If you want to step in and protest, go to episode 22: Stop the Robot. If you want to let it go and let them run the show, go to episode 23: Trust the Robot Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith...

If you want to drop your masters and shift things around, go to episode 20: Drop Out of School. If you want to go for the loan, go to episode 21: Take Out a Loan. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith...

If you want to handle the car and then work from there, go to episode 18: Handle it Yourself. If you want to hire someone, go to episode 19: Pay for Help. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani...

The End. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani Jones -- Shara Kirby  Robot #1 -- Ashley Kellem Amy -- Chelsey B Coombs  Vanguard Estates Representative -- Aiya Islam  Missy -- Anjali...

If you want to see if you can take him to Manila, go to episode 16: Go To Manila. If you want to put your foot down and refuse, go to episode 17: Don’t Go To Manila. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith...

If you want to install a robot to bathe him, go to episode 14. Robot Baths. If you want to hire a human, go to episode 15. Human Baths. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani Jones -- Shara...

If you want to stay quiet, go to episode 12: Don’t Tell Him. If you want to say something and tell him about the stove, go to episode 13: Tell Him. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani Jones...

If you want to install cameras in his house go to episode 10: Install Cameras. If you want to move him into your house, go to episode 11: Move Him In. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani...

If you want to fully explain how Missy works, go to episode 8: Explain Missy. If you want to keep things vague go to episode 9: Don’t Explain Missy. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani Jones...

If you want to get in a home robot, go to episode 4: Buy A Home Robot. If you want to try to go without the robot, go to episode 5: Call Him More. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani Jones...

If you want to keep checking in on him with Drop In, go to episode 6: Use Drop-In. If you want to disable Drop In, go to episode 7: Disable Drop-In. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani Jones...

If you want to leave him there, go to episode 2: Stay at Vanguard. If you want to take your dad home, go to episode 3: Bring Him Home. Vanguard Estates is a production of Flash Forward. The story was written by me, Rose Eveleth; edited by Ace Tilton Radcliffe and Georgia Wyatt; and produced by Ozzy Llinas Goodman. The sound design is by Mischa Stanton and music is by Ilan Blanck.  The voice actors for Welcome to Vanguard Estates are: Marcus Jones -- Keith Houston Imani Jones -- Shara...

Oh, hello there. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? I know this feed has been pretty quiet this year, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been working on things. In fact, next week, we’re going to drop a big project called Welcome to Vanguard Estates. It’s a fiction project, that is formatted as a choose your own path story with 14 different endings. So you’ll get a bunch of opportunities to actually pick what happens in the story.  The piece is about aging, and tech, and surveillance, and parents,...

Can you be sued by nature? In some places, the answer is already yes.  Guests: Evelyn Bellanger -- White Earth Band of Ojibwe elder Frank Bibeau -- tribal attorney and a member of the White Earth Band of Ojibwe Nico Albert -- member of the Cherokee Nation and the executive chef of Burning Cedar Indigneous Foods Jacinta Ruru -- professor of Law at the University of Otago in New Zealand Thomas Linzey -- Senior Legal Counsel for the Center for Democratic and Environmental...

Today’s episode is the last of our FOUR PART MINI SEASON SERIES AND SHOW FINALE [airhorn noises]. This week we’re headed to a future where humans share our robotic knowledge with the rest of the animal kingdom—for better, and for worse. ✨✨ TAKE THE LISTENER SURVEY HERE ✨✨ ⭐⭐ SIGN UP FOR THE NEWSLETTER HERE  ⭐⭐ Guests: Dr. Kate Darling, a researcher at the MIT Media Lab and author of The New Breed: What Our History with Animals Reveals about Our Future with Robots. Emma Marris, a...

Today we travel to a future where we can take a robot home for a good time, or a long time, depending on what you’re into. Content note: today’s episode discusses sex and includes explicit language. This one is more “mature” than most episodes, so proceed accordingly.  ✨ REMEMBER TO SIGN UP FOR THE WRAP PARTY HERE! ✨ Guests: Tina Horn: author of SFSX (Volume 2 out now) and host of Why Are People Into That?  Danielle Blunt: dominatrix and community organizer with...

Today we travel to a future where militaries employ killer robots. Should a robot be allowed to take a human life? Is the speed of war increasing too quickly? What does a tech worker do when they find out their work is being used for war? Guests: Kelsey Atherton, a reporter who covers military technology. Ryan Calo, a professor of law at the University of Washington. Dr. Ryan Jenkins, an associate professor of philosophy at California Polytechnic State University. Liz O’Sullivan, the...

Today’s episode is part one in our FOUR PART MINI SEASON SERIES AND SHOW FINALE [airhorn noises]. We’re going out with a robotic bang: four episodes about four different ways that robots might impact your life in the future, starting with sports. Also, you'll hear a special announcement about the future of the show. For more about that go here. Guests: Joe Choong, gold medalist in the Tokyo Olympic games in modern pentathlon. Dr. Peter Stone, a professor of computer science at the...

Today’s episode is about a future where humans learn how to shrink ourselves. What are the ethics of making someone smaller against their will? Would we keep all our fingers and toes? Would we even be considered humans anymore? Guests: Dr. Fei Chen, an assistant professor of stem cell and regenerative biology at Harvard. Dr. Jonathan Payne, a professor of geological sciences at Stanford. Dr. Sebastian Alvarado, an assistant professor of biology at Queens College, CUNY. Dr. Joyce Lee,...

Today’s episode is all about making our technologies and medicines tiny. Like, super tiny.  Guests: Ainissa Ramirez -- scientist, speaker, author of The Alchemy of Us Eun Ji Chung -- biomedical engineer at the University of Southern California Inge Hermann -- chemical engineer at ETH Zürich Raj Bawa -- biotechnologist at Bawa Biotech  Richard Handy -- environmental toxicologist at University of Plymouth Lisa Yaszek -- professor of science fiction studies at Georgia Tech Voice...

Today we travel to a future where your face is findable no matter where you go.  Guests: Scott Myers — former editor of the Perplex City Wiki Laura E. Hall — game designer and author of Planning Your Escape Tom-Lucas Säger — technologist & Satoshi finder Stan Alcorn — senior reporter at Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting Erin — long lost camp friend Dr. Kate Klonick — assistant professor of law at St. John’s University School of Law → → → Further reading...

Today we revisit an episode from way back in season one, and ask: what even is gender in the first place? How could it be different? Why does science fiction like playing with gender? And what would happen if we removed it from our legal identities? Guests: Os Keyes, a PhD student at the University of Washington who studies gender, disability, and technology. Dr. Flora Renz, co-director of the Centre for Sexuality, Race and Gender Justice at Kent Law School. Tuck Woodstock, a...

Today’s episode is all about fire: how does it work? Why is it so dangerous? And could we ever make it safe? And it's an extra special episode because it's hosted by Julia Llinas Goodman! Guests: John Lentini, a certified fire investigator who has served as an expert witness in over 200 legal cases. Dr. Lynn Hulse, a psychologist with the University of Greenwich’s Fire Safety Engineering Group. Nisha Baliga, the co-executive director of urban planning nonprofit Hester Street, and Jimena...

Today’s episode is about a future where the economy revolves around gifts, instead of money. Guests: Ilana Strauss, a journalist and producer at National Geographic’s podcast, “Overheard.” Dr. Niels Thygesen, an associate professor at the Copenhagen Business School. Dr. James Parisot, a researcher at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley and author of How America Became Capitalist: Imperial Expansion and the Conquest of the West. Dr. Anna Grear, a professor of law at Cardiff...

Today’s episode is about a future where humans get weird with sleep. First, what if we tried to take shifts all day, every day? Second, what if we tried to become nocturnal? Guests: Dr. Matthew Wolf-Meyer, an associate professor of anthropology at Binghamton University and author of The Slumbering Masses: Sleep, Medicine, and Modern American Life. Sarah Kaplan, a science reporter at the Washington Post who’s worked the night shift. Dr. Bala Koritala, a researcher at Cincinnati...