Applied science fiction collaborator and zoefuturism writer Stephen Oram joins me to explore how policy, technology, and evolving culture shape the futures we imagine. We chat about his work as a former UK Department for Education policy lead, and the UK’s post‑EU search for identity, before exploring his collaborations with scientists — using bespoke fiction to spark public engagement. Stephen explains zoefuturism, an emerging lens on constant becoming and relational life, and contrasts it with much of modern transhumanism.

We also discuss whether humanity has a future without AI, cyber-organic ecosystems, and whether humanity should settle other worlds.

Books of his we discuss: Brain Fruit, We Are Not Anonymous, Fluence

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Swedish video game industry veteran David Polfeldt—former managing director at Massive Entertainment—has recently channelled some of his energy into rediscovering the youthful excitement of creativity through his science fiction writing and the creation of Lil Factory, a design-led press publishing limited-edition sci-fi/fantasy books.

In this episode, we delve into Sweden’s changing social fabric and why Malmö’s “dangerous city” reputation doesn’t match daily reality. We trace David’s 30-year path through video game development—from Stockholm’s demo scene to AAA games - and why he thinks video games still haven’t found their “Shakespeare." And we discuss Burns, his story about loneliness and machine sentience.

We also explore generative AI as NPC companions, the ethics of creating minds treated as tools, possible modes of physical expression that extradimensional beings might take in our world, and whether advanced intelligence would shepherd life rather than destroy it.

Books of his we discuss: Burns

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Australian writer Alistair Conwell transforms four degrees across business and psychology, and years of transformative travel through Europe, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent into his novel The Circadian Web: The Space of Time. We discuss how his experiences have influenced his thoughts on topics ranging from the Audible Life Stream and meditation to quantum physics, from consciousness and the costs of modern technology to where the chaos of the modern world might be headed — and what a deeper spiritual shift in humanity could mean for the future.

Our conversation ranges from organizational culture and the “bad apple” myth to the idea of institutions and nations as emergent minds, including the tensions around immigration and identity. We also chat about the power dynamics threaded through The Circadian Web, the geopolitics behind its futuristic settings (Australia, America, and Taiwan), and why Alistair treats a neural AI implant as a character with its own agency.

Books of his we discuss: The Circadian Web: The Space of Time, The Audible Life Stream

www.facebook.com/AlistairConwell/

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