The Wicked Opportunities Podcast

TFSX
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The world is filled with Wicked Problems - incredibly complicated predicaments that don’t have simple solutions. However, the real problem isn’t our complex world, but rather our outdated mindsets. The way that we see the future directly impacts the actions that we take today, so a better world requires better visions. Join futurists Yvette Montero Salvatico and Frank Spencer each week as they use the Natural Foresight® Framework to reframe our Wicked Problems into the transformational ideas that they call Wicked Opportunities.

  1. JUL 8

    WO Live! - Battling VUCA

    The traditional approach to a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) environment has often involved attempts to eliminate uncertainty, simplify complexity, and overcome volatility and ambiguity. This relies on mindsets and systems built on ideas like strategic hindsight, efficiency, simplicity, certainty, and control. Recent events have highlighted that these existing systems are ineffective. Attempts to solve complex challenges with simple or temporary solutions often fail because they don’t address underlying structures, values, and narratives. The universe is, in its very nature, VUCA. Instead of battling it, we should consider embracing it. Embrace the Long Now. The Long Now is not about compressing time but stretching it. It’s an idea of integrating the best of the past and the most vibrant aspirations for the future to inform decisions in the present. It means seeing the “now” not just as immediacy, but as a longer span, recognizing that our actions today have long-term effects and build upon the past. It is about a mindset that includes the past, present, and future together as one comprehensive timeframe. Embracing the Long Now means leaning into the unknown, mystery, and emergence. It recognizes that complexity and uncertainty are not problems to be solved but inherent aspects of the universe. When embraced, this environment can lead to greater opportunities, generativity, resilience, and abundance. This shifts the focus from trying to control everything to being in a perpetual state of readiness for any future that unfolds.

    1h 2m

  2. MAY 9

    Reclaiming Our Cooperative Potential

    In this formative interview, TFSX co-founder Frank Spencer speaks with world-renowned social systems scientist, futurist, cultural historian, attorney, consultant, speaker, and author Riane Eisler, diving deep into the (re)framing of a society built upon cooperation, partnership, and deep care. As she states during the conversation, the belief that humans are inherently competitive, egocentric, and violent is utterly false, drawing upon decades of research around the past, present, and future of human equity, empathy, peace, transformation, and models of economic and social partnership. As Riane notes in her book Nurturing Our Humanity: How Domination and Partnership Shape Our Brains, Lives, and Future, “…humans are capable of living in egalitarian social systems where neither dominates the other, where violence is minimized, and where prosocial cooperation and caring typify social life. This image is not a utopian fantasy but rather a set of potentials, if not inclinations, stemming from our evolutionary heritage.” We’ve waited a long time to interview Riane, as her ground-breaking work is foundational to our passion to democratize the cooperative evolutionary trait of perceiving the emerging “whole” that fosters imaginal anticipation and the co-creation of transformational realities, This is a MUST LISTEN for anyone who cares about the future of humanity, planet, and our cosmic journey, and knows in their heart that there has to be a better way.

    59 min

  3. MAY 1

    OK, Boomer

    The urban legend of Generational Warfare has haunted us all for far too long, and it’s high time that we pull the mask off of this specter that has caused so much age-related fear and loathing. During this month's WO Live!, we are exploring the idea of the People Cloud where we can connect with individuals around the globe based on shared passions and goals rather than the outdated construct of generational warfare. This is more than just a discussion, it's an opportunity to join a movement that's committed to creating a more connected, equitable, and empowering world.  The People Cloud offers a framework for addressing current challenges related to social division, the changing nature of work, the impact of technology, the need for new ways of thinking and learning, and global collaboration.  This livestream is an invitation to: Challenge the assumptions of generational warfare and other limiting narratives that hold us back.Reimagine systems and structures through a lens of abundance and possibility, focusing on a post-human and post-material way of seeing life.Connect with a community passionate about building a future where everyone thrives, using frameworks that support a shift from "individual rights to collective liberties".Learn how to apply the mindsets of sense, mesh, and transform to bring about a more abundant and collaborative future. The People Cloud isn't just an idea; it's a call to action to rewrite our stories and move toward a more equitable, connected, and empowering future for all. Don't miss out on this chance to engage with fellow visionaries and contribute your own unique perspective to the future of the People Cloud.

    59 min

  4. MAR 31

    Let's Make More Pie!

    In the world of foresight, we’re no strangers to complex challenges. But perhaps none feels as pervasive and daunting as the “Tragedy of the Commons.” This age-old narrative of scarcity and competition for limited resources shapes our decisions, our systems, and often, our very outlook on the future. As activist and founder Adrianne Wright says, “the scarcity mindset is how we tell a fundamentally American tall tale about a nation built on notions of individualism; a male-dominated story filled with loners who suck it up and ride off into the sunset as others applaud our resilience. Shifting our stories from scarcity to abundance honors the fullness of our humanity.” As foresight practitioners, we understand that the future is not a fixed destination, but a canvas for our collective imagination. Join us for our next Wicked Opportunities Live! where futurists Frank Spencer and Yvette Montero Salvatico will guide us on a journey beyond scarcity, toward the liberating power of Imagination Literacy. This livestream is an invitation to: -Challenge the assumptions of scarcity that hold us back. -Reimagine systems and structures through a lens of abundance and possibility. -Connect with a community passionate about building a future where everyone thrives.

    1h 1m

  5. FEB 25

    The Year of Defying Gravity

    Welcome to 2025… it’s time for Wicked Opportunities® to take the stage! As we begin our collective journey down the path of the new year, it’s imperative that we seek out new minds, new hearts, and new spirits – not only for ourselves, but for one another as well. However, this will mean that we will be defying gravity, soaring beyond the hold that a world in crisis has on our minds. With the collapse of one world at hand, we must embrace transformation of all that we know, and enter into alternative realities that change us all for the better. Join Futurists Yvette Montero Salvatico and Frank Spencer as they introduce an exciting new initiative that will have us all flying high – Wicked Opportunities: Reimagining Systems for Transformational Realities. Over the span of 7 months, How to Thrive in Uncertain Times: 7 Lessons to Empower Hope will be presented as a once-a-month interactive livestream + an accompanying course that will dive deep into the research around our 7 Shifts in the Age of Opportunity, reframing one wicked problem each month as a Wicked Opportunity… and empowering you to do the same!

    1h 2m

  6. FEB 5

    The Future Will Not Be Televised

    “The revolution will not be televised. The revolution will be live.” – Gil Scott-Heron Real transformation doesn’t come from headlines or top-down decisions. It happens in the hearts, minds, and actions of people – of us. Join Yvette Montero Salvatico and Frank W. Spencer IV for a dynamic Wicked Opportunities® Live! session as we explore: 🔹 How love, empathy, and activism fuel real change  🔹 Why advocacy and empowerment are essential for the future  🔹 The undeniable power of community to ignite societal transformation   ✨ The future isn’t something we watch – it’s something we build together.

    57 min

  7. JAN 16

    We Belong to Stories

    Sophie Strand – one of our favorite thinkers, writers, and “life-weavers” – shared in her article entitled “Myco Eco Mytho” that, “Stories don’t belong to human beings. But human beings belong to stories. Let’s enter back into the complex, tangled work of letting go of authorship and letting ourselves be told.” This call to rewild our role across time, space, and experience – past, present, and future – sets the stage for this captivating interview where Sophie covers ideas such as the importance of ecological storytelling (creating households over heroes); fantasy as much-needed “feral futures” over the “fake realism” and of our human-centric and diagnostic stories; the responsibility we have around “creative self-fulfillment when imaging possible futures; and engaging humanity as “lovers” rather than information gatherers. Sophie Strand is a writer based in the Hudson Valley who focuses on the intersection of spirituality, storytelling, and ecology. But it would probably be more authentic to call her a troubadour animist with a propensity to spin yarns that inevitably turn into love stories. Give her a salamander and a stone and she’ll write you a love story. Sophie was raised by house cats, puff balls, possums, raccoons, and an opinionated, crippled goose. In every neighborhood she’s ever lived in she has been known as “the walker”. She believes strongly that all thinking happens interstitially – between beings, ideas, differences, mythical gradients. Her poems and essays have appeared in numerous projects and publications, including Spirituality & Health, Atmos, Braided Way, and Art PAPERS. She is the author of The Flowering Wand,The Madonna Secret, and the forthcoming memoir The Body Is a Doorway as well as the creator of the popular Substack “Make Me Good Soil.” You can follow her work on Instagram @cosmogyny.

    53 min

  8. 03/05/2024

    Transdisciplinary Collaboration and Innovation

    In this episode of the Wicked Opportunities® Podcast, TFSX Principal Frank Spencer speaks with physician, aquanaut, dive medical technician, speaker, martial artist, skydiver, and VP of Immersive Medicine at Luxsonic Technologies, Dr. Shawna Pandya. Dr. Shawna Pandya has a vision for shaping the future of medicine through transdisciplinary collaboration and innovation.

    47 min
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About

The world is filled with Wicked Problems - incredibly complicated predicaments that don’t have simple solutions. However, the real problem isn’t our complex world, but rather our outdated mindsets. The way that we see the future directly impacts the actions that we take today, so a better world requires better visions. Join futurists Yvette Montero Salvatico and Frank Spencer each week as they use the Natural Foresight® Framework to reframe our Wicked Problems into the transformational ideas that they call Wicked Opportunities.

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