The Existential Hope Podcast
The Existential Hope Podcast features in-depth conversations with people working on positive, high-tech futures. We explore how the future could be much better than today—if we steer it wisely.
Hosts Allison Duettmann and Beatrice Erkers from the Foresight Institute invite the scientists, founders, and philosophers shaping tomorrow’s breakthroughs— AI, nanotech, longevity biotech, neurotech, space, smarter governance, and more.
About Foresight Institute: For 40 years the independent nonprofit Foresight Institute has mapped how emerging technologies can serve humanity. Its Existential Hope program is the North Star: mapping the futures worth aiming for and the breakthroughs needed to reach them. This podcast is that exploration in public. Follow along and help tip the century toward success.
Explore more:
- Transcript, listed resources, and more: https://www.existentialhope.com/podcasts
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- Update frequency
- every 5 days
- Average duration
- 51 minutes
- Episodes
- 15
- Years Active
- 2025
Sam Arbesman on Vibe Coding, AI, and the Magic of Code
Is code just a technical skill for engineers, or is it a deeply humanistic art form capable of expanding our minds? In this episode, host Beatrice Erkers is joined by scientist, author, and Coder-in-…
Pablos Holman on Creating Technology That Actually Matters
The tech industry we read about every day accounts for only 2% of the global economy. So what about the other 98%? In this episode, host Beatrice Erkers talks to hacker, inventor, and author Pablos H…
Andrew White on Building an AI Scientist to Automate Discovery
What if we could build an AI that doesn't just answer questions, but makes fundamental scientific discoveries on its own? That's the mission of Future House, and in this episode, host Allison Duettma…
Tools or Agents? Choosing Our AI Future | Anthony Aguirre
What if the most desirable AI future is made of powerful tools, not autonomous agents? Physicist and futurist Anthony Aguirre joins us to unpack the Tool AI pathway, how incentives, liability, and de…
Autonomous Vehicles Special: Andrew Miller on Self-Driving Futures
Self-driving cars aren’t science fiction, they’re already here. But what kind of future are they steering us toward?
In this episode, Beatrice speaks with Andrew Miller, mobility expert and author of …
Jim O'Shaughnessy on Investing in Infinite Human Potential
How do we shape a future worth rooting for?
In this episode, Beatrice Erkers talks with Jim O'Shaughnessy, founder of O'Shaughnessy Ventures and author of What Works on Wall Street, about his third a…
Michael Nielsen on Hyper-entities, Tools for Thought, and Wise Optimism
How do we imagine, validate, and steer toward better futures?
In this conversation, scientist and writer Michael Nielsen joins Beatrice Erkers to explore the idea of “hyper-entities”, future artifacts…
A Handheld Device to Defeat Cancer | Mary Lou Jepsen
What if the bulky, expensive machines that fill hospital radiology departments could be replaced by a wearable? In this episode, we speak with Mary Lou Jepsen — founder of Openwater and pioneering in…
How Science Fiction Can Inspire Real-World Innovation with Ed Finn
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, Ed Finn, founding director of ASU’s Center for Science and the Imagination, explores the impact of storytelling on our ability to envision and create …
How AI Can Accelerate Science & Its Own Adoption with Niklas Lundblad
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, Niklas Berild Lundblad, a philosopher, researcher, and former policy lead at Google DeepMind, Google, and Stripe, explores the interplay between progr…
Nobel Laureate David Baker on Using AI for Science to Solve Humanity's Biggest Problems
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, Nobel Laureate David Baker reveals how scientists are now inventing entirely new proteins—life's fundamental building blocks—to tackle some of the wor…
David Deutsch on Knowledge, Progress, and the Future of Everything
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, physicist and author David Deutsch joins us to explore the deeper principles behind knowledge, progress, and the future of humanity.
David is known for…
David Pearce on Ending Suffering and Reimagining Humanity
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, philosopher and transhumanist David Pearce joins us to explore a bold vision of the future—one where suffering is abolished, aging is optional, and hu…
Steven Pinker on Why the Future Looks Better Than You Think
In this episode of the Existential Hope Podcast, cognitive psychologist and bestselling author Steven Pinker explores why, despite massive gains in human progress, many people remain pessimistic abou…
Introducing the New Existential Hope Podcast
We’re excited to share that the Existential Hope Podcast now has its own dedicated feed—and we’re kicking things off with a wave of new episodes.
This podcast is for anyone curious about how powerful …