Show Notes
When it comes to the future, ideas matter. From artists and architects, politicians and prognosticators, the concepts guiding what’s next don’t always mix well with what’s right in front of us. This creates "future shock," the disorienting feeling of change happening faster than we can metabolize it. Today, technologists rip storylines from sci-fi into systems of command and control that only they govern. But they don't hold a monopoly on our future.
In this episode, Nils Gilman, historian, futurist, and Editor-in-Chief of Berggruen Press, walks us through the long arc of humanity's grappling with what comes next and describes a future-industrial complex that emerged from chaos in the 20th century. In moments of civilizational crisis, old systems crack under the pressure of accelerating change and make space for new ways of imagining what's possible. That's what Futurology is for.
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Mentioned in this Episode:
Mandarins of the Future: Modernization Theory in Cold War America — Nils Gilman (Book, 2004)
"Teaching the Future" — Osip Flechtheim (Essay, 1945)
Future Shock — Alvin Toffler (Book, 1970)
Amusing Ourselves to Death — Neil Postman (Book, 1985)
Thinking About the Unthinkable — Herman Kahn (Book, 1962)
Futuredays: A Nineteenth Century Vision of the Year 2000 — Jean Marc Cote (Book, 1988)
The Official Future Is Dead! Long Live the Official Future! — Nils Gilman (Essay, 2017)
Silicon Valley's Organic Intellectuals — Nils Gilman (Essay, Substack)
The Old Regime and the Revolution — Alexis de Tocqueville (Book, 1856)
Where to find Nils Gilman:
Substack: https://nilsgilman.substack.com
Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/nilsgilman.bsky.social
Berggruen Institute: https://berggruen.org/people/nils-gilman
Noema Magazine: https://www.noemamag.com/author/nils-gilman/
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Credits
Executive Producers: Nicolas Berggruen, Nathan Gardels, Nils Gilman, Dawn Nakagawa, & Jason Hoch
Producers: Grant Slater, Alex Gardels, & Nathalia Ramos
Associate Producer: Elissa Mardiney
Theme Music: Marcus Bagala
Audio Engineer: Aaron Bastinelli & Kyle Scott Wilson
Futurology is a production of Studio B and Wavland for the Berggruen Institute in Los Angeles, California.
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