reduce methane emissions. ABC Top 5 Science Residency recipient Luisa Olmo talks us through a genetic selection programme that could lead the way forward. Guests Dr Ed Clayton – Ruminant nutritionist, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Developme...
Dec 12, 2024•29 min
The design of your city contributes to how much rain you get. Researchers have found a 'wet island effect' and it's likely to shape the future construction of our cities. Also, better understanding how Artificial Intelligence is used in conflict; and the major Australian study that calls into question the effectiveness of carbon trading. Guests Dr Megan Evans – Senior Lecturer, Public Sector Management, UNSW Canberra Professor Dev Niyogi – Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson Scho...
Dec 05, 2024•29 min
Military spending around the world has reached a new peak, and it's still going up. All eyes are on Ukraine and the Middle East as new strategies and weapons are being put to the test. But are the traditional international rules of warfare too focussed on old technologies? Can they be adjusted to encompass cyber hacking and the use of online civilian proxies? Guests Professor Johanna Weaver – Director of the Tech Policy design Centre, Australian National University, ANU Professor Alexander Hill ...
Nov 28, 2024•29 min
Sometimes, despite the hype, despite extensive funding, and despite clever and ingenious thinking, good ideas fail. Or at least don’t live up to their initial promise. There are lessons to be learnt and interesting anecdotes to be told. In this episode we look at four future-focused projects that have never really taken off: Google Glass, solar roads, space tourism and hyperloop technology. Guests Dr Paul Sutter – Astrophysicist, SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, New York Sarah Marqua...
Nov 21, 2024•29 min
The UN General Assembly has passed a Declaration on Future Generations. It’s designed to ensure the generations of tomorrow aren’t disadvantaged by the decisions we make today. But is it more than feel good symbolism? Could it one day be as powerful as the Declaration on Human Rights? Also, how a focus on the here and now restricts visionary thinking; and we get the results from the latest 4-day work week trial, this time in Germany. Guests Professor Thomas Hale – Blavatnik School of Government,...
Nov 17, 2024•29 min
Robot vacuum cleaners are so innocuous, many people treat them almost like pets. But they're also potential portals into our private life. Story Lab journalist, Julian Fell, learns how to hack a robot vacuum cleaner and uncovers some disturbing facts about the security of connected household appliances. Also, acts of aggression and abuse committed in virtual reality environments. So-called "metacrimes" may be cyber in nature, but they can feel very real and have physical world consequences. Gues...
Nov 07, 2024•29 min
The heating climate is now recognised as a threat to our inner world – to brain health and rationality. Extreme temperatures not only impact our ability to think and our decision-making they also increase the presence of neurotoxins in the environment. And that can lead to disease and mental degeneration. We speak with the head of the newly formed International Neuro Climate Working Group. Climate anxiety is also caused by changes in our brains. So, is that a blessing or a curse? Guests Clayton ...
Oct 31, 2024•29 min
Rana Sylvatica is an unassuming wood frog with an extraordinary gift. In the depths of winter, it can slow down its metabolism, flood its cells with ice and remain in a state of suspended animation for months. But it's what it might be able to teach us about preserving human organs for transplant that has scientists really excited. Also, the menagerie in an icy test tube — San Diego's Frozen Zoo and the fight to preserve biodiversity. Guests Dr Ken Storey — Professor of Biology and Biochemistry,...
Oct 24, 2024•29 min
The demand for sex tech is booming. That is, toys and apps that can be used for pleasure, communication or to improve sexual health. Developers are using innovative ways to incorporate AI in a way that is respectful of both consent and the diversity of human desire. But it seems some male developers are intent on weaponising it against women. In this special episode of Future Tense, Stephen Stockwell, explores the power of the emerging technology, its potential benefits and harms, and the need t...
Oct 17, 2024•29 min
It was known as Wolf Warrior diplomacy – a brand of Chinese foreign ministry posturing that was as aggressive as it was unexpected. But has Beijing now changed tack? And if so, why? Also, does the theory of Institutional Amnesia explain why our preparedness for natural disasters is often found wanting? Guests Assistant Professor Tyler Jost — Political Science, International and Public Affairs, Brown University (US) Dr Sarah Robertson – Research Fellow in sustainability, RMIT University Dr Paul B...
Oct 10, 2024•29 min
