Future Tense ABC listen
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- Society & Culture
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A critical look at new technologies, new approaches and new ways of thinking, from politics to media to environmental sustainability.
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When good intentions fuel further environmental problems
Many of us take actions to improve the environment and make for a better planet. But in a consumerist world where status is all, it can be hard to avoid making choices that negate your original intentions and send you back to square one. It happens in everyday life when picking a car or choosing a new house. And it happens on a large scale. For example where mass tree-planting occurs in habitats that were never meant to be forested. Shouldn't we know better?
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Big corporations are taking over as landlords and it's further fuelling the global housing crisis
Insecure housing has long-term effects on both individuals and communities, it's impacting the social fabric of countries around the world. Corporations buying up housing stocks are further adding to the pressure. In rich and poor countries alike the cost of housing is outstripping growth in incomes. As a result, more than 100 million people have been made homeless, according to the UN. While more than 1.6 billion lack adequate housing and essential services. We also explore some possible solutions. But the big question mark hanging over the future of the sector remains political will.
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The great distribution dilemma – can public interest journalism survive?
For more than a decade serious news organisatons, including public broadcasters, have increasingly relied on social media and other third-party digital distribution platforms to reach audiences. But now the big tech platforms are no longer interested in traditional news. So, can public interest journalism survive without the online networks they let cannibalise their content? How can serious news outlets avoid slipping into obscurity? And what impact would such a decline have on our culture and democracy?
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Dark sky at night, everyone's delight
It's estimated that by 2030 more than 100 thousand satellites are likely to be buzzing around in low-Earth orbit – and the implications of that for our dark skies is potentially significant. We hear from the Executive Director of the non-profit network DarkSky International. Also, is our environmental future written in the past? Paleo-conservation could be the answer to how we adapt to the adverse effects of climate change; and in Stockholm, engineers and builders are hard at work creating an entire city district in wood – from apartments to office towers. So, what's the advantage to building in timber?
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Nobel-Prize laureate Abhijit Banerjee on the world's largest UBI experiment
The world's largest Universal Basic Income trial is currently underway in Kenya. It involves 295 villages and more than 20,000 families. The trial has just reached the two-year mark and Nobel-Prize winning economist, Abhijit Banerjee, joins us to talk about its progress – both economic and social. Also, why it's counterproductive to talk about "screentime" and people being "addicted" to their phones; and speech writer, Lucinda Holdforth, who worries that we've supplanted old fashioned values that emphasised community responsibility with a new array of virtues that are all about personal wants and a focus on self.
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The manufacturing of "natural food" and how tech can demystify what we eat
Most people want to eat better. And many of us have embraced the trend toward "natural" foods and conscious eating. We equate "natural" with healthy, nutritious and virtuous, but that can often be way off the mark. New research shows many healthy alternatives are anything but. And our embrace of the term natural is more about expressing identity and morality rather than healthy eating. Empowering people to understand what and how they should eat is what it should be about – and one way to do that is by using a food labelling app.
Customer Reviews
Outstanding
This is one of the great Australian podcasts (radio shows) as so often it finds fascinating areas to explore
Yet another ABC show loose with facts
Yet another ABC show loose with facts. I’ve listened for a while now and several episodes have factual errors and misinformation. Some guests have agendas and are woke. Nothing new here. It’s the ABC so it’s expected. Just a warning to anyone who values truth. Some of this podcast is utter nonsense. Make sure you balance it with information from other sources.
fascinating, profound and acutely relevant
Antony Funnell (and the staff working with him to produce the show, assuming there remains adequate budget for a team of staff given the ruthless and persistent budget erosion to the ABC by Australian governments) have directed this series of podcasts into an ever deeper and more expansive ocean of ideas. The series is not necessarily easy and that is why it is so satisfying. Antony operates at a level that requires listeners pay attention and actively listen with their minds engaged. The rewards for going on the journey are many; the breadth and depth of ideas and the possibilities and insights within the conversations are profound, relevant and applicable. I draw on the knowledge garnered from this excellent podcast in my professional work, my interior life and in my conversations with others. Thank you Antony for the obvious commitment you have to producing such a high caliber of journalism. The ideas eloquently explored and intelligently examined in these podcasts are invaluable for individuals and society. Brilliant work!