Alternate Futures

Alternate Futures

Alternate Futures is a podcast where speculative fiction meets real-world change. Join host Edwin H. Rydberg in deep-dive conversations with science fiction authors, futurists, and creative minds as they explore storytelling, emerging technologies, and humanity’s ever-shifting path forward. For writers, sci-fi enthusiasts, and future-curious thinkers alike.

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Episode 35: N John Williams - Double-Edged Swords, the Soul in the Machine, and SciFi Realism

Episode 35: N John Williams - Double-Edged Swords, the Soul in the Machine, and SciFi Realism

In this episode, I chat with N John Williams about his experience researching AI systems with DARPA, working in a tech start-up, and the person in the machine. We also discuss artificial intelligence...

3 Maalis 20231h 32min

Episode 34: Susan Kaye Quinn - Hope Punk, The Singularity, and the Need for Techno-Ethics

Episode 34: Susan Kaye Quinn - Hope Punk, The Singularity, and the Need for Techno-Ethics

In this episode, I chat with Susan Kaye Quinn about her engineering background, AI-generated 'art', and her passion for the new genre of hope punk. We also discuss possible versions of the singularity...

17 Helmi 20231h 48min

Episode 33: Julia Huni - On NASA, Aliens, and Space Janitors

Episode 33: Julia Huni - On NASA, Aliens, and Space Janitors

In this episode, I chat with Julia Huni about her military career, including working with NASA and NATO, her writing routine, and her thoughts on aliens. We also discuss cozy mysteries in space, cylin...

2 Helmi 20231h 36min

Episode 32: Roy Huff - Meteorology, Cryopreservation, and Time Travel

Episode 32: Roy Huff - Meteorology, Cryopreservation, and Time Travel

In this episode, I chat with Roy Huff all the way from Hawaii about working with NASA on the GOES-R satellite project, his interest in cryopreservation and how he started writing. We also talk about t...

20 Tammi 20231h 22min

Episode 31: Tony Bertauski - Into the Claus-verse

Episode 31: Tony Bertauski - Into the Claus-verse

In this episode, Tony Bertauski visits me again and we take a deep dive into his Claus-verse: the stories, the science fiction -- science fact! -- and the future. There's a Christmas-sized Lightning R...

22 Joulu 20221h 11min

Episode 30: Peter J Aldin - Mental Health in Fiction, Villians, and the Line Between Good and Evil

Episode 30: Peter J Aldin - Mental Health in Fiction, Villians, and the Line Between Good and Evil

In this episode, I chat with Peter J Aldin about his journey from youth pastor to science fiction author, about why he set his Zombie apocalypse in Tasmania, and about the depiction of mental health i...

11 Marras 20221h 18min

Episode 29: Jim Keen - Architecture, Machine Intelligence, and The Future Job Market

Episode 29: Jim Keen - Architecture, Machine Intelligence, and The Future Job Market

In this episode, I chat with Jim Keen about why he became an architect, how a boy from Manchester ended up in New York, and the challenges of re-acclimating to the West after travelling the world. We ...

21 Loka 20221h 32min

Episode 28: Claire McCague - Instruments, Aliens, and Decolonizing SF

Episode 28: Claire McCague - Instruments, Aliens, and Decolonizing SF

In this episode, I chat with Claire McCagues about her love of musical instruments, writing and producing plays and the path to her book series. We also discuss the challenges of interspecies communic...

23 Syys 20221h 19min