The Future Lab with Lee Schneider

Sue Toth is a book editor and coach who specializes in romance, mystery, and thrillers. She keeps writers inspired, helps them work through writers' block, and helps their books be born into the world. I asked Sue about the special challenges of writing climate fiction, and she offered to have a conversation on the show about how her developmental editing work with thrillers could apply to climate fiction. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Sue Toth - Guest

Tory Stephens works at Grist Magazine as their climate fiction creative manager and uses storytelling to champion climate justice, and imagine green, clean, and just futures. He's going to tell us about a climate fiction contest, called Imagine 2200, that he says changed him and challenged him on a personal level. It also inspired thousands of writers to explore what it would be like to write hopeful fiction about the future. Find out more about Imagine 2200.Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Tory Stephens - Guest

The Future Lab tells the stories that shape the future. It’s where thriller, science fiction, climate fiction, and fantasy authors discuss how we shape the future with the stories we tell today.If the interview coming up with Matt Gemmell has a theme, I’d say it is, when writing long-form fiction, don’t follow templates. Instead let intention guide you. Matt is the author of four books of fiction, including the popular KESTREL techo-thriller trilogy. He has also published four nonfiction books, and six collections of short stories about the supernatural. He’ll send you a free short story by email if you sign up for his newsletter. All the links are in the show notes, and you’ll find Matt online at mattgemmell.scot. Matt was once a software engineer doing design and user experience work for companies like Apple, and he approaches writing with an engineer’s mind combined with the improvisational approach of a session musician. Here’s a quote from our conversation: Matt said: “There's this sense of being so engrossed and encompassed in the work of an actual book that I only learn the lessons of it and improve after a major piece of work."I take that to mean that it’s by doing the writing that we improve, certainly, and we learn by a kind of spidey-sense to hone everthing down to what is absolutely needed. Writing along the path of your story becomes like muscle memory. You get to know your characters so well that you could drop them into any scene, even an outlandish one, and you would know how they would react and what they would say. You cultivate a deep intentionality that shapes your creative spark.As Matt says, “You will always, always, always get better results in anything by doing it deliberately and for a reason." Toward the end of our conversation, we talk about Matt’s writing setup, why he likes mechanical keyboards, and the pleasure he derives from a good e-ink tablet. Find Matt online: Website: https://mattgemmell.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MattGemmellAuthorMastodon: https://mastodon.scot/@mattgemmellCreators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Matt Gemmell - Guest

Welcome to the Future Lab with me, Lee Schneider.  This is the trailer before the trailer, the advance word, the beginning of the beginning, just tapping the mic to be sure everything works.  I'm excited about what we're going to be doing in this space, and I just had to tell you about it. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host

Rachel Allen is the owner of Bolt from the Blue Copywriting. She describes her work as mixing the neuroscience of communication with the art of great writing to help businesses take the cap off their income, impact and influence. We’re going to talk about publishing your book and who you’ll need on your team to succeed at it. Timestamps[00:01:14] Skills in book editing. [00:04:23] Consistency in longer form writing. [00:07:09] Struggles of first-time authors. [00:09:43] Importance of cover design. [00:13:19] Self-publishing vs. traditional publishing. [00:16:33] Enhancing chances of traditional publishing. [00:20:03] Advising on genre choices. [00:22:24] Ghostwriting and book intimacy. [00:25:38] Writing with emotional depth.Find out more about Rachel at her website. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Rachel Allen - Guest

JV Hilliard is the author of the multi-book Warminster Saga. Here's how he often introduces himself. “Born of steel, fire and black wind, J.V. Hilliard was raised as a highlander in the foothills of a once-great mountain chain on the confluence of the three mighty rivers that forged his realm’s wealth and power for generations. His father, a peasant twerg, toiled away in industries of honest labor and instilled in him a work ethic that would shape his destiny. His mother, a local healer, cared for his elders and his warrior uncle, who helped to raise him.”We talk about how he builds the world of his saga, his point of view about promoting his work, and what it's been like to expand the his storytelling into a video game and a graphic novel. JV gets a lot from the contribution of beta readers and discusses how the process of editing works for him. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Karen Gershowitz, author ofTravel Mania: Stories of Wanderlust. In pursuit of a passion for travel, Karen has lost and gained friends and made a radical career change. She has visited remote areas of Indonesia on her own, and became a translator, though only fluent in English. We’ll hear about some of her memories with people she met around the world. When Karen started promoting her book, she had a few hundred Facebook friends and about 500 LinkedIn connections. Now, those numbers are in the thousands. She’ll tell us how she developed her online audience and sustains it. And we’ll also learn about her next book and how she plans to promote it online. Find Karen on Facebook and the links below. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Karen Gershowitz - Guest

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Rod Faulkner, self-professed Blerd, (Black nerd) founder of The7thMatrix and host of EYE ON SCI-Fi Podcast. He’s a lifelong lover of science fiction and fantasy. Rod shares his enthusiasm for short-form science-fiction films. We discussed how a short-form film, with its time limitations, can be an exercise in creative constraints. The most unique and original science fiction and fantasy narratives, in my opinion, are being told by independent film makers in the short film space. I'm attracted to that medium is because they only have a few minutes to tell their story. It forces them to be succinct. It forces them to make bold choices about how they convey the narrative that they're trying to tell audiences. He points out that one of the great things about short films is that by pretty much the first minute, you’ll know whether it’s for you or not. A filmmaker he recommends is Anthony Ferraro. Anthony specializes in making instructional videos for DIY-ing genre shorts.  Here’s [Anthony’s YouTube Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@createscifi). Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Rod T. Faulkner - Guest

Brian Freeman discusses Creatorland, a professional networking platform designed for content creators in the 100 billion dollar creator economy. He explains that the platform was developed to address some of the drawbacks of LinkedIn for content creators that include a lack of focus on content creation. Freeman shared that his company started by interviewing creators early on in the development process, building direct relationships with them, and using their feedback to refine the platform. Creatorland’s early success came from focusing on opportunity, discovery, education, learning, and networking with peers.Get info at https://creatorland.com.Explore Mee6, a Discord moderation bot. https://mee6.xyz/en/plugins/managementCreators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Brian Freeman - Guest

In this episode of the FutureX Podcast, host Lee Schneider interviews JJ Ramberg, co-creator of Goodpods, a platform designed to help podcast listeners discover new content and share recommendations with their friends. Ramberg and her brother Ken founded the platform to address the discovery problem in podcasting, where there is so much great content but few effective ways to find it. Goodpods aims to amplify word-of-mouth podcasting and connect producers with new audiences through user-generated content and community-driven promotion. The episode also touches on the importance of understanding your audience and seeking feedback when building a new platform or product, and JJ also discusses her Discord community, New Atlantis Labs. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host JJ Ramberg - Guest

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Dr. Robert Eschmann, a writer, scholar, filmmaker, and educator from Chicago. He is an Associate Professor of Social Work and a member of the Data Science Institute at Columbia University, as well as a Faculty Associate at Harvard’s Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society. His new book, *When the Hood Comes Off: Racism and Resistance in the Digital Age* is a comprehensive study of how racism manifests online and it highlights the antiracist tactics rising to oppose racism.Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Dr. Robert Eschmann - Guest  “Students online feel much more comfortable challenging micro-aggressions, talking back to micro-aggressions. This is a communal project. It's a collective project, so it's never the responsibility of one person to speak out, but if anyone in the community has the energy that day, then they're able to support everyone by saying ‘no thank you’ to these harmful interactions.” - Dr. Robert EschmannBlack TwitterBlack Twitter is a community where, in Dr. Eschmann’s words, “Black folk get together and perform Blackness online, challenging racism and highlighting ways that racism is pervasive in society. Another part of that is just collectively enjoying popular culture.”Yuza Farzan, writing in *The Guardian*, called Black Twitter a form of Black witnessing. Farzan calls up the tradition of Ida B Wells, a founder of the NAACP and a civil rights activist, who documented and compiled white violence against Black Americans, including more than 10,000 lynchings. “Much like how Black Twitter works today, the Black press has historically provided a counter-narrative when white media institutions failed to condemn injustices against Black people and, in some instances, even incited violence,” Farzan wrote. Allissa Richardson, author of *Bearing Witness While Black*, was quoted in the Guardian article. “Black activists always knew that they were never wed to one particular platform to get the message out. I think that’s the beauty of Black witnessing, is that it hacks any social network that it needs to at the time to get the word out.”  

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Laura Hartley, founder of an online school for change makers called Public Love Enterprises. She teaches people how to detox from capitalism, patriarchy, and supremacy culture. Her intention is to empower changemakers, activists, and entrepreneurs to radically reimagine the world, creating the conditions for social healing, collective thriving, and liberation.Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Laura Hartley - Guest

Danielle Desir Corbett is an author, podcaster & podcast marketing coach. She hosts two podcasts,  Women of Color Podcasters and The Thought Card Podcast. She publishes Grants for Creators on Substack. And she’s the mother of a one year old child. And I’ve probably left something out!We’re going to talk about how to manage multiple projects, and in keeping with the theme of this podcast, we’ll talk about how to build community for your projects — in Danielle’s case, building community around many projects. Closed-captioned video available on YouTube: https://youtu.be/x6Q92otB2gICreators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Danielle Desir Corbett - Guest

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Piet Terheyden, Co-Founder & CEO of Literal. Literal — the url is literal.club — is a platform to share books recommendations and reviews. Piet is also the creator & curator of Minimal Gallery, an online gallery showcasing the best web design. The gallery started as a way for him to save website designs that inspired him. He has a deep background in front end development and web design. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Piet Terheyden - Guest

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Alexandria Noel Butler, known as Lexi B. She is one of Silicon Valley’s most candid and prominent voices. In April 2017, Lexi B founded Sista Circle: Black Women in Tech, a community that supports Black women in tech companies and tech related professions. Sista Circle has partnered with organizations such as Phenomenally, Instagram, Youtube, Linkedin and Slack. We’re going to talk about building communities, checking privilege that involves race, gender, and knowledge, and why social change requires inner work. Creators & Guests Lexi B. - Guest

This week on the FutureX Podcast, you’ll meet Matt Gemmell, a writer of thriller, horror, and suspense novels. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland with his wife Lauren, their son Calum, and a labradoodle named Whisky. Matt first tried his hand at writing stories when he was in his early teens. Writing had to wait for a while as he got a degree in Computing Science and then had a successful career as a software engineer for Apple and other companies. He also released software of his own. When it was time to try novel-writing again, Matt started with techno thrillers, and has since developed a large body of work. We talk about building a community for Matt’s writing online, and we discuss the benefits of Mastodon. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Matt Gemmell - Guest

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Bernice Chao, an award-winning creative director, author, and public speaker. She is a co-founder of Asians in Advertising, a community with five thousand global members that strives to create opportunities for Asians in the advertising world and helps elevate Asians to higher leadership positions. Bernice is an adjunct marketing professor at LMU and the curator of TEDxCulverCity. In 2023, she was named Working Mother of the Year by an organization called She Runs It. In 2022 she was inducted into the American Advertising Federation Hall of Achievement We talk about building community and representation in advertising, on the TEDx stage, and online.  Here are some key moments:0:00:57 - Challenges of Asian representation inadvertising 0:05:02 - Building a global Asian advertising community 0:09:30 - Job market representation and advancement 0:15:34 - Challenges of speaking in brainstorm rooms 0:21:29 - Creatinginclusive and welcoming spaces 0:30:33 - Starting an online community Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Bernice Chao - Guest

In today’s episode, you’ll meet Dr. Shaun M. Anderson, author of The Black Athlete Revolt: The Sport Justice Movement in the Age of BlackLivesMatter. It examines athlete activism before and after the BLM movement. Dr. Anderson is an award-winning professor at Loyola Marymount University. As a scholar, he examines how sport has influenced business, politics, and society. He is also the founder of CSR Global Consulting, which assists organizations with their social responsibility initiatives.We talk about the role of Black athletes as social change agents and what it will take to bring a systemic change to sports. We also discuss how Dr. Anderson is building a community around his book as he discusses the sport justice movement. Creators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Dr. Shaun M. Anderson - Guest

Ever Gonzalez, a self-described filthy capitalist with a hippie heart. Ever is the Founder of OutlierHQ, a media and events company. He hosts the popular Outlier On Air podcast and runs Founders Weekend and the Outlier Podcast Festival. Ever has been pivoting his events from pandemic-times online events back to in-person events. He has a micro-event plan for you that makes that pivot easier for you. You’ll hear what you’ll get out of hosting a micro-event and also what you’ll get as a guest at one. You'll get a sense of the value of small, manageable events that will get you back in front of your people as a speaker or organizer, or get you back in circulation in your community.  Get info on the Outlier Podcast Festival: https://www.outlierhq.com

We all consume media entertainment. How does that entertainment shape our perceptions of women and people of color?  In today's episode, you'll meet Dr. Nicole Haggard, who is an award-winning instructor, speaker, and published researcher with 16 years of study about the intersection of race and gender in American culture. In 2018, Nicole co-founded the Center for Intersectional Media and Entertainment — CIME — an organization dedicated to advancing representation.CIME’s primary goal is to transform our collective relationship to the stories we are all watching. In conversation with Lee Schneider, Dr. Haggard discusses the data behind CIME’s ideas, how it uses pop media culture to get the ideas across, and the audience it is working to reach. On screen, only 33% of the characters in speaking roles are women. And behind the scenes, only 17% of them are women in key production roles. Dr. Nicole Haggard discusses how representation behind the scenes drives representation on screen, what needs to change, and how CIME, the Center for Intersectional Media and Entertainment, can make change. She also has some best-practices suggestions for movement building online. Red Cup Agency produces the FutureX Podcast for FutureX.Studio. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts or Spotify and join our newsletter, 500 Words. Give us some stars and post your comments on Apple Podcasts and we’ll give you a shout out on the show. Learn more about CIME: https://www.cime.usCreators & Guests Lee Schneider - Host Dr. Nicole Haggard - Guest