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?

Transcript of interview with Alexa Joyce from Microsoft

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. The Near Futurist now has a LinkedIn group you'd be welcome to join - and if you like what you hear why not leave a review wherever you downloaded it?

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 like what you hear, why not leave us a review on the iTunes Store or wherever you found us?

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 like what you hear why not leave a review?

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.

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 like what you hear why not leave a review on iTunes or wherever you found it? And if you're one of the literally thousands of people who've listened to the podcast for the first time since the middle of October, welcome and thank you!

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.   Like what you hear? Leave a review! Thank you.

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!

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?

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

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 like what you hear do please leave a review wherever you downloaded it. Thank you!

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.

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

Live sport is on the way back and it's going to be soon but we all want stadiums to be safe. Mike Elliot, CEO of Over-C, explains how the answer may lie in the Internet of Things. Find out more about presenter Guy Clapperton at clappertonmediaassociates.com - oh go on, he spent $3 on that football crowd sound effect just for you...

Vicky Brock of cyber-safety specialist Vistalworks could see her international government clients becoming unable to buy from her after Brexit - so she started looking around and ended up with a virtual residency in Estonia. She talks Guy Clapperton through the process and how it's helped her business and clients.   If you like this podcast why not leave a review wherever you get your podcasts from?

Vaccine hesitancy is a major problem among certain minorities and the answer lies not exclusively in old-fashioned campaigns but in the digital world where the misinformation begins. Vinay Nair of Lightful talks ton ear futurist Guy Clapperton.

We've been promised these for ages and now at last they're going to arrive - Patrick Hessel of Airmobil explains how he's bringing the flying car to the market, when it will be available and (you'd better sit down for this bit) how much it will cost. For more info about the presenter Guy Clapperton check clappertonmediiaassociates.com 

What if you could actually fool the person trying to hack into your system that they were somewhere they wanted to be, when they're not? What if you could understand that sentence at first glance? Carolyn Crandall of Attivo Networks looks at what can be achieved against hackers that are already in the system. If you enjoy this podcast why not leave a review where you found it? Thank you!

Data collection is going to do everything from monitor your refrigerator to cleaning the river Ganges. Michael Sack, chief executive of Teracode, explains the difference the Internet of Things can make.

Home working is not so much mainstream as compulsory but it may not be as secure as a lot of people hope. Mike Wood of Versa Networks discusses the issues with Near Futurist Guy Clapperton. If you like what you hear, why not review it wherever you get your podcasts from?

It's 2021 so sometime this year, surely, we'll be able to return to our offices safely. Hold on though - Kristine Dahl Steidel, VP of VMware, has research that says people don't actually want to go back. She discusses findings and motivations with #nearfuturist Guy Clapperton and considers the shape of the workforce from now on.

2020 is done, dusted and can close the door on its way out, it won't be missed. But as we look forward to vaccines and a gradual return to normality it's worth taking stock of where your data is stored, who has it and what they're using it for. Chris Strand of Intsights talks Near Futurist Guy Clapperton through some of the issues. And a happy New Year to our listeners - we saw huge growth in 2020, welcome aboard and let's see where 2021 takes us!

Anders Kohn of Aula speaks to Guy Clapperton about how students need more interactivity in their lectures, particularly in the online world. It's not about a generation gap, however - he discusses learnings from Facebook, Slack and how the changes had been coming anyway. This fortnightly podcast will now take a break until the New Year as the next one would otherwise be in the week before Christmas and nobody wants that! Have a great time, weird year that it's been, and I hope everyone comes back rested and refreshed.

We've been working from home for months and there is more of it to come. Just to cheer us up even more Chris Morales, head of security analytics for Vectra, says a load of our commonly-used apps may be insecure. He offers tips on what to do about this and they're not difficult.  If you like what you hear in this episode, why not leave a review on your favoured podcast platform?

Coronavirus has changed many things, one of which is that business and public sector have had to think "digital first". Returning guest Galina Antova, co-founder of Claroty, discusses how organisations coped depending on whether they were already thinking in those terms or suddenly had it forced on them. Antova is actually the first guest to come back for more on this podcast - which is as good a way as any to mark the fact that it's just turned two years old! Thank you for tuning in.

Where are we with sustainable energy and how can we improve? James Kirk, CTO of ENSEK, talks figures, sustainability and data with near futurist Guy Clapperton. Thank you for listening.

Author Kate Baucherel discusses her new book, Blockchain Hurricane, along with banking, durian fruit and science fiction writing with Near Futurist presenter Guy Clapperton. If you like what you hear on this podcast why not leave a review wherever you pick it up from? And if you already have, thank you for taking the time!

Drones are here already and there are going to be a lot more of them, very quickly. In this episode I speak to Amit Ganjoo, founder and CEO of drone management company ANRA Technology about the practicalities of having loads of vehicles in the air. If you like what you hear and you would like to sponsor an edition of the Near Futurist, contact me - Guy@Clapperton.co.uk, I'll look forward to hearing from you.

A short while ago automated consultations with doctors were conducted over Skype and used video, but this doesn't solve the problem. Dr. Murray Ellender of eConsult explains to Guy Clapperton why the format needs to change - and looks to adopt a new model for sustainability. Note to non-British listeners: "GP" or "General Practitioner" is what we call a family doctor in the UK; NHS is a common abbreviation for National Health Service, the state-run health service in the UK. If anything else isn't clear to you in this podcast, it's my fault!

It helps with epilepsy and arthritis, Portugal and California have noted no upticks in crime rate since liberalisation - so is it time to look again at marijuana as a medicine? I speak to Dr. Charlie Easmon of Harley Street about where the controversies are and how we're likely to move forward. If you like what you hear on the #nearfuturist podcast, why not leave a review on the iTunes store or wherever you get your podcasts from? (And if you already have, thank you!)