Every Episode of Modem Futura

Modem Futura is a weekly conversation about the future of science, technology, and society — and about what all of it means for the people living through it. Hosts Sean Leahy and Andrew Maynard are futurists and educators at Arizona State University, and each week they work through the developments that seem to matter, the ones that only look like they matter, and the harder question sitting underneath both: what will it mean to be human in the future we’re building?

The full archive is below. Every episode is available as audio wherever you get your podcasts, and as video on YouTube.

What the show covers

The through-line is human implications, but the territory is wide. Recurring subjects include artificial intelligence and its effects on work, creativity, and trust; space exploration and the commercial space economy; biotechnology and synthetic biology; climate technology and environmental futures; immersive media, virtual reality, and the shifting texture of digital life; the future of education and learning; and the practice of futures and foresight itself — how anyone goes about thinking rigorously about things that haven’t happened yet.

Episodes generally run 30 to 60 minutes. Some are conversations between the two hosts; others bring in researchers, writers, and practitioners working at the edges of these fields. A recurring segment called Futures Improv puts one host on the spot with a speculative scenario and no preparation, which tends to produce the most unexpected thinking of any given week.

The show does not make predictions. It works through possible, probable, and preferred futures — the difference between what could happen, what likely will, and what we might actually want — and it tries to leave listeners with better questions rather than false certainty.

How to listen

New episodes arrive weekly. Follow the show on the platform you already use and it will show up on its own:

• Apple Podcasts — https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/modem-futura/id1771688480
• Spotify — https://open.spotify.com/show/3eFl4hY4t1qTCWE2Bxotrg
• YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/@ModemFutura

Following on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, and leaving a rating, genuinely helps other people find the show.