Episoder
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Privatising public services like trains, hospitals or prisons β is a proven vote loser. But governments of both the left and right continue to privatise β when it suits them. And it suits them, it seems, when large sums of money are needed to pay down debt, or when a government seeks to off load risk and liability to the private sector. So, what conditions should be applied to ensure that privatisations truly serve the public interest and don't simply decrease competition?
Guests
Owen Hayford β Strategic legal and commercial adviser, Infralegal
Nino Bucci β Justice and Courts Reporter, The Guardian
Richard Denniss β economist and public policy commentator
Professor Graeme Samuel β Monash University Business School
Benjamin Goodair β Senior post-doctoral researcher, Oxford Universty
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Authoritarians rule through fear. We can clearly see that from China to the Middle East to eastern Europe. But why do we constantly overlook the way in which fear also shapes democratic societies? It's fueling populism and distorting our future focus. Then there's anger. It's inspired generations to man the barricades and right society's wrongs. But anger is increasingly becoming a driver of commerce. There's billions to be made in getting you riled up and keeping you that way. Fear fuels anger, and anger blinds you to recognise that your fear might be misguided. A truly vicious cycle.
Guests
Erika Ferszt β Owner, founder and lead-consultant, Scintillate Brand Consulting
Professor Jennifer Lerner β Public Policy, Management and Decision Science, Harvard University
Professor Robert Peckham β historian and Fellow at the Royal Historical Society, London
Margot Faraci β Global leadership expert
Further information
Robert Peckham β Fear: An Alternative History of the World
Margot Faraci - Love Leadership Survey
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Mangler du episoder?
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Algorithmic feeds are meant to personalise our online experiences, but increasingly they're flattening our culture and fostering a dull conformity, according to best-selling author Kyle Chayka. And the influence they exert on our lives is increasingly physical not just digital. Also, data scientist Gloria Mark who has crunched the numbers on how our attention spans have fared over the past decade or so. If you can keep focused, you might find it fascinating.
Guests
Professor Gloria Mark β data scientist and psychologist, Department of Informatics, University of California, Irvine
Kyle Chayka β author and contributing writer for The New Yorker
Further information
Gloria Mark - Attention Span: A Ground Breaking Way to Restore Balance, Happiness and Productivity
Kyle Chayka β Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture
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In our uber-connected world, the development and management of really anything is becoming increasingly complex. Planning for the future has to involve more than just grand ambitions, it also needs to be alert to unintended consequences. Otherwise things you didn't even dream about will go wrong and that can prove enormously costly. Part of the solution is to think past the immediate and adopt a systematic approach to thinking.
Guests
Dr Edward Crawley β Ford Professor of Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
Dr Isabel Sebastian β Research Principal, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Gavin Maguire β Global Energy Transition Columnist, Reuters News
Nicola Twilley β Writer and podcaster, author of the forthcoming book "The Birth of Cool"
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Nostalgia triggers our emotions and that in turn makes us vulnerable to manipulation. We speak with Richard King about the commodification and weaponisation of nostalgic sentiment. Also, New York Times critic-at-large, Jason Farago, on why he believes our cultural age might be the least innovative in half a millennium.
Guests
Richard King β author and critic
Jason Farago β author, social commentator and critic-at-large, The New York Times
Further information
Richardβs Griffith Review essay - Nostalgia on demand
Jasonβs NYT essay - Why Culture Has Come to a Standstill
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Most people want to eat better. And many of us have embraced the trend toward "natural" foods and conscious eating.
We equate "natural" with healthy, nutritious and virtuous, but that can often be way off the mark. New research shows many healthy alternatives are anything but. And our embrace of the term natural is more about expressing identity and morality rather than healthy eating. Empowering people to understand what and how they should eat is what it should be about β and one way to do that is by using a food labelling app.
Guests
Professor Sarah Bridle β Chair in Food, Climate and Society, University of York
Alan Levinovitz β Associate Professor of Religious Studies, James Madison University
Laura Marchese β Researcher, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Deakin University
Julie Chapon β Co-founder of the Yuka app
Lisa β Brisbane-based food-rating app user
Further information
Sarah Bridle: Food and Climate Change -- Without the Hot Air, UIT Cambridge
Climate Stack Calculator - A free tool to help you add up the climate impact of different food choices
Play the game: Which of your food choices have the biggest climate impact?
Take A Bite Out of Climate β resources and games to learn how food choices contribute to climate change
BBC Future β Foodprint Calculator
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Methane levels are going up β not down, despite decades spent trying to reduce emissions from agriculture and landfill. But some countries are bucking the trend, we find out who and how.
Breeding sheep and cattle to burp less is one way to reduce methane emissions. ABC Top 5 Science Residency recipient Luisa Olmo talks us through a genetic selection programme that could lead the way forward.
Guests
Dr Ed Clayton β Ruminant nutritionist, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
Professor Sam Clark β Professor of Animal Genetics, University of New England
Dr Pep Canadell β Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Environment
Producer
Dr Luisa Olmo β Research Officer, Meat Science and Value Chains, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development
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The design of your city contributes to how much rain you get. Researchers have found a 'wet island effect' and it's likely to shape the future construction of our cities. Also, better understanding how Artificial Intelligence is used in conflict; and the major Australian study that calls into question the effectiveness of carbon trading.
Guests
Dr Megan Evans β Senior Lecturer, Public Sector Management, UNSW Canberra
Professor Dev Niyogi β Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Jackson School of Geosciences, University of Texas at Austin
Professor Toni Erskine β International Politics, Coral Bell School of Asia Pacific Affairs, Australian National University, ANU
Further information
Statement from the Clean Energy Regulator
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Military spending around the world has reached a new peak, and it's still going up. All eyes are on Ukraine and the Middle East as new strategies and weapons are being put to the test. But are the traditional international rules of warfare too focussed on old technologies? Can they be adjusted to encompass cyber hacking and the use of online civilian proxies?
Guests
Professor Johanna Weaver β Director of the Tech Policy design Centre, Australian National University, ANU
Professor Alexander Hill β Military Historian, University of Calgary
Dr Nan Tian β Senior Researcher and Programme Director, SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, SIPRI
Dr Jack Watling β Senior Research Fellow for Land Warfare, Royal United Services Institute (UK)
Further information
Global Roaming - THE NEW FRONTLINES 01: Welcome to the future of war
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Sometimes, despite the hype, despite extensive funding, and despite clever and ingenious thinking, good ideas fail. Or at least donβt live up to their initial promise. There are lessons to be learnt and interesting anecdotes to be told. In this episode we look at four future-focused projects that have never really taken off: Google Glass, solar roads, space tourism and hyperloop technology.
Guests
Dr Paul Sutter β Astrophysicist, SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, New York
Sarah Marquart β freelance journalist, editor of From Quarks to Quasars
Andrew Hawkins β Transportation editor, The Verge
Quinn Myers β Chicago-based journalist and author 'Google Glass'
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The UN General Assembly has passed a Declaration on Future Generations. Itβs designed to ensure the generations of tomorrow arenβt disadvantaged by the decisions we make today. But is it more than feel good symbolism? Could it one day be as powerful as the Declaration on Human Rights? Also, how a focus on the here and now restricts visionary thinking; and we get the results from the latest 4-day work week trial, this time in Germany.
Guests
Professor Thomas Hale β Blavatnik School of Government, Oxford University
Professor Brett Bowden β Professor of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry, School of Humanities & Communication Arts, Western Sydney University
Professor Julia Backmann β University of MΓΌnster
Further information
University of MΓΌnster - Germanyβs four-day working week trial
Blavatnik School of Government - Implementing a Declaration on Future Generations
Brett Bowden - Now is Not the Time: Inside our Obsession with the Present
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Robot vacuum cleaners are so innocuous, many people treat them almost like pets. But they're also potential portals into our private life. Story Lab journalist, Julian Fell, learns how to hack a robot vacuum cleaner and uncovers some disturbing facts about the security of connected household appliances. Also, acts of aggression and abuse committed in virtual reality environments. So-called "metacrimes" may be cyber in nature, but they can feel very real and have physical world consequences.
Guests
Dr Milind Tiwari β Postdoctoral research fellow, Charles Sturt University
Dennis Giese β independent security researcher
Sean Kelly β robot vacuum owner
Daniel Swenson β US-based victim of robot vacuum hack
Donald Dansereau β senior lecturer, Australian Centre for Robotics, University of Sydney
Yong Zhi Lim β former cybersecurity tester, TUV SUD
Further information
ABC News - Hackers take control of robot vacuums in multiple cities, yell racial slurs
ABC News - We hacked a robot vacuum β and could watch live through its camera
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The heating climate is now recognised as a threat to our inner world β to brain health and rationality. Extreme temperatures not only impact our ability to think and our decision-making they also increase the presence of neurotoxins in the environment. And that can lead to disease and mental degeneration. We speak with the head of the newly formed International Neuro Climate Working Group. Climate anxiety is also caused by changes in our brains. So, is that a blessing or a curse?
Guests
Clayton Page Aldern β Neuroscientist, author and senior reporter, Grist.
Dr Burcin Ikiz β Neuroscientist and Chair of the International Neuro Climate Working Group
Professor Joshua Carlson β Director of the Cognitive X Affective Behaviour and Integrative Neuroscience Lab, Northern Michigan University
Further information
Clayton Aldern - The Weight of Nature.How a Changing Climate Changes Our Minds, Brains and Bodies
The Melting brain
Joshua Carlon - The Age of Climate Anxiety
Climate change on the brain: Neural correlates of climate anxiety
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Rana Sylvatica is an unassuming wood frog with an extraordinary gift. In the depths of winter, it can slow down its metabolism, flood its cells with ice and remain in a state of suspended animation for months. But it's what it might be able to teach us about preserving human organs for transplant that has scientists really excited. Also, the menagerie in an icy test tube β San Diego's Frozen Zoo and the fight to preserve biodiversity.
Guests
Dr Ken Storey β Professor of Biology and Biochemistry, Carleton University, Canada.
Dr Saffron Bryant β Senior lecturer, Department of Physics, RMIT University
Marlys Houck β Curator, Frozen Zoo, San Diego Wildlife Alliance
Dr Justine OβBrien β Manager, Conservation Science,Taronga Conservation Society Australia
Further information
Youtube video of a frozen frog thawing
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The demand for sex tech is booming. That is, toys and apps that can be used for pleasure, communication or to improve sexual health.
Developers are using innovative ways to incorporate AI in a way that is respectful of both consent and the diversity of human desire.
But it seems some male developers are intent on weaponising it against women.
In this special episode of Future Tense, Stephen Stockwell, explores the power of the emerging technology, its potential benefits and harms, and the need to keep a clear focus on consent.
Guests
Madison Griffiths β Melbourne-based writer, artist and producer
Bryony Cole β host of the Future of Sex Podcast
Professor Alan McKee β pornography researcher and Head of the School of Art, Communication and English, University of Sydney
Ashley Neale β founder of My Peach AI
Further information
Madison Griffiths - Orifice.ai, and the Arousal of Rejection
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It was known as Wolf Warrior diplomacy β a brand of Chinese foreign ministry posturing that was as aggressive as it was unexpected. But has Beijing now changed tack? And if so, why? Also, does the theory of Institutional Amnesia explain why our preparedness for natural disasters is often found wanting?
Guests
Assistant Professor Tyler Jost β Political Science, International and Public Affairs, Brown University (US)
Dr Sarah Robertson β Research Fellow in sustainability, RMIT University
Dr Paul Barnes β Senior Research Fellow and emergency and risk management expert, Griffith University
Dr Alastair Stark β Associate Professor in Public Policy, School of Political Science and International Studies, Queensland University
Further information
Future Tense - The best response to disasters: centralised strength or community mitigation?
Select Committee on Australia's Disaster Resilience
Have China's Wolf Warriors Gone Extinct?
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Gone are the grandiose infrastructure projects, replaced by an emphasis on smaller development opportunities. China's Belt and Road initiative has entered its second decade β and it's changing. It now also includes a determined focus on green technology. But is the recalibration a sign of the project's overall success? Or a scaling back because of China's growing economic problems? And what has Beijing learnt about debt-levels and governance?
Guests
Professor Christoph Nedopil β Director of Asia Institute, Griffith University
Associate Professor Chong Ja Ian β Political Science, National University of Singapore
Associate Professor Jessica Liao β Political Science, North Carolina State University
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2024 has been an eventful year for democracies around the world. More than 80 countries, containing over half the world's population, are holding elections this year. It's democracy's mega test. The implications for the future of democracy and world order are profound.
Guests
Professor Nick Bisley β Dean of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, La Trobe University
Dr Gorana Grjic β Senior Researcher, Swiss and Euro-Atlantic Security Team, ETH ZΓΌrich's Center for Security Studies (CSS)
Dr Priya Chako β Associate Professor, International Politics, University of Adelaide
Dr Raul Sanchez-Urribarri β Senior Lecturer in Crime, Justice and Legal Studies, Department of Social Inquiry, La Trobe University
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Could the realities of an aging population and a declining birth rate soon make our obsession with youth a thing of the past? It's not just an equity issue it also has implications for politics and economics, because the citizens and consumers of the future will inevitably be older. So, how do we reframe our perceptions of aging to make the most of a very different future workplace?
Guests
Assistant Professor Sven Brodmerkel β Advertising and Integrated Marketing Communications, Bond University
Assistant Professor Nicole Dalmer β Associate Director of the Gilbrea Centre for Studies in Aging, McMaster University (Canada)
Avivah Wittenberg-Cox β CEO of the consultancy 20-first β specialising in gender and generational balance
Dr Markus Wettstein β Research Assistant, Department of Psychology, Humboldt University of Berlin
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Chat GPT pioneer, Sam Altman, reckons democratic countries will need to re-write their social contracts once AI reaches its full potential, such is its power to shape the future. But to quote a famous political aphorism: "he would say that, wouldn't he?" Princeton computer scientist, Arvind Narayanan, joins us to talk about the hype, the reality and the true limits of Artificial Intelligence. His new book is called "AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What it Can't, and How to Tell the Difference". Also, AI's dirty secret β it's a huge consumer of both power and water. And the more popular it becomes, the thirstier it gets.
Guests
Professor Arvind Narayanan β Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Center for Information Technology Policy, Princeton University
Gordon Nobel β Research Director, Business, Economy and Governance, Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney
Associate Professor Shaolei Ren β Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of California, Riverside
Further information
Narayanan, Arvind β AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What it Can't, and How to Tell the Difference
Making AI Less "Thirsty": Uncovering and Addressing the Secret Water Footprint of AI Models
IT and Data Centre Sustainability in Australia
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