FastForward Radio Oscar Edition, Best of TWT

The World Transformed

[This show first aired February 25, 2008.] Phil Bowermaster, Stephen Gordon, and PJ Manney discuss movies and the future. How memes, like "Americans are stupid," stick around regardless of their truth. They were surprised that some Americans object to nanotech for moral reasons. They wondered whether people have confused nanotech with embryonic stem cell research, or whether people are afraid of grey goo. On the bright side, Americans are less afraid of GM food than Europeans. Contact lenses with circuits, lights could be a possible platform for superhuman vision. Animal testing is ongoing. Phil and Stephen agree that the possibilities are wide open for this technology. Phil wondered which comes first, HUD contact lenses or self-driving cars. Stephen thinks that both technologies are imminent and will be complementary. Speaking of self-driving cars, Stephen enjoyed the new Knight Rider pilot. Good cheesy fun. By the way, that was Val Kilmer playing the voice of the new K.I.T.T. Stephen just introduced his kids to ET: The Extra Terrestrial and Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Phil got to see 2001: A Space Odyssey on the big screen. Phil's daughter's response was pretty much "what the heck was that?" VW is coming out with a diesel hybrid. Stephen is especially excited about this development. They just need to offer a diesel plug-in hybrid. The picture at the top of this post is the VW Vortex concept that Michael Darling mentioned. It gets 235mpg and has a carbon fiber body.