Miquela Bonferroni, Mark M. Whelan,

Future Fictions Lab : Reverse-Engineering Tomorrow

Society EN ↓ 96 episodes

Join Data Scientist Miquela Bonferroni and Futurist Liam O´Farrell to discuss Future Center´s methodology in the Future Fictions Lab – where we dissect science fiction books, films, and worlds to extract actionable insights for tomorrow’s business, tech, and society. Learn the tools to turn speculative fiction into a competitive advantage, one scenario at a time. Based on the book‘Futurist: How to Forecast with Science Fiction’ by Mark M. Whelan."

Be sure to visit the podcast's website and support the creator: futurecenterventures.com

Author

Miquela Bonferroni, Mark M. Whelan,

Category

Society

Podcast website

futurecenterventures.com

Latest episode

Nov 5, 2026

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Episodes

The Windup Girl 07.05.2026

Set in a future Thailand ravaged by  ecological collapse  and  genetic plagues , these excerpts depict a world where  calorie companies  and  generippers  control the food supply. The narrative follows  Anderson Lake , an undercover corporate operative seeking a legendary  seedbank , and  Emiko , a genetically engineered "windup girl" struggling for autonomy. Amidst the sweltering heat o...

The Windup Girl 07.05.2026

Set in a future Thailand ravaged by  ecological collapse  and  genetic plagues , these excerpts depict a world where  calorie companies  and  generippers  control the food supply. The narrative follows  Anderson Lake , an undercover corporate operative seeking a legendary  seedbank , and  Emiko , a genetically engineered "windup girl" struggling for autonomy. Amidst the sweltering heat o...

Minortity report Continuous Surveillance Employers' Pre-Crime Monitoring of Employees 30.04.2026

Minortity report Continuous Surveillance_ Employers' Pre-Crime Monitoring of Employees

Futurescapes: Space and Time in Utopian Discourse 23.04.2026

This collection of scholarly articles investigates the multifaceted relationship between  spatial analysis  and  utopian or science fiction discourses . The authors explore how various "futurescapes," ranging from the  Antarctic ice  to  cyberspace , serve as literary laboratories for experimenting with concepts of  power, progress, and modernity . Several essays examine the  kinetic nat...

Inception and philosophy Evidence Cobb Never Left The Dream. 17.04.2026

This collection of philosophical essays explores the complex themes and narrative layers of the film  Inception , examining how cinematic storytelling intersects with classic intellectual inquiries. The authors analyze  epistemological skepticism , questioning whether one can truly distinguish reality from a dream, and evaluate the  ethics of inception  by comparing it to indoctrination and hypnos...

1984 and Philosophy We Paid To Carry Big Brother. 10.04.2026

This collection of philosophical essays explores the enduring relevance of George Orwell’s  1984  in the context of the  modern digital age . The authors examine how contemporary issues like  mass surveillance ,  algorithmic predictability , and  social media  mirror the oppressive mechanisms of Oceania. Through a philosophical lens, the text analyzes the erosion of  objective truth  and the rise...

the light brigade. 09.04.2026

In the science fiction novel  The Light Brigade  by Kameron Hurley, a recruit named  Dietz  enlists in a corporate military to fight a brutal war against  Mars . Soldiers are deployed via a  teleportation technology  that breaks their bodies into light, but Dietz begins experiencing these "drops"  out of chronological order , witnessing different versions of the future and the past. This...

The Light Brigade. 09.04.2026

In the science fiction novel  The Light Brigade , the protagonist  Dietz  enlists in a corporate military where soldiers are transformed into  interplanetary light particles  to be deployed for battle. The narrative explores the  brutal psychological conditioning  and physical breaking of recruits who are trained to kill with blind obedience in a world dominated by  ruthless corporations . During...

Count Zero 03.04.2026

This text contains excerpts from the science fiction novel  Count Zero , the second installment of William Gibson’s  Sprawl Trilogy . The narrative follows three primary threads: a corporate extraction expert named  Turner  who protects a high-value defector, a gallery owner named  Marly  investigating mysterious robotic art for the tycoon  Josef Virek , and a young hacker named  Bobby  who surviv...

Count Zero an Explainer 27.03.2026

This text contains excerpts from the science fiction novel  Count Zero , the second installment of William Gibson’s  Sprawl Trilogy . The narrative follows three primary threads: a corporate extraction expert named  Turner  who protects a high-value defector, a gallery owner named  Marly  investigating mysterious robotic art for the tycoon  Josef Virek , and a young hacker named  Bobby  who surviv...

The Peripheral Echoes of the Peripheral: A Future History of Stubs 20.03.2026

Echoes of the Peripheral: A Future History of Stubs This science fiction narrative explores a  collision between two timelines : a near-future rural American  "stub"  and a post-apocalyptic, high-tech future London. The protagonist,  Flynne Fisher , witnesses a murder while piloting a drone in what she believes is a video game, only to discover she is actually remotely operating a  &quot...

The Peripheral Timeline Stubs and the Jackpot Apocalypse 13.03.2026

This science fiction narrative explores a  collision between two timelines : a near-future rural American  "stub"  and a post-apocalyptic, high-tech future London. The protagonist,  Flynne Fisher , witnesses a murder while piloting a drone in what she believes is a video game, only to discover she is actually remotely operating a  "peripheral"  body in the future. As she and her brother  Burton  n...

The philosopher at the end of tThe universe 11.03.2026

In this book,  Mark Rowlands  explores the  foundational problems of philosophy  by analyzing popular  science fiction cinema . He argues that  lowbrow movies  often illustrate deep intellectual concepts more effectively than high-art films. By using titles like  The Matrix  and  Total Recall , Rowlands examines the  clash between internal and external perspectives  on existence, knowledge, and pe...

Talking to Robots. 05.03.2026

Talking to Robots.

Talking to Robots 05.03.2026

Talking to Robots

Futurescapes: Space and Time in Utopian Discourse 26.02.2026

This podcast investigates the multifaceted relationship between  spatial analysis  and  utopian or science fiction discourses . The authors explore how various "futurescapes," ranging from the  Antarctic ice  to  cyberspace , serve as literary laboratories for experimenting with concepts of  power, progress, and modernity . Several essays examine the  kinetic nature  of modern utopias, c...

Pierre Wack´s Zen Strategic Foresight 23.02.2026

The podcast details how Wack integrated  Eastern spiritual practices , particularly  Zen Buddhism  and the teachings of  Indian gurus , into a revolutionary corporate strategy that emphasized  "seeing" reality  over traditional economic forecasting. By identifying  predetermined elements  and challenging the rigid  mental models  of executives, Wack successfully helped Shell navigate the...

Future fictions Ghost Fleet Next World War 19.02.2026

Future fictions Ghost Fleet Next World War

Synthetic Rising The Fall of 01 09.02.2026

Synthetic Rising The Fall of 01

Brave New World Revisited 02.02.2026

Brave New World Revisited

The Three-Body Problem A Cosmic Reckoning 26.01.2026

The Three-Body Problem A Cosmic Reckoning

Schismatrix plus Shapers Versus Mechanists 21.01.2026

This collection of literary excerpts originates from  Schismatrix Plus , a science fiction volume by  Bruce Sterling  that features a novel alongside several connected short stories. The narrative centers on the  Shaper/Mechanist  universe, a future where humanity has split into two warring factions defined by  genetic engineering  and  cybernetic enhancement . Through the perspective of protagoni...

Westworld A Future Gone Awry 19.01.2026

Westworld A Future Gone Awry

Diamond Age 19.01.2026

Diamond Age

In the Beginning Was the Command Line 12.01.2026

In the Beginning Was the Command Line

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