Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon dare to take on a subject that others won't touch: are comic superheroes plausible? Are some more plausible than others?

What are the chances now or in the future that we will see anyone with the powers of:

Batman / Green Arrow

Captain America

Spider-Man

Wonder Woman

Iron Man

The Flash

The Fantastic Four

Thor / Green Lantern

The Hulk

Superman

Are there technologies -- current, emerging, or that we may see someday -- that would make it possible for human beings to possess and leverage the same kinds of amazing powers these fictional people do?

Tune in and explore.

How awesome can it get? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss the best of the best-case scenarios for the future of humanity. What are the components of a truly awesome future? Material abundance? Longevity? Freedom? And what's the most important component?

Also, why do fiction and popular culture provide such vivid images of a dystopian future, but have so little to tell us about how things can work out for the best? Where are all the happy endings?

Tune in and explore

 

(WT 077)

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss the limitations that can most seriously impact the future:

Resources -- We've been warned about these limits many times.

Capability -- Do we have what it takes?

Lifespan -- Will we live to see it?

People -- Well there's no shortage of those, anyway. (Or is there?)

Ideas -- Let's not run out of the Ulitmate Resource.

Freedom -- What if we have it all except for the ability to choose?

Will -- What if we just stop caring?

Are limitations something we ened to accept or to overcome? Which of these is most likely to impede our progress? 

 

(WT 076)

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon review various dystopic visions of the future. Nuclear holocaust, environmental disaster, alien invasion, robot takeover. What's the worst that can happen. How do we avoid it?

(WT 075)

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon take a close look at the reading revolution that is currently taking place. Books are being replaced by electronic devices at a rapid clip. Is this good news or bad news?

Some research shows that the electronic approach helps new readers to get more deep into the material.

On the other hand, some research shows that e-readers are bad for long-term reading comprehension.

So which view is right? And which model is likely to win out?

Tune in and explore.

(WT 074)

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss new developments that promise to extend human life and to revive previously extinct species.

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Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss two promising, if somewhat offbeat, energy sources:

Genetically modified plantsSolar power collected in outer space

Will our future energy demands be met by trees or a huge reflective strip on the moon?

Tune in and explore.

Lightning image by Raul Heinrich.

(WT 072)

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon discuss novel solutions to some of the world's most challenging problems.

Monitoring the wrold's oceans -- with a fleet of drone sailboats.

Treating migraines -- with an electronic headband.

Speeding up computers -- using the orbits of electrons.

Replacing solar panels -- with potted plants.

What other odball solutions might be available to solve our biggest problems? Tune in and explore.

(WT 071)

Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon examine life in a world that's not that far off. Let's start with where you might wake up. From there we'll look at where you might work and, if it involves a commute, what that might be like.  Weird options abound -- everything from what you wear to what kinds of recreational opportunities you enjoy. And what might life by like for the kids?

Tune in and explore.

(WT 070) 

Football photo by Bernard Gagnon

As we move into the future, is the trend for things to get smaller or bigger? Hosts Phil Bowermaster and Stephen Gordon consider some interesting developments:

A tiny combustion engineA huge rocketA microscope for everyone

So is big the new small or is small the new big? Or is something much more complicated taking place?

Tune in and explore.

(WT 069)

Vintage microscope photo by Roby.