We’re back for Season 2 of The Future With Friends, and we’re kicking things off by exploring the future of protest with special guest, journalist and soon-to-be author Kath Walters.

Kath brings decades of experience to the conversation. From her early days in the protest movements of the 1970s, to a career in journalism holding power to account, to now experimenting with AI and writing fiction about the future, she has spent a lifetime thinking about how stories shape the world we live in.

She shares a future scenario set in March 2035 in The Rocks, Sydney, where she stands among 500,000 people protesting for climate action alongside her daughter. But the real conversation goes far deeper than the scenario itself. Kath reflects on what would actually need to change between now and 2035 for a moment like that to happen, and why hopeful visions of the future can be just as powerful as dystopian ones in driving action.

Together, Kath and Simon explore the evolution of activism, the forgotten history of successful protest movements, and the role of writers, artists and storytellers in shaping what people believe is possible. They discuss strategy, community, joy, and why protest isn’t just about anger. It’s also about connection, creativity and reclaiming a sense of collective agency.

It’s an enlightening, engaging and energising conversation that will leave you thinking differently about protest and feeling far less powerless about the future.

This is the final episode of The Future With Friends for the year, and Simon Waller is joined by Steph Clarke—returning to the podcast as the very first guest and therefore self-appointed (and largely uncontested) holder of “best friend” status.

It’s also a slightly different format. Rather than exploring a single future, Simon and Steph arrive armed with duelling scenarios—each having written their own version of the future of Christmas set in 2051ish. Using scenario thinking, humour, and just enough provocation, they imagine how one of our most entrenched rituals might evolve—and what that says about us.

Steph imagines a future where Christmas shifts to July, shaped by supermarkets, consumer behaviour, and a society increasingly disconnected from seasonal traditions. Simon counters with a darker scenario, where Christmas is gradually co-opted by a political movement, stripped of shared meaning and repurposed as a tool for influence.

Together, these competing futures surface deeper questions about consumerism, power, community, and the role of rituals in a diverse society. As befits the final episode of the year, the conversation meanders into reflections on connection, festive tourism, humour, and why asking better questions matters more than ever.

At its core, this episode isn’t really about Christmas at all. It’s about how we imagine the future, the stories we tell ourselves, and how those stories shape what we choose to protect, change, or let go of.

In this episode of The Future With Friends, Simon is joined by his long-time friend Dr Richard Hodge to explore the future of learning.

Recorded live in collaboration with Melbourne startup Spill Haus, this special episode brings Richard’s calm wisdom and expansive thinking to a topic that is far bigger than any single trend or technology. Described by Simon as the “wise elder everyone wishes they had in their community,” Richard gently stretches the audience’s imagination, inviting them to consider learning not just as a system, but as an evolving human practice.

Rather than narrowing the conversation to AI or digital disruption, Richard holds a much broader space—one that looks at the many facets of learning, how they may unfold in the future, and what valuable lessons we might carry forward from our past. He explores what we do now, what still matters, and what might deserve deeper reflection as we reimagine how people grow, develop, and make meaning in the decades ahead.

The conversation doesn’t aim to deliver answers. Instead, it offers an open, thoughtful space—true to the purpose of scenario thinking—where curiosity is more valuable than certainty and exploration is the point. Simon describes it as an inspiring exchange filled with intellectually rich ideas and concepts that stay with you long after listening.

At its heart, The Future of Learning invites us to pause, to reflect, and to consider how we might consciously shape the ways we learn—together and for the future.