We’re back for Episode 3 of Season 2 of The Future With Friends, and this time Simon Waller (or should we say Bigsy) is joined by his long-time friend Anthony “Richo” Richardson, one of the first people he met when he relocated to Melbourne. This isn’t a professional connection, more a camping and degustation buddy from years gone by. It’s a friendship that’s stretched across decades, which gives the conversation a very different kind of honesty and ease.

The theme of this episode is The Future of Regret, based on a scenario Richo has written, set 42 years into the future. It’s a deeply reflective exploration of what life, meaning, and responsibility might look like in a future shaped by radically extended lifespans, AI-driven education, and accelerating technological change.

Richo brings a grounded, human lens to the conversation, imagining everyday moments that make the future feel tangible, like a 94-year-old still cycling with friends, while also surfacing the emotional weight of what gets lost or left unresolved across such long lives.

The conversation moves beyond fascination with technology and into more uncomfortable territory. They explore how extended lifespans might reshape our relationship with purpose, regret, and legacy, and whether having “more time” actually makes us more fulfilled or simply delays the things we avoid confronting today.

Underneath it all is a quieter, more confronting question about inequality, opportunity, and what kind of future we are actually building for each other.

As always, the conversation is rooted in lived experience as much as it is in future thinking. Simon and Richo reflect on the choices we make now as parents, citizens, and professionals, and how those choices quietly shape the emotional and cultural inheritance we pass on to future generations.

We’re back for Episode 2 of Season 2 of The Future With Friends, and this time we’re exploring The Future of Analogue with Simon’s good friend, Colin D Ellis.

Colin shares a beautifully imagined future where society has consciously stepped away from smart technology and re-embraced the analogue world, from dumb phones and vinyl to simply noticing what’s happening around us.

His scenario paints a calm, intentional future, but the conversation quickly moves beyond the vision itself. Simon leans in to explore what would actually need to happen for such a significant cultural shift to take place, and whether a movement back to analogue living is truly possible in a hyper-connected world.

Together, they explore the impact of digital technology on our mental health, the growing appetite for disconnection, and the conditions required for meaningful societal change. They even begin to toy with the idea of creating their own social movement, grounded in simplicity, presence and human connection.

As two dads, they also don’t shy away from the role parents play in shaping the next generation’s relationship with technology, reflecting on the habits we model and the environments we create for our kids.

It’s a thoughtful, warm and quietly provocative conversation that feels like it’s only just getting started, and will leave you questioning your own relationship with technology and what kind of future you actually want to live in.

We’re back for Season 2 of The Future With Friends, and we’re kicking things off by exploring the future of protest with special guest, journalist and soon-to-be author Kath Walters.

Kath brings decades of experience to the conversation. From her early days in the protest movements of the 1970s, to a career in journalism holding power to account, to now experimenting with AI and writing fiction about the future, she has spent a lifetime thinking about how stories shape the world we live in.

She shares a future scenario set in March 2035 in The Rocks, Sydney, where she stands among 500,000 people protesting for climate action alongside her daughter. But the real conversation goes far deeper than the scenario itself. Kath reflects on what would actually need to change between now and 2035 for a moment like that to happen, and why hopeful visions of the future can be just as powerful as dystopian ones in driving action.

Together, Kath and Simon explore the evolution of activism, the forgotten history of successful protest movements, and the role of writers, artists and storytellers in shaping what people believe is possible. They discuss strategy, community, joy, and why protest isn’t just about anger. It’s also about connection, creativity and reclaiming a sense of collective agency.

It’s an enlightening, engaging and energising conversation that will leave you thinking differently about protest and feeling far less powerless about the future.

This is the final episode of The Future With Friends for the year, and Simon Waller is joined by Steph Clarke—returning to the podcast as the very first guest and therefore self-appointed (and largely uncontested) holder of “best friend” status.

It’s also a slightly different format. Rather than exploring a single future, Simon and Steph arrive armed with duelling scenarios—each having written their own version of the future of Christmas set in 2051ish. Using scenario thinking, humour, and just enough provocation, they imagine how one of our most entrenched rituals might evolve—and what that says about us.

Steph imagines a future where Christmas shifts to July, shaped by supermarkets, consumer behaviour, and a society increasingly disconnected from seasonal traditions. Simon counters with a darker scenario, where Christmas is gradually co-opted by a political movement, stripped of shared meaning and repurposed as a tool for influence.

Together, these competing futures surface deeper questions about consumerism, power, community, and the role of rituals in a diverse society. As befits the final episode of the year, the conversation meanders into reflections on connection, festive tourism, humour, and why asking better questions matters more than ever.

At its core, this episode isn’t really about Christmas at all. It’s about how we imagine the future, the stories we tell ourselves, and how those stories shape what we choose to protect, change, or let go of.

In this episode of The Future With Friends, Simon is joined by his long-time friend Dr Richard Hodge to explore the future of learning.

Recorded live in collaboration with Melbourne startup Spill Haus, this special episode brings Richard’s calm wisdom and expansive thinking to a topic that is far bigger than any single trend or technology. Described by Simon as the “wise elder everyone wishes they had in their community,” Richard gently stretches the audience’s imagination, inviting them to consider learning not just as a system, but as an evolving human practice.

Rather than narrowing the conversation to AI or digital disruption, Richard holds a much broader space—one that looks at the many facets of learning, how they may unfold in the future, and what valuable lessons we might carry forward from our past. He explores what we do now, what still matters, and what might deserve deeper reflection as we reimagine how people grow, develop, and make meaning in the decades ahead.

The conversation doesn’t aim to deliver answers. Instead, it offers an open, thoughtful space—true to the purpose of scenario thinking—where curiosity is more valuable than certainty and exploration is the point. Simon describes it as an inspiring exchange filled with intellectually rich ideas and concepts that stay with you long after listening.

At its heart, The Future of Learning invites us to pause, to reflect, and to consider how we might consciously shape the ways we learn—together and for the future.

In this episode of The Future With Friends, Simon is joined by the incredible Kirsten Peterson — or KP, as everyone knows her — a performance psychologist and coach who has attended seven Olympic Games. Together, they explore the fascinating and deeply human topic of the future of emotional transparency.

KP’s future scenario imagines a world where emotions are openly shared and even measured — a future that challenges how we think about authenticity, vulnerability, and performance. Drawing on her deep experience supporting elite athletes, KP tells the story of Beth, a competitor navigating the emotional highs, lows, and manipulation that come with this new kind of openness. It’s a scenario that doesn’t feel far-fetched — where wearable tech, data, and performance pressures collide to both reveal and influence our inner worlds.

Simon and KP’s conversation goes on to unpack what it really means to be emotionally transparent: the benefits of openness, the vulnerability it demands, and the risks of a world where our inner states are always on display. Their conversation moves seamlessly between the personal and the professional, the athletic arena and everyday life — all anchored by KP’s rare blend of wisdom, warmth, and experience.

At its heart, The Future of Emotional Transparency is an exploration of what it means to be human in an increasingly exposed world — and how, by learning to share our emotions more authentically, we might build deeper trust, connection, and resilience in the years ahead.

In this episode of The Future With Friends, Simon is joined by his vivacious and very lovable friend Amy Scott to explore her ironically chosen topic - the future of silence.

Set in 2045, Amy’s future scenario imagines a world where AI mediation and constant digital noise have made true silence a rare luxury. Drawing on her own experiences, including a transformative silent retreat, Amy and Simon dive into what silence means in an age overflowing with conversation, notifications, and background noise.

They explore the many layers of silence - from its role in mental health and mindfulness to the social and cultural forces that determine who gets to experience it. Together, they question whether silence has become a privilege, and what it might mean to value it not just as the absence of sound, but as the presence of awareness.

And in a delightfully ironic twist, Simon and Amy do their best to honour pauses and moments of quiet throughout the episode - no small feat for two naturally big, talkative personalities.

Their conversation ranges from the healing power of natural soundscapes to the possibility of silence being designed, protected, or even mandated in the future.

At its heart, The Future of Silence is an invitation to pause, to listen more deeply to ourselves, to each other, and to the world around us - and to imagine how stillness might become one of the most valuable resources of the decades ahead.

GUEST:

Amy Scott

In this episode of The Future With Friends, Simon is joined by his longtime friend Zoe Routh - leadership expert, podcaster, and acclaimed author of speculative fiction with a techno-thriller edge.

Zoe explores the future of power, a theme that runs deep through both her science fiction writing and her leadership development work. She shares a beautifully written and deeply researched future scenario, drawing on the ideas woven through her five novels. In it, she takes us forward in time to imagine how power might evolve - and how clashes between cultural norms, values, and worldviews could unfold in ways we’re already beginning to glimpse today.

Building on this scenario, Simon and Zoe dive into concepts such as spiral dynamics, the evolution of human consciousness, and the possibilities (and tensions) of new models of power. Their conversation bridges Zoe’s work in leadership with her richly imagined science fiction, creating a dialogue that feels both urgent and inspiring.

At its heart, The Future of Power is an invitation to rethink what power really means - not just as hierarchy or control, but as something that can evolve, adapt, and transform the way we live, lead, and collaborate in the decades ahead.