Forgetting is the only safe response to the world's problems, from a geopolitical perspective, according to author and journalist David Rieff. And forgetting is also a good thing in your personal life, say scientists. It moves us forward.

Dark sky at night, everyone's delight

5 days ago 29m 8s

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-profi

Nobel-Prize laureate Abhijit Banerjee on the world's largest UBI experiment

12 days ago 29m 9s

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

The manufacturing of "natural food" and how tech can demystify what we eat

19 days ago 29m 8s

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 heal

Self-destructive behaviour — the enemy within 

26 days ago 29m 8s

Why do otherwise sensible people continue to do things that are bad for them, that impact negatively on their personal future? Also, what happens in the brain when you're trying to make or break a habit?  Temptation, addiction and habit format

Fear and anger – the complicated emotions that govern our world

Mar 21st, 2024 29m 9s

Authoritarians rule through fear. We can clearly see that from China to the Middle East to eastern Europe. But why do we constantly overlook the way in which fear also shapes democratic societies? It's fuelling populism and distorting our futu

Algorithmic homogeny – why everything looks and feels the same

Mar 17th, 2024 29m 8s

Algorithmic feeds are meant to personalise our online experiences, but increasingly they're flattening our culture and fostering a dull conformity, according to best-selling author Kyle Chayka. And the influence they exert on our lives is incr

The weaponisation of nostalgia; and has culture come to a standstill?

Mar 10th, 2024 29m 8s

Nostalgia triggers our emotions and that in turn makes us vulnerable to manipulation. We speak with RICHARD KING about the commodification and weaponisation of nostalgic sentiment. Also, New York Times critic-at-large, Jason Farago, on why he

Are we really becoming more isolated and less community minded?

Mar 3rd, 2024 29m 8s

Social cohesion is under strain. The result, researchers say, of economic, political and work-based pressures. At the same time levels of volunteering are falling and people are showing far less willingness to take part in community-based acti

TikTok's superstar economy – how live-streaming is turning social media into a game played for money

Feb 25th, 2024 29m 8s

Fans are spending thousands of dollars a month to support their favourite streamers on TikTok Live, but most of the money is going to TikTok itself.

Conversing with aliens and 'decentering' the human

Feb 18th, 2024 29m 9s

Cambridge University has a new institute dedicated to understanding extraterrestrial languages. It's about being prepared for the possibility that intelligent life exists beyond our galaxy. Also, the dangers of being overly dramatic when talki

Does AI show we overestimate our human creativity? And what does creativity mean anyway?

Feb 11th, 2024 29m 8s

Among the angst over the creative potential of Artificial Intelligence, some researchers and academics are now turning the spotlight back onto humans. If AI can be as imaginative as your average human being, they ask, what does that say about

Growing houses and running computers with help from bacteria — the future of synthetic biology

Feb 4th, 2024 29m 8s

Scientists are changing the genetics of cells so that they can be used for a whole range of purposes never before imagined. Think building a biocomputer with a processor powered by bacteria or re-engineering microbes to make environmentally-fr

Building a new social contract

Jan 28th, 2024 29m 8s

There’s a growing public sense that the current model of the social contract is broken, due in large part to rising inequality and the pursuit of profit over social progress. The “social contract” defines the relationship between citizens, the

The Great Regression and the "kidification" of adulthood

Jan 21st, 2024 28m 53s

Many commentators bemoan the adolescent nature of modern society. Adults, they suggest, are acting like juveniles and thereby eroding our culture and destroying our politics. We hear two arguments to the contrary. Also, philosopher William M

Research productivity and innovation is declining

Jan 14th, 2024 29m 4s

Our modern understanding of innovation isn't modern at all, it turns out. Historian, Iwan Rhys Morus, says we're being held back by Victorian-era notions of the future as a land to be conquered; and the lone-genius inventor as the standard bea

Managerialism ... and what it means for work

Jan 7th, 2024 28m 57s

Exploring new ideas, new approaches, new technologies — the edge of change.

Turning our back on alcohol

Dec 31st, 2023 28m 53s

Are attitudes towards drinking changing as we learn more about the impact alcohol can have on our bodies? Drinking has been part of our social and cultural activities for centuries. But cultural norms appear to be shifting. So, could alcohol g

Who are the beneficiaries of climate change?

Dec 24th, 2023 28m 57s

It might be an uncomfortable idea for many, but in the short term climate change will produce "winners" as well as losers. Some countries, companies, communities and species will actually benefit from a warming world. But in what ways and for

The Great Plunder – curbing human creativity through mass theft

Dec 17th, 2023 29m 8s

Technology companies aren’t just stealing your intellectual property – your creative content - they’re making vast profits out of selling it back to you. AI-powered apps like ChatGPT are trained on vast amounts of stolen data. What’s worse, it

Sweltering Cities – the cost of exponential urbanisation

Dec 10th, 2023 29m 8s

It's estimated that by 2050 more than 70 per cent of the world's population will live in cities. Urbanisation carries many benefits, but it also threatens to intensify the climate crisis. So, how do we better design our cities to minimise the

Technology churn versus digital Inclusion

Dec 3rd, 2023 29m 8s

The constant upgrading of technology is wearing people down — one in five Australians now saying they feel "overwhelmed" by technological change, according to a recent report. Those at greatest risk of falling further behind include the elderl

How ancient trees could help in the fight against climate change

Nov 26th, 2023 29m 8s

Unlike animals, trees don't have a biological clock, under ideal conditions they can live for thousands of years. Scientists say understanding how ancient trees have survived could help us protect forests from the ravages of climate change. Bu

Why knowing when to finish is as important as getting started

Nov 19th, 2023 29m 8s

In this episode of Future Tense – why charities should have a limited future… getting academics and researchers to think about the end of their research, not just the beginning… and a thoughtful take on the outsourcing of our intelligence –wha

The great scan — mapping below Earth's surface

Nov 12th, 2023 29m 8s

Austrian archaeologist, Immo Trinks, has a grand ambition – to map the entire landscape of Europe, below ground! The 3D scanning technology he's using won't just uncover hidden archaeological treasures, it can also be used to check below our c