The Near Futurist

We've all heard of the metaverse by now - but is it a "thing" or a marketing construct? There are no holds barred in this Dividing Lines debate, the series in the Near Futurist sponsored (but never dictated) by Diffusion PR. Futurist.com supremo Nikolas Badminton takes on Based.AF head honcho Robin Schmidt as they consider whether it's more than immersive VR, whether Damien Hirst should have burned his pictures and whether host Guy Clapperton can afford to not buy the NFT of the original lyrics to "Hey Jude". If you enjoy the show please do leave a review on the iTunes store or wherever you came across it!

Received wisdom suggests that we're all going to work flexibly and it's going to be great. Winter is coming, however - so will we scurry back to the office to stay warm or do the figures still add up? And what if we suggest that home working is actually less productive than office working anyway? It's a polarising debate but in this episode of Dividing Lines, a series-within-a-series from the Near Futurist supported by Diffusion PR, the positions are nuanced. The University of Essex' Christoph Siemroth and BT's Nicola Millard debate, chaired by me, Guy Clapperton. The paper referred to by Christoph is here: https://bfi.uchicago.edu/insight/finding/work-from-home-productivity-evidence-from-personnel-analytics-data-on-it-professionals/

Dr. Carol Nakhle of the University of Surrey and Robin Peters of Snugg Energy discuss the energy crisis with near futurist Guy Clapperton: * Is the increase in pricing a useful tool to dampen demand? * How long will payback take if people invest in their homes? * Are the high prices prompting the right action? * What practical steps can we take early on? * What's the view on energy from non-Western countries? In association with Diffusion PR

A preview of Friday's Near Futurist interview: * Dr. Carol Nakhle of Surrey University and Robin Peters of Snugg debate * Is the dice loaded against us reaching Net Zero? Should fuel prices be part of the plan? * What are the obstacles, like payback times?

Education was doomed and schools would universally suffer as a result of the pandemic, we were told. It's certainly changed stuff. but has the disaster rteally happened and what part has technology played? Alexa Joyce of Microsoft discusses with Guy Clapperton. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

We all have a lot of information about our bodies - we might own smartwatches or phones that count our paces or measure our pulse rate, we may have a blood pressure monitoring machine and there are apps and devices to help with diabetes. Is it all too much, though? Has self-diagnosis gone too far? In this debate I speak to Dr. Gigi Taguri of LloydsPharmacy Online Doctor and Hamish Grierson of Thriva about whether we have too much data and when we need to get advice from a human. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

Lab-grown meat or factory-made fillets - is the future of meat away from the farm? Daan Luining of Meatable thinks the balance ay change while while Tim Bonner of the Countryside Alliance in the UK thinks otherwise. Guy Clapperton presents the latest in the Dividing Lines mini-series within the Near Futurist podcast, sponsored by Diffusion PR. If you enjoy the Near Futurist why not leave a review on the iTunes Store - or join the LinkedIn group? Just search for Near Futurist Podcast, see you there!

It's been an exciting 12 months for astronomy enthusiasts - Jeff Bezos actually took Captain Kirk to outer space! But in the past we've jettisoned a lot of parts of our spacecraft, so how much junk is there out there? And is it a problem? Prof. Moriba Jah of the University of Texas and Privateer is tracking the issue and discusses how it's become difficult and why it matters. See his image of all the space junk at astria.tacc.utexas.edu/AstriaGraph/ If you like what you hear, why not leave a review on the iTunes Store or wherever you picked this podcast up? Also you'd be welcome to join its new LinkedIn group: (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn

We've all heard about the Great Resignation and in this episode of the Near Futurist, Vodafone's chief HR officer Leanne Wood tells Guy Clapperton there is culture as well as technology in play. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

Graphene used to be a theoretical thing but nobody was sure they could extract it - now it has the potential to change the way we make and keep clothes, engineer flights and even build houses. Neil Ricketts, chief executive officer of graphene specialist Versarien, talks to Guy Clapperton. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

A lot of people advocate getting back to nature as the way to preserve the Earth but they may be wrong. Geo-engineering, in which we intervene artificially, may be more sustainable. Near Futurist Guy Clapperton asks visiting associate professor at Columbia Business School, climate economist, academic, and author Gernot Wagner and assistant professor of environment and sustainability at the University at Buffalo in Buffalo, New York, Holly Jean Buck, for their perspectives. This is part of the Dividing Lines mini-series of Near Futurist podcasts sponsored by Diffusion PR. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

As the Cop26 conference convenes in Glasgow we are aware we'll have to make changes and flying remains a major carbon polluter. This may be about to change, however, and in this Dividing Lines debate, sponsored by Diffusion PR, Guy Clapperton speaks to Tom Grundy of Hybrid Air Vehicles and Cristina Garcia-Duffy of the Aerospace Technology Institute about alternative technologies for freight, military and carrying people from A to B. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

Suppose a pair of trainers could not only assure you they were genuine but enable you to sell them back to the manufacturer for remaking so someone else could have them? The process starts with smarter labelling - Guy Clapperton speaks to Max Winograd, VP of connected products for Avery Dennison. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

Vertical farming - put your crops into a high rise building, maybe based on hydroponics so they take up less space and you control the climate. Is this the way forward to eliminate poverty? Neither of our guests think it's that simple. In this podcast Angry Chef blogger Anthony Warner debates Agritecture CEO Henry Gordon-Smith about what's going to work and what's not. Guy Clapperton chairs in this debate in the Dividing Lines series, sponsored by Diffusion PR. If you enjoy this show, why not put a review wherever you found it?

The Coca-Cola song from the 1970s, the Bond theme, Windows start-up, Apple switch-on - we're surrounded by aural branding as well as logos and visual cues. Michele Arnese, CEO of amp, talks us through what's going on. The show starts off with an explanation of an error I made during the interview - with apologies! If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

New to the Near Futurist - a mini-series of debates sponsored by Diffusion PR. In this episode Vinay Nair of Lightful returns to speak to Guillaume Bouchard of CheckStep - are we better off fighting misinformation through algorithms and AI or should we take the grass roots approach and look to people? If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

Guy Clapperton interviews Helena Schwenk of Exasol on how the "D-native" generation doesn't necessarily think it's as fluent as all that in data - and the impact this will have on society and business. If you like what you're hearing why not leave a review wherever you found this edition - and if you wanted to read it rather than listen, check the transcript at https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/nearfuturist/Young_people_and_data_Near_Futurist_transcript.pdf If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

Lockdown has prompted unhealthy behaviours in a lot of us and we're putting on weight. One unlooked-for effect of all this is diabetes, and Cyndi Williams of Quin has an app to help. She tells Guy Clapperton about this and how misunderstood diabetes is in this 21 minute podcast. Hearing issues? Here's a transcript: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/nearfuturist/Cyndi_Williams_of_Quin_on_the_Near_Futurist_podcast.pdf If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

We all use elevators but did you know that the maintenance charge can be invoked even when they haven't moved? Augustin Celier of Uptime believes it's time for a new model. If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC

Dr. Merritt Moore is a bit of a renaissance woman in that she is a professional ballet dancer with a doctorate in physics and a qualified astronaut. She has a lot to say about the divide between arts and scientists in this episode in which she speaks to Guy Clapperton If you enjoy this or would like to feed back/suggest future guests why not join the LinkedIn group? (99+) The Near Futurist podcast | Groups | LinkedIn Also the podcast has its own website at nearfuturist.co.uk - and if you liked it, it would be really helpful to leave a review on whichever platform you found it - thank you! - GC