So many of us seem to be scrambling to understand where the world is heading. Decade-old certainties seem to crumble before our eyes. Perhaps we are reaching the moment that Karl Marx predicted when all that is solid melts into air. But don’t panic. In their brand-new podcast, Future Discontinuous, hosts Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett are seeking out some of the brightest minds on the planet to help you navigate your way through this uncharted ocean. We will learn whether technology really can prevent climate change, whether the current economic headwinds are temporary or structural, whether Russia and China are forever friends, and whether social media are turning us all into zombies. But unlike many podcasts, we will also be looking for answers. After almost a century of steady progress in health and prosperity, people no longer expect their lives to be an upgrade on that of their parents. Misha and Eva will be asking guests whether such trends can be reversed or whether we will sink into another period of conflict both within and between states. Things may look bleak on the surface, but around the globe, human ingenuity continues to draw on diverse traditions to create systems that will overcome or circumvent the political, social, and economic dangers that are all too visible.
Our hosts: Misha Glenny is the Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences and one of the BBC’s most distinguished correspondents, as well as the presenter of the highly-praised podcast How to Invent a Country. Eva Konzett is a renowned editor and reporter for Vienna’s leading news magazine, Falter.
About our show: Future Discontinuous: Smart Talk with Smart People is a co-production of Falter and the IWM Vienna.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
So many of us seem to be scrambling to understand where the world is heading. Decade-old certainties seem to crumble before our eyes. Perhaps we are reaching the moment that Karl Marx predicted when all that is solid melts into air. But don’t panic. In their brand-new podcast, Future Discontinuous, hosts Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett are seeking out some of the brightest minds on the planet to help you navigate your way through this uncharted ocean. We will learn whether technology really can prevent climate change, whether the current economic headwinds are temporary or structural, whether Russia and China are forever friends, and whether social media are turning us all into zombies. But unlike many podcasts, we will also be looking for answers. After almost a century of steady progress in health and prosperity, people no longer expect their lives to be an upgrade on that of their parents. Misha and Eva will be asking guests whether such trends can be reversed or whether we will sink into another period of conflict both within and between states. Things may look bleak on the surface, but around the globe, human ingenuity continues to draw on diverse traditions to create systems that will overcome or circumvent the political, social, and economic dangers that are all too visible.
Our hosts: Misha Glenny is the Rector of the Institute for Human Sciences and one of the BBC’s most distinguished correspondents, as well as the presenter of the highly-praised podcast How to Invent a Country. Eva Konzett is a renowned editor and reporter for Vienna’s leading news magazine, Falter.
About our show: Future Discontinuous: Smart Talk with Smart People is a co-production of Falter and the IWM Vienna.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
There is no shortage of critical commentary on the dizzying pace of developments in artificial intelligence. Yet, few do it as astutely as Karen Hao, whose award-winning book, Empire of AI, unveils the inner workings of OpenAI and the tech sector more broadly, shining a light on an industry marked by both grandiose proclamations and notorious secrecy. In this episode of Future Discontinuous, hosts Misha Glenny and Eva Konzett revisit some of Silicon Valley‘s foundational myths and trace the ever-increasing impact of AI on our lives. Together with their guest, they examine how OpenAI has become the multi-billion-dollar empire it is today, discuss the differences between AI doomers and AI boomers, and take stock of the environmental costs of the data centers mushrooming around the globe.
Karen Hao is an award-winning journalist and author covering artificial intelligence. Having previously worked as an application engineer for a digital startup, a foreign correspondent for The Wall Street Journal covering American and Chinese tech companies, and a senior AI editor at MIT Technology Review, Hao regularly writes about tech and AI for high-profile publications like The Atlantic. She also leads the AI Spotlight Series, a program that trains journalists to cover AI. Her 2025 book, Empire of AI, was an instant New York Times bestseller.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.