Future Tense - Full Program Podcast

Are entrepreneurs the great innovators we’re told they are? What if the ideal of the lone genius is simply a myth? Innovation is a buzz term that’s become so over-used as to be almost meaningless. It’s time to be more innovative in our understanding of innovation.

Corruption exists in every country in the world. It’s estimated that around $US2 trillion is lost each year to bribes globally. It not only corrodes societies, it also steals their future potential. Yet we struggle to understand its nature and how to combat it.

Some of the world’s largest and most influential companies make no profit. They are monopolistic in intent and very future focussed - they favour growth over profitability. So, do they represent a new stage of capitalism, or a dangerous aberration?

Hear about a plan to turn the air-conditioners of the world into a network of carbon-sucking fuel producers. Learn about a new licencing system for open-source seeds. Get the low down on who really lives in “tiny houses” and why.

Artificial intelligence is now even entering the classroom - where does this take us? Also, Wikipedia’s role in the dissemination of news – a robust platform for fact? Or an invitation to constant revisionism?

Analysts say that many countries and companies will soon be forced to make a decision between the Chinese version of the Internet and the liberal, Western model - both models have a very different underlaying philosophy and understanding of governance.

Advances in technology and medicine have been so great in recent decades that some scientists now believe we’ve altered the nature of evolution for plants and animals. Some even claim that it’s effectively stopped in humans.

Exponential urbanisation and automation look like making the future an increasingly rowdy place. We explore our changing attitudes to noise.

A lot of time and money is being spent trying to ensure the security of Artificial Intelligence systems, but what if you’re interested in tricking the system, not hacking it?

Commercial DNA research is booming. People are motivated not just to check for disease indicators but to search out unknown relatives and lost ancestors.

Once the preserve of tech companies and government agencies, hackathons are now being employed in the community sector to quickly develop and test blue-sky ideas and create innovation in the social welfare world.

Australia’s Royal Flying Doctor Service has been taken over by dummies (mannequins to be precise). It’s all part of the development of an immersive training facility to counter the tyrannies of distance.

Critics say that the proliferation of modern, wafer-thin skyscrapers are symbols of rising urban inequality. Also: Are levels of density in our cities making us ill? And what's the impact of short-term letting on urban affordability? 

Voice-activated speakers are mostly being used to listen to music and check the weather. The Reuters Institute’s, Nic Newman, thinks that’s about to change. Also, have we just entered the “golden age” of podcasts?

Luxembourg is just about to make its public transport free. The first country (albeit a small one) to do so. But do the promises of a cleaner, less congested urban environment really stack-up?

An emphasis on merit is often seen as the answer to inequality. Some argue merit should be used to guide all forms of political, economic and social progress. But who determines what is meritorious? And is it possible to build a genuinely meritocratic state?

Only about nine per cent of the ocean floor has been mapped using high-definition technology. But a new global initiative aims to change that. It’s called the Seabed 2030 Project. Also, how viable is seabed mining? And will climate change see the Arctic turned into a major shipping route?

Google+ will soon be shut down. So why did the social network fail? And what does its demise tell us about social platforms in general? Also, understanding the real history of our current data privacy dilemma; and why the tech titans of today look a lot like the railway barons of old.

Street artists are busy commandeering as many city surfaces as their paints will allow, authorities are trying to neutralise the threat, while advertising agencies are keen to clone the potency of hand painted art.

Autonomous weapons are on the march. Response speeds are everything. But in the heat of battle, ultrafast algorithmic decision-making can prove a curse, not a blessing.