I am pleased to announce that your beloved online magazine, Jim Baen's Universe, has teamed with the award-winning podcast The Future And You, in an effort to benefit the patrons of both. While each of these are very different, and innovative, forms of media, this is a particularly natural alliance because the creative people behind both share passions and optimism for many of the same things, such as science fiction & fantasy and the real future in which we all hope to live.
This alliance will take the form of a mild sharing of content. The host of The Future And You (that would be me) will have a regular column here within Jim Baen's Universe in which to write about the future as well as to mention which of your favorite authors you will have the opportunity to hear, and what topics you will hear them discuss, by downloading the show.
In addition to the opportunity to hear interviews with some of your favorite authors, each monthly episode of The Future And You, beginning December 1, 2006, will contain a ten minute segment devoted exclusively to the goings on here at Jim Baen's Universe. These ten minute segments will feature the voices of Bananaslug & Stoney (Walt Boyes & Stoney Compton) JBU's own Frick & Frack. Also featured in each of these segments will be one of JBU's many famous authors reading a sample of his or her fiction.
The Future And You is an award-winning podcast about the future which you may download for free. Each episode contains several interviews with authors, scientists, celebrities and innovators about what they expect in the future. These forward-thinking people describe their widely differing ideas of the future and often go beyond what they expect into what they hope and what they fear.
David Drake, Greg Bear, Toni Weisskopf, Alan Dean Foster and Kim Stanley Robinson have all been guests; as have John Ringo, Spider Robinson, David Brin, Joe Haldeman, Vernor Vinge, Nancy Kress, Sarah A. Hoyt, Catherine Asaro and Travis S. Taylor.
Less famous guests have included Rudi Hoffman (a cryonics insurance agent), Mike Treder (CEO of the Center for Responsible Nanotechnology), Doctor Greg Matloff (an astronomer) and Lionel Vogt (a transhumanist and TV battle-robot builder).
Subjects have included: nanotechnology and molecular manufacturing, computers wired directly into the human brain, cryonics, exoplanets, faster-than-light travel, wormholes and black holes, cloning and stem cell research, global warming and the current interglacial period, genetic engineering of humans and other biotechnology, as well as transhumanism and the technology of living more-or-less forever.
The current episode contains all the following and more:
Eric Flint (author and editor-in-chief of Jim Baen's Universe) describes how, as a web based "e-magazine," Jim Baen's Universe compares to and competes with traditional SF&F magazines printed on paper.
Toni Weisskopf (the new head of Baen Books) describes her take on the singularity, technological immortality, global warming, the next fall of civilization, the Chinese going to the moon, faster-than-light travel, cryonics and SETI (the search for extraterrestrial intelligence).
Sarah A. Hoyt (author and polyglot) in her beautiful and exotic accent, explains why the future is proving to be weirder that we ever expected, and also talks about how increasing longevity will dramatically alter society.
David B. Coe (author and environmentalist—with a PhD in environmental history) risks his environmentalist street creds by insisting that passionate environmentalists—like himself—need to admit that nuclear power is the only logical compromise solution to the world's energy needs.
Catherine Asaro (author, physicist and former ballerina) who personally homeschools gifted children, provides surprising insights into the rising popularity of homeschooling.
Lucienne Diver (one of SF&F publishing's top agents) describes the trends within the publishing industry as well as her worries & hopes for the future outside the biz.
Marjorie M. Liu (N.Y. Times best selling author and former lawyer) describes several of the inevitable legal and judicial problems everyone will face, such as the growing temptation for parents to use eugenics technologies to drastically improve their own children—beginning, of course, in the womb. She also startles the host with her revelation that there are judges sitting on the bench right now who have not passed the bar, have never been lawyers and have no degree in law.
All past episodes of The Future And You will remain available for your downloading pleasure for many, many years to come (at least if your host has anything to say about it). Here are a few randomly selected items from past episodes which you may listen to at your whim.
Cryonic SWAT teams, and what you should do before the body of your friend or loved one rots. David Pascal describes what to do in those critical hours between an unexpected death and cryosuspension. February 25, 2006 Episode
Gary Jones of Stargate SG-1: A celebrity interview. December 15, 2005 Episode
David Drake, who reads and translates ancient Latin for fun and relaxation, discusses lessons from antiquity; similarities between the USA and ancient Rome; and one of the host's favorite British miniseries: I Claudius. Stephen also asks David how he thinks the USA might meet its eventual and inevitable end. After all, someday the USA, like the Roman Empire, will no longer exist. August 1, 2006 Episode
Spider Robinson suggests that our next earth might be better than this one. He also admits that faster-than-light travel is impossible, but he's quick to point out that, as humans, impossible is what we do best. April 8, 2006 Episode
Joe Haldeman feels that computers wired directly into the human brain may sweep the developed world as quickly as cell phones since those without them will be at a competitive disadvantage. He also mentions that nanotechnological invisibility is being developed at MIT where he teaches. January 15, 2006 Episode
Robin Curtis worked with Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner as she played the Vulcan Starfleet officer Lieutenant Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock as well as (the host's favorite of the Star Trek movies) Star Trek IV: The Journey Home. A celebrity interview. February 11, 2006 Episode
Toni Weisskopf (the new head of Baen Books) describes what direction Baen Books will take into the future after the tragic loss of its visionary founder: Jim Baen. November 1, 2006 Episode
John Ringo makes a serious case for his conviction that global warming is a scientific hoax perpetrated by the desperate need of researchers for grant money, sustained through academic coercion, and fed to an accepting public by media outlets locked in an endless competition for the most sensational headline. August 1, 2006 Episode
Greg Bear warns that, once we all have our brains wired (or wifi'ed) directly into the internet we'd better have powerful firewalls protecting us from hackers, because anyone who doesn't may have to spend a lot of time with their brain in the shop. May 1, 2006 Episode
Jason's mother (the axe-murdering, Mrs. Voorhees) from the movie Friday The 13th. A celebrity interview with Betsy Palmer. January 15, 2006 Episode
Alan Dean Foster, author and world traveler, on the likelihood of technological immortality, why cryonics is better than cremation, and whether or not ecological preserves without armed enforcement against poachers have a meaningful future. November 1, 2006 Episode
Travis S. Taylor, who has discovered two planets which orbit stars other than our sun, talks about exoplanets and the anticipated discovery of many new earths. He also describes how amateur astronomers can now discover these extrasolar planets using off-the-shelf, store-bought equipment. July 1, 2006 Episode
Nancy Kress explains the growing controversy over the genetic engineering of crops, or as they call them in Europe "FrankenFoods." January 15, 2006 Episode
Erin Gray, the actress who played Colonel Wilma Deering in the TV series Buck Rogers in the 25th Century as well as Kate Summers in the TV series Silver Spoons. A celebrity interview. February 25, 2006 Episode
David Brin is convinced we are making dangerous mistakes in how we're conducting the search for extraterrestrial intelligence, and describes his own answer to the puzzle of why the universe seems so completely empty of intelligent life: a situation often referred to as the Fermi Paradox. February 25, 2006 Episode
Kim Stanley Robinson, a self-proclaimed science patriot, answers the host's question: is it possible for political science to become an actual science rather than a pretend science as it is now (one that embraces the scientific method)? November 1, 2006 Episode
Robert A. Heinlein passed away in 1988, yet his name will appear on a brand new novel due out in September of 2006. This novel is a collaborative effort between the late legend and a younger, newer talent: one of Mister Heinlein's greatest fans: the award winning author, Spider Robinson. I asked Spider how this unusual collaboration came to be. (Following his interview, as an added bonus, you will hear the title song from Spider's CD, "Belaboring the Obvious," which he wrote for his wife, Jeanne, eleven years ago while she was away in a Buddhist monastery for three months.) February 25, 2006 Episode
Pugsley and Wednesday Addams from the beloved old TV show, The Addams Family. A double celebrity interview with Ken Weatherwax and Lisa Loring. January 28, 2006 Episode
For that, Dear Reader, I ask that you return to this column on a regular basis. Many interviews are already recorded, many have been agreed to, and many are being pursued with enthusiasm and diligence. To me, and I hope to you too, the future has never looked so fascinating.