Climate Change — Podcast

Thriving in the Workplace of Tomorrow with Dr. Gabriella Rosen Kellerman

The world is changing faster than ever. The “Accelerating Rate of Change” suggests that humans will experience exponential rates of change this century. With the first quarter of the century nearly complete, there is little evidence that these predictions are false. We’ve seen massive changes in healthcare and medical technology, Artificial Intelligence has moved from potential to reality, space technology sees breakthroughs on a daily basis, climate change and climate technology are engaged in a battle that could determine the future of humanity, and social trends threaten to further divide us. All these things are true and we haven’t even experienced the potential of quantum computing and fusion energy. That’s a lot of change!

In 2003, Ray Kurzweil said “the 21st century will be equivalent to 20,000 years of progress at today’s rate of progress, which is a thousand times greater than the 20th century.” That’s an unimaginable amount of change that has the potential to steamroll the rigid and those who are convinced that they can continue doing what they have always done. To thrive in a future that moves this quickly requires intention and a rare set of ingredients. These skills will help people flourish in the workplace and in their personal lives.

In this interview, Dr. Gabriella Rosen Kellerman discusses the necessary ingredients to thrive at work now and in the future. She talks about the importance of resilience, creativity and innovation, forming strong social connections, doing work that matters, and being able to identify future scenarios well before they arrive. Most importantly, Gabriella unlocks the secrets for building our skills in each of these areas.

Gabriella Rosen Kellerman is an author, entrepreneur, start-up executive, and Harvard-trained physician with expertise in behavioral and organizational, change, digital health, wellbeing, and AI. Her first book, Tomorrowmind, co-authored with Professor Martin Seligman, will be published by Atria in January 2023. She has served as Chief Product Officer and Chief Innovation Officer at BetterUp, a transformation platform for global professionals, and as Head of BetterUp Labs, BetterUp’s research arm, which studies whole person development in partnership with labs at Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, Stanford, and many more.

A Planet of 3 Billion with Dr. Christopher Tucker

On November 15, 2022, it is estimated that for the first time Earth’s population exceeded 8 billion humans. But what is Earth’s sustainable carrying capacity of humans? Dr. Christopher Tucker is the Chairman of the American Geographic Society and author of the book “A Planet of 3 Billion.” He believes that we have far exceeded a sustainable number of humans on the planet and says that we are headed toward a catastrophic outcome if we don’t start significantly reducing the overall population of the planet by the end of the century.

In this interview, Dr. Tucker shares why the education and empowerment of young women and girls is the key to reducing global population to a more manageable carrying capacity. He talks about how we can avoid catastrophe by “shrinking to abundance,” how leaders should be thinking about global population and a future that may not be incented by growth, and he gives his very candid, critical assessment of people and countries that say we need to continue growing Earth’s population. He finishes the interview by talking about the mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief.

Dr. Christopher Tucker has spent the last two decades at the intersection of technology, strategy, geography and national security as an innovator, investor, social entrepreneur, author, and strategic advisor to the US national security community. As Chairman of the American Geographical Society, he launched a multi-year strategic dialog known as Geography2050, focused on the vital trends that will reshape the geography of our planet over the coming decades. He has served on a wide variety of public sector, corporate, and non-profit boards. He holds a BA, MA, and PhD from Columbia University. His passion for geography and the fate of future generations animates this work.

The Good Future: Life in 2053 with Gerd Leonhard

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, Gerd Leonhard paints a picture life in 2053 with a focus on how humans have the power to create lives enhanced by food, water, and energy abundance. He calls this “The Good Future.” He reminds us that the future is not about what is possible…it is about what we want. Among the topics Gerd discusses are uploading our brains to the internet, quantum computing, nuclear fusion, climate change and the technologies that will be created to manage it, and how movements will drive politicians to make the changes necessary to enable this good future to happen. Gerd finishes the interview with a discussion about what humans are doing today, including our use of fossil fuels, the way work is currently structured, and the importance of nation states, that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief.

Based in Zurich, Switzerland, Gerd is one of the world’s leading futurists and the author of Technology vs Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine. With the motto “People, Planet, Purpose, and Prosperity,” Gerd is an outspoken critic of unregulated exponential technologies. He uses his influence and platform to help people “imagine and create a better tomorrow” and was named one of Wired UK’s 100 Most Influential Europeans in 2015.

Life in 2073 with Futurist Glen Hiemstra

For the Summer of 2023, a dozen futurists talk about what life will be like for humans in 30 to 50 years. Each guest is asked to paint a picture of the changes that we will experience between now and 2053 or 2073. Then they are asked what mistakes we are making today that the people of 2073 will look back at in disbelief. The goal of these episodes is to spark the imagination of listeners about the future we have the ability to create.

In this episode, futurist Glen Hiemstra paints a picture of life in 2073 with an emphasis on the continued growth of cities around the world, the near-complete electrification of transportation, the augmentation of labor through intelligent machines, and the growth of the global middle class. Glen also shares three potential scenarios for the evolution of global governance and how the space exploration happening today will it will set the stage for a space economy in the decades to come.

Glen Hiemstra started his career as a college professor at Whitworth University, the University of Washington, and Antioch University, Seattle. For the last 40 years he has been working as a professional futurist. He is also an author, keynote speaker, and consultant to business, professional and government organizations. The founder of Futurist.com, he serves as Futurist Emeritus on the Futurist.com Think Tank. The site is regularly visited by people from over 120 nations. Glen has also served as a Technical Advisor to future-oriented television programs and he still advises and appears in documentaries. He is the author of Turning the Future into Revenue and co-author of Strategic Leadership, and of Millennial City.

“Space is full of resources - from water to minerals of all kinds to hydrogen…we just haven’t ever thought of that being accessible to us. Imagine a future 50 years from now where that is pretty easily accessible to us…it is quite feasible to think of a future in which tens of thousands of people by 2073 will be living and working in low-Earth orbit, between here and the moon, on the moon, on Mars, on certain moons of other planets, and so on.” Futurist Glen Hiemstra talking about the potential of space exploration over the next 50 years.

Raising Resilient Children with Dr. Ann Masten

Dr. Ann Masten is a professor at the University of Minnesota who has been studying resilience in children and families facing adversity for more than 40 years.

In this interview, Dr. Masten shares the factors that contribute to positive development of children, how the pandemic put children at risk during the lockdown and in the months since, and what children who live through stressful circumstances can gain by enduring those hardships. Dr. Masten addresses the downside of “helicopter” or “snowplow” parents who are overly protective and remove obstacles in the way of their children. She also discusses how bullying, social media use, and climate change are challenging young people in ways that previous generations never experienced.

Dr. Ann Masten is a Regents Professor, Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Development and Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the Institute of Child Development in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota. She studies competence, risk, and resilience in development, with a focus on the processes leading to positive adaptation and outcomes in children and families whose lives are threatened by adversity. The goal of her work is to inform science, practice, and policy seeking to understand and promote human adaptation and resilience. She is the author or co-author of many articles on the subjects of childhood resilience, development, and motivation. She is also the author of the 2014 book “Ordinary Magic: Resilience in Development.”

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