Host Joshua Topolsky (co-creator of Vox Media and founder of The Verge) deconstructs modern culture, mining the surprising connections that make up our increasingly frenetic world. A heady mixture of fugue-state monologues and spontaneous, irreverent conversations with experts, weirdos, and big thinkers, What Future is here to dissect our insane reality, lasso the pieces, and ride off into the sunset with your money, your woman, and your pride.
It's a family affair today as Josh welcomes his sister-in-law and Senior Technology Reporter for Buzzfeed News, Katie Notopoulos. Lots to uncover and dissect in a world wide web gone mad, but thankfully we have an expert in the chaos. Discussed: Dilbert, Bold Glamour, Slurp Juices, SAG Awards See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Josh welcomes Washington Post columnist and author of 'The Aftermath: The Last Days of the Baby Boom and the Future of Power in America,' Philip Bump! Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, where are they and where are they going? You are one of them, but what does that mean for the country you grew up in and what happens next? Discussed: Stillness, '2000 Mules,' Florida Man See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
[rerelease]: On the premiere episode Joshua explores Spooky Season with Jason Blum (founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions), a man behind some of the most iconic horror films of the past decade — like 'Get Out,' 'The Purge,' and 'Paranormal Activity.' Discussed: the horror of reality, the reality of horror, how data is killing art, the politics of hunting people, film industry lifehacks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Actor, writer, activist & organizer, Dallas Goldtooth, only got 3 hours of sleep last night, but he's up for a lively conversation with Josh. As "Spirit" on the FX series Reservation Dogs, Goldtooth subverts expectations and breaks down long-lasting tropes in American media. Discussed: Hell Let Loose, night owls, Avatar, Harry Potter the trust fund kid See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's episode, Josh is interrupted by an unexpected visitor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
On today's episode, Josh is joined by the ever-insightful Rebecca Jennings, a senior correspondent for The Goods at Vox and a woman who isn't afraid to peer into the void. Josh and Rebecca cover the gamut of internet celebrities and influencers — from Kim Kardashian to Paris Hilton to Andrew Tate to MrBeast, looking into who's really responsible for the cool state of social media today. Discussed: MrBeast's real age, influencer self worth, pick-me girls, hat people. See omnystudio.com/listener f...
On the show this week Josh is joined by the illuminating and hilarious Baratunde Thurston (host of the PBS show America Outdoors, Puck News writer, and all-around genius) to discuss... the total breakdown of information in the world. Baratunde and Josh take the listener on a sprawling conversational ride, revealing unexpected truths about the future of all life on Earth. Discussed: Original conspiracy theories, the diversity of TikTok haters, Tim Cook's sense of well-being, deep breathing, being...
On today's episode, Josh is joined by longtime friend, collaborator, and Gawker editor-in-chief, the inimitable Leah Finnegan. Leah's adorable yet lethally uncouth dog Baby caused some disruptions early in the recording, forcing Leah to take drastic action to silence the creature (she put Baby in her bed). Luckily Josh and Leah were able to get things back on track despite the disturbance, leading to a shocking reveal regarding Leah's true feelings on certain members of the Royal Family. Discuss...
This is not Josh's favorite time of year; but we can still find some trends to look forward to in 2023. Discussed: Las Vegas, CDs, Dry January, The Twilight Zone See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Well folks — that’s about it for the year 2022. But what a ride! Right! Right? There have been many things to lament this year, but it hasn’t been without its pleasures as well. Josh is saying goodbye to the year that brought us a reverse red wave, Alex Jones’ downfall, and multiple days of the world’s (former) richest man getting owned on the website he just bought for $44 billon U.S. dollars. But what else was good this year? Josh counts down his top ten. Discussed: Adam Driver’s hunk factor, ...
Josh finally lets his inner fanboy out by talking to his favorite musician of 2022 — the one-of-a-kind genius Penelope Scott. After rising to fame and sonic virality on TikTok for her shockingly honest and extremely online songs, Scott went on to garner hundreds of millions of listens across the internet, along with all of the commentary you might imagine is unavoidable when that happens. Whether it’s songs about how Ted Bundy truly sucks, succinct takedowns of America’s broken healthcare system...
In the age of femcels, proud boys, groypers, and C.H.U.D.s, one reporter is striving to make sense of it all. Her name is Taylor Lorenz, and her beat is literally the entire internet and all of the strange people who inhabit it. When she’s not discovering the next new thing in influencer culture or shining a light on the dark patterns of misinformation, Taylor is fending off attacks by Tucker Carlson, terrible trolls who aren’t Tucker Carlson, and other assorted villains who are just rude online...
Casey Newton is one of the best reporters in the world when it comes to getting an inside look at the triumphs and tragedies of the Silicon Valley elite. Lately he’s been something of a scoop machine about all things Twitter. From mistaken firings to panicked midnight emails, Casey has been tracking all the nasty details of Twitter’s flop era — so who better to clue Josh in to what the future may hold for the social network you love to hate. Discussed: Christianity, Excited CEOs, the Cuomo broth...
As Thanksgiving approaches, Josh is thinking about the things that really matter in life, like family, health, and new gadgets for making sick beats. This is also a time to think about the communities we’re in — both near and far, and who better to discuss our life offline and on than Anne Helen Petersen, author of “Can’t Even,” the definitive book about burnout, and a Very Online Person who has managed to stay sane. Discussed: septic tanks, babysitters, Discord families, and Delilah. See omnyst...
Come for Josh's rant on the future of the internet, stay for his conversation with Vincenzo Natali, director of 'Cube,' 'Splice,' and your favorite episodes of 'Hannibal,' who has taken on William Gibson's reality-bending book 'The Peripheral' and turned it into electrifying TV. The two discuss how horror is in our DNA, his creative relationship with AI, and the difficulties of turning 80's sci-fi into modern art. Discussed: Ray Harryhausen, math that kills you, "big" iPads. See omnystudio.com/l...
What you’re reading right now was written by an artificially intelligent — though not sentient — neural network designed to write descriptions for podcasts. Or was it? You don’t know, and that’s what makes AI so fascinating, cool, and scary. Since Josh loves all of those feelings, he sat down with the founder of controversial AI-generated art startup Midjourney, David Holz, to unpack the future of creativity. Discussed: Porn, therapy, families, Hitler. This one’s a doozy! See omnystudio.com/list...
Twitter is now owned by edgelord supreme Elon Musk, and Josh has many, many thoughts on the subject. To explore and dissect the coming post-social media world we're all about to live in, Josh sits down with New Yorker staff writer Jia Tolentino, whose book 'Trick Mirror' explored all of the ways that being very online is bad, weird, and probably ruining our real lives. Discussed: Nathan Fielder, incels, italian cuisine, blogging. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
On the premiere episode Joshua explores Spooky Season with Jason Blum (founder and CEO of Blumhouse Productions), a man behind some of the most iconic horror films of the past decade — like 'Get Out,' 'The Purge,' and 'Paranormal Activity.' Discussed: the horror of reality, the reality of horror, how data is killing art, the politics of hunting people, film industry lifehacks. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Coming October 27th, host Joshua Topolsky (co-creator of Vox Media and founder of The Verge) deconstructs modern culture, mining the surprising connections that make up our increasingly frenetic world. A heady mixture of fugue-state monologues and spontaneous, irreverent conversations with experts, weirdos, and big thinkers, What Future is here to dissect our insane reality, lasso the pieces, and ride off into the sunset with your money, your woman, and your pride. See omnystudio.com/listener fo...
