Future Tense

Terms like "Gen Z", "Boomer" and "Millennial" are popular, but they have no basis in science. Demographers and social scientists are now pushing back.

Generational labelling, they argue, is akin to Astrology and while politicians, journalists and media influencers find them irresistible, they actually promote pseudo-science, sew social division and can reinforce prejudicial stereotypes.

So why are generational labels so popular?

Original broadcast on February 9, 2025.

Guests

Professor Bobby Duffy — Director of the Policy Institute, King's College London. Author of The Generation Myth.

Professor Philip Coen — Professor of Sociology, University of Maryland

Professor Crystal Abidin — digital anthropologist and ethnographer of vernacular internet cultures, Curtin University

Professor David Costanza — Professor of Commerce, University of Virginia

Further information

Philip Coen’s open letter to Pew Research Center on generation labels 

Pew Research Center's response

It certainly feels like a very shouty world. But have we really reached a new low point in civility? And, if so, where to from here? We examine what civility really entails and how it can help foster cooperation but also lead to the submission of minorities. And did you know that even the design of our urban spaces can shape and limit acts of civility? So, how can we make our cities more sociable?

Original broadcast on March 23, 2025.

Guests

Dr Eduardo Sadoval — Social Roboticist, UNSW

Dr Saara Liinamaa — Associate Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, University of Guelph. Also, co-investigator, Sociable Cities Project

Rafi Kohan — US-based freelance writer and author

Dr Keith Bybee — Professor of Law and Political Science, Syracuse University

Further information

Rafi Kohan - Trash Talk: The Only Book About Destroying Your Rivals That Isn’t Total Garbage

Keith Bybee - How Civility Works

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 — San Diego's Frozen Zoo and the fight to preserve biodiversity.

Original broadcast on October 27, 2024.

Guests

Dr Ken Storey — Professor of Biology and Biochemistry, Carleton University, Canada.

Dr Saffron Bryant – Senior lecturer, Department of Physics, RMIT University

Marlys Houck – Curator, Frozen Zoo, San Diego Wildlife Alliance

Dr Justine O’Brien – Manager, Conservation Science,Taronga Conservation Society Australia

Further information

Youtube video of a frozen frog thawing

There’s a growing public sense that the current model of the social contract is broken, due in large part to rising inequality and the pursuit of profit over social progress. The “social contract” defines the relationship between citizens, their government and business. Its modern form emerged after WWII and, in western democracies, was largely structured around the principles of the welfare state. It’s about equity, order and trust. So, does the essence of the social contract still have value? And if so, how can it make fit for purpose in the 21st century? 

Original broadcast on January 28. 2024.

Guests

Professor Sandra Sucher – Professor of Management Practice, Harvard Business School 

Dave Cook – Department of Anthropology, University College London 

Aron Cramer – President and CEO, BSR – Business for Social Responsibility 

Professor Marc Fleurbaey – Paris School of Economics 

Further information

Sometimes, despite the hype, despite extensive funding, and despite clever and ingenious thinking, good ideas fail. Or at least don’t 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. 

Original broadcast on November 24, 2024.

Guests

Dr Paul Sutter – Astrophysicist, SUNY Stony Brook and the Flatiron Institute, New York 

Sarah Marquart – freelance journalist, editor of From Quarks to Quasars

Andrew Hawkins – Transportation editor, The Verge 

Quinn Myers – Chicago-based journalist and author 'Google Glass'

This is the program’s final episode and, as such, we look back over the past 17 years. What did the future look like back in 2009 when the show first aired? What have been the major trends during that time? Which predictions came to fruition and which didn’t? And what cautions do our guests have as we look ahead? 

Guests

Mica Sifry – US-based writer and editor 

Neema Singh Guliani – lawyer and policy expert 

Cory Doctorow – Canadian-British blogger, journalist and sci-fi author  

Professor Michael Mann – climatologist and geophysicist 

Associate Professor James Dyke - Earth Systems Science, University of Exeter  

Assistant Professor Sven Brodmerkel – Faculty of Society and Design, Bond University 

Professor Quassim Cassam – Department of Philosophy, University of Warwick 

Associate Professor Laura D’Olimpio – School of Education, University of Birmingham 

Effy – chatbot user 

Professor Frank Pasquale – Cornell Tech and Cornell Law School

How many of the articles you see on the internet are actually written by AI, not by humans? We'll give you a figure based on the latest research. Also, why is Google moving away from its well-established search-engine algorithm in favour of AI-generated summaries; The importance of remembering that urban planning isn't just about buildings, it's about people and spaces; And how digital technology is opening up a new relationship between humans and animals.

Guests

Megan Morrone – Tech editor, Axios 

Dr Collin Jennings – academic and author 

David George Holm – architect and author 

Dr David Roberts - Associate Professor of Computer Science, North Carolina State University 

Sari – the most adorable, black cat

Designing a futuristic city is a fraught task — a mixture of ambition, state of the art technology, inevitable budget blowouts and the need to not just inspire, but awe. We get an update on the progress of two mega metropolises — Xiongan in China and Neom in Saudi Arabia. Also, how a better understanding of the brain can help deter future conflicts.

Guests

Dr Andrew Stokols — Assistant Professor of Urban Studies, Singapore Management University

Eliot Brown — London-based reporter, Wall Street Journal

Dr Nicholas Wright — Neuroscientist, University College London and Georgetown University

The global Covid 19 lockdown may seem like an eternity ago, but the threat of another full-scale pandemic has never resided.  Scientists warn that as the Arctic permafrost continues to melt ancient viruses and bacteria are gradually being freed from the ice. The risks are significant, but researchers are working to identify potential threats and better prepare the world for future pandemics. Uppermost in many minds is the need to ensure future global cooperation in the event of another zoonotic outbreak. 

Original broadcast on March 26, 2023.

Guests

Dr Christine Prat – Director of Operations, European Virus Archive 

Dr Jean-Michel Claverie – Emeritus Professor of Medicine, Aix-Marseille University 

Dr Aaron Bernstein – Director, The Center for Climate, Health, and the Global Environment, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health 

Negotiations over a global treaty on microplastics have broken down. So, where to from here for one of the world's biggest environmental threats? We also get an update on new efforts to clean-up the cement production industry; and we look at AI chatbots and the increasing role they're playing as sources of advice and emotional support.

Guests

Dr Pratik Sachdeva — Senior Data Scientist, D-Lab, University of California, Berkeley

Professor Paul Fennell — Professor of Clean Energy, Imperial College London

Professor Jill Newby — Clinical psychologist, The Black Dog Institute, University of New South Wales