Near Future Laboratory Podcast

About Near Future Laboratory Podcast

The Near Future Laboratory Podcast is conversations at the vanguard of design, technology, futures, and culture, hosted by Julian Bleecker — founder of the Near Future Laboratory. https://nearfuturelaboratory.com https://julianbleecker.com Support this podcast at https://www.patreon.com/nearfuturelaboratory

Publisher

Julian Bleecker

Category

technology

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

25 Dec 2020

Latest episode

7 Jul 2026

Latest episodes

2 of 114 episodes have a transcript.

1. 

   7 Jul 2026TRANSCRIPT

   N°105 - Small Stuff with Ian Bogost

   Host [Host Name] interviews author and professor Ian Bogost about recovering sensory enchantment in everyday life through appreciating "small stuff."

2. 

   25 Jun 2026TRANSCRIPT

   N°104 - Marina Zurkow & Sarah Rothberg

   Host Marina Zurkow and guest Sarah Rothberg discuss their "More&More" framework for collaboratively building desirable futures through speculative card decks.

3. 

   22 Dec 2025

   N°103 - Tom Guarriello The Meaning of Branded Objects

   Please support the podcast on Patreon (https://patreon.com/nearfuturelaboratory)! Thank you to all of my paid subscribers! My friend Tom Guarriello joins me to unpack a deceptively simple question—why do some things matter more than others? How is it that “brands” are rarely just products. Tom describes how they’re meaning-machines: coffee cups, clothes, grocery aisles, and the everyday objects we carry through life are the things that quietly scaffold identity, aspiration, and sense of belonging. Choice arrives instantly; explanation comes later. Tom’s “meaning stack” helps us understand the rise of culture brands those brands that don’t just sell products, but stage worlds: concerts, exhibitions, lifestyles, and point-of-view. Tom's new book gets into all of this and more. Check out his "The Meaning of Branded Objects (https://a.co/d/dUcFPvz)". https://tomguarriello.com

Inside a recent episode

N°105 - Small Stuff with Ian Bogost

Published 7 Jul 2026 · Transcript excerpt

[…] But I try to explain in the book that the interesting thing about your sensory life about your embodied sensory life is that it's always happening to you whether you like it or not whether you notice or not whether you do anything with it or not it's constantly happening to you and so that that you know earlier we were talking about like like foregrounding something in the background like if you can foreground something that was previously in the background And then you allow yourself to encounter it. It's always right there. So when you talk about reclaiming or rehabilitating this sensation, it's kind of like the wrong way to think about it in a way, because it was never lost. […]

Who has been a guest on Near Future Laboratory Podcast

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Ian Bogost
• Marina Zurkow
• Sarah Rothberg
• Brett Gui Xin
• Del Hardin Hoyle

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

45,512

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

37 ratings

Spotify

4.9 / 5

32 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 64 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

61

Social presence

0

YouTube

85

Engagement

85

Contact Near Future Laboratory Podcast

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.