The Future Of...: Recent Episodes
Azam Farooqui & Vasie Papadopolous
The Future of... aims to peak into what our future may hold for us. Both at macro and micro levels we try and uncover the impact on our day to day lives. Whether it is ideologies, social structures, means of work or communication, or how we live and work, what does the future hold for us?
A Silicon Valley tech veteran, Murray has led the commercialization of major technologies at Microsoft and numerous startups. He founded an eCRM company, eAssisst, which was venture backed by Intel Capital and used by millions globally. Now, he's focused on AI with his company CITIZN and its products HumanityGPT & Democracy GPT, built on his Societal Networks concept. Murray is a dedicated mentor to aspiring entrepreneurs and shares his expertise through speaking engagements and board memberships.
Pamela Allen, in her role as Chief Executive Officer of MD Financial Management (MD), is responsible for defining MD's strategic direction. Her focus is on delivering enhanced value to physicians and their families, all while ensuring the long-term sustainability of the business. Under Pamela’s leadership, MD has cultivated a purpose driven, physician-first culture that focuses on deepening client relationships to deliver exceptional client experiences.
Gerald Butts has spent a lifetime working on environmental issues both in the public sector and now the private sector. Gerald was a key political advisor to Canadian Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Principal Secretary to Canada’s current Prime Minister - Justin Trudeau. Gerald also served as the CEO for the WWF - the World Wildlife Fund in Canada and is now the Vice-Chairman of the Eurasia Group where he consults on climate change, trade, energy, sustainable finance, and artificial intelligence.
Tasha Kheiriddin is a Canadian public affairs commentator, consultant, lawyer, policy analyst and writer.
Wagner James Au is the Author of "Making a Metaverse That Matters", SVP at AnyContext, founder & editor-in-chief of Metaverse news/culture blog New World Notes. Podcast recorded June 2023
Mark Higgins is a financial historian who has an upcoming book "Investing in US Financial History". We spoke with with him about the history of US financial markets, does history repeats itself? and the lessons for the future.
David Mikics is a Moores Distinguished Professor in the English Department and Honors College. His most recent book, "Slow Reading in a Hurried Age," came out from Harvard/Belknap in 2013 and was featured on NPR and in The New York Times. Other recent books are "The Annotated Emerson," and (with Stephen Burt) "The Art of the Sonnet," both also published by Harvard/Belknap, as well as "Who Was Jacques Derrida?" and "A New Handbook of Literary Terms," both from Yale. His book on Saul Bellow, "Bellow's People," appeared from Norton in 2015. Mikics is a columnist for Tablet magazine, where he writes regularly on subjects of Jewish interest, from politics and culture to literature (www.tabletmag.com/author/david-mikics). He has also written for The New Republic, The Jewish Daily Forward, The New York Times, the New Statesman, Huffington Post, and other publications.
Mikics has won the University Teaching Excellence Award, its highest teaching honor. He teaches each year in the freshman Honors College course, the Human Situation, and also team-teaches a course with Robert Zaretsky of the history department called "Is Life Worth Living?
Ahsan I. Butt is an associate professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. His main research interests lie in nationalism, political violence, and South Asia. His book, Secession and Security: Explaining State Strategy Against Separatists, was published by Cornell University Press in 2017 and won the 2019 International Studies Association award for best book in international security studies. His work has appeared in journals such as International Organization, Journal of Global Security Studies, Journal of Strategic Studies, Politics and Religion, and Security Studies, and has received generous support from the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs at the Harvard Kennedy School, the Mellon Foundation, the Stanton Foundation, and the United States Institute of Peace.
We spoke with him about why US went to Iraq, what were its ramifications and what are the lessons for the future.
Martin Wolf is the Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator at the Financial Times and is regarded as one of the most important economics commentators globally.
He has a long and impressive background in economics starting off his career at the World Bank, he was a member of the UK government’s Independent Commission on Banking, was the Director of Studies at the Trade Policy Research Centre, London, and has advised governments and international organizations on trade and economic integration.
In 2000, he was awarded the OBE for services rendered to financial journalism.
We discussed his new book entitled The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism. We talked about Liberal Democracy and its symbiotic relationship with Capitalism. What are some of the challenges today and what does the future of Democratic Captialism look like.
Gregory Jack has spent over two decades in public affairs, government relations and communications roles across Canada, providing strategic advice and counsel to clients, elected officials, and senior executives in multiple roles. From leading multi-functional diverse teams as a public sector executive to overseeing large-scale research projects for major international clients, he delivers political acumen, frank advice, and a results-oriented approach for his clients.
As vice president (Canada) with Ipsos Public Affairs, he has worked with major clients including the Government of Alberta, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Uber, the Global Centre for Pluralism, the Government of Canada and Suncor Energy. He is also a media commentator and spokesperson for Ipsos. Gregory has presented to senior executives and boards of directors, sat on television panels with opinion leaders, and delivered presentations to organizations across Canada.
Prior to joining Ipsos, Gregory was an executive with the federal government in Ottawa, and later with the provincial government in Alberta, as well as a government relations manager with Suncor Energy. He was director of communications for Alberta Education and Alberta Economic Development and Trade, where he led the communications function as a member of the department executive committee and advised ministers and their staff on effectively communicating the government’s agenda to Albertans. As a director, executive director, and director-general with numerous federal government departments in Ottawa, Gregory led large communications teams advising prime ministers, numerous ministers and their staff, and senior officials on their strategic communications and research needs.
Gregory holds a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University, and a Bachelor of political studies and philosophy, also from Queen’s. He is currently completing a Master of Science in Energy Policy at the University of Sussex. He is also a board member of the Chic Geek in Calgary, an organization dedicated to advancing leadership roles for women in technology. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he spent seven years in Alberta before returning to Quebec in 2021.
This Podcast was recorded on Aug 15th when most travel restrictions were in place in Canada. The govt. has announced removal of all restrictions by the end of September.
Duncan Dee is the former Chief Operating Officer of Air Canada where he worked for 16 years progressively attaining more senior roles in the administrative and operational activities of Canada’s largest airline. After his retirement from the airline, he was appointed by the Canadian federal Minister of Transport to be the air transport sector lead in the Canadian government’s mandated 10-year review of the Canada Transportation Act, the enabling legislation governing the transportation sector in the country. The review explored all aspects of transportation in Canada and was conducted from 2014 to 2015. The Review’s final report was tabled in the Canadian Parliament in 2016.
Gerald Butts has spent a lifetime working on environmental issues both in the public sector and now the private sector. Gerald was a key political advisor to Canadian Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty and the Principal Secretary to Canada’s current Prime Minister - Justin Trudeau. Gerald also served as the CEO for the WWF - the World Wildlife Fund in Canada and is now the Vice-Chairman of the Eurasia Group where he consults on climate change, trade, energy, sustainable finance, and artificial intelligence.
Dr. Shadi Hamid is a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and an assistant research professor of Islamic studies at Fuller Seminary. He is a contributing writer at The Atlantic, where he writes a monthly essay on culture and politics. Hamid is also the co-founder of Wisdom of Crowds, a newsletter, podcast, and debate platform. In 2019, he was named one of the world’s top 50 thinkers by Prospect magazine.
Hamid is the author of Islamic Exceptionalism: How the Struggle Over Islam is Reshaping the World, which was shortlisted for the 2017 Lionel Gelber Prize for best book on foreign affairs, and co-editor of Rethinking Political Islam. His first book Temptations of Power: Islamists and Illiberal Democracy in a New Middle East was named a Foreign Affairs Best Book of 2014. His forthcoming book The Problem of Democracy will be published by Oxford University Press this October.
Hamid received his B.S. and M.A. from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign
Service and his Ph.D. in political science from Oxford University.
Book Discussed: The Two Faces of Liberalism by John Gray
Articles:
Tolerence Dilemma
On Putin, Rationality and Believing in Heaven
Liberalism & The Universality Trap
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Atul Tiwari is the CEO of Cult Wines.
Hailed by Investment Executive as
‘having a knack for knowing what’s next’, Atul is thrilled to have successfully married
his extensive investment experience with a passion for wine to introduce this unique
asset class to the Americas market. Atul leads with investment rigor, excellent client
relationships and unparalleled knowledge of the asset class.
Rafael Brown is a game designer, game developer, XR technologist, and studio head. He is a 25 year veteran of the game industry, who traces his roots to Looking Glass and Thief, and saw this generation of virtual reality start on John Carmack’s desk 11 years ago while working on Rage. Rafael loves building virtual worlds. He has been dreaming of the metaverse since watching Tron in the theater as a kid and reading Neuromancer a couple years later. During the pandemic, he founded Symbol Zero, which builds games, virtual worlds, virtual concerts, and cloud platforms. Symbol Zero is Roblox’s virtual concert partner having built the Lil Nas X virtual concert experience, the second largest virtual concert in history, and many other concerts for Sony Music and Warner Music in Roblox.
We talked about development of the gaming industry, where it's at today, how does web 3 and metaverse affect gaming industry and what does its future look like?
Professor Stephen Foerster is a Finance Professor at Ivey Business School, Western University. We spoke about his new book "In Pursuit of The Perfect Portfolio" on the development of finance as an academic field, its evolution and the future of investing.
Matt Clancy is a Senior Fellow at Institute for Progress. He's also the creator of the website "New Things Under the Sun", a living literature review about innovation.
You can visit Matt's website "New Things Under the Sun" and subscribe to his newsletter.
Follow us on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook @futureof19. You can also subscrible to our YouTube Channel "The Future of"
Dr. Andrew Park is an emergency physician at London Health Sciences Centre and an assistant professor of medicine at Schulich School of Medicine. As a lifelong learner, he also has a Masters degree in Adult Learning and Global Change through UBC and a MBA through Ivey Business School. Andrew is currently developing an emotional intelligence curriculum to build future leaders in medicine.
Vasie & Azam spoke with Dr. Shawna Pandya, scientist-astronaut candidate with Project PoSSUM, physician, aquanaut, speaker, martial artist, advanced diver, skydiver, pilot-in-training, VP Immersive Medicine with Luxsonic Technologies and Fellow of the Explorers’ Club
We spoke about the future of space exploration, opportunities, challenges, space medicine and what humanity can learn from space exploration Dr. Pandya's Ted Talk on Future of Space Exploration can be found here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gH6xVSV6lo&feature=youtu.be
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Vasie & Azam spoke with Peggy Capitain - an HR professional about The Future of work, what are some of the forces that are shaping it, how has the pandemic accelerated or shifted strategy, how does it impact workers and what forces will continue to shape the future of work.
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We spoke once again with Dr. Kashif Pirzada, following up on our conversation in January. Ontario's Third Wave, Vaccine Rollout, Astra Zeneca/J&J and vaccine hesitancy as well as what do the next few weeks could look like.
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We spoke with Nada Shepherd - Fashion Designer, Entrepreneur & Co-Founder of Resuit, an upcoming fit based peer-to-peer marketplace app for the rental, and purchasing of clothing and accessories.
Dr. Kashif Pirzada is an Emergency Physician in Toronto, he's also a co-founder of "Conquer Covid-19" and http://masks4canada.org.
He spoke with Vasie & Azam about his experience dealings with covid-19 patients in the ER, upcoming vaccine rollout and the optimism around the end of the pandemic.
We speak with Brank Milanovic about his book Capitalism, Alone. Liberal Meritocratic Capitalism of the west and Political Capitalism practiced by China and what does the Future of Capitalism look like?
Branko Milanovic is a Visiting Professor and Core Faculty at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality at the City University of New York. He was formerly Lead Economist in the World Bank's Research department.
Marian Salzman is considered one of the world’s top trendspotters and is a world renowned public relations executive. Throughout her career, she has been at the leading edge of the rapid revolution in technology and social change. Nearly three decades ago, she co-founded the first online market research company and remains a go-to source on trends emerging on the social web. In 2003, she introduced the world to “metrosexuality” and was later a driving voice in the concept of local as the new global. In 2019, she identified chaos as the new normal.
She joins Vasie & Azam to discuss the future of Public Relations
Erik Kieser, "The Conflict Guru" joins Azam & Vasie to kick of season 2 to talk about leadership, crises management and what does the future of leadership look like.
https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-kieser-1372491/
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Sir Paul Collier is Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford. He's also the author of "The Bottom Billion" and the "The Future of Capitalism". He offers a unique insight into solving capitalism's problems.
Tricia Gellman is the Chief Marketing Officer of Drift, she's also the former CMO of Salesforce Canada. She joins Vasie & Azam to talk about the future of marketing
Tony Frost is an associate professor of international business, and the former MBA Program Director at the Ivey Business School. He joins Azam & Vasie to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on our economy and what does a future state post COVID-19 look like?
Today we speak with Dawn Bowdish, Professor of Pathology and Molecular Medicine at McMaster University’s Immunology Research Centre. We talk about the Coronavirus, potential timelines for a vaccine, misconceptions and how will this impact our future.
In this episode, we speak with Andrew Stoeten, who covers the Toronto Blue Jays for The Athletic.
Today we speak with Peter Luongo, Managing Director, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges on The future of Tobacco.
Azam & Vasie talk to Shahrukh Wani, a cities economist with the University of Oxford on The future of cities.
Chad Rogers from Crestview Strategy joins Azam & Vasie for a conversation on the future of lobbying.
Since beginning, human's have had an interest in the future. Futurists, philosophers and scientists have all tried to answer this question. We live our days planning for it and the certainty with which it will arrive and consume us. What is it about the future that excites us? Is it the unknown? Is the the endless opportunity? Is it hope? or is it fear?
As we live and grow, some things are certain; we age, we keep and lose relationships, we look for happiness, which is why we care deeply about our Future.
This podcast explores this "Future of...". Whether its looking at ideologies, social structures, communication or technology, what does the future hold for us?