Mind the Future

My guest is Colin Wright, an evolutionary biologist, the Founding Editor of Reality's Last Stand, and an academic advisor for the Society for Evidence-Based Gender Medicine.  

In this podcast-style interview, I chat with Colin about one of the topics that probably scares me most to talk about publicly. And that’s exactly why I’m talking about it.  How did we get to a place where it can be so terrifying to speak on certain topics, and especially so when my own point of view isn’t even particularly controversial? What does that mean for society to find ourselves in this place? How does it harm us and the people that this shutting down of discourse purports to be protecting? How do we dig ourselves out of it?  As you may have guessed, in this video, me and Colin discuss the various issues around gender identity. The most dangerous topic on the Internet.   

Colin and I agree on some things, probably disagree on a few too, but are more than willing to have a thoughtful and civil conversation. 

Follow him on Twitter and Instagram @swipewright.  Subscribe: randomminds.substack.com

Sam Sarkisian is a lecturer in the Writing Program at Boston University and author of The Institute, a dystopian thriller about misinformation in the media and political spheres. With the US plagued by disinformation in the media, the answer seems to be a non-partisan Institute for Information Dissemination meant to compile and fact-check the media and political sphere so that citizens will only get the “most accurate” information. Of course, some at the Institute may have their own agenda… The Institute explores the corruption and greed driving many of the biggest institutions, most notably the US Government.

Sam has an eclectic background in communications working as a freelance photojournalist, a multimedia editor, grant/policy writer, and in the Press Office of former Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick.

He’s also the Director of Publishing at LaunchTeam Press.

We’ll be talking a bit about his book, the issues we’re currently facing in journalism and, most importantly, how we can move forward.

SOCIALS:

Website: sam-sarkisian.com

My guest today is Jeff Gomez, CEO of Starlight Runner and leading expert in the fields of brand narrative, story world development, creative franchise design, and transmedia storytelling. In this episode we talk about the evolution of transmedia, the use of audio in storytelling, the emergence of virtual production, trends in immersive storytelling and much more.

Gomez has been involved in developing the story worlds of films, TV shows, videogames, toys, books, comics, apps, virtual reality projects, and theme park attractions. His work has impacted blockbuster properties as Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, James Cameron’s Avatar, Hasbro’s Transformers, Sony Pictures’ Spider-Man and Men in Black, Microsoft’s Halo, and Nickelodeon’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

He has also developed highly successful transmedia campaigns and participative brand narratives for Coca-Cola (Happiness Factory), Pepperidge Farm (Goldfish) and Spartan Race. Other current clients include Electronic Arts, Sesame Workshop, Disney Parks & Resorts, and World Vision Canada.

Further, Gomez's transmedia methods have also been applied to educational and geo-political causes, accelerating positive self-organized social movements and increasing resistance to crime, violence, and corruption. Jeff has helped optimize communications for large NGOs, and address crises in Mexico, Colombia, Australia, and the Middle East North Africa region.

My guest today is scientist Ilya Kolmanovsky and we’ll be talking about the evolution of the brain, as well as where we’re heading with the connection between the human mind and AI. Amongst other things, of course.

Born in Moscow, Kolmanovsky trained as a zoologist, earned a PhD in human evolution, and then went on to become the most known Russian language science communicator on TV, radio, through podcasting, lectures, shows, and blogging. He has interviewed five Nobel prize laureates, dived under the ice in the Arctic, and has been detained 3 times by Russian police while protesting oppression. His most recent project is a podcast named Naked Mole-Rat (Goliy Zemlekop in Russian: podcast.ru/1505388337) about scientists and scientific discoveries. It has become the most popular Russian language podcast, outnumbering politics, art and sex podcasts. Recent guests include Garry Kasparov, Alison Gopnik, Svante Paabo and many others.

My guest today is Mason Hargrave and we are going to be talking about precision medication and how it can be applied to the treatment of depression – though we get sidetracked with several other interesting topics like crypto, NFTs, and IQ tests. 

Mason is a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow at The Rockefeller University where he studies mathematical, as well as computational, and physical biology. His current research interests lie in the field of affective neuroscience, that is, the study of emotions in the brain. While much of his current research revolves around depression and other mood disorders, his past lives include research on quantum materials, cortical organoids, astrophysics, and the origins of life.

Before his appointment at Rockefeller, he was a Regent Scholar at UC Santa Cruz where he graduated with highest honors in both Physics and Computational Mathematics.

Today, I’m chatting with Dutch conductor Otto Tausk who also happens to be in his second season as the Music Director of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.  Tausk was formerly Music Director of the Opera Theatre and Tonhalle (TON-HA-LE) Saint Gull orchestra in Switzerland. He has appeared as a guest with such orchestras as Rotterdam Philharmonic, Danish National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Melbourne Symphony, as well as BBC Scottish Symphony and BBC National Orchestra of Wales. You can learn more about Otto at: www.ottotausk.com

Our guest today is Dr Andrew Howell who leads the supernova group at the Las Cumbres Observatory and is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara.  In other words, he’s an astrophysicist.

As a postdoctoral researcher at Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, he helped to confirm the acceleration of the universe, for which his mentor, Saul Perlmutter was  awarded the 2011 Nobel Prize in Physics. After that he moved to the University of Toronto, where he helped make the best measurements of the Dark Energy driving the acceleration of the universe.

Andy is also the Principal Investigator of the Global Supernova Project, a worldwide collaboration to observe 1000 supernovae more intensely than has ever before been achieved.  He's also been named to the list of the highest cited researchers in the world for the past two years.  He is a co-author on more than 200 scientific papers, and has been instrumental in the discovery of several new classes of supernovae, including explosions brighter and dimmer than previously thought possible. His group co-discovered the first kilonova, a merger of two neutron stars, and helped to determine that they are the source of the heaviest elements in the universe like gold and platinum. This was widely heralded as the biggest scientific discovery of 2017, and Andy was selected by the National Science Foundation as one of a handful of scientists to make the official announcement in Washington, D.C.

Andy also appears on and hosts radio and television shows about science for outlets such as National Geographic, The History Channel, and the BBC.

Perhaps more surprisingly, he's also an accredited film critic who has written for sites such as Film Threat and Ain't It Cool News.  His love of cinema inspired him to co-create the show Science Vs. Cinema, which he hosts. On the show he talks to both scientists and the cast and crew of films about the science portrayed in them.  He's been a scientific consultant for books, comic books, and TV shows.   He regularly gives public talks about science or the science in film all over the world.

Learn more about Andy:  http://www.dahowell.com/

Follow him on Twitter: @d_a_howell

http://ScienceVsCinema.com

For this episode that's all about the future of journalism, we have Ellis Henican joining us. 

Ellis is a New York Times bestselling author, Pulitzer Prize winning newspaper columnist, and a popular TV news pundit that you would have seen on networks ranging from CNN, MSNBC, to Fox News. He is particularly known for his lively analysis of national politics.

For 20 years, Ellis wrote a column in New York’s Newsday, sharing his unique take on the news and leading the paper to a Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the Union Square train wreck.  A native of New Orleans, Ellis now makes New York his home and is an alumni of Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, where he won the top student prize, the Pulitzer Traveling Fellowship.  

Amongst his books is  How to Catch a Russian Spy, written with American double-agent Naveed Jamali, which was optioned for a feature film by FOX. He’s also authored the ground-breaking Vigilance with longtime New York City police commissioner Ray Kelly,  Worth Dying For with Navy SEAL commander Rorke Denver, Home Team with New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton, and In the Blink of an Eye with NASCAR legend Michael Waltrip amongst others.  

Aside from his prolific career as a writer, Ellis is also happens to be the voice of Stormy on the hit Cartoon Network series Sealab 2021. 

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MIND THE FUTURE is a podcast series that asks guests from the world of art, science, and technology to predict how what they do and love will look like as we fast forward into the future.

Today, we’re going to be talking all about the future of gaming - and I’ve just the right guest for it.  Joining me today is none other than VICTOR LUCAS, the creator and host of The Electric Playground, a show he started in 1995 and which ran on TV for over 25 seasons, reaching millions of viewers. It became the world's longest running program focusing on gaming and geek-related news, reviews and commentary.

We'll be digging into the biggest developments in gaming tech, what we can expect to see from VR/AR,  the evolution of storytelling in games, the role of collaborative gaming, how developments in gaming impact other industries, and much more!

These days, the flagship show Lucas created, EP Daily, continues to live online on YouTube, delivering daily news and previews spanning "geek culture," and covering topics such as toys, games, comics, and gadgets while also delivering on-location footage of events, red carpets, behind-the-scenes interviews, and more.

Its spin-off - Reviews on the Run, can also be found online and delivers consumer-focused reviews with raw honesty.

To find out more, visit EPN.tv and YouTube.com/EPNtv

You can also find Victor on Twitter at: Victor_Lucas

In this episode, we discuss how brands are finding ways to connect with consumers authentically, using AI technology as customer service, the future of PR and social media, the state of journalism & possible antidotes, turning ADHD into a super-power, and what all the technology we have in the palm of our hands means for society as fast forward into the future. 

 My guest today is Peter Shankman, an entrepreneur, best selling author, and thought-after keynote speaker.  Previously, he ran Geek Factory PR and is the founder of Help a Reporter Out (HARO), an incredibly successful resource that connects journalists with sources.   Shankman currently leads the ShankMinds Breakthrough Network, which is an online mastermind of thought leaders and business experts, and he hosts a popular podcast on ADHD called Faster Than Normal. The podcast focuses on how ADHD can be used as a gift or superpower rather than a hinderance.   Some of Peter’s Customer Service and Social Media clients have included  Walt Disney World, Sheraton, American Express, Sprint, United Airlines, The US Department of Defense, Snapple, and even NASA. 

VIDEO VERSION: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OU72Qf6lbyc

About the Podcast:

The podcast is hosted by Katherine Brodsky. As a journalist, she has served as a correspondent for VARIETY since 2011, and have also covered primarily film/TV, tech, and travel for publications like THE WASHINGTON POST, THE GUARDIAN, ESQUIRE, MASHABLE, ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, VULTURE, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, CNN, USA TODAY, THE INDEPENDENT — and even PLAYBOY MAGAZINE (which you definitely read for the stories)! She has conducted hundreds of interviews with some of the most fascinating subjects including Oscar, Emmy, Pulitzer, Tony, Nobel prize winner—and even spies! Follow her on Twitter @mysteriouskat