Future of StoryTelling (FoST)

Today’s guest is Eliza McNitt, an Emmy-nominated filmmaker working at the intersection of technology, science, and film. From her groundbreaking VR trilogy SPHERES to her latest AI film ANCESTRA, Eliza embraces emerging technologies to tell deeply personal and cosmic stories. In this conversation, we explore her creative evolution — and how she’s using AI to expand the language of storytelling and make the invisible visible. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Eliza McNitt, David Gray, Tsuki Carlson, Bonnie Eldon, and Megan Worman.

Today’s conversation is with Christopher Bedford, the Helen and Charles Schwab Director of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Chris is leading a bold vision to make the museum community-centered, inclusive, and reflective of San Francisco’s cultural identity. In this episode, he shares how SFMOMA is adapting to a changing world and redefining what a modern museum can be. To learn more and pre-order your copy of The Future of Storytelling, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Christopher Bedford, David Gray, Tsuki Carlson, Bonnie Eldon, and Megan Worman.

Today’s conversation is with Shachar Scott, VP of Global Marketing at Meta Reality Labs. Shachar has played a key role in introducing the world to immersive, wearable technology, like the Meta Quest headset and the wildly popular Ray-Ban Meta glasses. In this episode, she shares her insights on what storytelling opportunities these devices present, how Meta has successfully got customers to adopt them, and the role authenticity plays in their marketing. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. To pre-order your copy of The Future of Storytelling, and enter for a chance to win a customizable immersive getaway, visit this link: https://bit.ly/48dRdEh -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Shachar Scott, David Gray, Tsuki Carlson, Bonnie Eldon, and Megan Worman.

Today’s conversation is with Liz Rosenthal and Michel Reilhac, the curators of Venice Immersive, the Extended Reality section of the Venice International Film Festival. For close to a decade, Liz and Michel have put together one of the world’s leading showcases for immersive arts and media, convening a global community of artists, technologists, and producers to experience and celebrate the evolution of immersive media. In this episode, they discuss this year's edition of Venice Immersive (showing from August 27 - September 6), what they've learned from watching immersive media grow, and how they anticipate the medium will continue to evolve. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. To get your copy of Charlie's upcoming book, The Future of Storytelling, visit thefutureofstorytelling.com -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Liz Rosenthal, Michel Reilhac, David Gray, Tsuki Carlson, Bonnie Eldon, and Megan Worman.

Today on the podcast, we revisit an all-time favorite conversation with Annie Murphy Paul, author of The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain. Annie's insightful and informative book is an invaluable read for any storyteller interested in creating embodied, multi-sensory narratives. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. To get your copy of Charlie's upcoming book, The Future of Storytelling, visit thefutureofstorytelling.com -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Annie Murphy Paul, David Gray, Tsuki Carlson, Bonnie Eldon, and Megan Worman.

In this revisited conversation, renowned photographer Stephen Shore talks about the craft of photography, tells stories from his illustrious career, and shares his philosophy on art and life. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. To get your copy of Charlie's upcoming book, The Future of Storytelling, visit thefutureofstorytelling.com -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Stephen Shore, David Gray, Bonnie Eldon, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Jeffrey Seller is the legendary Broadway producer behind shows like Rent, Hamilton, In the Heights, and more. His shows have won a combined 22 Tony Awards, including four for Best Musical, and he's the only producer to have mounted two shows that went on to win the Pulitzer Prize. This spring, Jeffrey published his autobiography, Theater Kid, an honest and moving reflection on his path to Broadway as well as an invaluable source of wisdom for anyone interested in building a business in a creative field. In this episode, he shares openly about his journey to finding himself in theater, stories of his creative collaboration with artistic powerhouses like Jonathan Larson and Lin-Manuel Miranda, his philosophy of good producing, and more. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. To get your copy of Theater Kid, visit jeffreyseller.com. -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Jeffrey Seller, David Gray, Bonnie Eldon, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

French photographer and street artist JR is best known for his striking large-scale black and white portraits that he flyposts in public spaces. Today on the FoST Podcast, we revisit a conversation with him about his foray into digitizing the collaborative Inside Out project—where communities are invited to create their own public art in his style—and what the project has taught him about the power of giving people the space to tell their own stories. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to JR, David Gray, Bonnie Eldon, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

"Demise of the Gricers" is a groundbreaking "real-life game" by interactive experience studio Entered. Brought to life in a former train yard in As, Belgium, "Demise of the Gricers" combines elements of immersive theater, video games, escape rooms, and LARP to create a first-of-its-kind story experience. In this conversation, Entered co-founder and creative director Jeroen van Hasselt takes us behind the scenes of the project to share how he and his team approached the design in this unique form and what they learned from it. To learn more, visit our website at: https://bit.ly/3TaZ3WR -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Jeroen van Hasselt, David Gray, Bonnie Eldon, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Jason Zada and Eric Shamlin lead the team at Secret Level, an AI-native entertainment studio that’s exploring new frontiers in visual storytelling production. They made waves this past winter when they created a TV commercial for Coca-Cola with generative AI, which sparked many conversations about AI’s role in the future of creativity. Today, Jason and Eric pull back the curtain on how this new technology is transforming the production pipeline and helping artists dream bigger, move faster, and build personalized worlds. To learn more, visit our website at https://futureofstorytelling.org/case-study/jason-zada-and-eric-shamlin-inside-the-ai-revolution-with-secret-level/ -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Jason Zada, Eric Shamlin, David Gray, Bonnie Eldon, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Yerba Madre (formerly Guayakí) is a certified B-corp that aspires to create more than just profits with their yerba maté teas. CMO Emily Kortlang and her team are doubling down on what makes the brand unique: their commitment to regenerating the planet and to creating dialogues, rather than just increasing sales. On today's episode of the FoST Podcast, Emily shares her fascinating insights on using a story-first approach to build relationships that go beyond product. To learn more, visit our website at https://futureofstorytelling.org/case-study/emily-kortlang-from-conversations-to-change-with-yerba-madre/ -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Emily Kortlang, David Gray, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Today's guest is Eric Spring in 't Veld, founder and creative director of Dutch escape room company Mama Bazooka. Eric and his team created the Netherlands' first-ever escape room in 2013, as well as the award-winning Girlsroom experience. Their third project, The Dome, has been on TERPECA’s list of top ten escape rooms worldwide since 2019, and was ranked #1 in the world twice in a row in 2019 and 2020. In this episode, Eric goes in depth into the development, design, and evolution of this leading example of the genre. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2025 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Eric Spring in 't Veld, David Gray, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

On today's episode, we revisit a conversation with Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of Charity: Water. Scott and his team recently opened The Experience Lab by Charity: Water just outside of Nashville, where they utilize experiential storytelling to help visitors foster empathy for people struggling to access clean water. To celebrate this new endeavor, please enjoy this conversation from 2020. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Scott Harrison, David Gray, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

The Black List is a platform that helps writers get feedback on their work and connect with professionals who can bring their project to life. After twenty years of successfully uplifting writing for film, TV, and theater, they’ve now turned their attention to a new industry: publishing. Today, The Black List Founder and CEO Franklin Leonard and Creative Director of Fiction Randy Winston talk about the platform’s expansion and what they’ve learned from supporting great, fresh voices. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Franklin Leonard, Randy Winston, David Gray, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Today’s guest is Robert Brunner, founder and creative director of Ammunition. Robert is one of the world’s foremost industrial designers, having worked on popular products from the iconic Beats headphones to the omnipresent Square terminal to the Barnes & Noble Nook e-reader. In this episode, Robert shares his insights about the role that design plays in connecting people to brands and how he helps companies tell stories through their products. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. For more information on Charlie's SXSW session, visit https://bit.ly/4gYWiRG -- © 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Robert Brunner, David Gray, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Sissel Tolaas is an expert on the art and science of smell. Her endeavor to help people rediscover this essential sense and understand its importance has led her to collaborate with some of the world’s top research institutions, cultural organizations, and brands. Today on the FoST Podcast, she shares her learnings from thirty years of research on smell and how she imagines it could shape the future. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Sissel Tolaas, David Gray, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

On today’s episode of the FoST Podcast, we revisit a conversation with Victor van Doorn, co-founder and creative director of escape room company Sherlocked. He and other escape room creators like him aren’t just making timed puzzle rooms— they’re creating embodied, social story experiences that players love. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Victor van Doorn, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Rohit Bhargava is a bestselling author, keynote speaker, and entrepreneur whose specialty is identifying the trends and innovations of the future that others tend to overlook. In this episode, he discusses his predictions for the next generation of stories, from immersive entertainment to generative AI to history itself. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Rohit Bhargava, Lynnette McCurdy, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

For the last episode of 2024, we return to the very first conversation on the FoST Podcast with Angela Ahrendts. Angela has had an incredible career in business--she's been the CEO of Burberry, SVP of Apple Retail, and more--and in this discussion shares invaluable insights on her approach to brand storytelling. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org. -- © 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Angela Ahrendts, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Today on the FoST Podcast, we revisit a conversation with Joe Pine, co-author of the seminal 1999 book The Experience Economy: Competing for Customer Time, Attention, and Money. In it, Joe predicted that creating memorable experiences would become a key aspect of business in the future— a prediction we’ve seen borne out with the rise of immersive and experiential in entertainment, marketing, retail, and beyond. Joe is now working on his next book, a follow-up to The Experience Economy about transformation, which you can follow on his Substack at transformationsbook.substack.com. To learn more, visit our website at https://futureofstorytelling.org/fost-originals/podcasts/ -- © 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Madison Brown in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Meghal Janardan Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Joseph Pine, Amy Snook, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.