The Future And You

May 14, 2008 Episode

Wed, 14 May 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Paul Fischer, Information Technology professional and one of podcastingâs pioneers, is our guest today. The team of Paul Fischer and Martha Holloway are widely known for their Balticon Podcast and A.D.D. Podcast.

In this interview Paul describes:

How cellular phone companies manage to charge $3 for only part of a song when the entire song can be bought on Amazon.com for under a dollar. And why this eight billion dollar ringtone business in the US is even worse in Europe where ringtones cost individual users about $30 per year, every year, because they are rented.

How the F.C.C. has failed the American public in their assigned mission, and why they do not care that they have failed. Ways the American cell phone companies have perverted the rules that are supposed to govern their operations.

The sad fact that Police and Fire Department cellular systems all take a back seat to commercial cellular systems in terms of quality, bandwidth, priority and deployment. And which cities are taking serious steps to fix this problem.

Why the Japanese all have better cell phone service and bandwidth than Americans, so much so that watching live streaming internet TV on their cell phones has lost its novelty.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 14, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 58 minutes]

Paul Fischer also talks about his involvement with Balticon, and how this led him and Martha Holloway to create the Balticon Podcast. He mentions that Neil Gaiman was one of his favorite guests, and describes Neil Gaiman as a joy to interview, a genuinely nice guy, as well as a modern renaissance man who seems to do everything well. Paul also talks about his interviews with others including the brilliant artist Joe Bergeron.

May 7, 2008 Episode

Wed, 7 May 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Katherine Kurtz, the best selling author of many fantasy novels including those in her Deryni Series, is our featured guest, in an interview recorded at the science fiction and fantasy convention, RavenCon in Richmond Virginia.

In this interview Katherine Kurtz talks about: her writing methods and style; which of her books were the most difficult to write and which ones were the most fun, and shares anecdotes from her travels, her life and her work. A friend of Anne McCaffery, Katherine has lived for a number of years in Ireland but recently moved back to the United States â the nation of her birth.

Concerning the future: Katherine describes trends within publishing today and the future of electronic publishing, and how our lives are being changed by cell phones, IM, high speed internet and online catalogs. She also discusses the annoyance of popup ads and junk-mail, her opinion of Wikipedia, and the seduction of the internet as a time-vampire. She also predicts that physical mail (as opposed to email) will someday become rare.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 7, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 48 minutes]

News items in this episode include:

1) Sophrosyne Stenvaag announces that Extropia Core (the futuristic city-state within Second Life which your host visits frequently) will Co-Host part of the NASA Future Forum next week on May 14, 2008, which will feature a preview of NASAâs Constellation Program â Americaâs return to the Moon and beyond. The keynote address which will be broadcast live on NASA TV will be given by NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, who is known inside Second Life as Xena Dahl. Soph explains how listeners can attend and participate.

2) Your host also thanks Zada Zenovka for her kind gift of a new pair of designer eyes for his avatar within Second Life. Zada is one of the two artists who crafted the custom made body and skin for the author David Brin when he made a personal appearance inside Second Life a few weeks ago as part of Extropia's celebration of Yuri's Night.

April 30, 2008 Episode

Wed, 30 Apr 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Authors C.J. Henderson, Allen Wold and Michael Ventrella are joined by Thomas cmdln Gideon (digital media activist and host of The Command Line podcast), The Wombat (RavenCon's Fan Guest of Honor back in 2007), as well as Bill Mann, Tera Fulbright and many others in this special episode recorded on location at the science fiction and fantasy convention in Richmond Virginia called RavenCon.

Also included is an exclusive interview with one of the inside experts on a new massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game called Beyond Protocol which is currently in beta test.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 30, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 77 minutes]

C.J. Henderson is the award-winning author of fifty novels including the Teddy London supernatural detective series. Allen Wold is the author of nine novels and five nonfiction books. And while Michael Ventrella has just released his first novel, he is best known as one of the founders of Animato Magazine and of the LARP NERO.

April 23, 2008 Episode

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 04:01:00 GMT

David Brin, fresh from a personal appearance inside the virtual world of Second Life, is our featured guest. The best selling science fiction author, scientist and public speaker, expands on the ideas he presented there and describes his impression of that virtual world based on his first-hand experience.

David Brin has won multiple Hugo and Nebula awards and is the author of the novel Kiln People and The Life Eaters as well as six novels within his Uplift Series. He holds a Bachelorâs in astronomy, a Masterâs in applied physics, and a Doctorate in astrophysics.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 23, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 49 minutes]

David Brin's appearance inside Second Life was part of the annual world-wide celebration of Yuri's Night, which commemorates the first human flight into space by Yuri Gagarin in 1961.

For nearly two hours David Brin spoke to an overflow crowd in the grand meeting hall in the Central Nexus Building inside the city-state of Extropia inside Second Life. He was interviewed by Sophrosyne Stenvaag in an expanded version of her Sophrosyne's Saturday Salon which is held every week.

Wearing a photorealistic body specially crafted for this event by the avatar artists Zeroe Auer and Zada Zenovka, David spoke about the strengths and weaknesses of virtual worlds as a place to discuss ideas--and did so while experiencing those very strengths and weaknesses as he discussed ideas. (My photos of his event may be found on Flickr.)

The city-state of Extropia has become a popular meeting area within Second Life for those who are curious about the future because it features weekly events to discuss various futuristic topics. The organization SL-Transhumanists, for example, hosts lectures and discussions about the many aspects of transhumanism such as nanotech, genotech, AI and the Singularity.

April 16, 2008 Episode

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Randal L. Schwartz, the widely known computer programmer and programming consultant, is our featured guest today.

Randal has acquired a level of renown through his longstanding work in popularizing and promoting the programming language called Perl. He has authored and co-authored many widely used books on the subject, and has written over 200 articles about it for various computer magazines.

He is also the co-host of FLOSS Weekly (a podcast from the TWiT podcasting Network which features prominent guests from the free software/open source community).

In todayâs interview Randal discusses the following topics:

How ethanol is not only raising food prices world-wide but its production is also a major source of carbon dioxide (a concern for Global Warming), some have suggested that switch grass may be a better answer. Google's announced desire to offer free nation-wide wireless internet access; and the legal catch-22 that municipalities have always found themselves in when they tried to provide wi-fi at the taxpayer's expense. How passports with RFID chips can be hacked wirelessly as you walk through an airport; why it is that Japanese users are getting 25 times faster high-speed internet than American high-speed users; and how Netflix.com is scrambling to keep Hulu.com from outpacing them.

Randal also describes his involvement with Geek Cruises and the Scientific American Cruises; his podcast FLOSS Weekly (which stands for Free Libre Open Source Software and may be found at twit.tv/floss); and his enthusiasm over a powerful new programming language called SeaSide. (Examples, BTW, of open source software include: Wikipedia, Blender, Gimp and Open Office.)

Randal also gets to gloat over his prediction from last year because the New York Times has reported that pacemaker heart implants with wi-fi internet connections can be hacked through the internet by a hacker on the other side of the world, who can make the device stop working or even give the patient electric shocks strong enough to kill.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 16, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 69 minutes]

Randal L. Schwartz is a founding board member of the Perl Mongers, the worldwide Perl grassroots advocacy organization and, since 1985, has owned and operated Stonehenge Consulting Services which specializes in the teaching, training and programming of Perl.

Also included in this episode is your host's eyewitness report on the Yuri's Night celebration that took place on April 12 in the city state of Extropia inside Second Life. David Brin (the award-winning and best-selling author) was the featured speaker. David was easily recognizable since his avatar wore a photorealistic skin created for the occasion by a skilled avatar artist.

During the all-day festivities in Extropia your host: met two NASA representatives as well as some Russians, drove a moon buggy; sat inside a life-sized model of Yuri Gagarin's space capsule, danced with a wide variety of beautiful women, admired Vidal Tripsa's space suit (possibly the sexiest space suit ever), watched David Brin pack the house for his open forum discussion about the strengths and weaknesses of virtual worlds such as Second Life, and took over 300 photos of the day's events. (Many of which can be viewed on Flickr.)

April 9, 2008 Episode

Wed, 9 Apr 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Greg Bear, the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning author of more than thirty books of science fiction and fantasy, is our featured guest today.

Greg Bear has served on political and scientific action committees and has advised Microsoft Corporation, the U.S. Army, the CIA, Sandia National Laboratories, and Homeland Security. And just recently--like your host--he has joined the advisory board of the Lifeboat Foundation.

In today's interview Greg Bear describes his TV appearance on The Daily Show with John Steward, movie deals which are in the works for his novels, and his recollections of his many conversations with the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke, including the very first time he met Sir Arthur back in 1968 when Greg was only 16 years old.

He also talks of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, technological immortality, mind uploading, and why he disagrees with some of the expectations of Transhumanists, and most of the expectations of Singularitarians.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 9, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 62 minutes]

Greg also discusses physics and string theory; life on extrasolar planets (including the surprisingly numerous super-hot planets which often orbit their stars in a matter of days); the world wide annual celebration of Yuri Gagarin's first human flight into space (which your host will be celebrating inside Second Life); Sir Arthur C. Clarke's many contributions to civilization; how technology will change future battlefields; and how Russia seems to be heading back into the cold war.

He also reveals his excitement that The Science Fiction Museum in Seattle will be expanding to include fantasy, and possibly horror as well. He was on the advisory board for the science fiction museum in Seattle along with Ray Bradbury, Octavia Butler and Sir Arthur C. Clarke.

Greg Bear's novel, Quantico, is a near-future thriller; while Darwinâs Radio and Darwinâs Children form a sequence about viruses and human evolution. Blood Music deals with biotechnology, nanotechnology (including grey goo), the nature of consciousness and artificial intelligence.

News items mentioned in this episode include:

Robert J. Sawyer the award-winning author made two personal appearances inside Second Life on Sunday, April 6, 2008. The first in the Central Nexus building in Extropia Core, the second at a meeting of the Extropia Book Club.

David Brin the award-winning author will be making a personal appearance inside Second Life on Saturday, April 12 in Extropia Core as part of the annual world-wide Yuri's Night celebrations of the first human in space. He will be the Spotlight Guest at Sophrosyne's Saturday Salon. Soph will interview David in an open discussion event from 1 PM to 2:30 PM Pacific Time.

I am the Very Model of a Singularitarian is a clever music video now on youTube. Written and sung by Charlie Kam to the tune of Gilbert and Sullivan's I am the Very Model of a Modern Major General from the popular musical play The Pirates of Penzance.

www.WikiPatents.com is a public community which features a wiki-like interface for reviewing, rating, and discussing US patents and pending patent applications. It also offers free patent PDF downloads, file histories, and advanced patent searching. Users may also vote on the marketability and technical merits of patents and patent applications.

April 2, 2008 Episode

Wed, 2 Apr 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Dr. Gregory L. Matloff, astronomer and author of six popular books on astronomy and astronautics, is our featured guest. His latest book, Living Off the Land in Space, was co-authored with NASAâs Les Johnson and Brooklyn artist C Bangs.

Future and current trends in spaceflight and propulsion are covered in this interview, as well as all the following topics: where the big money will be made in space; space-based solutions to our energy problems on earth today; the inflatable space habitats and hotels that Robert Bigalow has started building; practical methods of asteroid mining and diverting; ion drives and solar sails; the likelihood of a new international space race; exoplanets in general but especially the new developing possibility of earth-like planets orbiting the nearest star, Alpha Centauri.

Doctor Matloff also talks about the late Sir Arthur C. Clarke's book Rendezvous with Rama which opens with an asteroid impact wiping a quarter of Europe's cities and population off the map; new estimates of the Tunguska impact of 1908; as well as one particular earth-grazing asteroid which will be taking two pot-shots at humanity during the next two decades.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 2, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 71 minutes]

Doctor Matloff makes it clear that the future of spaceflight is Not likely to look like the spaceflight of the past. Nor is it likely to resemble the spaceflight generally described in science fiction.

One of his early books, The Starflight Handbook: A Pioneer's Guide to Interstellar Travel, was co-authored with MIT science writer Eugene F. Mallove. Doctor Matloff has consulted for NASA on in-space propulsion systems and methods of protecting Earth from threatening objects. And he has also contributed to the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), atmospheric modeling, space astronomy and navigation, and studies to produce energy from the wind.

News Items described in this episode include:

Robert J. Sawyer (bestselling author and former guest on this show) will be making a personal appearance inside Second Life. He will discuss the future of: AI, robotics, life extension, SETI, and more. Afterward, he will join the Extropia Book Club for their discussion of his latest novel, Rollback, which is now a finalist for the Hugo Award. The event will be held on April 6, 2008 at high noon (Pacific Time) in the Central Nexus building in Extropia Core inside Second Life.

The New York Times has reported that pacemakers are now vulnerable to hacker attacks because device makers have begun designing them to connect to the Internet wirelessly.

Google wants to offer nationwide Wi-Fi to everyone in America for Free. (This is not an April Fools joke.) On March 21, 2008 Google submitted a six-page letter to the FCC outlining processes and tests to avoid interference if they are granted use of a portion of those radio frequencies which will become available in 2009 when television ceases to broadcast analog transmissions.

March 26, 2008 Episode

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Kim Stanley Robinson, the best selling and award-winning science fiction author is our featured guest. Probably best known for his Mars trilogy (Red Mars, Green Mars and Blue Mars); his other novels include: Fifty Degrees Below, Forty Signs of Rain, The Years of Rice and Salt, and most recently, Sixty Days and Counting.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 26, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 83 minutes]

In todayâs interview Kim Stanley Robinson covers many topics: his conversations with Sir Arthur C Clarke; how the TV show 24 encourages and justifies the use of torture; his observation that terrorists have become an exaggerated enemy; why English has become the world language; the vision he has tried to put forth in his latest novel Sixty Days and Counting; how frustrating it is that there are lots of exoplanets but we can't go look at them; and his worry that people are losing interest in space exploration because our ability to travel has not extended to the stars and is limited to our own solar system.

He also speaks to the difficult issues of the deeper future including: his opinion of the Singularity; his expectations of Artificial Intelligence; why he has moderated some of his views about Nanotechnology (he used to be more dismissive); and just how long he thinks human longevity might become stretched.

He also responds to the host's questions: What would people do differently if we all knew we were going to live for 300 years? How would this change civilization?

Kim Stanley Robinson's writings have won the Hugo, the Nebula, the Asimov, the John W. Campbell, the Locus, and the World Fantasy Awards. He has a Bachelors degree in literature, a Masters in English, and a Ph.D. also in English. He considers science fiction to be one of the most powerful of all literary forms, which explains why his doctoral thesis was titled The Novels of Philip K. Dick.

Other items in this episode include: the recent death of Sir Arthur C. Clarke (one of the hosts personal heroes); how the upcoming Yuri's Night celebrations will take place in two worlds instead of one (the anniversary of the first human in space); LED light bulbs; and an essay concerning the host's new theory about the origin of NGC-6543, also known as the Cat's Eye Nebula.

March 19, 2008 Episode

Wed, 19 Mar 2008 04:01:00 GMT

Peter Norvig, Director of Research at Google (yes, THE Google) is our featured guest today.

Peter is co-author of Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach, the leading textbook in the field of AI. He has written more than fifty publications in the computer sciences - concentrating on Artificial Intelligence, Natural Language Processing, and Software Engineering. He is a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery. And he was the head of the Computational Sciences Division at NASA Ames Research Center, making him NASA's senior computer scientist.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 19, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 97 minutes]

Will machines someday think as well as humans? Will they think in the same way we do? Will they plan, be creative, invent things that are new and innovative? Will they feel emotions as we do? Will they feel compassion, fear, fondness, attachments based on familiarity?

Peter Norvig answers all of these questions, as well as the obligatory scary question: If the IQ curve of AI rises long enough for their IQ to match our own, why would that curve stop rising? Won't their IQ continue increasing until they are ten times smarter than us, and then a hundred, and then a thousand? At what point might this stop? Is there a limit? Do you fear superhuman AI? Should anyone?

He also describes his work at NASA concerning the Remote Agent and Mars Exploration Rovers, and what role AI played in it. He talks of the work Google is doing in AI, why Google is interested in AI, and if Google plans to have its search page converse with users.

March 12, 2008 Episode

Wed, 12 Mar 2008 04:01:00 GMT

David B. Coe the award-winning, and critically acclaimed, author of nine fantasy novels (some of which have been translated into no less than six languages, including Russian, German, Dutch, and French) is our featured guest today.

David has a doctorate in American history from Stanford University, and he enjoys nature photography, bird and butterfly watching, and playing guitar.

David talks about Wikipedia, e-books and Amazon's Kindle, Green investment funds, solar power, his belief that clean coal is decades away, and he once again emphasizes that if his fellow environmentalists are going to get serious about global warming they will have to find a way to embrace nuclear power.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 12, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 82 minutes]

David also describes the changing corporate climate concerning environmentalism. Being Green has become the In Thing for corporate marketing. Wal-Mart has become a leader in promoting Green. Saving the environment is now widely seen as good business.

He explains why official decisions concerning which birds are, and are not, defined as separate species are based mostly on science, but also partly on politics, emotionalism, local tradition and sentimentality. An avid bird and butterfly watcher, he describes the trends in both, and mentions that butterflies are like the canary in the coal mine: they are an early indicator of damage to an ecosystem.

He also responds with surprising candor to the host's question: For each of the current candidates (John McCain, Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton) what is the best and worst things that would probably happen during their presidency?

Others who provide comment, feedback or receive an honorable mention in this episode include: Randal L. Schwartz, Shaun Ferrell, Rich Sigfrit, Mur Lafferty, Tee Morris, Khannea Suntzu and Extropia DaSilva (for her blog post entitled Snowcrashing into the Diamond age).

March 5, 2008 Episode

Wed, 5 Mar 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Michael Anissimov, the well known futurist, blogger and transhumanism activist is today's featured guest.

Michael talks about many future-oriented topics such as: transhumanism and the singularity; cryonics and Paris Hilton; solar power verses nuclear power; synthetic biology and Craig Ventor's new artificial organism; and his own involvement with the founding of the Immortality Institute.

The Immortality Institute is a life extension activist organization that today includes hundreds of paying members and an active online community. Michael was one of its co-founders though he was still in High School at the time.

Currently Michael is the Lifeboat Foundation's fundraising Director for North America; He is very much involved with the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology; and was recently voted to join the board of the World Transhumanist Association.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 5, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 71 minutes]

In this interview Michael expresses his enthusiasm about the ongoing revitalization of the World Transhumanist Association, which includes the new webzine being put together by R. U. Serious.

He also discuses two technologies he feels could have a radical destabilizing effect on the world once they reach a certain threshold--which they may do within 20 years. These technologies are molecular nanotechnology (MNT) and Artificial General Intelligence (AGI). While their potential benefits are great, if not handled with extreme caution, he feels these technologies could cause disaster.

He also describes the trends he sees going on within the transhumanist movement today, and how he expects these trends to play out during the next few years. For example, he sees that the general public is beginning to warm up to transhumanist ideas thanks to movies and TV; but that there is still a lot of fear of transhumanism among the religious right. He agrees that there are a lot of closet transhumanists who haven't come out yet. But he also says the new transhumanists seem to be of all ages, not just young people. He sees the next few years as a time of much greater acceptance of the transhumanist ideas and idealism.

Michael is a science and technology writer and consultant based in San Francisco. He has given talks on futurist issues at seminars and conferences in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, San Francisco, and at Yale University. His blog (acceleratingfuture.com) has become one of the primary focal points within the futurist community, including the communities of transhumanists and singularitarians. His blog features his own writings, the writings of others, as well as many important links to other sources of information about the future.

February 27, 2008 Episode

Wed, 27 Feb 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Philippe Van Nedervelde, international spokesperson for the Lifeboat Foundation, is today's featured guest. (He is also Executive Director for the Foresight Nanotech Institute in Europe, and a Global Task Force Member for the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.) Philippe describes the Lifeboat Foundation, its work to define and evaluate the many coming risks to humankind, and how the foundation has already begun formulating specific recommendations on how we may prepare for these risks.

This episode also contains an essay by your host describing the dramatic changes which the internet will experience in the next five to ten years; as well as an announcement of a presentation which will be given on March 9, 2008, at Extropia Core inside Second Life by the esteemed pioneers of international transhumanism and extropy: Natasha Vita-Moore and Anders Sandberg. Their topic: Do humans have a natural right to augmentation and enhancement?

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 27, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 93 minutes]

Some of the risks include: unfriendly AI (Artificial Intelligence), devastating asteroid strikes, bioweapons and pandemics, replicating and nonreplicating nanoweapons, nuclear, biological, and nanotechnological attacks. But one of the scariest of these has become known as ADC (Asymmetric Destructive Capability), in which large scale destruction can be accomplished with relatively small scale resources. Another scary risk is called SIMaD, which stands for Single Individual Massively Destructive, or as Philippe describes it, The Unabomber on steroids.

Philippe Van Nedervelde is a regular keynote speaker at conferences and other events, and has made presentations throughout Europe to audiences of all sizes and compositions including academic, business and governmental such as European Union parliamentary hearings.

He is the award-winning founder, CEO and majority-owner of E-spaces, a VR production house which has delivered networked or multi-user Virtual Reality or tele-virtuality and interactive 3D graphics projects for customers including NASA, UNESCO, the European Commission, Flemish Government, Ericsson Business Networks, Nokia and IBM.

Philippe holds a master's degree in communication as well as a post-graduate degree in Media and Information Science from the Catholic University of Leuven, Belgium.

February 20, 2008 Episode

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Giulio Prisco (futurist, scientist, corporate consultant and until recently the Executive Director of the World Transhumanist Association) is today's featured guest. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Institute for Ethics and Emerging Technologies and on the Global Task Force on Implications and Policy for CRN, the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology.

Argent Bury (a digital person living exclusively within Second Life) provides an essay concerning the tension between immersionists and augmentationists within her virtual world.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 20, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 79 minutes]

Giulio Prisco also covers the prejudice and intolerance between immersionists and augmentationists, and mentions that the day before the interview, Cervantes University held its very first college class within Second Life, and discusses many aspects of the future of virtual realities.

A virtual reality expert and consultant for companies wishing to use and benefit from many different VR platforms, Giulio describes what's available now, and what will be available in the decades to come. From the current photorealistic graphics, to the total immersion through full sensory feedback directly wired into the human nervous system.

He describes various VR platforms including Second Life and its competitors, as well as the possibility that all the platforms will become linked together into a unified whole, just as the internet was once many separate little nets that could not share content.

Giulio Prisco is also the Director of the futurist consulting consortium called FutureTag, as well as founder and CEO of Metafuturing (a company specializing in Science and Technology Consulting, Internet Services and Virtual Reality). Based in Madrid, Spain, he founded the Spanish transhumanist group FASTRA. He is a former physicist and computer scientist, as well as a former manager at ESA: the European Space Agency.

February 13, 2008 Episode

Wed, 13 Feb 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Catherine Asaro, scientist and Nebula award winning author, is our featured guest; while Glen Walkerson who writes tech-manuals for the F-16 fighter jet provides a brief bonus interview.

Catherine Asaro describes her thoughts on the rise of nanotechnology, the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, the ongoing feminization of civilization, and how non-lethal weapons might alter the nature of war. Glen Walkerson shares a few comments on the new F-22 fighter jet, which is under production, as well as the F-35 fighter which is still in development.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 13, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 41 minutes]

Catherine Asaro is the author of 16 novels which have been described as a blend of hard science fiction, romance and space adventure. 11 of her novels belong to her Saga of the Skolian Empire. Her novel The Quantum Rose won the Nebula Award for Best Novel of 2001 and she is a three-time winner of the Romantic Times Book Club award for Best Science Fiction Novel.

From UCLA she received a Bachelors Degree in Chemistry. From Harvard she received a Masters in Physics and a Ph.D. in Chemical Physics.

She has done research at the University of Toronto in Canada, the Max Planck Institut fÃr Astrophysik in Germany, and the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. Her research involved using quantum theory to describe the behavior of atoms and molecules. She was a physics professor until 1990 when she established Molecudyne Research.

A former ballerina, she has performed with ballets and in musicals on both the east and west coast of the United States. In the 1980âs she was a principal dancer and artistic director of the Mainly Jazz Dancers and the Harvard University Ballet.

She has also published short stories, reviews, essays, and scientific papers in refereed academic journals. Her paper Complex Speeds and Special Relativity, which appeared in the April 1996 issue of The American Journal of Physics, forms the basis for some of the science in her novels.

February 6, 2008 Episode

Wed, 6 Feb 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Paul Levinson (author, media commentator and professor) shares his ideas concerning nanotechnology, SETI, the Fermi Paradox, the probability and impact of our finding another Earth, and the impacts already made upon society by PayPal and eBay. He also explains why he believes that Wikipedia is one of the most exciting innovations in communication today.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 6, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 55 minutes]

Paul Levinson is professor of communications and media studies at Fordham University in New York City. He has a Bachelors in Journalism, a Masters in Media Studies and a Doctorate in Media Ecology.

He is the author of five novels of science fiction and/or fantasy; as well as nine non-fiction books. He served as President of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America from 1998 to 2001.

As a commentator on media, popular culture, and science fiction he has been interviewed over 500 times on television and radio. And his op-eds have appeared in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, New York's Newsday, and the New York Sun.

Prior to his academic career, Paul Levinson was a songwriter, singer and record producer in the late 1960s and early 1970s, with recordings by the Vogues, Donna Marie of The Archies and Ellie Greenwich. As a radio producer he worked with Murray the K and Wolfman Jack.

Also included in this episode: (a) a piece of music from Chris Armstrong's CD entitled: AI Awakens; (b) how to visit Boc Cryotank (your host's avatar in Second Life) at Sophrosyne's Saturday Salon (a weekly gathering of transhumanists, extropians, and other future-minded people); (c) your host's birthday; and (d) the news that your host has accepted an invitation to join the advisory board of the Lifeboat Foundation.

January 30, 2008 Episode

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Eric Flint, best selling author of more than 25 novels of science fiction and fantasy, as well as editor-in-chief of the online science fiction and fantasy magazine Jim Baen's Universe, is this week's featured interview.

In a rare interview recorded in front of a live audience, Eric shares anecdotes from behind the scenes of his many collaborations with authors such as David Weber, David Drake, Dave Freer and Mercedes Lackey.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 30, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 73 minutes]

A prolific collaborator all through his career, Eric describes the ups and downs of collaborating on a novel: how it works and what goes wrong when it doesn't. A former political activist, he describes the events that lead up to his entering the Writers of The Future Contest, and how winning it changed his life.

Six drunk friends collaborating is how he describes the crude beginnings of what later evolved into his first Joe's World novel.

He also mentions stories about his friend, the late Jim Baen, founder of Baen Books. And he mentions what actions Toni Weisskopf (the new head of Baen Books) used to insure stability at Baen after Jim's untimely passing.

Eric Flint also touches on electronic publishing. He says, Baen is quite aggressive in moving toward electronic publishing. And it would be foolish not to be. Baen is the premier electronic publisher in science fiction; it's not the biggest in print, but it is the biggest in electronic publishing.

Also included is an update on your host's exploration of the online virtual world called Second Life, such as his attending Sophrosyne's Saturday Salon (a weekly gathering of transhumanists, extropians, and other future-minded people hosted by Sophrosyne.) Listener feedback is provided by Peer Infinity, a transhumanist resident of Second Life.

January 23, 2008 Episode

Wed, 23 Jan 2008 05:01:00 GMT

George Dvorsky, executive editor of betterhumans.com, is this week's featured interview. Betterhumans.com is a webzine with News, Articles, and interactive features serving the transhumanist community. George Dvorsky is also the co-founder and president of the Toronto Transhumanist Association and has served on the Board of Directors for the World Transhumanist Association.

One of Canada's leading futurists, activists and award winning bloggers, George Dvorsky has written and spoken extensively about the impacts of cutting-edge science and technology.In this capacity he has been interviewed by: The BBC, Radio Free Europe, and by the British newspaper The Guardian. He's also been on the Canadian television news-magazine The Hour.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 23, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 84 minutes]

Topics include:

Why there is a negative perception of transhumanism in the general public, and what we can do about it.

Why the mainstream medical community is working hard to achieve the goals of transhumanism (without realizing it) and will continue to work toward them with or without our encouragement.

The vaccination of children is a perfect example of the transhumanist ideal, George explains, since it is an engineered hyper-immunity produced by technological intervention.

Why the complete end of personal privacy may be unavoidable and imminent.

We as a species find ourselves living with an increasing array of apocalyptic technologies, George says, and we have to learn how to live with these things since we can't un-invent them.

His personal expectations of The Singularity.

Life extension in general, and how long he personally expects to live.

Why the areas of transhumanist thought that remain controversial are those more removed from just keeping people healthy, and more in the direction of making people better than they ever were before. These areas include such things as increasing the human IQ, life extension, and wiring computers directly into the human brain.

As well as many other subjects.

January 16, 2008 Episode

Wed, 16 Jan 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Matt Browne, an IT professional living in Frankfurt Germany, is this week's featured interview. With a Masters degree in Computer Science and Computational Linguistics, Matt Browne has been involved in projects developing natural language processing with a strong focus on machine translation systems.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 16, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 87 minutes]

Matt talks about natural language processing and how long it might be before a computer passes the Turing Test; human resistance to the creation of human level artificial intelligences; and how this will lead to the singularity. But also how, long before The Singularity, huge profits will be made with AI applications.

He also describes catastrophic dangers to the human race such as super volcanoes and asteroids, and why this has lead him to become a member of The Life Boat Foundation.

He also covers many of the social and political trends growing in Germany and throughout Europe. Including his observation that prosperity is on the rise in Europe and all around the world; and how it is that English is becoming the common world language, and why the French are not happy about it.

Matt is also the author of the Hard SF novel The Future Happens Twice in which he explores concepts such as: interstellar space colonization using frozen embryos; earth-like extrasolar planets; embryo-splitting technology and artificial wombs; the cryopreservation of human embryos; children being raised by sophisticated androids; and human survival threatened by an impending extinction-level event.

January 9, 2008 Episode

Wed, 9 Jan 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Timothy Zahn, the bestselling author, is this week's featured guest. Possibly best known for his Thrawn Trilogy, which is a series of Star Wars novels set in the time after the movie Return of the Jedi.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 9, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 60 minutes]

In this interview Timothy Zahn discusses several of his fears, hopes and worries about the future. He also talks about Wikipedia, Earthlike exoplanets, and how his master's degree in physics contributes both to the hardness of his science fiction and to the strength of his faith in God.

After describing his ideas in science, theology and sociology he lightens the conversation with anecdotes of how he became a Star Wars playing card, as well as a question on the TV game show Jeopardy.

News items in this episode include an announcement that the host of The Future And You (Stephen Euin Cobb) is now inside the virtual world Second Life and is going by the name: Boc Cryotank.

January 1, 2008 Episode

Tue, 1 Jan 2008 05:01:00 GMT

Jack McDevitt, the best selling author, kicks off the show's new weekly format. Each weekly episode will feature a single guest interviewed in greater depth than ever before possible.

Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 1, 2008 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 53 minutes]

Jack McDevitt discusses how he has used the internet and email for research; science fiction on TV and in movies; what he learned by being a teacher and a newspaper reporter; and the novels that changed his life which include Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles and the young adult stories in The Voyage of the Space Beagle.

He also talks about writing alternate history involving Sir Arthur Conan Dole's Sherlock Holmes, and he describes one of his favorite science fiction movies, the low-budget but brilliantly written film: Time Quest.

News items include (a) this program's new weekly format (b) our much shorter readings of stories from Jim Baen's Universe Magazine, and (c) Sir Arthur C. Clarke's 90th birthday. The legendary science fiction author celebrated the happy occasion a few weeks ago (December 16, 2007) by posting online a video Birthday Message to the entire world. (Sir Arthur is one of a handful of people who shaped and altered the course of your host's life, and was instrumental in his becoming a transhumanist over 30 years ago.) Listener Feedback includes emails examining whether or not guest interviews on this program should be censored.

December 1, 2007 Episode

Sat, 1 Dec 2007 05:01:00 GMT

Authors Timothy Zahn and Kevin J. Anderson are joined by Professor Paul Levinson (media commentator), as well as by Stoney Compton and Walt (The Bananaslug) Boyes. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 98 minutes]

Topics include:

[1] News Items:
(a) Paris Hilton has signed up for cryonic preservation.
(b) Controversial new documentary claims there is an aggressive and widespread conspiracy within American universities to harass and persecute anyone who admits they believe in Intelligent Design.
(c) This is the second anniversary episode of The Future And You, and the first anniversary of this show being teamed with Jim Baen's Universe Magazine.
(d) Bones Burnt Black serialization is complete. (This episode contains no installment).
(e) Hank Reinhardt (renowned weapons expert and beloved husband of Toni Weisskopf--head of Baen Books) passed away on October 30, 2007.

[2] Could the reason SETI hasn't found any intelligent life in the universe be because there isn't any out there? Earth constitutes only one data point says Timothy Zahn, and my training in physics and mathematics tells me that extrapolating from only one data point is fraught with danger.

Timothy Zahn's confidence is high, however, that we will someday have computers wired directly into our bodies, but say's: I'll wait for the third or fourth generation of the technology to see what the side effects are. He also talks about medical life extension, The Singularity, nanotechnology, cryonics, and faster than light travel.

[3] Walt (The Bananaslug) Boyes and Stoney Compton give us an inside peek at what's in the latest issue of Jim Baen's Universe Magazine.

[4] Kevin J. Anderson (co-author of the best selling Dune prequels) sees artificial intelligence eventually merging with humans rather than becoming our enemy. He anticipates that computer implants will become popular, and is willing to have one wired into his brain too-âafter other people try them first. He even suggests that this might someday lead to humanity developing a Hive Mind. He also talks about SETI, FTL, nanotechnology, and cryonics.

[5] Professor Paul Levinson does not believe artificial intelligence will ever become so advanced that it is unintelligible to humans. Because of this he does not buy into any of the apocalyptic descriptions of The Singularity in which machines out-pace humanity and go their own way. Instead he sees artificially intelligent machines becoming intimately integrated with human minds, resulting in our becoming better humans. He also describes the affects cryonics might have on society.

November 1, 2007 Episode

Thu, 1 Nov 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Authors Kevin J. Anderson and Doctor Aubrey de Grey are joined by professional comedian Grant Baciocco as well as Walt (The Bananaslug) Boyes and Stoney Compton. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the November 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 100 minutes]

Topics include:

[1] Can catching a cold cause you to become obese? The explanation, which is still theoretical, is that because this particular virus reproduces in fat cells it has evolved the ability to stimulate the human body to create more fat cells.

[2] Kevin J. Anderson feels that if nanotechnology and molecular manufacturing turn out to meet their potential they will change human society and the human race forever, and that this will be a bigger change than any change we have experienced in all of human history.

He says Vernor Vinge's Singularity is a fascinating and scary possibility. Though a long-time Mac user and early adapter, he feels the curve of the singularity has already passed him by.

One of his worries for the future is that we have lots of smart people working on scientific advances when they have no clue what the effect on society will be. As an example, he sites a US project from the sixties called Operation Plowshare in which nuclear warheads were to be used in place of earth moving equipment for construction projects such as blasting tunnels through mountains for interstate highways and creating municipal reservoirs for public drinking water.

[3] Walt Boyes (The Bananaslug) and Stoney Compton give us an inside peek at what's in the latest episode of Jim Baen's Universe Magazine.

[4] Cryonics is a very good bet, says Doctor Aubrey de Grey who sees resuscitation from a cryo-preserved state as a natural extension of the work he's already doing in Medical Life Extension. He is pessimistic about cancer, however, and does not expect a cure within the next few years. He feels that cancer will be one of the most difficult problems of Life Extension to overcome.

He also uses empirical evidence to make a case for his notion that because Life Extension raises people's perception of the value of life, in the future wars will become less and less common.

He also suggests that the reason the US medical system is so expensive compared to those of the rest of the civilized world is not that it is not socialized but that America is such a litigious society. A lot of the money goes to lawyers, rather than to medical professionals.

[5] The final installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[6] An interview with the professional comedian Grant Baciocco in Atlanta Georgia where he had just accepted a Parsec Award for the weekly, family-friendly podcast which he co-created with Dougg Price called The Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd.

A technogeek but no transhumanist, Grant Baciocco is one of the early pioneers of podcasting. He discusses trends in comedy including the recent increase in vulgarity, his use of SeatGuru to always get an aisle seat when flying, and trends in theme parks--especially the new interactive animated characters which talk with and answer questions from their audience.

October 1, 2007 Episode

Mon, 1 Oct 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Senator, and presidential candidate, John McCain is joined by Jack McDevitt, Eric Flint, Doctor Aubrey de Grey, Alethea Kontis, Stoney Compton and Walt The Bananaslug Boyes. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 121 minutes]

Topics include:

[1] News and Listener Feedback.

[2] John McCain (presidential candidate and senator) openly threatens to close down half or more of NASA if elected president, but favors federal funding of nanotechnology and (though the issue has split the pro-life community in which he includes himself) also supports the federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

[3] Eric Flint is optimistic about the future but is highly skeptical of both nanotechnology and the Singularity; Hooey, he calls them both. He recalls that the late Jim Baen also thought nanotechnology was nonsense and yet, paradoxically, was a big fan of the Singularity. Eric laughs as he explains that, the word contradictory was made for Jim Baen.

[4] The BananaSlug (Walt Boyes) joins forces with Stoney Compton (author of the alternate history novel Russian Amerika) to give us an inside peek at what's in the latest issue of Jim Baen's Universe Magazine.

[5] Jack McDevitt reveals one of the little hypocrisies we all share: We say we want the schools to make our kids smart, but what we really want is for them to make our kids think like us. He also laments that our government has stopped looking for the subset of asteroids which threaten to hit the earthâa project which would cost little and yet might easily save millions of lives.

[6] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[7] Can we see huge increases in human life expectancy in 20 to 30 years? Doctor Aubrey de Grey says this is achievable even without the form of nanotechnology called molecular manufacturing. He adds, however, that a robust molecular manufacturing ability will be needed to extend human life expectancies indefinitely. (...a situation Transhumanists have nicknamed Escape Velocity.)

Doctor de Grey also describes a project attempting to produce Friendly AI. (Strong AI specifically engineered to be incapable of harming humans-âapparently reminiscent of Asimov's Three Laws of Robotics.) Having once worked in artificial intelligence, the doctor describes Friendly AI with some familiarity, but not a lot of confidence in its eventual success.

[8] Is the science fiction and fantasy short story market moving more strongly online? And do people who read online tend to gravitate to the shorter of the short stories? Alethea Kontis (a fantasy editor for Solaris Books in the UK and a buyer for Ingram in the US) says there are now several professional-level magazines online and their popularity and influence is growing. And, even though electrons are cheap, the desire for shorter stories is putting pressure on the magazines and writers to provide readers with stories that are shorter and more tightly written.

September 1, 2007 Episode

Sat, 1 Sep 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Authors Jack McDevitt, Dr. Aubrey de Grey, Randal L. Schwartz and Stoney Compton are joined by Uncle Timmy (chairman of LibertyCon) and Walt, The Bananaslug, Boyes from Jim Baen's Universe magazine. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 113 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News Items (your host has been promoted to Contributing Editor at Jim Baen's Universe Magazine) and Listener Feedback (about The Singularity and how the Golden Age of Phone Surveying is drawing to a close).

[2] Jack McDevitt, author of the Nebula Award winning novel Seeker, as well as thirteen other novels, has made a career out of imagining our future. Here he describes what he anticipates and wishes for our future, as well as what he fears.

[3] Walt Boyes and Stoney Compton tell us what's in the latest issue of Jim Baen's Universe Magazine.

[4] If you can cause a mouse to live an unnaturally long life you can win a huge cash prize. Inspired by the now famous space-commercializing X-Prize, The Methuselah Mouse Prize is just as real but is designed to popularize and promote innovative medical research in Life Extension. Doctor Aubrey de Grey of the Methuselah Foundation--who is both a gerontologist and a transhumanist--speaks of this and other aspects of medical life extension.

[5] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[6] What would you do if you were unjustly arrested on felony charges as a computer hacker? Randal L. Schwartz knows what he would do since this actually happened to him.

[7] In his twenty years of running a science fiction convention, Uncle Timmy (the founder and chairman of LibertyCon) has spent quality time with some of speculative fiction's greatest visionaries. In this candid interview Uncle Timmy reveals memories and anecdotes from behind those many scenes.

August 1, 2007 Episode

Wed, 1 Aug 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Authors Catherine Asaro, Hildy Silverman, Randal L. Schwartz and Stoney Compton are joined by editor Paula Goodlett from Jim Baen's Universe Magazine. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the August 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 114 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News and Listener Feedback (a) Fred Saberhagen (author of the Berserker Series) has passed away.

[2] Will future ballet dancers augment their bodies for greater strength and range of motion? And will we develop faster than light travel (FTL) in the same way we developed quanta mechanics and the relativistic equations? Author and scientist, Catherine Asaro covers both questions with authority because her career has included both. Concurrent with earning her doctorate in chemical physics from Harvard, she started and ran the Harvard University Ballet dance company, which still performs.

[3] Stoney Compton (author of the alternate history novel Russian Amerika) provides summaries and short readings from Jim Baen's Universe, the online magazine of science fiction and fantasy.

[4] How soon will e-books be as cheap as candy bars? As a child, Paula Goodlett, more than once, lived in towns without a library; where there was little available for her to read. Today she's the Managing Editor of Jim Baen's Universe Magazine and of The Grantville Gazette, both of which were created by Eric Flint and the late Jim Baen to experimentally test the waters of electronic publishing. Paula describes how these two experiments developed and what has been learned from them so far. She also provides hints of what changes are yet to be tried.

[5] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black; this time the second half of chapter 16.

[6] Infertility in America is increasing. This trend has lasted for decades, has been verified through statistics, and shows no sign of slowing. But while infertility is growing a new openness in talking about the subject is allowing its stigma to fade. Achieving Families Magazine is the âonly magazine dedicated to providing real-life informative stories and articles to guide you through the challenges of infertility.â Hildy Silverman is more than just one of its editors; she's a living example of how science and technology are bringing the joy of childbearing to those who would otherwise be left out. Her daughter was conceived through technological intervention. Hildy describes new methods of conception, and the thorny legal problems they've created.

[7] With its twitchy and crash-prone reputation, do you really want Microsoft Windows running the anesthesia and life support software during your next surgical procedure? And in the future, when nanorobots are ready to be injected into your bloodstream to protect you from heart attack, stroke and cancer, should you trust their AI software not to crash. Or more importantly, should you trust them not to get a bug that identifies, as a cancerous tumor which must be sliced up and removed, your heart or eyes or brain? Randal L. Schwartz is a programmer familiar with the weakness and frequent glitches of software.

July 1, 2007 Episode

Sun, 1 Jul 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Battlestar Galactica cast member Bodie Olmos (son of Edward James Olmos and grandson of Howard Keel) is joined by the authors Robert Buettner, Mike Resnick, Randal L. Schwartz and Stoney Compton, as well as by Walt (The Bananaslug) Boyes from Jim Baen's Universe magazine. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the July 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 118 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] A few items of News and Listener Feedback: (a) The World Death Stacks tournament now offers a trophy for artificial intelligence, (b) this show has been nominated for a 2007 Parsec Award in three categories, and (c) Listener Feedback from Bunnies of London (an expensive British escort service).

[2] With the future coming at us faster and faster how can your favorite science fiction writers stay one step ahead of emerging technology and the changes it creates in our lives? The truth is, sometimes they can't. Robert Buettner describes the future inside and outside of his novels, and how he and other writers struggle with the ever accelerating speed of scientific advancement.

[3] Walt Boyes and Stoney Compton provide an inside look at what's new in the latest issue of Jim Baen's Universe, the online magazine of science fiction and fantasy.

[4] Mike Resnick addresses a wide variety of questions such as how his own medical conditions may someday require he use voice recognition software, and how these conditions have influenced his feelings about socialized medicine. He also tackles other tough questions: Will the worlds religions remain relevant? Is it OK for big brother to watch you if it reduces crime? Will artificial intelligence worship its creators rather than destroy them? Will the lessons of prohibition be forgotten when writing future laws concerning Marijuana? And consumerism American style: is it succeeding where fascism and communism failed? Is consumerism doing what it appears to be doing: conquering every nation on earth?

[5] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black; this time the first half of chapter 16.

[6] Is it time to buy beachfront property inside the virtual world called Second Life? Randal L. Schwartz, who rents an apartment inside, and is therefore a resident, describes this bizarre world which is both similar and dissimilar to our own. Randal also describes some of his ideas concerning artificial intelligence and how quantum computing and neural nets may relate to it.

[7] The actor Bodie Olmos (son of Edward James Olmos and grandson of Howard Keel) describes his work on the set of the TV show Battlestar Galactica, as well as how it has affected his expectations of the future. He also talks of trends within his favorite hobbies: surfing and playing drums; and (in this interview taped June 2, 2007) reveals that Battlestar Galactica will end its run at the end of this season.

June 1, 2007 Episode

Fri, 1 Jun 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Authors Robert J. Sawyer, Mike Resnick, David B. Coe, Edmund Schubert, Randal L. Schwartz and Stoney Compton are joined by Walt (The Bananaslug) Boyes and Davey Beauchamps. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the June 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 167 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News about your host's recent throat surgery, and listener feedback about the implanting and hardwiring of computers into the human brain.

[2] Should we fear artificial intelligence? Once we make machines that are smarter than us how will we control or contain them? And if we try, won't they just outsmart us? Robert J. Sawyer explains why AI has dangerous possibilities which are being ignored today; and will continue to be ignored until, because of the accelerating pace of technological advancement, it will be too late. He discusses near term dangers, and ponders humanity's ultimate fate. Will we become pets or partners to machines, or something else for which we have no word?

[3] Walt Boyes (The Bananaslug) and Stoney Compton give us an inside peek at what's going on in the current issue of Jim Baen's Universe Magazine.

[4] Are state lotteries really an unethical tax upon the very people who can least afford them: the naive and gullible? Does the widespread popularity of gun ownership in America make the United States the only nation on earth that is unconquerable? Mike Resnick covers these and other subjects such as: Will Puerto Ricans ever vote for statehood knowing it will mean they'll have to begin paying income taxes? Will the US ever have socialized medicine? When Castro passes away, will Cuba embrace consumerism?

[5] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[6] Did the documentary An Inconvenient Truth reveal as much about Al Gore and his political aspirations as it did about Al Gore's beliefs concerning climate change? David B. Coe describes what he sees as the many lessons from the movie including the probability that Al Gore will run for president in 2008, and his chances against Hillary and the other Democratic candidates.

[7] In the next seven to fourteen years your monthly electric bill will drop to zero permanently, and you will drive a car every day which costs you nothing to fuel. An essay by your host about the soon-coming abundance of really cheap solar cells.

[8] Are public libraries embracing the vast information access powers of the internet? The movement is called Library 2.0 and Davey Beauchamp (a professional librarian, and part-time writer and voice actor) has been helping it work its way into the quiet book-lined rooms of traditional libraries. Davey also describes trends in anime, his work on the second Writers for Relief anthology and announces that he has just been hired to write a rock opera based on the legend of Blue Beard the Pirate.

[9] In the next three to five years diabetics will all stop poking needles into their fingertips forever. A mini-essay by your host about RFID chips which will be implanted inside human patients and provide constant medical measurements without wires.

[10] What methods has Microsoft used that have given it a reputation for aggressive monopolism? And is it true, as some claim, that Microsoft's new Vista operating system has stolen 45 things from Apple's OS-10. Randal L. Schwartz talks of this as well as his experiments with podcasting and Geek Cruises.

[11] Will the online science fiction and fantasy magazines survive? Edmund R. Schubert, editor of Orson Scott Card's Intergalactic Medicine Show, describes the strengths and weakness of this business; the money to be made and the trends he sees developing.

May 1, 2007 Episode

Tue, 1 May 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Authors Mike Resnick, Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Bear, Dave Freer, Paul Levinson and Stoney Compton are joined by Randal L. Schwartz (programming consultant and activist) and Walt (the Bananaslug) Boyes of Jim Baen's Universe magazine. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 142 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News: (a) the recent discovery of the first earthlike planet other than our own, (b) your host's surgery, (c) your host will appear at ConCarolinas in Charlotte NC, USA (June 1-3, 2007), (d) listener feedback on superconductivity, sexual equality, the singularity and transhumanism.

[2] Many online magazines now pay professional rates--sometimes much better than print magazines--does this mean the great electronic experiment was a success? Or just that the print magazines are dieing? Mike Resnick (editor of the highest paying online magazine) discusses this and provides another eyewitness report on how bad things really are across Africa. He also answers your host's question about Funny Novels: is there more money but less respect?

[3] Walt (the Bananaslug) Boyes and Stoney Compton take us inside Jim Baen's Universe magazine.

[4] Must a generation die off for a culture to change its most deeply held beliefs? Or is our current population somehow learning to become comfortable with nontraditional ideas, behaviors, clothing and lifestyles? Elizabeth Bear speaks of this and the universal notion of Us verses Them.

[5] Have we been relying on non-lethal weapons for centuries without even realizing it? Kim Stanley Robinson insists that we have, and also argues that implanting a computer inside your skull is not trivial. It carries risks of damage and infection, and might best be reserved for solving life-altering problems like blindness or deafness.

[6] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[7] Despite the numerous benefits, the renowned programmer Randal L. Schwartz insists he will be highly reluctant to accept a computer hardwired into his brain; and will refuse it entirely if its operating system is made by Microsoft since that would make his mind too easily hacked and too prone to spontaneously crashing.

[8] Cell phones have changed our culture and altered the way we live, but their changes are not yet complete. Paul Levinson ponders what is yet to come.

[9] Large scale engineering projects have been less visible recently thanks to all the buzz about nanotechnology. But the future is not given only to the very small. Those who design big are still thinking big, and the biggest place to build big is in the biggest place of all: space. Dave Freer presents his vision of how humanity will spread beyond the earth and fulfill its destiny among the stars.

April 1, 2007 Episode

Sun, 1 Apr 2007 04:01:00 GMT

Authors David Drake, Alan Dean Foster, Dave Freer, Paul Levinson and Stoney Compton are joined by Ginjer Buchanan (of Ace and ROC books), Lucienne Diver (a top literary agent) and Walt Boyes (The Bananaslug from Jim Baen's Universe magazine). Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the April 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 121 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News: (a) due to the host's vocal problems, this is the only episode which does not include an installment of the novel, Bones Burnt Black; (b) Death Stacks may now be played online for free without downloading anything; (c) TV channels from around the globe may be watched online for free by going to MyEasyTV.com; (d) your humble host proposes his fix for the confusion produced by dropped cell phone calls; and (e) your host will appear at RavenCon in Richmond VA, USA (April 20-22, 2007) and at ConCarolinas in Charlotte NC, USA (June 1-3, 2007).

[2] Apartheid ended 13 years ago, so what are the trends within South Africa today? And what misconceptions do outsiders have? Dave Freer (born and raised in South Africa) talks of this as well as his scientific profession: ichthyology (the study of fish), and the thousands of times he has been scuba diving, and one dive in particular when he got his arm caught in a shellfish tunnel and very nearly drowned.

[3] Walt Boyes (The Bananaslug) and Stoney Compton provide a peak into the current issue of Jim Baen's Universe magazine.

[4] Are SF writers really trying to predict the future? Hugo Gernsback thought he was predicting, but were H.G. Wells or Jules Verne also trying to be predictors? Many people think so but David Drake says No and backs it with specific examples.

[5] With half the Japanese populous reading eBooks on their cell phones and Steve Jobs intent on combining cell phones with iPods for computerless downloading of music, podcasts and audio books, just how fast are the changes coming? Ginjer Buchanan (Senior Executive Editor and Marketing Director of Ace and ROC books) talks of this as well as: why William Gibson is a national hero in Japan, the increasing feminization of America, the Vatican's website, and her fear that unemployment is the fate of all those who create, transport and sell physical books: from press operators and truck drivers to clerks in the giant chain bookstores.

[6] An essay by your host entitled: My Father's Watch which concerns physics and nanotechnology and the drop we will see in energy prices during the next five to ten years.

[7] Does the world need more people rather than fewer? Paul Levinson suggests that, since intelligence is our best resource then, more people will produce more intelligence, more innovation and a more rapid improvement to the human condition. He also addresses other questions: Is another dark age unlikely because (unlike in the ancient world) today there are so many copies of Humanity's collected knowledge? And is the fall of New Orleans (due to hurricane Katrina) a good example of how civilizations fall? And if so what can we learn from it?

[8] Have audio book downloads become a bigger trend than eBook downloads? What about giving away free eBooks? Lucienne Diver, one of America's top literary agents, talks of this as well as her frustration with the large pharmaceutical companies and her skepticism over whether or not future medicine will ever provide a cure for the cryonics process.

[9] Less-than-lethal weapons will soon take their place on the battlefield, but will they actually change anything? No, says Alan Dean Foster, and explains why. He also addresses the probability of the world entering a new dark age, and he disagrees with the host's notion that New Orleans can be used as a miniature example of the fall of civilization.

March 1, 2007 Episode

Thu, 1 Mar 2007 05:01:00 GMT

Authors John Barnes, Kim Stanley Robinson, Elizabeth Bear, L.E. Modesitt, Jr. and Stoney Compton are joined by Ginjer Buchanan (of ACE and ROC Books), Walt Boyes (JBU's own Bananaslug) and Ricki Dean (Manager of a High School cafeteria). Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the March 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 155 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News items: (a) your host will appear at RavenCon in Richmond VA, USA next month (b), a new version of Death Stacks may be played online and requires no download, (c) there's no such thing as a Chinese Journalist, and (d) a 15 percent probability Al Gore will be the next US president.

[2] Generation Y is the most connected generation ever, but are its members obsessed with being in complete consensus on everything and horrified of being in open disagreement? And if so, how will this alter America ten years from now when Generation Y will comprise 40 percent of all American consumers? John Barnes, a consulting semiotician, has studied this subject in detail.

[3] Bananaslug and Stoney present a reading by Louise Marley of the opening scenes of her short story The Spiral Road which is in the February 2007 issue of Jim Baen's Universe magazine.

[4] What if everyone hypertexted within all conversations? What if you never had to define your terms because those not familiar with them could look them up faster than you could have provided the explanation. Elizabeth Bear has many ideas about this, AI, cell phones and the Singularity.

[5] What if Russia still owned Alaska? What if Lenin and Trotsky had remained nobodies and the Czar and Czarina still ruled? Seeing how history pivots on the mundane can provide insights into the changes we will all face in the future. Stoney Compton, a life-long student of history, talks of this and shares anecdotes about Alaska and its native Athabaskan Indians.

[6] Imagine you're in line in a cafeteria but federal regulations will not allow you to buy any kind of soft drink or fried foods. Now imagine ten thousand similarly restrictive cafeterias all across America. These are the cafeterias in public schools. To learn the trends our future wage earners are experiencing now, I spoke with Ricki Dean, Manager of a High School cafeteria.

[7] Many authors' careers ended when Horror book sales collapsed in the 1980's. Might this happen to another genre? Ginjer Buchanan (Senior Executive Editor and Marketing Director of Ace and ROC books) talks of this and the rising popularity of audio books. A trend the big houses are making a serious effort not to be left out of.

[8] Another installment in our serialization of the novel: Bones Burnt Black.

[9] What would you do differently today if you knew your generation would live 300 years? Kim Stanley Robinson tackles this question and its social ramifications since he sees it as a genuine possibility based on what he has been hearing from his friends with the field of biotechnology. He also covers cryonics, SETI and our next earth.

[10] Our stores are filled with every variety of goods, but does this variety give us only the illusion of choice? L.E. Modesitt, Jr. suggests that it does, and talks of his concern that we will be forced to rely on fossil fuels much farther into the future than anyone would like to admit.

February 1, 2007 Episode

Thu, 1 Feb 2007 05:01:00 GMT

Authors Elizabeth Bear, Walter Jon Williams and L.E. Modesitt Jr. are joined by Toni Weisskopf (the head of Baen Books), Ginjer Buchanan (from ACE and ROC books), Scott Dean (mayor of Harlem GA) and Bananaslug and Stoney (from Jim Baen's Universe magazine). Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the February 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 126 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News Items: (a) Trends in wine. (b) A low-tech nanotech breakthrough. (c) An AI programmer releases a free, open-source version of Death Stacks (a game invented by your host, Stephen Euin Cobb). (d) Your host's 2007 appearance schedule. (e) Your host has shaved his head.

[2] Would you trust Microsoft to provide the operating system for your eventually augmented brain? Can atheists be both devout and non-militant? Elizabeth Bear hits these topics as well as non-lethal military weapons and her ongoing involvement with SETI-@-home.

[3] Bananaslug and Stoney provide a peak into the new issue of Jim Baen's Universe magazine and even get Elizabeth Bear to read a sample of her work.

[4] Will some of the big publishing houses get hurt during the transition to eBooks? Will some fold entirely? Toni Weisskopf (the head of Baen Books) describes how the big houses are bracing themselves.

[5] Venice Italy is still sinking. Rich in history, the thousand year old city is threatened by every tide and storm surge, and may next have to deal with the effects of global warming. Scott Dean (the mayor of Harlem GA) just returned from nine days of walking through this city with an uncertain future.

[6] Which science fiction authors most accurately depict the future? Ginjer Buchanan (Senior Executive Editor of Ace and ROC Books) names four heavyweights and backs her picks with their novels and credentials.

[7] Another installment in our serialization of the novel: Bones Burnt Black.

[8] Is the media worsening all social and political conflicts by presenting them to us as though they are between polar opposites? Has the media learned that disagreements which are subtle or nuanced or (God forbid) respectful will not sell papers or draw a TV audience? L.E. Modesitt Jr. describes this and how cell phones may be slowing maturity in young adults by preventing them from ever being on their own when facing life's problems.

[9] What does Walter Jon Williams mean when he says that, The war against utopia has been won? And is he right in believing that biotechnology is likely to produce immortality within forty years? He also describes how consumer databases have already been used not only to market products to people but also to market political ideologies during campaigns.

January 1, 2007 Episode

Mon, 1 Jan 2007 05:01:00 GMT

Authors Kim Stanley Robinson, David B. Coe, Jay Lake, Catherine Asaro and Sarah A. Hoyt are joined by John R. Douglas (from scifipedia.scifi.com) and Bananaslug and Stoney (from Jim Baen's Universe magazine). Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the January 1, 2007 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 125 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] Comments from listeners.

[2] Is our world already changing too fast for our cultural headlights? Jay Lake (author and anthologist) discusses this as well as Wikipedia, Google and global warming. He also suggests that those who don't benefit from The Singularity at its very beginning will be left out of it forever.

[3] Bananaslug and Stoney take us inside Jim Baen's Universe in this, the second official segment, from the online science fiction and fantasy magazine.

[4] Do large segments of the American population have various vested interests in not looking at the future's potential dangers? John R. Douglas (editor at scifipedia and one of the organizers of World Fantasy Con) believes that Americans would rather be happy consumers than listen to scientists' scary predictions. He also says that too many business people plan for the future only as far as their company's next quarter, and not one second farther. He also suggests that the first immortal may already be alive; specifically, Bill Gates.

[5] Another installment in our serialization of the novel: Bones Burnt Black.

[6] Is the internet killing hundreds of used bookstores? When the one near her house closed, Sarah A. Hoyt (author and voracious reader) was surprised to discover that she was as much at fault as everyone else. As she gradually changed her book buying habits, without her knowledge, the rest of the population had been changing theirs too.

[7] Does POD publishing (Print-on-demand) have a future? And are there times when it makes sense to use it now? Catherine Asaro (author, physicist and former president of SFWA) uses concrete examples from two of her friends. She also talks of eBooks and electronic rights.

[8] Has digital photography achieved professional quality? David B. Coe (author and serious nature photographer) says the future is here now, and the advantages cannot be ignored.

[9] Is our civilization in a time crunch? Have we reached a crisis point in history? Or has every generation seen themselves this way? Kim Stanley Robinson talks of this as well as nanotechnology and his doubts about the singularity and artificial intelligence.

December 1, 2006 Episode

Fri, 1 Dec 2006 05:01:00 GMT

Authors Eric Flint, Mike Resnick, David B. Coe, Marjorie M. Liu, Catherine Asaro and Sarah A. Hoyt are guests, as are: Lucienne Diver (a major literary agent), Toni Weisskopf (the new head of Baen Books) and Walt Boyes (the soon to be famous Bananaslug). Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the December 1, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 152 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News Item: This show is now teamed with the largest SF online magazine in the world Jim Baen's Universe.

[2] Can the magazine equivalent of an e-book compete with magazines printed on paper? Launched this summer with the legendary publisher's name on its masthead and the support of Baen Books behind it, Eric Flint explains how he and the staff of Jim Baen's Universe intend to find out, as well as what they've learned already.

[3] The podcasting debut of Jim Baen's Universe. Walt Boyes interviews Mike Resnick (winner of five Hugo Awards).

[4] How rapid is the growth of home schooling? Is it really better than public school? And are parents even qualified to teach their kids? Catherine Asaro (author, physicist and former ballerina) who has home schooled her own daughter for years and now teaches advanced mathematics to eighty other home schooled children, emphasizes that it's not just for religious families anymore.

[5] Toni Weisskopf (the new head of Baen Books) describes her take on the singularity, technological immortality, global warming, the next fall of civilization, the Chinese going to the moon, faster-than-light travel, cryonics and SETI.

[6] Another installment in our serialization of the novel: Bones Burnt Black.

[7] Is the future we live in today already weirder than the futures we dreamed of decades ago? Sarah A. Hoyt (author and polyglot) thinks so, and insists that if science increases our healthy years by a few more decades this will produce a huge cascade of changes throughout society.

[8] Lucienne Diver (one of publishing's top literary agents) describes trends within the publishing industry, as well as her worries and hopes for the future outside the biz.

[9] How can you verify scientifically the day when men and women are equal? Your host has devised an empirical measurement completely devoid of bias.

[10] How soon will parents give in to the temptation to use increasingly available eugenics technologies to improve their own children? Marjorie M. Liu (N.Y. Times bestselling author and former lawyer) describes the inevitable legal and judicial problems soon to be dropped in society's lap. She also startles the host with her revelation that there are judges sitting on the bench right now who have not passed the bar, have never been lawyers and have no degree in law.

[11] In the face of our looming energy crisis is it time for passionate environmentalists to rethink their knee-jerk opposition to nuclear power and hydroelectric dams? David B. Coe (author and environmentalist with a PhD in environmental history) risks his environmentalist street creds by insisting that it is.

November 1, 2006 Episode

Wed, 1 Nov 2006 05:02:00 GMT

Authors Catherine Asaro, Kim Stanley Robinson, Alan Dean Foster and Sarah A. Hoyt are joined by Toni Weisskopf (the new head of Baen Books) and Paul Levinson (author, professor and media commentator). Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the November 1, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 150 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] Ideas from listeners.

[2] Why do they keep raising the requirements of artificial intelligence every time someone builds a computer that meets the requirements? Catherine Asaro (author, physicist and former ballerina) discusses this and other transhumanist concerns.

[3] With the tragic loss of its visionary founder, Jim Baen, what direction will Baen Books take into the future? Toni Weisskopf, Baen's new leader, provides many of the answers.

[4] Chapter twelve in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[5] Can political science become an actual science rather than a pretend science as it is now? And if it embraces the scientific method can it then become a tool to benefit all people, rather than just its divisive practitioners as it all too often does now? Kim Stanley Robinson, author and a self-proclaimed science patriot, speaks of this and other matters.

[6] Are adults different today? Has intellectual maturity become a thing of the past? Instead of reaching a plateau of stability, do we now spend all our lives in a mentally malleable child-like state in which we are continually learning, growing and changing? Sarah A. Hoyt, author and life-long learner, insists the answer is Yes.

[7] Has the time come for a single unified diagram which can integrate every kind of celestial object in the universe? Is it even possible to arrange in a single continuum all the objects from the tiniest tumbling grain of dust to quasars brighter than a billion suns? Your host thinks it is, and proposes just such a diagram in this essay.

[8] What is the likelihood of technological immortality? Why is cryonics better than cremation? And do ecological preserves without armed enforcement against poachers have a meaningful future? Alan Dean Foster, author and world traveler, covers all this and more.

[9] Can every celestial object in the universe be defined accurately using a simple notation system of just five numbers? Based on the universal diagram from his previous essay, your host makes a case for an equally universal system of classification.

[10] What's it like to go head-to-head with Bill O'Reilly on his TV show The O'Reilly Factor? Paul Levinson (author, professor and media commentator) shares his experiences in that very public hot-seat.

October 1,2006 Episode

Sun, 1 Oct 2006 16:36:00 GMT

Authors Kim Stanley Robinson, Alan Dean Foster, Sarah A. Hoyt and Stephen L. Antczak are joined by Tony V. Baughman (newspaper reporter) and Peter Stampfel (longtime editor, musician and bottle cap collector). Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the October 1, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 130 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News briefs: (a) the battle over passports being required in order to cross the US/Canadian boarder, (b) how you can watch television channels from around the world online for free, and (c) this show The Future And You has won the Parsec Award for Best Speculative Fiction News Podcast.

[2] While others debate whether or not the problem of global warming is real, the best selling author Kim Stanley Robinson is ready to move past all that and talk about solutions.

[3] Life throughout the universe may develop most readily within oceans, but does this universe contain more planets with oceans under their crust than under an atmosphere? (In this essay your host's logic forces him to conclusions which disturb even him.)

[4] Will the rise of eBooks allow authors to bypass traditional publishers and take away their piece of the pie altogether? The best selling author Alan Dean Foster has much to say on the subject.

[5] Is it possible to flip today's missile defense paradigm on its head and transform it into both a defensive and offensive weapon? (Your host explains how it can be done in this brief essay.)

[6] Collecting things as a hobby is a product of the rise of mass production: so explains Peter Stampfel who has been an avid bottle cap collector for 58 years. He also shares another song from his CD The Jig Is Up. This one is called The Squid Jiggin' Ground.

[7] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black, in this case, the second half of chapter 11.

[8] From the very beginning, our species has been radically and constantly modified by its tools. In what ways are the popularity of air travel and the internet modifying our species now and for all time? The author, Sarah A. Hoyt--an unwilling frequent flier--draws some serious conclusions.

[9] How long will the comic book and manga industries continue to be flush with movie money from Hollywood? And what other trends are developing which will alter their futures? An interview with Stephen L. Antczak, an author of science fiction and of comics.

[10] Do traditional newspapers have a future? And if so, what is it? The internet giveth, and the internet taketh away. Tony V. Baughman, an experienced newspaper reporter, pulls no punches.

September 1, 2006 Episode

Fri, 1 Sep 2006 04:01:00 GMT

Authors Alan Dean Foster, David Drake, Sarah A. Hoyt, Stephen L. Antczak and Doctor Travis S. Taylor are joined by Peter Stampfel, a professional editor and performing musician. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the September 1st, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 123 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] Is it true that immaturity in adults is becoming universal? A new scientific study says: Yes, definitely.

[2] What unexpected changes are occurring in the third world? Author, and world traveler, Alan Dean Foster describes his first-hand experiences.

[3] Did you know that we are currently in a Golden Age for collectables? Your host makes a case for this in an essay.

[4] Would you perceive yourself--along with everything else in the universe--differently if you spoke a different language? Author Sarah A. Hoyt (formerly a professional translator and still a bit of a polyglot) discusses how languages affect individuals and humanity.

[5] What are the trends within the independent film industry? Author and filmmaker Stephen L. Antczak gives us an insider's view.

[6] Why is Fantasy dominating over Science Fiction in books, movies and TV? And what's all this stuff about a new category of Fantasy novels which are filled with sex? Long-time editor at DAW books, Peter Stampfel, spells it all out; after which he lets the host include another of his songs, this time one he wrote himself: Me and Old Dog Tray.

[7] Another installment in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[8] What are the changing trends and public perceptions of Motorcycles? Author David Drake aught to know, he's been riding motorcycles instead of cars for over 30 years.

[9] What's next in manned space exploration? How are we going to refuel the Hubble Space Telescope? Is the US military really planning for war in low earth orbit? And is it true that the Chinese are gearing up to go to the moon? Author and scientist Doctor Travis S. Taylor covers it all.

August 1, 2006 Episode

Tue, 1 Aug 2006 16:13:00 GMT

Authors Alan Dean Foster, Spider and Jeanne Robinson, David Drake and John Ringo are joined by Doctor Travis S. Taylor (rising author and noted scientist) and Peter Stampfel (professional editor and performing musician). Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the August 1, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 150 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News briefs on: an invisible form of online shopping fraud; the fact that this program The Future And You is now a finalist for a Parsec Award; and two paragraphs from Cory Doctorow's brilliant commentary entitled: Science Fiction is the Only Literature People Care Enough About to Steal on the Internet.

[2] Alan Dean Foster describes his view of the future and how it relates to his many novels of science fiction and fantasy. He also reveals how you can find a secret Easter egg hidden on his website.

[3] Spider and Jeanne Robinson describe their courtship and collaboration, as well as their vision of the future which is distilled in their Hugo and Nebula award winning Stardance trilogy; a vision which embraces and expands upon transhumanism by describing what we as a species may transform ourselves into next. Spider also explains how he expects humanity to create Heaven retroactively.

[4] Peter Stampfel (submissions editor at DAW books and a performing musician) provides an unflinching insider's look at the terrible and wonderful trends within the music business; especially concerning recording contracts and performing live before an audience. As a bonus, we also hear another song from his album: a bouncy Glenn Miller number called Elmer's Tune.

[5] Chapter nine in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[6] David Drake who reads and translates ancient Latin for fun and relaxation, discusses lessons from antiquity; similarities between the USA and ancient Rome; and one of the host's (Stephen Euin Cobb's) favorite British miniseries: I Claudius. Stephen also asks David how he thinks the USA might meet its eventual and inevitable end. After all, someday the USA, like the Roman Empire, will no longer exist.

[7] John Ringo makes a serious case for his conviction that global warming is a scientific hoax perpetrated by the desperate need of researchers for grant money, sustained through academic coercion, and fed to an accepting public by media outlets locked in an endless competition for the most sensational headline.

[8] What if someone invented a faster than light drive before the end of this year? What if astronauts could get to the nearest star in a week; or any of the thousand nearest stars in a month? How would that change our world and global politics? Granted it's not likely to happen so soon. Most people figure it will take centuries before we invent FTL; if it can be done at all. But if Doctor Travis S. Taylor is correct, we may have FTL within 32 years. Within yours or your children's lifetime someone could be on their way to the stars. But then the question becomes: will these explorers speak English or Russian or Chinese?

July 1, 2006 Episode

Sat, 1 Jul 2006 22:32:00 GMT

Authors David Drake, John Ringo and Jeanne Robinson are among the guests, as are Peter Stampfel (associate editor at DAW books), Doctor Travis S. Taylor (scientist, author and discoverer of two exoplanets) and a few very brief comments by Spider Robinson. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the July 1, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 110 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News-briefs concerning: Jim Baen's stroke, coma and death; China going to the moon; the claim that diamonds are only semi-precious stones; the first World eBook Fair; the latest mind games that online crooks play; the third annual Death Stacks tournament (a game invented by your host); and this show being nominated for a Parsec Award.

[2] Co-author of the bestselling Stardance novels, Jeanne Robinson, tells of her Stardance Project which originally had her scheduled for a Space Shuttle ride into orbit, then was temporarily shelved due to the Challenger Disaster in 1986, but is now back on track thanks to recent advances in CGI film making. (Spider Robinson, her husband and co-author, makes a few brief comments.)

[3] Peter Stampfel, associate editor at DAW books, explains problems with the new Google Books project which plans to make searchable pretty much all the text of all the books in the world. Also, Peter Stampfel's current musical project: a compilation of one song from every year in the 20th century. And as a bonus we include a song he wrote and performed from his CD You Must Remember This, entitled: Take Me Away.

[4] Chapter eight in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[5] Doctor Travis S. Taylor (scientist, author and discoverer of two exoplanets--planets which orbit stars other than our sun), talks about exoplanets, how planets are born, and the anticipated discovery of many new earths. He also describes how amateur astronomers can now discover these extrasolar planets using off-the-shelf, store-bought equipment. The interview also covers his Hard Science Fiction novel Von Neumann's War which he co-wrote with the bestselling author John Ringo. This novel asks the question: how would we defend ourselves if our solar system was invaded by billions of self-replicating robotic Von Neumann machines.

[6] David Drake on the weakness of science fiction as prediction and the accumulation of historical errors in popular culture.

[7] John Ringo disputes the idea that the Singularity is an event that could actually occur, as well as the practicality of hydrogen as an alternative fuel.

June 1, 2006 Episode

Thu, 1 Jun 2006 20:57:00 GMT

Authors David Drake, John Ringo and Joe Haldeman are featured guests; as are Peter Stampfel (Editor at DAW Books) and three professional models: Aria Giovanni, Aimee Sweet and Linda Tran. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the June 1, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 104 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] News-briefs concerning: the questionable ethics of the giant video game companies in general and Nintendo in particular; some hard numbers on global warming; the internal tug-of-war at CNN over Lou Dobbs and illegal immigrants; and how this show's host has been offered the email addresses of a quarter billion people.

[2] David Drake on the surprising truth of what's holding back the popularity of e-books. He also talks about his participation in the new online science fiction and fantasy magazine from Baen Books called: Jim Baen's Universe.

[3] Joe Haldeman has just won yet another Nebula award. Your host asks him to describe the ceremony, what emotions it produced in him and a bit about the book he won with which is called: Camouflage.

[4] The many disturbing trends within book publishing are explained by Peter Stampfel who has been the submissions editor at DAW books in New York City for twenty-five years. He also describes an obscure form of quasi-homosexual fan fiction called: Slash Fiction. A lifelong musician, he also provides a song from his CD The Jig is Up called: Song of Man.

[5] Chapter seven in our serialization of the novel: Bones Burnt Black.

[6] John Ringo makes the case for nuclear power (especially pebble bed reactors) and mentions his short story which will appear in Jim Baen's Universe.

[7] Celebrity interviews with three nude models who specialize in the erotic: Aria Giovanni (Penthouse Pet September 2000), Aimee Sweet (Penthouse Pet August 1998 and Perfect Ten model for Spring of 1998), and Linda Tran (who has appeared in magazines, calendars, videos and Pay-Per-View).

May 1, 2006 Episode

Mon, 1 May 2006 17:12:00 GMT

Authors Greg Bear, Vernor Vinge, Spider Robinson and Nancy Kress are joined by this year's winner of the Phillip K. Dick Award, M.M. Buckner; and the actress Lydia Cornell who played Ted Knight's daughter, Sara Rush, on the TV comedy Too Close for Comfort. Hosted by Stephen Euin Cobb, this is the May 1, 2006 episode of The Future And You. [Running time: 72 minutes] ---

Topics include:

[1] This year's winner of the Phillip K. Dick Award, M.M. Buckner, gives the blow-by-blow on what it feels like to win such a prestigious and career-changing award.

[2] Once we all have our brains wired (or wifi'ed) directly into the internet, Greg Bear warns that we'd better have powerful firewalls protecting us from hackers. Anyone who doesn't may have to spend a lot of time with their brain in the shop.

[3] If the much talked-about singularity never comes to fruition Vernor Vinge suggests that there may be severe limits on how far we develop advanced nanotechnology and artificial intelligence; limits which might make technological immortality a goal we can never reach.

[4] Chapter six in our serialization of the novel Bones Burnt Black.

[5] Spider Robinson discusses SETI and speculates on the remarkable science of Nicola Tesla.

[6] Nancy Kress on three brief subjects: Faster than Light Travel (FTL); SETI verses theology; and medical life extension verses technological immortality.

[7] A celebrity interview with the actress Lydia Cornell who is most famous for playing Ted Knight's daughter, Sara Rush, on the TV comedy show Too Close for Comfort.