What if the people best equipped to shape tomorrow aren’t engineers first—but emotional athletes? Our guest, Ahmed Best—actor, educator, Afrofuturist, and the pioneering performer behind Jar Jar Binks—shows how art can lead technology, not chase it. From South Bronx summers where hip‑hop was born to conversations with George Lucas at Lucasfilm, Ahmed traces a life lived at the edge of invention and explains why trusting artists to drive the tools changed cinema—and could change the future.

We dive into dramatic narrative design, the class he created to teach future‑fluent storytelling that centers collaboration over hierarchy. Ahmed breaks down how performance capture emerged by following the actor, how the “used future” aesthetic reframed sci‑fi, and why the fundamentals of drama never age even as mediums flip from film stock to digital sensors and now to AI. He sees today’s AI as a creative accelerator that removes costly bottlenecks so humans can spend more time on what matters: feeling, choosing, and crafting meaning.

Then we open up Afrofuturism through Afrohythms, the worldbuilding game he co‑created with Dr. Lonny Brooks. Using tension cards—“Black superheroes,” “James Baldwin,” and more—players define shared values, build planets, and practice radical imagination without the fear that keeps teams stuck. Ahmed challenges the industry’s obsession with “safe futures,” argues for protopia—incremental betterment we can actually feel—and points us toward the coming “bionexus,” where synthetic biology reshapes identity and possibility.

If you care about culture, technology, and where they meet, this conversation is a map and a spark. Subscribe to Think Forward, share this episode with a friend who loves bold ideas, and leave a review to tell us the protopian story you want to help build.

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Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

We talk with Peter von Stackelberg about humility in consulting, why timeframes matter, and how narrative foresight turns data into action. We trace his path from journalism to futures, explore exploratory forecasts, and unpack story worlds, transmedia, and cycles.

• building trust through listening and humility
• why clear timeframes beat vague “someday” futures
• exploratory forecasts with indicators and course corrections
• using story to turn data into lived context
• transmedia and story universes for sustained engagement
• the layered timeline of trends, STEEP, and K-waves
• what tracked in war, religion, and social change
• a global platform for co-creating future stories
• where to access Peter’s research and timelines

For you to like and subscribe if you're watching this on YouTube, or to subscribe and leave a review on your favorite podcast player

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

Peter Hayward shares his journey from a problem-solving tax professional to becoming one of the most influential futures educators, training hundreds of futurists and co-creating the renowned FuturePod podcast series.

• Finding foresight in mid-career after experiencing existential questioning about purpose
• Joining Richard Slaughter's first Master of Foresight class before eventually succeeding him
• Understanding foresight as developmental - evolving as human consciousness evolves
• Discovering that people seek futures thinking when they can't yet articulate what they want to become
• Recognizing that organizations don't have futures - only people have futures
• Building organizational foresight by aligning personal purpose with organizational purpose
• Creating a "dance" between delivering immediate value and creating space for longer-term thinking
• Using AI as a tool while maintaining human responsibility for context and moral judgment
• Working with frontline employees who bring sophisticated real-world thinking to futures work
• Grounding all futures work in a clear moral foundation, as Wendell Bell advocated

Reach out if you're interested in being featured on FuturePod - Peter welcomes hearing from people who believe they have something valuable to contribute to futures conversations.

FuturePod: www.futurepod.com

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

What if the key to understanding tomorrow lies not in boardroom predictions but in the rhythms of a DJ's turntable? Derek Woodgate, with his 30+ years as an experimental futurist, takes us on a fascinating journey through his unique approach to futures thinking that blends underground arts with rigorous analysis.

Derek reveals how his background in music management (working with bands like Swans and Sonic Youth) and his immersion in early digital communities shaped his distinctive methodology. "Think like a DJ," he explains, involves deconstructing concepts completely before rebuilding them into something revolutionary. This process requires skills beyond traditional analysis – demanding intuition, comfort with paradox, and the ability to see connections where others don't.

• Bringing music, art, and cultural experiences into futures work through "think like a DJ" methodology
• Breaking concepts down to their elements and reconstructing them with fresh perspectives
• Finding "colors that are missing" and identifying rhythms between the beats when analyzing trends
• Leveraging intuition and creativity alongside analytical skills for deeper futures insights
• Balancing professional futurism work with real-world immersion in emerging cultural movements
• Developing new educational approaches that break down silos for complex problem-solving
• Working with AI as a collaborative tool while preserving uniquely human foresight abilities
• Understanding "rebel laboratories" and underground innovation that signals future directions
• Living the future rather than just studying it to better anticipate coming challenges

If you'd like to connect with Derek, you can reach him at dwoodgate@futures-lab.com where he welcomes conversations about futures thinking.

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

Welcome to this episode of Think Forward! In this episode, we sit down with Cécile Cremer, founder of Wandering the Future, joins us to challenge conventional wisdom about how we prepare for tomorrow's challenges. With refreshing candor, she explains why she's moving away from traditional trend reports toward a more collaborative approach to future-building. "I truly believe that the future should be co-created with people from all over the world," she shares, questioning how much real influence isolated trend forecasting actually has on shaping our collective tomorrow

• Moving beyond trend reports to co-create futures with diverse perspectives
• The Future Fluent Framework: developing resilience, adaptivity, and consciousness
• Why mindset must precede strategy for meaningful transformation to occur
• Making futures thinking accessible through education and physical trend walls
• Democratizing future literacy by teaching it alongside fundamental subjects in schools
• How even small innovations can create a significant positive impact when guided by futures thinking
• The importance of taking personal responsibility for shaping our collective futures

Connect with Cecile Kramer on LinkedIn or visit wanderingthefuture.com to learn how you can build a more resilient and hopeful future.

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Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

What happens when you hold an artifact from a future that doesn't exist yet? A newspaper headline from 2045, a product manual for technology not yet invented, or a social media post from an entirely different world? These aren't just creative exercises—they're powerful tools for making abstract futures tangible.

Julian Bleecker, one of the pioneering architects of design fiction, takes us on a fascinating journey through his approach to imagining possible tomorrows. Julian shares his journey from building computers in eighth grade to pioneering design fiction, creating tangible artifacts from imaginary futures that spark meaningful conversations about tomorrow's possibilities.

• Discovered a love for technology as a child, building a Xerox 820 computer with an 8-inch floppy drive
• Needed two engineering degrees and a PhD to articulate what he'd been chasing—that "whoa cool feeling" of exploring possibilities
• Created TBD Catalog, a breakthrough project that materialized possible futures through a product catalog format
• Founded Super Seminars as experimental gatherings where no one person is the expert
• Describes design fiction as "future archaeology"—retrieving artifacts from possible futures to understand what those worlds might be like
• Emphasizes imagination as an evolutionary advantage and essential skill that needs regular exercise
• Advocates "imagining harder" as vital for navigating our rapidly changing world
• Recommends doing design fiction exercises 2-3 times weekly, 20 minutes each, to build imaginative fitness
• Works across disciplines, recently bringing design fiction approaches to policy discussions around AI

Find Julian at the following places:
His Patreon (SUPPORT HIM!) https://patreon.com/nearfuturelaboratory

*** The Patreon includes access to the coolest Discord on the planet.

His Podcast (LISTEN TO HIM!) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/near-future-laboratory-podcast/id1546452193

His LinkedIn (CONNECT WITH HIM!)

https://www.linkedin.com/in/julianbleecker

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

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Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

The key to organizational survival lies in embedding foresight deeply into company DNA, creating structures that detect change, understand implications, and adapt accordingly before crises emerge. Futurist Steve Fisher shares practical frameworks for developing this capability, regardless of team size or organizational readiness.

• Four organizational models for implementing foresight: Lone Wolf, Dynamic Duo, Special Forces Unit, and Enterprise Transformation
• Step-by-step implementation playbook covering environmental scanning, scenario thinking, and strategy connection
• Common pitfalls to avoid: academic rabbit holes, crystal ball expectations, shiny object syndrome
• Real-world success stories from retail, manufacturing, and financial services
• Practical tactics anyone can implement tomorrow, from weekly signal drops to future press releases
• DNA integration framework showing progression from basic immune system to full imagination system
• Metrics that actually work for measuring foresight success, beyond traditional ROI
• Strategies for handling resistance from time horizon skeptics, control freaks, and resource guardians

Take the 30-day challenge to start embedding foresight into your organization. Begin with one signal to track, one scenario to explore, or one assumption to challenge. The future belongs to organizations that see it coming, and it's up to you to help develop that vision.

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.

Nicholas Badminton brings a refreshingly grounded yet visionary perspective to futures work, sharing his journey from growing up around a slaughterhouse to delivering over 450 keynotes worldwide as a renowned futurist. His approach focuses on breaking dominant narratives, finding overlooked implications, and helping organizations build futures fluency through practical, integrated methods that drive meaningful transformation.

• Began his futurist journey when his father gave him "The Usborne Book of the Future" at age eight
• Accidentally became known as a futurist after building a reputation for writing about humanity and technology
• Developed a modular keynote approach that connects global megatrends to industry-specific futures
• Created events like Future Camp and Dark Futures to explore cutting-edge thinking in collaborative settings
• Focuses on "hope engineering" - combining possibility thinking with futures work and positive psychology
• Advocates for simple, practical futures thinking that can be integrated into daily organizational operations
• Emphasizes human creativity over AI in futures work, noting AI's inability to connect weak signals creatively
• Worked with major organizations on futures projects that informed multi-billion dollar investments
• Helps organizations develop internal futures capability by mentoring staff and integrating foresight practices
• Values working with children and young people to develop futures thinking abilities early

Connect with Nicholas at futurist.com or find him on LinkedIn to learn more about his work in futures thinking.

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Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/think-forward-conversations-with-futurists-innovators-and-big-thinkers/id1736144515

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0IOn8PZCMMC04uixlATqoO

Web: https://thinkforward.buzzsprout.com/

Thank you for joining me on this ongoing journey into the future. Until next time, stay curious, and always think forward.