What if the future of our cities isn't flying cars—but better bicycles?

In the very first episode of the Alternate Futures: Beyond Fiction series, I sit down with designer, entrepreneur, and future thinker Jens Martin Skibsted to explore how thoughtful design can reshape the way we live, move, and build tomorrow's world.

As founder of Biomega, former Vice Chair of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Design and Innovation, member of the Global Futures Council on Entrepreneurship, and a leading voice in sustainable mobility, Jens Martin has spent decades turning bold ideas into reality. From creating an entirely new category of designer bicycles to helping shape international conversations about innovation, entrepreneurship, and urban futures, his perspective bridges practical experience with long-term thinking.

Together we discuss what really happens inside the World Economic Forum's think tanks, why bicycles may have a far bigger role in the future than most people realise, how cities can become healthier and more liveable, why autonomous cars may not solve congestion after all, and how design thinking can help tackle some of society's biggest challenges. Along the way, Jens Martin also reflects on balancing career success with family, the surprising story behind Biomega, and why one of his few regrets is simply that he "didn't dance enough."

Yes there are still the Big Questions.

Books of his we discuss: Expand, Stretching the Future by Design

https://biomega.co/

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What if the street corner doomsayers turned out to be right?

Author and musician Wayne Faust and I explore the ideas behind his Calek's Tale trilogy—a compelling blend of post-apocalyptic science fiction, coming-of-age adventure, and philosophical exploration. Our conversation ranges from the double-edged sword of technology to cult psychology, the appeal of certainty in uncertain times, and the eternal tension between tradition and progress.

We also discuss why people follow charismatic leaders, whether society can ever put dangerous technologies "back in the box," and how science fiction allows us to ask difficult questions about the future before we are forced to live through the answers.

As usual, there are the Big Questions.

Books of his we discuss: The Calek's Tale trilogy

https://waynefaustauthor.com/

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What if the greatest threat posed by artificial intelligence isn't that machines become evil—but that they inherit humanity's flaws?

In this episode of Alternate Futures, I chat with Peter McAllister, engineer scientist turned technology manager , and author of The Code, a science fiction thriller that began as dystopian fiction and now feels uncomfortably close to current events. Drawing on decades of experience working at the intersection of technology, business, and people, Peter shares his thoughts on the promises and dangers of AI, automation, corporate decision-making, and humanity's tendency to embrace powerful technologies before fully understanding their consequences.

We discuss the AI boom, the disconnect between technology leaders and decision makers, the ethics of machine intelligence, and whether we may be creating the next intelligent species on Earth. We also explore nanotechnology, self-improving systems, unconscious bias in AI training, technological evolution, AI rights, and the possibility that our machine creations may one day judge us by the way we treated them.

Books of his we discuss: The Code: If your AI loses its mind, can it take meds?

https://www.petermcallisterauthor.com

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What happens when a former Homeland Security medical intelligence analyst turns a global pandemic into science fiction?

Former Department of Homeland Security Medical Intelligence Analyst Helen Hynson Vettori joins me as we explore the real-world experiences that inspired her Black Swan trilogy — a near-future political sci-fi series shaped by emergency management, biological preparedness, cyber warfare, and the fragile relationship between governments and public trust. From her time as a paramedic to Homeland Security analyst preparing for pandemics and biological incidents, Helen brings a unique insider perspective to the topics.

We discuss COVID-era decision making, the dangers of communication breakdown during crises, cyber warfare as a modern form of world conflict, and how societies respond when fear overtakes trust. We also dive into the worldbuilding behind Black Swan Impact: post–World War III geopolitics, future AI systems, lunar infrastructure, and the challenge of writing speculative fiction that feels uncomfortably plausible.

Books of hers we discuss: Black Swan Impact, Black Swan Shock

https://www.helenhynsonvettori.com/

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Indie sci-fi collective Darkly Lem — five authors writing under one unified pseudonym — discuss their Transmentation series and the broader Many Worlds shared-universe project. They outline a consequence-driven multiverse of interdimensional societies defined by competing values, political systems, and internal power struggles, contrasting it with the MCU’s approach and explaining how they maintain stakes by focusing on worlds and societies rather than preserving characters.

They explain how they collaborate through twice-weekly meetings, a large living “bible”, intensive multi-pass editing, and evolving drafting methods including assignment, co-writing, and “exquisite corpse.” They outline how Many Worlds began as Cadwell Turnbull’s project and has grown to over 20 authors, and aims to connect short stories and novels via a meta-narrative.

We also discuss multiversal traveler mechanisms, personal proxies, identity “meshing,” and the complexities of social governance and different times and scales of a society's development.

Books of his we discuss: Transmentation: Transience, Transmentation: Transgression

https://www.manyworldsforum.com/

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Retired Royal Australian Air Force wing commander John R. Carlos talks with me about his debut novel Cryonic Dreams: Awakening and the real-world experiences that shaped its themes of control, surveillance, and ethical clarity. John shares insights from his 42-year military career in administration and logistics, including deployments to Egypt, the Middle East, and Sudan, and describes a post-COVID political shift that intensified his focus on authoritarian drift.

He then unpacks his structured worldbuilding method—mind map, key variables framework, and timeline—used to extrapolate a plausible dystopian future, and present the story’s core themes of authoritarian control.

We also discuss cryonics science, propulsion ideas, hybrid publishing and marketing, and broader questions about collapse, neo/techno-feudalism, perpetual war, and whether the West can recover a “classical center” through citizen-led resistance.

Books of his we discuss: Cryonic Dreams: Awakening

johnrcarlos.com.au

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Narrative Designer and video game developer Eira A Ekre joins me as we explore the deeper layers of narrative design, the immersive power of video games, and the growing role of machines in shaping how we think, create, and live. Our conversation about storytelling quickly expands into something more: how interactive worlds influence identity, how structured narratives guide behaviour, and whether our increasing reliance on technology is quietly rewriting what it means to be human.

We dive into the craft of building meaningful stories, the unique storytelling potential of video games as a medium, and the philosophical edge where creativity meets control.

We also explore existential questions about machine dependence, autonomy, and whether the systems we build are beginning to guide us more than we guide them.

Books of hers we discuss: Mimeograph

linkedin.com/in/eira-a-ekre-1a700a35/

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Applied science fiction collaborator and zoefuturism writer Stephen Oram joins me to explore how policy, technology, and evolving culture shape the futures we imagine. We chat about his work as a former UK Department for Education policy lead, and the UK’s post‑EU search for identity, before exploring his collaborations with scientists — using bespoke fiction to spark public engagement. Stephen explains zoefuturism, an emerging lens on constant becoming and relational life, and contrasts it with much of modern transhumanism.

We also discuss whether humanity has a future without AI, cyber-organic ecosystems, and whether humanity should settle other worlds.

Books of his we discuss: Brain Fruit, We Are Not Anonymous, Fluence

stephenoram.net

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Swedish video game industry veteran David Polfeldt—former managing director at Massive Entertainment—has recently channelled some of his energy into rediscovering the youthful excitement of creativity through his science fiction writing and the creation of Lil Factory, a design-led press publishing limited-edition sci-fi/fantasy books.

In this episode, we delve into Sweden’s changing social fabric and why Malmö’s “dangerous city” reputation doesn’t match daily reality. We trace David’s 30-year path through video game development—from Stockholm’s demo scene to AAA games - and why he thinks video games still haven’t found their “Shakespeare." And we discuss Burns, his story about loneliness and machine sentience.

We also explore generative AI as NPC companions, the ethics of creating minds treated as tools, possible modes of physical expression that extradimensional beings might take in our world, and whether advanced intelligence would shepherd life rather than destroy it.

Books of his we discuss: Burns

lilfac.com

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Australian writer Alistair Conwell transforms four degrees across business and psychology, and years of transformative travel through Europe, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent into his novel The Circadian Web: The Space of Time. We discuss how his experiences have influenced his thoughts on topics ranging from the Audible Life Stream and meditation to quantum physics, from consciousness and the costs of modern technology to where the chaos of the modern world might be headed — and what a deeper spiritual shift in humanity could mean for the future.

Our conversation ranges from organizational culture and the “bad apple” myth to the idea of institutions and nations as emergent minds, including the tensions around immigration and identity. We also chat about the power dynamics threaded through The Circadian Web, the geopolitics behind its futuristic settings (Australia, America, and Taiwan), and why Alistair treats a neural AI implant as a character with its own agency.

Books of his we discuss: The Circadian Web: The Space of Time, The Audible Life Stream

www.facebook.com/AlistairConwell/

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