I just finished reading PJ Manney‘s brand new novel (R)Evolution. And, while I was prepared for a stimulating nanotechnology and brain-enhancement science fictional story, I also got an action-packed, character-rich, twisting, and intricate thriller with a very generous sprinkling of classic realpolitik. Add a realistic plot (and issues) that may well become a part of our […]
Jun 04, 2015•1 hr 20 min
The idea that man is a machine is an old one. And since the brain is a physical part of that machine it is often presumed that it can necessarily be simulated on a digital computer. But very little scientific scrutiny has been given on that presumption. The Relativistic Brain is a new book by Miguel […]
May 31, 2015•1 hr 30 min
It has been almost 5 years since I originally published my 23andMe DNA Test review where I concluded that it was right for me. I also asked you to seriously consider if it may or may not be right for you too. And so, if you still have not considered the risks, the benefits and the […]
May 18, 2015•44 min
There are 3 individuals who have had the most impact on what I’ve been doing for the past 5 years: Ray Kurzweil – who helped me to see deeper into the exponential growth and disruptive nature of technology; Seth Godin – who inspired me to pick myself and begin my journey into blogging and podcasting […]
May 08, 2015•45 min
David Wood is the chair of London Futurists and on the Humanity+ board of directors. He is an eminent futurist whose valuable newsletter I myself have been subscribed to for several years now and so I was very happy that, at long last, we managed to sit down for a proper interview. Not surprisingly, I […]
Apr 26, 2015•1 hr 29 min
“Rick Tumlinson is the descendant of pioneers who wants to help create the future pioneers who are going to go open the Solar system and expand life beyond the Earth. That’s why I am here. The whole reason I exist is to make sure that this species and the life of the Earth expands into […]
Apr 19, 2015•2 hr 17 min
Pandora’s Brain is one of the most philosophical science fiction novels I have read recently. And since Calum Chace has been a valuable contributor to Singularity Weblog and a great blogger with an interesting and diverse experience in his own right, I thought that he would make a great guest for my podcast. And so […]
Mar 27, 2015•1 hr 9 min
This is my second interview with William Hertling. The first time we met was at Greg Bear’s house near Seattle where we did both a 1on1 interview and a fantastic science fiction panel together with our host and Ramez Naam. So I suggest you start by watching those videos if you have not seen them […]
Mar 16, 2015•1 hr 11 min
Marc Goodman is not your typical street cop – he considers himself a humanitarian, is super smart and well-educated, has worked in over 70 countries, and speaks more languages than I can list here. Marc has worked for Interpol and is the Futurist for the FBI. If that is not enough, Goodman is also the […]
Mar 05, 2015•46 min
Michael Fossel‘s dream is to reverse human aging and since 1996 he has been a strong and vocal advocate of experimenting with telomerase therapy as a potential way of intervention in a wide variety of medical conditions related to aging. Fossel is also one of those unique people who are a real pleasure to see […]
Nov 06, 2014•56 min
During my recent visit to the Cryonics Institute I had the chance to do a video tour of CI and learn more about its vitrification procedures and membership policies. I also had the unique opportunity to interview David Ettinger, whose father Robert Ettinger is the “father of cryonics” because he pretty much started the field with his […]
Oct 13, 2014•57 min
This is the concluding sci fi round-table discussion of my Seattle 1-on-1 interviews with Ramez Naam, William Hertling and Greg Bear. The video was recorded last November and was produced by Richard Sundvall, shot by Ian Sun and generously hosted by Greg and Astrid Bear. (Special note of thanks to Agah Bahari who did the interview […]
Oct 02, 2014•30 min
Greg Bear is truly one of the masters of classic science fiction – he has written over 35 books, that have sold millions of copies, and have been translated into 22 languages. No wonder I was not only immensely excited but also pretty nervous while preparing to interview him face to face. As it turned […]
Sep 26, 2014•1 hr 34 min
If there’s ever been a case when I just wanted to jump on a plane and go interview someone in person, not because they are famous but because they have created a totally unique and arguably seminal theory, it has to be Danko Nikolic. I believe Danko’s theory of Practopoiesis is that good and he […]
Sep 12, 2014•1 hr 9 min
Hannu Rajaniemi is a Ph. D. in string theory and fellow SU alumni best known for his popular science fiction trilogy The Quantum Thief [Jean Le Flambeur]. His work has risen to prominence both because of its merits and the legend surrounding his signing up with a major book publisher. Rajaniemi has been suggested numerous […]
Aug 31, 2014•1 hr 36 min
Jerome C. Glenn is co-founder and Director of The Millennium Project and I had great fun talking to him during our first interview. But it has been over two years since our previous conversation and so, when Jason Ganz reminded me that the latest State of the Future report has been out for several months now, […]
Aug 19, 2014•55 min
Jonathan Mugan is not only a computer scientist specializing in machine learning and AI but also a father of three and the author of The Curiosity Cycle: Preparing Your Child for the Ongoing Technological Explosion. Since this is one of the few good books on the topic that I am aware of, I thought I’d […]
Aug 12, 2014•33 min
I have often felt that being located in Toronto, Canada puts me at a bit of a disadvantage with respect to having a futuristic high-tech blog and podcast. Living in Silicon Valley or New York [or a number of cities in Asia and Europe] appears to make it easier to stay at the cutting edge of […]
Jul 31, 2014•42 min
Some will say that Bill Andrews is totally crazy – at 61 he runs an average of 10 miles per day and at least one 100-mile marathon per month. He also wants to “Cure Ageing or Die Trying”. No wonder Bill is one of the 2 main protagonists of a new documentary about life extension aptly […]
Jul 01, 2014•1 hr
Jeremy Rifkin is a social activist, economist, futurist and best-selling author of twenty books on the impact of scientific and technological changes on the economy, the workforce, society, and the environment. His books have been translated into more than thirty-five languages and are being used in hundreds of universities, corporations, and government agencies around the world. In […]
Jun 29, 2014•1 hr 37 min
In my opinion, The Immortalists is the frankest, most open-minded, and uniquely personal documentary about life extension in general and Aubrey de Grey and Bill Andrews, in particular. I was privileged to attend its international premiere during the Hot Docs Film Festival in Toronto, Canada, and instantly knew that I have to interview David Alvarado […]
Jun 24, 2014•51 min
Dr. Michio Kaku is a theoretical physicist, bestselling author, acclaimed public speaker, renowned futurist, and popularizer of science. As co-founder of String Field Theory, Dr. Kaku carries on Einstein’s quest to unite the four fundamental forces of nature into a single grand unified theory of everything. You will not be surprised to hear that Michio […]
Jun 06, 2014•1 hr 22 min
Digital crypto-currencies such as Bitcoin are the singularity of money, and after spending some time educating myself, I have turned from a skeptic into a fan. If you are unfamiliar with the topic, I suggest starting with my interview with Andreas Antonopoulos. In that conversation, we lay down the basics and discuss why “Bitcoin is […]
Jun 05, 2014•1 hr 9 min
Stuart Armstrong is a James Martin research fellow at the Future of Humanity Institute at Oxford where he looks at issues such as existential risks in general and Artificial Intelligence in particular. Stuart is also the author of Smarter Than Us: The Rise of Machine Intelligence and, after participating in a fun futurist panel discussion with […]
May 27, 2014•45 min
This is my second interview with Steven Kotler. Last time we discussed Abundance: The Future is Better than You Think – the book Steven co-wrote with Peter Diamandis. This time, we discuss reaching our optimum state of performance, or what many of us call Flow. During our conversation with Steven Kotler we cover issues such as […]
May 20, 2014•51 min
I met Prof. Ed Boyden at last year’s Global Future 2045 conference in New York. There I was highly impressed with Boyden’s impressive work in neuroscience in general and optogenetics in particular, as well as the profound implications it would have on our ability to understand and manipulate the brain. And so I knew instantly […]
May 06, 2014•1 hr 6 min
Peter Voss is an entrepreneur, inventor, engineer, scientist, and AI researcher. He is a rather interesting and unique individual because of his diverse background and impressive accomplishments and his interest in moral philosophy and artificial general intelligence. Given how quickly our first interview went by, I wanted to bring him back and dig a little […]
May 04, 2014•54 min
Andreas Antonopoulos is arguably the face of bitcoin because he is probably the most prolific interviewee as well as the most publicly recognized expert in the field of crypto-currency. To top it off, Andreas is extremely eloquent, has an impressively broad spectrum of knowledge and is an admitted disruptarian. I have been receiving numerous requests […]
Apr 23, 2014•1 hr 23 min
Peter Voss is an entrepreneur, inventor, engineer, scientist, and AI researcher. He is a rather interesting and unique individual not only because of his diverse background and impressive accomplishments but also because of his interest in moral philosophy and artificial intelligence. I have been planning to interview Voss for a while and, given how quickly […]
Apr 04, 2014•57 min
Emerging reports suggest that the BRX virus has already infected thousands of people. ByoLogyc – the company whose product is linked to the outbreak, has set up a mobile decontamination and vaccination facility in the heart of Toronto. Even though I usually don’t do any breaking news field-reporting, in this particularly shocking case I couldn’t help […]
Apr 01, 2014•25 min