Podcast explores the future in a rapidly evolving world

What will it mean to be human in the future? Who owns data and who owns us? Can machines think?

These are some of the questions pondered on a newly launched podcast titled “Modem Futura.” 

Co-hosted by Arizona State University faculty Andrew Maynard and Sean Leahy, the podcast explores the intersection between emerging technologies, society and the future in an authentic, nuanced and entertaining way.

“We investigate the possible, probable and preferred futures, sparking new ways of thinking about the rapidly evolving world around us,” said Leahy, producer of the podcast.

Leahy is an internationally recognized technologist and futurist. Maynard is a scientist, author, thought leader and founder of ASU’s Future of Being Human initiative, for which Leahy is a research scientist. Both are educators in ASU's School for the Future of Innovation in Society. 

ASU News recently touched base with Maynard and Leahy to learn more about their futuristic podcast. 

Question: Congratulations on the new podcast! How would you describe it?

Leahy: Thank you! I would describe "Modem Futura" as a fun conversational show that takes big ideas where technology, society and humanity converge and explores the implications of navigating a complex future. Each week we unpack the ideas, innovations and cultural shifts that will shape humanity’s next chapter and, through a futures lens, spark new conversations and ways of thinking about the rapidly evolving world around us.

Q: You both seemed comfortable riffing off each other in your conversations. My guess is that you have had conversations like this before.

Maynard: Well, we’ve spent a lot of time together over the past few months strategizing around the next steps for ASU’s Future of Being Human initiative — one of the outcomes of which is this podcast. So yes, we’ve spent more time than any sensible person probably should in each other’s company as we’ve discussed emerging technologies and how they potentially impact the future – and that shows in how we riff off each other.

More seriously, we both come from professional backgrounds of thinking about technology and the future in creative and transformative ways and it quickly became apparent to us that our different experiences, expertise and insights, complimented each other remarkably well. Plus, we discovered that we rather enjoy exploring technological rabbit holes together that serendipitously turn out to be incredibly important to how we think about the future. So it was something of a no-brainer to record ourselves so others could join us on our conversational  journeys! 

Q: I love the show's intro. Very cool. How would you describe it?

Leahy: That makes me happy to hear. I put a lot of effort into the intro trying to get it to symbolize the meaning of "MODEM" (modulator-demodulator) and capture the essence of the podcast in a short snappy way. As you listen to the intro, you will undoubtedly notice the "squawk" of a modem; in this case, it's specifically from a 56K modem handshake, the process by which modems establish connections.

The modem symbolizes the process of taking one type of signal and modulating it to another, which is in many ways what we do in this podcast — we take big audacious ideas and trends about technology and the future and bring it to a conversation that is accessible for all. 

Q: Will you have guests on the show and what kinds of topics will you be covering? 

Maynard: First off, we’ll be having some fantastic guests joining us! This will vary from week to week depending on the topics we explore. But we’ll be bringing in some amazing thinkers and guests — including Riz Virk, who joined us after appearing recently on the "Joe Rogan Experience," to explore the idea of whether we’re all living in a simulation, and Ruth Wiley, who’s doing amazing research around futures thinking in ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination.

We’re looking forward to talking with a mixture of big names and people who aren’t as well known but nevertheless have really compelling insights about tech and the future. Artificial intelligence will, of course, continue to play a large part in the topics we cover. But we’ll also be diving into topics around the cutting edge of areas like biotechnology, automation, transportation, space exploration and how technologies across the board are changing how we live and who we are.

We’ll also be exploring technologies that don’t have names yet but are nevertheless poised to transform our lives and especially where these combine and intertwine in unexpected ways. 

Q: This type of podcast is a perfect fit for both of you. What is it about the topics you will be exploring that gets you excited? 

Leahy: This podcast is something I’ve been wanting to create for many years now.

For me, talking about futures in general is a well of excitement that seems to have no limit — but one of the most fun elements of a show like this is that Andrew and I get to explore any idea and topic that we are interested in, no matter how big or small.

I think it's fair to say that both Andrew and I have an insatiable curiosity around technology, science and humanity. One of the truly enjoyable aspects of this show is that we can talk about big ideas that take us to the edges of the known universe or dive deep into conversations around artificial intelligence.

As an example, in one episode, we jump into a driverless car and discuss the transformational potential impacts of these technologies on how we might plan cities in the future. It’s a truly wonderful space to have these thought-provoking conversations.

Q: What do you hope your listeners will take away from the podcast?

Maynard: One of the reasons we established the ASU Future of Being Human initiative is the growing need for new ways of thinking and talking about the future in a technologically complex world. And the podcast provides a unique opportunity to do this as we catalyze new thinking and ideas at scale. It also responds to a growing hunger for informed conversations around transformative technologies and the future.

The thing is, you can’t do this by being preachy or polarizing or boring — you have to be worth listening to, you have to be engaging and you have to build meaningful relationships with your listeners, whether they’re high school students, retired or anyone in between.

I hope we achieve this, because it’s never been more important that a public university like ASU is at the forefront of creating spaces where everyone — no matter who they are — can be part of exploring the futures we collectively aspire to in an age of unprecedented technological advances.

Which is a rather long-winded way of saying that I hope our listeners are entertained, engaged, amazed, awed, frequently excited, sometimes shocked and ultimately energized as we explore what it means to be part of creating better futures at one of the most transformative points in human history.