Singularity.FM

Some people see a world coming apart. Peter Leyden sees an old world dying so a better one can be born. That, in essence, is The Great Progression, the thesis of Peter Leyden’s forthcoming HarperCollins book and the spine of our conversation. Peter is the OG Silicon Valley futurist who came to San Francisco at […]

We have godlike technology. Do we have godlike responsibility to match? In this third conversation with Steven Kotler — our first in 14 years — we dig into his latest book, We Are As Gods: A Survival Guide for the Age of Abundance, co-written with Peter Diamandis. And while the book makes a powerful case […]

We don’t need more AI. We need a better why for our AI. We are told the why is obvious — cure everything, fix everything, transcend everything. But “solve everything” is not a philosophy. It is an assumption. Even the most powerful intelligence cannot erase moral disagreement or competing visions of justice. Because without a […]

A couple of days ago, I cancelled my ChatGPT paid subscription and switched to Claude. Not because of the technology. Because of their respective values, or the lack thereof. The Moment That Changed Everything On February 27, 2026, Anthropic, the company behind Claude, refused to give the Pentagon unrestricted access to its AI for mass […]

Was the Renaissance truly a Golden Age? Or was it something far more powerful — and far more revealing? In my third conversation with Ada Palmer, we dive into her new book, Inventing the Renaissance: Myths of a Golden Age, and dismantle one of the most enduring myths in Western history: that civilization moves cleanly […]

What if some contradictions are not mistakes — but truths? For over 2,500 years, Western philosophy has treated contradiction as catastrophic. From Aristotle’s law of non-contradiction to modern formal systems, logic has operated under one sacred assumption: a statement cannot be both true and false. But what if that assumption is wrong? In this deep, […]

In my latest Singularity.FM conversation with Dr. Jad Tarifi, CEO of Integral AI, I heard something I don’t say lightly: a credible claim that AGI may have just arrived — or at least the foundation of it. I don’t often say “Wow” during interviews, but in this one I simply couldn’t stop. Tarifi describes a […]

What happens to free will in a world where AI tells us what to watch, buy, believe, and even who to love? In this new episode of Singularity.FM, I sit down with Jacob Ward — veteran technology journalist and author of The Loop: How AI Is Creating a World Without Choices and How to Fight […]

Are we building better versions of ourselves in AI – or a master race of very efficient psychopaths? In this new episode of Singularity.FM, I sit down with Dr. Eve Poole, theologian, leadership scholar, and author of Robot Souls: Programming in Humanity, to ask a simple yet brutal question: what makes us human, and what happens if we […]

What do Facebook, Google, and TikTok see when they look at us — and what do they miss? In this episode of Singularity.FM, I sit down with Petter Törnberg, Assistant Professor of Computational Social Science at the University of Amsterdam and co-author of Seeing Like a Platform: An Inquiry into the Condition of Digital Modernity. Törnberg […]

What if the world isn’t just a stage… but a circus? 🎪 In this opening keynote at St. John’s International Circus Fest 2025, futurist and philosopher Nikola Danaylov (aka Socrates) explores why context is more powerful than content — and why those who create context don’t just win attention, they shape the future. 👉 Themes […]

Adam Becker is a science journalist with a PhD in astrophysics and the author of the provocative new book More Everything Forever: AI Overlords, Space Empires, and Silicon Valley’s Crusade to Control the Fate of Humanity. I reached out to Adam because I found his book sharp, timely, and necessary — a long-overdue reality check […]

In his second appearance on Singularity.FM, Professor Angus Fletcher returns to dive even deeper into the story of human intelligence. [See the first interview here.] Fletcher is no ordinary guest. A rare hybrid of neuroscientist and Shakespearean scholar, he has advised DARPA, Hollywood, and the U.S. Army, where his narrative-based research earned him the Commendation […]

In this episode of Singularity.FM, I sit down with renowned author and philosopher Donald J. Robertson to explore his latest book, How to Think Like Socrates: Ancient Philosophy as a Way of Life in the Modern World. As we navigate the crossroads of ancient wisdom and modern challenges, Donald shares timeless insights from Socrates that […]

In this episode of Singularity.FM, Neil Redding, a near futurist and innovation architect, joins Nikola Danaylov for an insightful exploration into the intersections of technology, ecosystems, and human agency. With over 30 years of experience unlocking the transformative power of emerging technologies, Neil offers a fresh perspective on what it means to co-create reality in […]

In this thought-provoking episode of Singularity.FM, I sit down with Dr. Jad Tarifi, CEO and co-founder of Integral AI, to explore the cutting-edge developments at the intersection of artificial intelligence and human potential. Dr. Tarifi shares insights into Integral AI’s mission to “Give Humankind A True Magic Wand” and the profound implications of achieving artificial […]

In this episode of Singularity FM, I speak with emotional intelligence (EQ) expert, executive coach, and keynote speaker Jamelle Lindo about the evolving role of EQ in our age of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence. While much of today’s discourse around AI focuses on technical prowess, data-driven decision-making, and automation, Jamelle highlights why understanding our inner […]

Fifteen years ago, I penned the first versions of Hamlet’s Transhumanist Dilemma and A Transhumanist Manifesto. Much has changed since then, including my perspective. I began with a question inspired by Hamlet: Will technology replace biology? At the time, I believed this to be the modern iteration of Shakespeare’s existential query: to be or […]

Technology is the new religion, Silicon Valley – the new Promised Land, and entrepreneurs – the new prophets. They promise a future of abundance and immortality—a techno-heaven beyond our wildest dreams. And we are all believers. We often forget technology is the how, not the why or what. It is a means to an […]

Throughout history, capital and labor have been interdependent forces driving economic growth. Capital relies on labor to generate returns on investment, while labor depends on capital for wages. Despite historical fluctuations in their balance of power, classical economics suggests a theoretical long-term equilibrium where both parties benefit—capital sees growing returns, and labor enjoys rising […]

I have now been vegan for almost 9 years and people keep asking me how I feel and why I did it. So let me share a quick health update as well as the original 6 reasons why I went vegan. Since going vegan I have lost and kept off 25 pounds or about […]

I have noticed that almost every startup in almost every industry is claiming “a revolutionary AI or blockchain breakthrough.” [Often both.] More recently I’m flabbergasted to see a similar fad in the growing number of self-proclaimed Tech and AI ethicists. We apparently have an exponential proliferation of what someone called “ethics natives” such as angel […]

Dr. Martin Shaw is the best oral storyteller that I know of. He is also the only person who can impromptu tell the entire Odyssey by his imagination alone. Martin is well versed in a variety of stories from classic Greek to pagan, indigenous, and religious ones. He is the author of 18 books and […]

When I started blogging and podcasting back in 2009 topics like wisdom were near-invisible, if not considered irrelevant to the conversations of AI, transhumanism, genetic engineering, and human enhancement. So bringing ethics to the technology conversation became my longstanding goal and unique selling proposition for both Singularity Weblog and Singularity.FM. At the time, most conversations […]

My goal with this podcast has always been to be a bit of a gadfly to your as well as my intellectual growth and, hopefully, a midwife to your best ideas rather than a disseminator of a specific movement or ideology. Thus, while I’ve never hidden my personal views, I don’t try to make you […]

My podcast guest today is Nikolas Badminton. Nik is the Chief Futurist at futurist.com. He has worked with over 300 organizations in foresight, strategy, and disruption – including NASA, the United Nations, Google, Microsoft, Intel, Rolls Royce, and many others. Nik is a friend of mine, and in addition to our common interest in the […]

This is my 4 min video pitch for the 2023 Nordic Business Forum Speaker Contest. Hope you enjoy it but feel free to let me know if that’s not the case 😉  The Greatest Leadership Opportunity in the 21st Century A story I stumbled on in 2006 changed my life. “The Singularity is Near” […]

Prof. Massimo Pigliucci is one of those very rare people who manage to combine the pursuit of deep science and the living ethos of practical philosophy. Massimo has Ph.D. degrees in Genetics, Evolutionary Biology, and Philosophy. He is also the author of hundreds of technical papers in both science and philosophy as well as a […]

When the war in Ukraine started, I asked myself if I could do anything to help. I have no friends or family in Ukraine, but I remember that a couple of years ago, I was interviewed by someone from Donetsk. When I got in touch with Alexander Padalka, he was hiding underground from the daily […]

Ursula Eysin is the founder of Red Swan, a consultancy focusing on the development of future scenarios. She is a trained ballerina, plays the flute, speaks 7 languages, does math, and reads chemistry books for fun. Besides that, Ursula is a mentor to various Austrian and international startups while also giving lectures at 5 universities. […]

Zoltan Istvan is a former journalist, political candidate, entrepreneur, bestselling author, and founder of the US Transhumanist Party. He has been on this podcast twice before when we discussed Istvan’s presidential campaign and his bestselling novel The Transhumanist Wager. During this 1-hour conversation with Zoltan Istvan, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as […]

The Singularity Principles is a unique, comprehensive, and principled framework for riding the tsunami of change coming our way, instead of drowning in it. It is a one-of-a-kind work written by a person who is singularly qualified with the necessary knowledge, professional experience, and required discipline to produce it. David Wood is a futurist, catalyst, […]

This is an interview with Danko Nikolic and John Smart on the future of AI and their respective theories of Practopoiesis – Neuromimicry, and Autopoiesis – Biomimicry. During our 2-hour conversation with Danko and John, we cover a variety of interesting topics such as evolution, development, and life as a network; practopoiesis and the origins […]

Prof. Lewis Dartnell is an astrobiologist who looks for life on distant planets. In his most recent book, however, Dartnell turns his gaze inward and backward to the human story – who we are, how we came to be, where we are coming from, and, most importantly, how the geological planetary processes drove the evolution […]

Without a doubt, the social revolution in the West and individual insight/enlightenment in the East are among humanity’s greatest accomplishments. But we can have them separate no longer for we desperately need both because individual people make society but, in turn, society makes individuals. We need to unite the quest for personal enlightenment and the […]

Byron Reese is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, and futurist. He has enjoyed a wide range of success over 30 years, including two NASDAQ IPOs as well as the sale of three companies he founded. Today Byron is the CEO of JJ Kent, a venture-backed company using AI to create new products. Reese is also the author […]

I have always wanted to discuss Friedrich Nietzsche’s philosophy and how it relates to technology and transhumanism. The problem is that a very short list of people will make me enjoy such a challenging conversation. Luckily, Dr. Cadell Last is among the top on that shortlist. I hope you enjoy our conversation as much as […]

Joscha Bach is a beautiful mind and a very rewarding interlocutor. No surprise I had many requests to have him back on my podcast. I apologize that it took 4 years but the good news is we are going to have a third conversation much sooner this time around. If you haven’t seen our first […]

Faith Popcorn founded her futurist marketing consultancy in 1974. She’s been called “The Trend Oracle” by the NY Times and “The Nostradamus of Marketing” by Fortune. Faith is a trusted advisor to the CEOs of Fortune 200 companies and has predicted a variety of trends such as Cocooning and its impact on the COVID culture, […]

Dr. Kendall Haven is the only West Point graduate to ever become a professional storyteller. Haven holds a Doctorate in Oceanography and spent eight years as a Senior Research Scientist for the Department of Energy before finding his true passion for what he calls, a very different kind of “truth.” Kendall is the author of 34 […]

Brian Boyd is a Distinguished Professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. His work has appeared in 20 languages and has won awards on four continents. Most importantly, Prof. Boyd is the author of On the Origin of Stories which examines the connections between evolution, cognition, and fiction. During our 2-hour conversation with […]

John Smart has taught and written for over 20 years on topics like foresight and futurism as well as the drivers, opportunities, and problems of exponential processes throughout human history. John is President of the Acceleration Studies Foundation, co-Founder of the Evo-Devo research community, and CEO of Foresight University. Most recently, Smart is the author […]

Jonah Sachs is an author, speaker, and viral marketing pioneer. He helped create some of the world’s first and most heralded digital social change campaigns. Jonah Sachs is also the author of Winning the Story Wars: Why Those Who Tell (and Live) the Best Stories Will Rule the Future and, most recently, Unsafe Thinking: How […]

Many of you know that I’ve been working on a new book provisionally titled ReWriting the Human Story: How Our Story Determines Our Future. And so I thought it could be useful to me and interesting to you if I were to have a conversation with a few story experts and ask them questions such […]

Many of you know that I am a fan of Buddhism in general and Zen Buddhism in particular. So I’ve always wanted to get a Zen Master on the podcast. I never imagined, however, that there is a Zen Master who has listened to almost every episode of my show. But the universe is a […]

Prof. Angus Fletcher is a story scientist working at the intersection of story and neuroscience. Angus started as a neuroscientist at the University of Michigan but eventually decided to pursue a Ph.D. in Shakespeare at Yale. Then he went to Stanford University and worked with clients in Hollywood, DARPA, and the US special forces. Angus […]

This is the second interview of my series on story, and my guest is PJ Manney. PJ is the author of the Phoenix Horizon Trilogy and has already been a guest on Singularity.FM twice before. [See our 1st and 2nd interviews.] She is a friend, and I am a big fan of her books. Today, we […]

Some of you may know that I’ve been working on a new book. The provisional title is ReWriting the Human Story: How Our Story Determines Our Future. Struggling with this book is why it’s been a number of months since my last podcast interview. And so I thought it could be useful to me and […]

ReWriting the Human Story: How Our Story Determines Our Future an alternative thought experiment by Nikola Danaylov   Chapter 12: The Politics Story Never has our future been more unpredictable, never have we depended so much on political forces that cannot be trusted to follow the rules of common sense and self-interest – forces that look like […]

If we get the AI story right we have a chance to coexist peacefully. If we get it wrong that could mean a Gigawar of planetary proportions, even extinction.