The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce

TSMC now makes the best computer chips - making Taiwan a prize that China needs in order to continue its rise as an economic and military superpower. 

Rebroadcast from June 7, 2021. 

The 2023 season …

In the 2010s, VR roared back into life with Oculus, Vive, WebGL and Hololens. Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite gave millions a deep drink of the potential of the Metaverse. Facebook - renamed Meta - be…

In the early 2000s, the Metaverse blossomed into the foundation for a new generation of video games such as 'Ultima Online', and big data 'digital twins' like Google Earth. It's "Game On!" for Tony a…

In the second half of the 1990s, VRML became the platform of choice for 'virtual worlds' filled with 'avatars' - digital representations of real people. The Web goes big - and stays big - yet VRML cr…

Tony and Mark - supported by a global community of technologists, enthusiasts and dreamers - brought 3D to the brand-new Web with VRML, creating the foundations for the “DIY Metaverse”. Featuring Owe…

The technology behind the metaverse has its origins in the darkest days of the Cold War. This ‘Military metaverse’ gave birth to the Internet, transforming warfare - and, a generation later, online g…

Welcome to the first episode of our new series, "A Brief History of the Metaverse".

Mark and co-host Tony Parisi travel back more than a century to uncover the roots of the Metaverse. From pioneers C…

A clever bit of AI software transforms my voice into a silky-smooth 'Lisa' - almost an archetypal radio host. In the near future, we'll be able to make ourselves sound - and look - like anyone else. …

With our new series 'A Brief History of the Metaverse' just around the corner here on The Next Billion Seconds, we thought we would share Mark's recent appearance on The Futurists podcast where some …

In this live interview with Oculus and Anduril founder Palmer Luckey - joined by Anduril Chief Engineer Shane Arnott - we look at the future of defense, geopolitics, and Australia's future in a trans…

Three big transformations - one that's has already happened, one happening now, and one about to happen - illuminate the path (and pitfalls) for those anyone who wants to articulate the future. Liste…

Mark delves back into the archives to bring you an episode that is particularly relevant to current events.

TSMC now makes the best computer chips - making Taiwan a prize that China needs in order to…

At the age of 19, Palmer Luckey founded Oculus, bringing a comatose VR industry back to life. Will he do the same for defense - and has he solved Australia’s submarine problem?

For more information a…

VR roared back to life this decade due to the efforts of visionary teenager Palmer Luckey. Luckey built Oculus, sold to Facebook for $3 billion - then got fired. We talk to Palmer on next week's show…

If you own cryptocurrency, where do you keep it safe? Who's responsible for the contents of your 'wallet'? Both 'custodial' and 'personal' wallets have strengths and weaknesses - which is right for y…

In the middle of a bad 'crypto winter', Mark and Josh go looking for good news. All this bad news has a silver lining, as folks wean themselves off 'hopium' into more realistic expectations for the f…

Caught between an energy crisis and a climate crisis, the Lucky Country has stumbled upon a unique opportunity to solve both problems with one solution — a complete electrification of our homes, savi…

Four huge trends will shape all of our lives over the next twelve months. This 'Horizon Report' provides the information you need to prepare for what looks like a bit of a rough patch of road directl…

Decentralised finance or 'DeFi' offers investors a way to earn great returns on their deposits without taking any of the risks associated with cryptocurrencies. Is this the sweet spot between risk an…

Ethereum marries money to code, creating 'smart money' that can think for itself, invest for itself, and earn a profit for itself. Ethereum was the future - five years ago. But with big problems to s…