Necessary Tomorrows

Ursula, an AI instructor from the future, encourages listeners to study the turbulent 2020s. Mixing speculative fiction and documentary, leading sci-fi authors bring us three futures that seem like fa…

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Episode 1: The Last Impala
Wanida Chao is a reluctant lawyer whose client is a climate refugee accused of murder. Chao must defend him—not for killing a human, but for killing an ecosystem. Wanida visits the refugee’s homestead in order to convince the AI-powered judge that her client is innocent. What she finds complicates …
29:10
Episode 2: The Rights of Nature
Sci-fi author Christopher Brown discovers a legal movement known as the Rights of Nature while researching the causes of social injustice. Jack Fiander, attorney for the Sauk-Suiattle tribe, has sued the city of Seattle over hydro dams that threaten Salmon, the plaintiff in their case. Show Credi…
34:19
Episode 3: A Feast For Cobalt
An asteroid is discovered with enough minerals to transition Earth to green energy completely. When a corporate space company announces it will harvest the minerals, an ecoterrorist group destroys their rocket and demands the minerals be shared with all of humanity. A diverse group must negotiate h…
34:25
Episode 4: Sharing the Stars
Writer Deji Olukotun examines the connection between space exploration and colonialism while the US gets set to return to the moon. An Indigenous nation sets an example for protecting the stars with its framework for conserving the seas. Show Credits: The Necessary Tomorrows podcast is from Doha…
38:02
Episode 5: Almost Real
When the Musqueam Nation creates an artificial intelligence trained on their knowledge, she is stolen and forced to perform in a Canadian theme park. But agents from the Confederacy of Unceded Indigenous Nations hatch a plan to bring her home. Show Credits: The Necessary Tomorrows podcast is fro…
26:52
Episode 6: Indigenous AI
Musqueam author Quelemia Sparrow uses AI to meet the character of her story. She explores whether artificial intelligence and humans can become kin. We discover the program that the AI is currently running is at odds with the human and non-human world. Show Credits: The Necessary Tomorrows podca…
33:15
Trailer
Ursula, an AI instructor from the future, encourages listeners to study the turbulent 2020s. Necessary Tomorrows, an audio series by Doha Debates and Al Jazeera, starts January 8th, 2024. Episode Credits: The Necessary Tomorrows podcast is from Doha Debates and is presented by Al Jazeera Podcas…
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