The Disruptors

Andrew Maynard (@2020science) is the Director of the Risk Innovation Lab at Arizona State University, a Professor in the School for the Future of Innovation in Society and the author of Films from the Future: The Technology and Morality of Sci-Fi Movies. Andrew's research focuses on risk innovation and the responsible development and use of emerging technologies. He is especially interested in eff...

Isaac Arthur (@isaac_a_arthur) is a physicist and futurist who runs popular YouTube channel Featured Science and Futurism with Isaac Arthur. Isaac’s popular channel has over 270k subscribers and 20M+ views and a legion of loyal, insightful fans, including his own sub-Reddit. Arthur covers a wide range of futurist and science fiction ideas including cyborgs, androids and artificial intelligence, th...

Sam Watts (@vr_sam) is one of the foremost thinkers on VR and the Director of Immersive Technologies at MakeReal, a company that believes that immersive digital products are transforming the way we work, play and learn. MakeReal makes virtual reality experiences, augmented reality devices, collaborative ‘serious games’ and other tools that support new types of work, play and learning. Sam's passio...

Majora Carter (@MajoraCarter) is an American urban revitalization strategist and broadcast producer/host from the South Bronx in New York whose career has spanned environment, economy, social mobility, and real estate development. Majora’s work has won major awards including a MacArthur ‘genius’ Grant, a Peabody Award, the Rudy Bruner Award Silver Medal, nine honorary doctorates, and is quoted on...

Charles Arthur (@CharlesArthur) is a former technology editor of the Guardian and the author of Cyber Wars: Hacks That Shocked the Business World covering some of the world’s biggest cyber attacks. He also played a large role in the UK’s Free Our Data campaign to persuade the government to make non-personal government data available for free reuse. In today’s episode we discuss: - Thoughts on data...

Byron Reese (@byronreese) is the CEO and publisher of Gigaom, an industry-leading technology research company. Byron’s also an award-winning author, speaker and futurist with a strong conviction that technology will help bring about a new golden age of humanity. Byron holds a number of technology patents and hosts two podcasts about artificial intelligence. He gives talks around the world about ho...

Garry Golden (@garrygolden) is a professionally trained futurist who writes, speaks, and consults on complex issues shaping society and business in the 21st century. He has consulted for Fortune 500 companies, governmental agencies and the US Army on issues related to transportation and mobility, food safety and health, the future of portable power, financial services and much more. Garry teaches...

Robin Chase (@rmchase) is the founder and former CEO of Zipcar, the largest carsharing company in the world; Buzzcar, a carsharing marketplace in France; and GoLoco, an online ridesharing community as well as co-founder of Veniam, a company that moves TBs of data between vehicles and cloud. Her recent book is Peers Inc: How People and Platforms are Inventing the Collaborative Economy and Reinventi...

Ben Hammersley (@benhammersley) is a technologist, futurist author and Editor-at-Large of UK’s WIRED magazine. Ben explores the effects of the internet and the digital network on the world’s business, political and social atmospheres. His latest book, 64 Things You Need to Know Now For Then gives us the essential guide to the things we need to know for life in the 21st century. He’s the writer, ho...

Charlie Hartwell (@ShiftIt_Inst) is an Operating Partner at the Bridge Builders Collaborative, a consumer health tech investment group that invested early in Pear Therapeutics, Insight Timer and Headspace, in addition to being a “Change Agent” focused on igniting consciousness, mindfulness, and creating a more connected human world. In today’s episode we discuss: - Where are headed with consumer h...

Cory Doctorow (@doctorow) is the best selling science fiction author, blogger, and technology activist. He is the co-editor of the popular weblog Boing Boing), a contributor to many magazines, websites, and newspapers and a special consultant to the Electronic Frontier Foundation (eff.org), a non-profit civil liberties group that defends freedom in technology law, policy, standards, and treaties....

Douglas Rushkoff (@rushkoff) is an author, teacher, and documentarian who studies human autonomy in a digital age. He has been named one of the “world’s ten most influential intellectuals” by MIT. Douglas' work explores how different technological environments change our relationship to narrative, money, power, and one another. He coined such concepts as “viral media” and “social currency,” and ha...

Tony Parisi (@auradeluxe) is a virtual reality pioneer, serial entrepreneur, and angel investor. He co-created several, 3D graphics standards, is Head of AR/VR Ad Innovation at Unity Technologies, and author several O’Reilly Media books on virtual reality and WebGL. Today, Tony is has a leading spokesman for the immersive industry and was recently named one of Next Reality’s 30 People to Watch in...

Mary Robinette Kowal (@robinettekowal) is a Nebula- and Hugo-award winning science fiction and fantasy author, a puppeteer, and podcaster. In addition The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel which was nominated for a Hugo in 2019 (sci-fi book of the year award), she’s also the President of the Science Fiction Writers of America, and very involved in the push for diversity in science, STEM, a...

Miguel Arias Cañete (@mac_europa) was the European Commissioner for Climate Action and Energy and led the EU negotiations of the Paris Agreement. He’s now involved with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation which has launched the Prize for Humanity, an annual €1m award for people or organizations from all over the world focused on mitigation of, and adaptation to climate change. Miguel has served the...

Ramez Naam (@ramez) is a computer scientist, futurist, angel investor and award-winning author best known for his Nexus Trilogy: Nexus, Crux and Apex His other (non-fiction) books include: The Infinite Resource: The Power of Ideas on a Finite Planet and More than Human: Embracing the Promises of Biological Enhancement. He's currently co-chair of energy and the environment at Singularity University...

Bruce Schneier (@schneierblog) is an internationally renowned security technologist, called a "security guru" by The Economist. He is the author of 13 books--including: Data and Goliath: The Hidden Battles to Collect Your Data and Control Your World and Click Here to Kill Everybody: Security and Survival in a Hyper-connected World. This episode is a reairing of another we broadcast long ago which...

KE Lanning (@kelanningauthor) is an astrophysicist and sci-fi/speculative fiction author of The Melt Trilogy, a series of dystopian fiction novels set in in a world where climate came much faster than anticipated. She also interviews notable science fiction authors and futurists for FUTURISM magazine. In today’s episode we discuss: - How sci-fi helps humanity cope and prepare for big societal chan...

Morten Bove (@mbove) is the founder and CEO of Wohn Homes, a Danish startup revolutionizing modular, eco-friendly affordable housing designed with tokenized ownership for students. Morten also runs Block21, a blockchain-focused tech podcast on the future of decentralization. In today’s episode we discuss: - How recycled plastic can be used to make sustainable housing - Why inequality is the drivin...

Carinne Chambers-Saini (@carinnechambers) is the founder and CEO of DivaCup, an eco-tech startup focused on making feminine health more sustainable. She’s been awarded the EY Entrepreneur of The Year for Sustainable Products and Services, been recognized as one of Canada’s 40 under 40, and her company, Diva has ranked 138 on the 2018 GROWTH 500 list and 103 on the 2017 PROFIT 500 list, along with...

Amy Harder (@AmyAHarder)is one of the top national energy and climate change reporters in the country, distilling complex energy and climate issues to people outside the industry at Axios. Amy has appeared on PBS’ NewsHour, CSPAN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS, and NPR, among many other media outlets, and regularly speaks at events and panel on climate change. In today’s episode we discuss: - The importanc...

Chip Meakem (@cmeakem) is a co-founder and Managing Partner of Tribeca Venture Partners. Prior to co-founding Tribeca, Chip worked at both Kodiak Venture Partners and DFJ Gotham. Previous notable acquired investments include Appnexus, Ingenio and Q-Link. In today’s episode we discuss: - How quantum computing will change the world forever - What areas Chip sees as the biggest opportunities to inves...

Derek Sivers (@sivers) is a serial entrepreneur, blogger, author and musician who revolutionized the music industry pre-Spotify with CDbaby, the largest online distributor of independent music which he founded accidentally sold in 2008 for $22 million. Before that, he donated the company to a charity to fund public music education. Derek also created a viral TED talk called “How to Start a Movemen...