Futurist Ari Wallach on building a better tomorrow

Firing Line with Margaret Hoover

Futurist Ari Wallach joins Margaret Hoover to discuss “A Brief History of the Future,” his new PBS series exploring the ideas and technologies that could help humanity build better tomorrows.

Wallach reflects on the “intertidal” moment society currently faces and explains why he believes decisions made in the years ahead will have ramifications for generations to come.

He assesses the implications of emerging tools like artificial intelligence and the challenge posed by humanity’s innate negativity bias. He calls for “cathedral thinking” to develop long-term solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, and he weighs in on Elon Musk’s vision for Mars exploration.

Wallach explains why “protopias” are preferable to utopias, details what it takes to become great ancestors to our descendants, and reveals what ultimately gives him hope for the future.

Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by Robert Granieri, Vanessa and Henry Cornell, The Fairweather Foundation, The Tepper Foundation, Peter and Mary Kalikow, The Asness Family Foundation, The Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, Kathleen and Andrew McKenna through The McKenna Family Foundation, Charles R. Schwab, The Eric and Wendy Schmidt Fund for Strategic Innovation, Pritzker Military Foundation on behalf of the Pritzker Military Museum and Library, The Rosalind P. Walter Foundation, Damon Button, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Roger and Susan Hertog, Cheryl Cohen Effron and Blair Effron, and Al and Kathy Hubbard. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc. and Pfizer Inc.