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A critical look at new technologies, new approaches and new ways of thinking, from politics to media to environmental sustainability.

Future Tense

We build more and more homes for growing urban populations. But doing so without providing much needed amenities doesn't serve our suburbs and the people who live in them. It risks confounding social isolation and urban sprawl. There's also climate change to consider. In a heating world, how do we plan our suburbs to deal with higher temperatures? Are the cities and suburbs of the future going to be livable for our children and our children's children?

Rob Kelly investigates

Guests

Andrew Crowe — Demographer for Australian Bureau of Statistics

Dr Annette Kroen — Senior Research Fellow at RMIT University

Professor Sebastian Pfautsch — Professor of Urban Planning and Management at Western Sydney University and co-lead in People-centred Sustainable Precinct Design at the Urban Transformations Research Centre

Dylan Reid — Urbanist, editor, writer and co-founder of Spacing Magazine

Are we turning the housing crisis into a living crisis?

The remote Canadian island of Oikiqtaruk is disappearing fast, but its cultural and environmental heritage is being captured in digital form. We talk to those involved in the project about its ambition and their success to date. Also, recreating long lost cultural artefacts. For the Madrid-based organisation Factum Foundation it's a journey of reconnection — a way that future generations can celebrate and cherish the character of their past.

Guests

Richard Gordon — Senior Park Ranger, Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park, Canada

Professor Peter Dawson — Dept. of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary

Adam Lowe — Director of Factum Arte and founder of Factum Foundation for Digital Technology in Conservation

Further information

Factum Foundation

Digitally Preserving Herschel Island-Qikiqtaruk Territorial Park

Reviving the past and digital mapping for the future

Australian rooftops are resplendent with solar panels, but sustainability expert, Martin Brueckner, warns the popular notion that we're rapidly transitioning away from fossil fuels is deceptive. When you add Australia's fossil fuels exports to our domestic energy usage, he says, it's clear that "decarbonisation is yet to begin in earnest". Also, whatever happened to the dream that Australia could become a world leader in Green Hydrogen production?

Guests

Alison Reeve — Energy and Climate change Program Director, Grattan Institute

Adjunct Associate Professor Madoc Sheehan — Researcher, James Cook University

Professor Matthew Hill — Head of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University

Professor Martin Brueckner — Pro Vice Chancellor Sustainability, Murdoch University

Are we kidding ourselves about decarbonisation?

Globalisation isn’t what it used to be thanks to the legacy of the Covid-19 lockdown and, more recently, Donald Trump’s weaponisation of tariffs. But while it’s often given a bad rap, globalisation is about more than just trade, it’s also about the international exchange of ideas and talent. So, is it dying, withering or simply transforming? 

Listen to Future Tense - How to start your own golden age

Guests

Professor Richard Baldwin – International Economics, IMD Business School, Switzerland 

Professor Nick Bisley – International relations, La Trobe University 

Guy Miller – Chief Market Strategist and Economist, Zurich Insurance Group 

Ariel Kastner - Head of Geopolitical Agenda, World Economic Forum

Is globalisation dying?

The European Union is implementing a groundbreaking new tax: a carbon border tax. It's meant to prevent distortions between countries with differing emissions standards and so to reduce emissions. But will it work? The same can be asked about the International Maritime Organisation's proposed new carbon levy on shipping. Also on the show, an update on the Great Green Wall — China's mass-tree-planting project; and measuring stress in trees to improve resilience.

Guests

Associate Professor Anna Trugman — Department of Geography, University of California, Santa Barbara

Honorary Professor Peter Bridgewater — Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, Australian National University

Professor Michael Brear — Director, Melbourne Energy Institute, University of Melbourne

Dr Sanjay Patnaik — Director, Center on Regulation and Markets, Brookings Institute

Taxing carbon on the border and at sea

Existential risks to human life abound, from the threat of nuclear Armageddon; to an uninhabitable planet; or an AI-induced apocalypse. Understanding such risks and how we can best respond to them is the preoccupation of S. J. Beard. But the Cambridge University researcher also speaks of "existential hope", a way of addressing our fears without the doom and despair. Also, Monash University's, Neil Selwyn, makes the call for what he terms "digital degrowth" — decoupling our online world from the shackles of consumer capitalism.

Guests

Dr S. J. Beard — Senior Research Associate, Centre for the Study of Existential Risk, Cambridge University

Professor Neil Selwyn — Faculty of Education, Monash University

Further information

S.J. Beard - Existential Hope

Neil Selwyn - Digital Degrowth: Radically Rethinking our Digital Futures

Existential hope vs Existential Fear

We're now halfway through the UN-designated "Ocean Decade" — new research initiatives have been launched, and global cooperation has been strengthened as scientists work to learn more about our oceans and to harness their potential in the fight against adverse climate change. But there are still questions to be answered:

 • How firm are the commitments made under the Ocean Decade arrangement?
 • Why are many countries still lagging behind in ratifying the "High Seas" treaty?
 • And what will a reduction in US funding mean for ongoing ocean research?

Also, the ocean-going drones deployed to improve climate monitoring; and a new system for helping ships navigate more efficiently.

Guests

Julian Barbiere — Head of the Marine Policy and Regional Coordination Section, Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, UNESCO; also Ocean Decade Coordinator

Dr Meghan Cronin — Research Oceanographer, NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory; and co-chair of the Observing Air-Sea Interactions Strategy (OASIS), an endorsed programme of the UN Ocean Decade

Dr Shane Keating — Associate professor, University of New South Wales; also founder of the company CounterCurrent

Dr Sarah Lothian — Senior lecturer and Academic Barrister, Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, University of Wollongong

Further information

UN Ocean Decade

Sarah Lothian — Marine Conservation and International Law, Legal Instruments for Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction

Cooperation, not conflict on the High Seas

Humans have an evolutionary bias toward seeking convenience, experts say. But what happens when the desire for convenience becomes a dominant social and economic expectation? Future Tense explores the hidden costs of convenience for the environment and the economy. Making things too easy can in fact be bad for you.

Guests

Alison Angus — Head of Practice – Innovation Research, Euromonitor

Dr Paul Harrison — Director of MBA Programme, Deakin University. Unit Chair of Consumer Behaviour, Department of Marketing, Deakin Business School

Sloan Wilkins — Founder and Financial Coach, Everyday Money Live

Dr Alex Curmi — Consultant psychiatrist

Chris Williams — Founder and Chief Executive, ISB Global

Convenience culture's inconvenient truth

Policing has always embraced new technologies and Artificial Intelligence is, of course, the flavour of the month. Working out when and why it should be used is crucial, according to law enforcement specialists. What’s also important is ensuring appropriate human oversight. 

Future Tense - The creeping militarisation of our police

Guests

Dr Marion Oswald – Professor of Law, Northumbria University 

Philip Lukens – Former Police Chief, Alliance, Nebraska. Data-driven policing analyst 

Dr Nick Evans – Lecturer and researcher, Tasmanian Institute of Law Enforcement Studies, University of Tasmania 

Dr Terry Goldsworthy – Associate Professor in Criminology, Bond University

Perspectives on the potential of AI-powered policing

How real is the link between Artificial Intelligence and increased productivity? Jon Whittle from the CSIRO, one of Australia's leading science agencies, has been examining the latest research. He helps us sort facts from fiction. Also, literacy and problem-solving skills have taken a dive in many developed countries — could an over-reliance on technology be part of the problem? And why understanding the literary style "Magic Realism" could help in developing better regulation for AI.

Guests

Jovan Kurbalija — Executive Director, Diplo Foundation

Professor Jon Whittle — Data61 Director, CSIRO

Andreas Schleicher — Director for Education and Skills, OECD

The truth about AI and productivity

Methane levels are going up — not down, despite decades spent trying to reduce emissions from agriculture and landfill. But some countries are bucking the trend, we find out who and how.

Breeding sheep and cattle to burp less is one way to reduce methane emissions. ABC Top 5 Science Residency recipient Luisa Olmo talks us through a genetic selection programme that could lead the way forward.

Guests

Dr Ed Clayton – Ruminant nutritionist, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

Professor Sam Clark – Professor of Animal Genetics, University of New England

Dr Pep Canadell – Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO Environment

Producer

Dr Luisa Olmo — Research Officer, Meat Science and Value Chains, NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development

The role genetics could play in bringing down Methane levels

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