AGETECH AEON - Ep 1

AGETECH AEON - Ep 1

Author: Ampel December 2, 2025 Duration: 20:50

Abby Bloom wants us to face an uncomfortable truth: we need a lot more space and time for care in our culture. A rapidly aging population - living twenty to thirty years longer than the generations preceding - means we're going to have to rethink and redesign our lives, our work and our whole civilisation so that we don't disappear beneath a burden of care that no one can bear alone. How do we make that transition? Abby's new book "The Cost of Not Caring", offers some suggestions. It's the shadow looming over all our bright futures - and it's front and centre on THE NEXT BILLION SECONDS.

The first of two SXSW Sydney 2025 live recordings. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


Ever feel like the world is shifting beneath your feet? That's the sensation The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce captures and explores. Hosted by award-winning futurist and journalist Mark Pesce, this podcast digs into the profound technological and societal transformations happening right now-at a pace humanity has never before experienced. It’s not just speculation; it’s about understanding the forces reshaping how we work, connect, and even think about value and money, so we can navigate today with more clarity. Mark has a knack for untangling complex ideas, making the dizzying rate of change feel comprehensible and, more importantly, actionable. Each episode serves as a guide, helping you piece together what’s coming next from the signals already here. For anyone curious about where science, technology, and global news are steering us, this podcast from Ampel is an essential companion. Tune in to hear thoughtful analysis that connects the dots between emerging trends and your daily decisions, all delivered with an engaging, accessible style. The future isn't a distant abstraction on this show-it's the next billion seconds, and they're already unfolding.
Author: Language: en-au Episodes: 100

The Next Billion Seconds with Mark Pesce
Podcast Episodes
Bonus Ep! Horace Dediu in conversation with Drew Smith [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:51
SPECIAL EPISODE. We were so happy with Special Correspondent Drew Smith’s rich and powerful interview with Horace Dediu, we wanted to share an episode featuring their complete conversation. Drew Smith sat down for an hou…
The Next Billion Cars - Micromobility, and the ‘Rest of World’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:18
What is ‘micromobility’? It’s a philosophy that emphasises choice and urban-centered design in our transportation networks and transport options. Drew Smith speaks with Horace Dediu, the ‘father’ of micromobility, about…
The Next Billion Cars - Hydrogen Vehicles: Liquid Dreams [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 39:36
Long-promised as the ‘fuel of the future’, hydrogen fails to live up to its hype. Co-host Sally Dominguez looks at the the future for big hydrogen-powered vehicles, speaking with Brendan Norman of Australian hydrogen veh…
The Next Billion Cars: Electric Vehicles - Looking for a Charge [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:11
The number of electric cars in Australia doubled in 2022 - yet it remains nearly impossible to buy the model you want, and the nation’s public charging infrastructure remains on the drawing board. Big things will need to…
What's happening to the way we work? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:45
Work futurist Dom Price and resilience expert Sally Dominguez guide us through a new world of work, post-pandemic. Mark speaks with two leaders at the coalface, Julie Watkins, Chief People Officer of Uni Super, and Dr Ra…
A Brief History of the Metaverse: VIRTUALLY EVERYONE [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:05
In the 2010s, VR roared back into life with Oculus, Vive, WebGL and Hololens. Minecraft, Roblox and Fortnite gave millions a deep drink of the potential of the Metaverse. Facebook - renamed Meta - bet the house on the Me…
A Brief History of the Metaverse: Game On! And on and on and on... [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 46:17
In the early 2000s, the Metaverse blossomed into the foundation for a new generation of video games such as 'Ultima Online', and big data 'digital twins' like Google Earth. It's "Game On!" for Tony and Mark - and on and…
A Brief History of the Metaverse: Days of our Second Lives [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:54
In the second half of the 1990s, VRML became the platform of choice for 'virtual worlds' filled with 'avatars' - digital representations of real people. The Web goes big - and stays big - yet VRML crashes back to Earth,…