Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts

For the past few months now I’ve been listening to podcasts, mostly while I walk the dog, or walk to and from work… occasionally in the bath. As we know there are countless podcasts out there now covering, well, probably any subject you care to imagine… so how do you know which are worth listening to?

I downloaded the first episode of Jon Richardson and the Futurenauts for one simple reason – I happen to enjoy the comedy of Jon Richardson and assumed that was what I would be hearing.

Was it? Well yes… and also very much no! This is not a comedy podcast – it is so much more than that – but that being said there is still a good dose of comedy in there, and sometimes with the subjects covered, you really need a moment of laughter!

Podcast Blurb: It was the best of times. It was the worst of times. Humanity stands at a crossroads. The mighty forces of progress have lifted billions out of poverty. Energy has lit and warmed (or cooled) our homes and powered us overland, sea and into the air. We grow enough food to feed 10 billion people. And for the first time ever in history the internet is poised to connect every single person on the planet. Together. As one. What could possibly go wrong? 

If only it were that simple. Unfortunately there is also a lot to be very worried about. Our engine of progress is out of control. We’re destroying beautiful wild and natural habitat at a rate of knots. Humankind has kick-started the sixth mass extinction of biodiversity. Burning billions of years of fossilised sunshine as coal, oil and gas is overheating the planet. Industrial agriculture is destroying our soils, with less than a hundred harvests left. Nationalism, populism and factionalism bubble up from a toxic online culture swimming in ‘fake news’. Has it all gone irrecoverably wrong?

Comedian Jon Richardson – the ‘Ultimate Worrier’ – is going to try and find out.

Jon doesn’t sleep much at night. The questions he is asking himself in the small, dark hours see to that. Are we going to run out of food? Is it already too late to stop climate change? Should I start learning Mandarin? Are killer death robots from the future already among us? Will my kids grow up to see a real tiger or giraffe? Could Trump become ‘President for Life?’ Why hasn’t anyone yet made an intelligent hairbrush? Oh they have? As you were…

Playing on his own paranoia Jon will discuss his fears with guarded optimists Ed Gillespie and Mark Stevenson aka ‘The Futurenauts’. Authors, futurists and provocateurs, to ease Jon’s angst Ed and Mark take him on adventures through the futures we need that already exist today.

My Review: 10/10

My Thoughts: I really had no idea what I would be getting when I logged on to listen to this podcast for the first time but I was hooked immediately. Subject matter can be challenging, often depressing, but they certainly make you stop and think about life, about the world, and about what a mess we really have made of everything!

Each subject is split into three categories, starting with “How fucked are we” (usually very), and “Why are we fucked” (often greed and/or stupidity). Thankfully though there is always a light at the end of the tunnel when Jon asks that one final question “How do we unfuck ourselves” and Ed and Mark have the answers – now we just need enough people to want to follow their plans 🙂

If you want to listen to something different that will make you laugh, possibly cry, but almost certainly think, then give this a try – I don’t think you’ll regret it! https://jonrichardsoncomedy.com/2020/06/jon-richardson-and-the-futurenauts/