Don't Freak Out

Marco Palou

5.0 (2)
Arts

Don’t Freak Out, Being human in the future that came. Marco Palou makes things by hand with artists, scientists, futurists, and cultural thinkers while exploring creativity, identity, and meaning in a world being rewritten by technology. New episodes every Tuesday. marcopalou.substack.com

3d ago

EP 05: The Electricity Moment | Michelle Schneider, Future of Work Futurist

Will your job exist in five years? A major study finally gave an honest answer, and it came with a disclaimer you have to hear: if we achieve AGI, disregard everything you’ve read here. Marco Palou, author of HOMO ARTIS, sits down with Michelle Schneider, futurist and future-of-work author who spent twenty years inside Google, LinkedIn, and TikTok before leaving Big Tech to study the transformation from the outside. This is Don’t Freak Out, a podcast about being human in the future that came, where every conversation happens while making something with our hands. Today: a Brazilian flag and a sticker box. They talk about the contradicting jobs studies, the AI health agent she built from her lifetime of medical exams with no coding background, humans leading agents and the one-person unicorn, why AI’s productivity boom hasn’t arrived yet (the electricity lesson from 1882), and the Austin school where AI teaches academics in two hours a day and kids get paid to learn. Her closer: the future of work is not in our hands. But your future is only in your hands. Pre-order and get the first 4 chapters of HOMO ARTIS free: https://homoartis.com Watch and follow Don’t Freak Out: https://dontfreakout.us Instagram: https://instagram.com/dontfreakoutpodcast Say hello: hello@dontfreakout.us Produced by Shira Chait and Marco Palou Cinematography and stills by Raul Seca Jr. Production design by Teresa Guerrero C. Color corrected by Shira Chait Post production by Amarte Labs Get full access to Marco Palou at marcopalou.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 18

EP 04: Everything Will Be All Right | Chris Pfaff, 30-Year Tech Insider

Is the AI boom 1999 all over again? Chris Pfaff was inside that bubble, and he knows the exact warning sign to watch for this time. Marco Palou, author of HOMO ARTIS, sits down with Chris Pfaff, CEO of Chris Pfaff Tech Media and co-chair of the VR/AR Association’s storytelling committee, a man who has been inside every technology wave since 1990. This is Don’t Freak Out, a podcast about being human in the future that came, where every conversation happens while making something with our hands. Today: pens, paper, and a character named Lucky Pierre. They talk about the round-tripping pattern he watched destroy telecom in 1999 and why he sees its shape in today’s AI deals, the Apple Vision Pro’s chicken-cutlet problem, the mixed reality concert that preserved composer Ryuichi Sakamoto as he was dying, why sauerkraut became freedom cabbage, who your data belongs to, and whether every human is really an artist. Chris is the first guest to tell Marco no. His answer to it all: everything will be all right. You got to believe. Follow Chris: https://www.chrispfafftechmedia.com Pre-order and get the first 4 chapters of HOMO ARTIS free: https://homoartis.com Watch and follow Don’t Freak Out: https://dontfreakout.us Instagram: https://instagram.com/dontfreakoutpodcast Say hello: hello@dontfreakout.us Produced by Shira Chait and Marco Palou Cinematography and stills by Raul Seca Jr. Production design by Teresa Guerrero C. Color corrected by Shira Chait Post production by Amarte Labs Get full access to Marco Palou at marcopalou.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 11

EP 03: Curiosity Is Contagious | Sarah DaVanzo, Futurist

What kind of futurist sweetly puts her own AI on mute before predicting the future, then closes by calling AI a jealous lover you should never hand your keys? Marco Palou, author of HOMO ARTIS, sits down with Sarah DaVanzo, futures activist and superforecaster who predicts the future with roughly 70% accuracy. This is Don’t Freak Out, a podcast about being human in the future that came, where every conversation happens while making something with our hands. Today: two clay aliens from the same planet. They talk about how to stop fearing what’s next, the four kinds of curiosity (which one are you?), 40 days of silence in a Benedictine monastery, testing forecasting AI with DARPA, aliens over an Argentine cornfield, and how the Curiosity rover accidentally infected Mars with life. Her rule for AI is simple: it’s like a jealous lover. Enjoy it. But don’t give it the keys to your apartment. Follow Sarah: https://futuresactivist.com Get the first 4 chapters of HOMO ARTIS free: https://homoartis.com Watch and follow Don’t Freak Out: https://dontfreakout.us Instagram: https://instagram.com/dontfreakoutpodcast Say hello: hello@dontfreakout.us Produced by Shira Chait and Marco Palou Cinematography and stills by Raul Seca Jr. Production design by Teresa Guerrero C. Color corrected by Shira Chait Post production by Amarte Labs Get full access to Marco Palou at marcopalou.substack.com/subscribe
Aug 4

EP 02: Action, Not Swiping | Scott Sugino, CEO of Yamaha Music Innovations

What happens when the person investing in the future of music technology nearly cries listening to a song he made himself? Marco Palou, author of HOMO ARTIS, sits down with Yusuke “Scott” Sugino, President and CEO of Yamaha Music Innovations, home to a $50 million fund focused on music, media, audio, and creative technology. This is Don’t Freak Out, a podcast about being human in the future that came, where every conversation happens while making something with our hands. They talk about the gap between wanting to create and actually creating, Scott’s honest experience with his four year old son’s screen time, why AI has not fundamentally changed music yet, and the song Scott wrote while moving from Germany to the United States. The conversation eventually reaches a larger question: if machines take more of our work, what will human beings live for? Scott’s answer is simple. Action, action, action. Not swiping. Learn more about Yamaha Creator Pass: https://yamahacreators.com Get the first 4 chapters of HOMO ARTIS free: https://homoartis.com Watch and follow Don’t Freak Out: https://dontfreakout.us Instagram: https://instagram.com/dontfreakoutpodcast Say hello: hello@dontfreakout.us Produced by Shira Chait and Marco Palou Cinematography and stills by Raul Seca Jr. Production design by Teresa Guerrero C. Color corrected by Shira Chait Post production by Amarte Labs Get full access to Marco Palou at marcopalou.substack.com/subscribe
Jul 27

EP 01: One Frame at a Time | Ben Treat, Stop Motion Animator

This is a podcast about being human in the future that came. In the premiere: stop motion animator Ben Treat of Frantic Frames, who built one of the most distinctive creative brands on social media through pure craft and patience. Marco and Ben make things out of clay while they talk about committing to craft in an age of instant content, the 50-hour video, escaping the algorithm, the trick that finally beat doomscrolling, and what the human hand is worth when AI can fake the look of anything in seconds. Get the first 4 chapters of HOMO ARTIS free: https://homoartis.com Watch and follow Don't Freak Out: https://dontfreakout.us Follow Marco Palou: https://instagram.com/marcopalou Follow Ben: @franticframes Get full access to Marco Palou at marcopalou.substack.com/subscribe

5 Episodes

5

out of 5

2 Ratings

Don’t Freak Out, Being human in the future that came. Marco Palou makes things by hand with artists, scientists, futurists, and cultural thinkers while exploring creativity, identity, and meaning in a world being rewritten by technology. New episodes every Tuesday. marcopalou.substack.com

Creator

Marco Palou
Years Active

2026
Episodes

5
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Marco Palou
Show Website

Don't Freak Out