How We Future with Lisa Kay Solomon

Are sci-fi stories the key to a better future?
This week’s episode of How We Future features Ruth Wylie and Ed Finn, co-directors of the Center for Science and the Imagination at Arizona State University. For nearly 15 years, they've been running what might be the most unusual university center in the country, one that brings together science fiction writers, scientists, artists, and engineers to imagine hopeful, yet practical, futures.
Ruth and Ed describe how they turn imagination into practice: Kids building Scribble Bots and debating who deserves credit when a robot makes art. Commissioning writers worldwide to explore what human flourishing looks like in a warming world. Pairing speculative fiction with expert essays and original artwork, creating story packages that explore what might actually be possible down the line.
In this conversation, you'll learn:
How collaborative worldbuilding helps experts ask each other new questions
What happens when you pair exciting stories with science-backed facts
Why reflecting on the futures you consume in media matters more than you think

Links from the Episode:
Center for Science and Imagination
Smithsonian Futures Exhibit
Book and Articles:
Frankenstein at 200, Ed Finn, New York Times
Step Into the Free and Infinite Laboratory of the Mind, Ed Finn, Issues in Science and Technology
Collaborative Imagination: A Methodical Approach, Ruth Wylie and Ed Finn, Science Direct
Climate Imagination: Dispatches from Hopeful Futures, edited by Joey Escrich and Ed Finn
A Rewilded Mind, Corey Pressman, CSI Imagination Fellow
When Robot and Crow Saved East St. Louis by Anna Lee Newitz
Exercises and Resources:
Frankenstein Kit, Resources created by CSI
Futures by Choice, Futures by Chance, CSI
CSI Resources for Teachers
Solar Tomorrow Resources, CSI (Great for Educators!)
Postcards from the Future, Futures Exercise from CSI

Are you being a good ancestor?
This episode of How We Future features public philosopher Roman Krznaric, author of The Good Ancestor and History for Tomorrow, to explore how we can break free from short-term thinking and start planning in generations, not quarters.
Roman argues we all have two competing forces. The marshmallow brain seeks instant gratification. The acorn brain enables long-term thinking, the kind that built sewers in 19th century London for a much larger future population. History shows what's possible when we activate that capacity.
Roman shares practical steps to become better ancestors, from giving children your vote to building social cohesion through community action. He offers examples of things that went right in history and the importance of recognizing what we should repeat, not just what we shouldn’t.
In this conversation, you'll learn:
Why long-term thinking is wired into our brains and how to activate it
What it takes for real transformative change to happen
Why social trust matters more than technology for our survival
Roman sees signs of change, from the EU creating an Intergenerational Fairness Index to educators teaching students to think like futurists, not just historians. The future is ours to create together.
Links from the episode:
Roman Krznaric Site
Roman’s new online course: Long-Term Thinking for a Short-Term World
Book: The Good Ancestor: A Radical Prescription for Long Term Thinking
Book: History for Tomorrow: Inspiration from the Past for the Future of Humanity
Book: Empathy: Why It Matters, and How to Get It
TED Talk: Lessons from History for a Better Tomorrow
TED Talk: How to be a Good Ancestor
New View EDU podcast for school leaders with Roman Krnaric
Long Now Talk: Roman Kzrnaric and Kate Raworth

The future is a paradox we have to learn to hold.
In this episode of How We Future, Lisa Kay Solomon is joined by Pascal Finette, Co-Founder of radical, an organization that offers strategic advice to help leaders build organizations that strengthen under stress instead of breaking. Over nearly three decades, Pascal has led transformations at eBay, Mozilla, and Google, and he brings refreshing honesty about what it really takes to navigate uncertainty.
The conversation centers on a simple question Pascal asks thousands of executives: "The future is ___." How you fill in that blank reveals everything. Some say bright. Some say terrifying. Pascal argues we need to hold both views at once because the future genuinely is contradictory. He and Lisa talk about the danger of the "official future," that narrow path organizations and people lock themselves into that leaves them brittle when inevitable shocks arrive.
In this conversation, you'll learn:
Why holding opposing views of the future at once is essential
Why curiosity is the most important muscle for navigating change
What anti-fragility means in practice and how it differs from resilience
Pascal encourages listeners to ask more meaningful questions about their role in society rather than just focusing on quarterly profits. The future, he reminds us, is ours to create.
Links from the episode:
Radical Briefing
The Heretic x GYSHIDO
The Official Future Trap
Pascal’s Disruption Mapping Exercise

The best way to unstick the present is to think further into the future.
In this episode of How We Future, Lisa Kay Solomon sits down with Aditi Juneja, Executive Director of Democracy 2076, to explore how thinking 50 years ahead can break down current obstacles and make seemingly unrealistic hopes feel very possible. Democracy 2076 helps us plan democracy not for the next election cycle, but for the next 50 years.
The conversation reveals how the media we consume shapes our perception of what democracy looks like. From Scandal normalizing election fraud to The West Wing making some viewers think our government is running smoothly, Aditi's research uncovers how TV shows and movies are quietly teaching us civics.
You'll also hear:
Why a 50-year timeline makes change feel possible instead of impossible
What happens when people sit down to design constitutional amendments together
Why we need to give people a menu of possibilities, not just ask them to imagine the future
The episode closes with practical advice for staying resilient in noisy political times. Thank you, Aditi, for joining How We Future!
Links from the episode:
Democracy 2076
Report co-authored with Harmony Labs on how media shapes people’s attitudes about the problems facing democracy
The Long-Term Futures Work of Building a Better Democracy
A Constitution for 2076
Pro-Democracy Political Coalitions for 2076

Can graphic design be a force for good?
In this episode of How We Future, Lisa sits down with Franzi Sessler, the co-founder of global design agency Kreatives, to explore how design, storytelling, and creativity can shape better futures.
Recently, Franzi, and her team have made stunning sports explainers for the Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Winter Games. Their collaboration with Allianz and the International Paralympic Committee started in 2024, when her team created animated explainers for all 22 Paralympic sports, helping millions of viewers understand and enjoy the amazing athletes and games.
The conversation also touches on projects like All Vote No Play and Futures Happening, revealing how design can activate civic imagination, build momentum, and turn uncertainty into possibility. Throughout, Franzi shows what’s possible when constraints are treated as creative fuel and when imagination is taken seriously.
In this conversation, you’ll learn:
How design can close the gap between confusion and connection
Why constraints often unlock the best ideas
What it takes to design with trust, empathy, and impact
Links from the episode:
Kreatives
Milano Cortina 2026 Paralympic Sports Explainer Videos
Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Sports Explainer Videos
Franzi’s favorite Paralympic Disciplines to Design for: Boccia and Swimming
Paris 2024 Paralympic Sports Explainer Videos
Franzi’s All Vote No Play designs
The Team