In this episode of the Futures Hub podcast, we are joined by Julius Lindsay, climate strategist and futurist with over twenty years of experience working across municipalities, nonprofits, and national initiatives in Canada.

Julius shares his approach to systems thinking and why his perspective on climate leadership has shifted over time from high-level policy to deeply local, community-based action. He explores why trust, context, and conversation matter more than control, and how climate work can move from telling people what to do to enabling communities to lead.

The conversation also dives into the Prismatic Project - an initiative developing a futures-based game that helps communities imagine climate futures using Black and Indigenous worldviews. Julius explains how games and creative forms of engagement can lower barriers to participation and why involving voices beyond traditional "experts" leads to better outcomes.

This episode is a must-listen for anyone interested in climate action and reimagining public participation beyond traditional consultation.

Whether you work in climate policy, local government, community organizing, or are simply curious about how we can plan for more inclusive futures, this conversation offers practical insights and a powerful reframing of what's possible.

For our Season 3 launch, the Futures Hub podcast moves from naming trends to working with tensions.

Rather than predicting what's next, this episode invites listeners into a personal futures practice designed to help make sense of the futures we're already living inside.

Listeners are invited to hold one future they care about and move through a series of tools, guided by three core tensions impacting many futures today:

1. moral urgency vs. material capacity
2. forward motion vs. remembering
3. individual vs. collective agency

This episode adapts tools from management, foresight and systems thinking and offers them to listeners for private reflection, establishing a longer arc of shared sensemaking across the season.

The episode is designed to be paused. It is best experienced slowly. Grab a paper and pen, or download the complementary Season 3 Tensions Map found in this episode's show notes as a companion for your experience.

In the Season 2 finale of Futures Hub, we reflect on the ideas, provocations, and insights that shaped our conversations this year with guests Jessica Thornton, Everton Lewis, Samantha Matters, Method Collective, Sarah Brin and Disha Arora.

This wrap-up synthesizes the five cross-cutting themes that emerged across the season and traces how Season 2 emulated many of the trends captured at the beginning of the year. We also share highlights from the Futures Room - Futures Hub's immersive public installation - and offer a glimpse of what's ahead as we continue expanding futures thinking through the Futures Hub community being built.

Whether you've been listening from the beginning or are tuning in for the first time, this episode offers inspiration and an invitation to imagine and co-create better futures together.

In this episode of Futures Hub, listeners are joined by Disha Arora, founder of the Faith Futures Collective - a South Asia-based initiative amplifying women's perspectives in religion to promote gender justice.

Disha shares how her journey from creating a documentary on women and religion in India to founding Faith Futures Collective revealed the risks, resilience, and transformative power of narrative change. Together, we explore:

• Why foresight and futures thinking are vital for reimagining faith.
• The obstacles women face in faith institutions and how creativity and safety strategies open space for change.
• How movements like the campaign around the Sabarimala temple spark wider conversations on equality.
• The practice of "active hope" as a way to keep moving forward in uncertain times.
• Why narrative power - who gets to tell the story - shapes the futures we build.

Tune in to learn more about imagination, resilience, and the power of stories to transform centuries-old systems.

• How immersive experiences engage more than just our senses
• The power of creative R&D and "doing it bad" as a path to innovation
• How design can be used to spark reflections on personal agency; and
• Trends in art, entertainment, and technology that are shaping futures work

In this episode, we speak with Method Collective, a team of interdisciplinary creatives working at the intersection of life-centered design, systems thinking, and strategic foresight. Together, we explore their groundbreaking initiative, Space for Grief, and their pioneering work in grief-informed futures - frameworks that acknowledge how loss shapes our collective imagination and possibilities.

We dive into why grief needs dedicated public spaces, how collective memory influences societal change, and how designing for mutual benefit - across human and more-than-human worlds - is key to a resilient future. Along the way, the team shares practical insights on shifting from resilience to sustainability mindsets, navigating uncertainty with care, and weaving art, business, and community together.

Whether you're a designer, futurist, changemaker, or community builder, this conversation offers moving, actionable reflections on how we might build more compassionate, interconnected futures for all.

How can organizations move beyond "innovation theatre" to create meaningful transformation? In this episode of Futures Hub, we talk with Everton Lewis, Managing Director and Head of Consulting of OCAD U CO, and explore topics of design, leadership, impact measurement and value. Everton shares how he brings together teams to help organizations navigate complexity and explains the value of constraint to spark innovation. From practical frameworks to real-world experiences, join us as we dive into the power of design thinking to create positive change.

How do we prepare for an uncertain future while making decisions today? In this episode of Futures Hub, we sit down with Jessica Thornton, co-founder of Creative Futures, to explore how strategic foresight can help organizations navigate complexity, embrace uncertainty, and build better futures. Jessica shares her journey—from reimagining systems change to launching Creative Futures during the pandemic—and breaks down the foresight tools and co-creation methods she uses to help public and nonprofit leaders think beyond short-term crises.

We discuss:

✨ Why everyone should think like a futurist

🔮 The power of scenarios and storytelling

🚀 How to balance urgent demands with long-term vision

🎭 Why play and imagination are key to transforming organizations

Whether you're a leader, innovator, or just future-curious, this conversation will challenge the way you think about uncertainty—and inspire you to take action.

Welcome to a new season of Futures Hub! This season, we're not just exploring the future - we're creating it alongside a growing community of foresight practitioners and future-curious individuals who are actively shaping what's next. In this kickoff episode, we reflect on what we've learned so far and explore some emerging trends shaping our world in 2025. From participatory futures and speculative design to the ethical implications of AI, we dive into some of the key tools and ideas that are shaping tomorrow. Join us as we unlock the potential of collective transformation and explore how futures thinking can drive real-world change. Whether you're a futurist, a changemaker, or just curious about what's next, this is the season you won't want to miss!