Future, Actually Podcast

Tara Lyn Launer

Same people. Different future. What happened to the future OMNI magazine promised us? What came true? What went sideways? What are we still waiting for? Join Tara Lyn as she revisits predictions about medicine, technology, space travel, and popular culture—comparing what we were told our lives would look like with the world we actually got. Future, Actually combines research, a Gen X perspective, and a healthy dose of snark. Some predictions were brilliant. Others… well, we need to talk.

Episodes

  1. 4h ago

    A Mars Transit System by 2014? OMNI’s 1987 Prediction | Future, Actually Ep. 3

    In 1987, OMNI magazine explored Buzz Aldrin’s vision for regular transportation between Earth and Mars. Spaceports, connecting flights, and a spacecraft cycling between the planets. So… where’s our flight?In Episode 3 of Future, Actually, Tara Lyn Launer revisits “The Martian Metro” from OMNI’s November 1987 issue, checks what actually happened, and brings out the red pen.Plus: a look at the same issue’s concerns about America’s energy future—and a conversation that still sounds familiar.Subscribe for more trips back to the future we were promised.#FutureActually #Mars #SpaceExploration #BuzzAldrin #OMNIMagazine #SpaceHistory #RetroFuturism #MarsCycler #ScienceHistory #1980s #GenX #Podcast

  2. Nov 5

    S1 / E2 – The Biochip Revolution: Whatever Happened to Biological Computers?

    In December 1981, OMNI magazine introduced a bold idea: computers built partly from the same biological materials found in living things. Smaller circuits, enormous possibilities, and a prototype supposedly just a few years away. So—how did that work out? Tara Lyn revisits the promised biochip revolution, checks the predictions, and explores what happened to that future. Same people. Different future. Source: OMNI magazine, December 1981 (Internet Archive): https://archive.org/details/omni-archive/OMNI_1981_12/

    S1 / E2 – The Biochip Revolution: Whatever Happened to Biological Computers?

  3. Oct 3

    S1 / E1 - They Asked If Computers Could Be Creative. Now We Know.

    In 1994, OMNI magazine asked whether computers could be creative. In 2026, that question has escaped the laboratory and wandered into practically every argument on the internet. In the first episode of Future, Actually, Tara Lyn revisits OMNI’s predictions about artificial creativity and compares them with today’s AI. What did they get right? What did they miss? And does producing something creative mean a machine has imagination? A trip back to yesterday’s tomorrow—with research, a Gen X perspective, and a healthy dose of snark. Same people. Different future.

  • 3 Episodes

Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
2 Ratings

About

Same people. Different future. What happened to the future OMNI magazine promised us? What came true? What went sideways? What are we still waiting for? Join Tara Lyn as she revisits predictions about medicine, technology, space travel, and popular culture—comparing what we were told our lives would look like with the world we actually got. Future, Actually combines research, a Gen X perspective, and a healthy dose of snark. Some predictions were brilliant. Others… well, we need to talk.

Information

  • Creator
    Tara Lyn Launer
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    3
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Tara Lyn Launer
  • Show Website
    Future, Actually Podcast