PODCAST · history
Future Imperfect
by Jason Kingsley
Jason Kingsley is a technologist who started one of the UK's most exciting games companies, Rebellion. He's also fascinated by the past. In this podcast he talks to historians, scientists, and experts from all fields about what we the future might hold, and what we should do to prepare for it. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
-
Future Imperfect Autumn Compilation 1 2026
In a special bumper compilation episode, Jason talks to Dan Snow, Eleanor Janega, and Seamus Blackley. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Were there vampires in the Middle Ages
Jason talks to Professor John Blair about vampires, zombies, and the undead and whether or not they were present in the mythologies of the Middle Ages. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Where was Mercia?
Jason talks to best-selling author Max Adams about the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Where was it? Who lived there? And how did it become so important? Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Who were Europe's last pagans?
Jason talks to Francis Young about Europe's last pagans. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Who was Boudicca's daughter?
In this episode Jason Kingsley talks to Elodie Harper about her new book: Boudicca's Daughter. They talk about what we know about the Iceni queen and her family, and the revolt that changed the face of the Roman Empire. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See…
more -
What did Britain look like after the Romans left?
Alex Harvey returns to the podcast to talk to Jason about the kingdoms of the British Isles after the Romans left. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Why did we invent the Renaissance?
Jason talks to Ada Palmer about the concept of the Renaissance, and what distinguishes it from the mediaeval? Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
What did medieval builders get right?
In this episode Jason talks to Andrew Ziminski, a monumental stonemason, about building in the Middle Ages. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
What happened when animals got away in the Middle Ages
Jason talks to Jordan Claridge and Spike Gibbs about stray animals, the damage they could do, and what happened to them in the Middle Ages. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Who were the Carolingians?
Jason talks to Matt Gabriele and David Perry about who the Carolingians were. What relationship were they to Charlemagne? Where did they live? They discuss all of this, and their new book, Oathbreakers. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...
-
What did people in the Middle Ages use for money?
In this episode, Jason speaks to Dr Rory Naismith about how people in the MIddle Ages used money. Did they have money? Did they use cash? And what did they do when there was no money? Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Did people get murdered in the Middle Ages?
How violent were the Middle Ages? What was life like before there were police? In this episode, Jason talks to Annie Whitehead about murder in the age of the Anglo-Saxons. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Who are the Vikings we don't talk about?
Welcome to the third season of Future Imperfect! In this episodeJason talks to Alex Harvey about the sorts of Vikings we don't often mention nowadays. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Who were the knights of the Islamic world?
Jason Kingsley talks to Dr Rachel Schine about her new book, Black Knights. Produced by: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
What were medieval warhorses like?
Jason talks to Emma Herbert-Davies about her research into the mediaeval warhorse. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
What were ordinary Vikings really like?
On this episode Jason talks to Eleanor Barraclough about her new book, Embers of the Hands, about the day-t-day lives and material culture of ordinary Vikings. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
What is Jason's new book about?
In this episode, Jason talks about his new book, out now on Kickstarter with the host of Legends and Lectures, Michelle Franklin. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How to get someone to fall in love with you (in the Middle Ages)
We learn lots about of the facts of the Middle Ages, but what did the people themselves believe about the ways in which the world worked, and the intersections between religion and magic? Jason talks to Tabitha Stanmore about practical magic, cunning folk, and the ways in which magic was threaded...
-
Can mediaeval knowledge save the world?
In a world of limited resources, people in the Middle Ages knew how to exploit the natural world in a way that was sustainable. Jason talks to Annette Kehnel about sustainability in the Middle Ages. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Who were the Anglo-Saxons?
In this episode, Jason talks to Marc Morris about his new book, Anglo Saxons. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How do you make a mediaeval book?
Sara Charles is a researched into books and manuscripts, who has learned all of the processes that went into making books in the Middle Ages. She joins Jason to talk about manuscripts books, and all thinks ink and vellum! Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See...
-
Was mediaeval armour for defence or for show?
Jason Kingsley, CBE, talks to armourer Toby Capwell about their time spent jousting against each other, how you know when to give up jousting and how armour worked in the Middle Ages. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
What was the best Old English word?
In this episode, Jason is joined by Dr Hana Videen, who has been collecting early mediaeval words and their meanings. She talks about what we can learn about the way people in the early mediaeval period dealt with animals from the way they wrote and talked about them. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio:...
-
What's the oldest pub in England?
On this episode, Jason is joined by James Wright a buildings archaeologist who specialises in mediaeval myth-busting. He talks us through the legends about a lot of England's old buildings, and what the truth actually is. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See...
-
HIGHLIGHTS EPISODE
We've had a lot of new listeners over the summer - so we thought we'd look back at some of the highlights of some of our older episodes. Presenter: Jason Kingsley, CBE Producer: Natt Tapley Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Did people in the Middle Ages believe in fairies?
Did people in the Middle Ages believe in fairies? Jason talks to Dr Francis Young about mediaeval beliefs in non-Christian entities and his book, Twilight of the Godlings. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How many seasons were there in the mediaeval year? (The answer may surprise you!)
In this episode, Jason talks to Eleanor Parker about her book Winters In The World: A Journey Through The Anglo-Saxon Year. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How did people in the Middle Ages think about sex?
Dr Eleanor Janega comes back to the podcast to talk to Jason Kingsley, CBE, about sex and gender in the Middle Ages and her new book The Once and Future Sex. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How can we live chivalrously?
In a change of format, we talk to Jason Kingsley, CBE, himself. We dig deep into what chivalry means, why Jason is fascinated with mediaeval history, and how is affects his life and the way he runs his business. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...
-
How can we fix our oceans?
Professor Guy Standing is an economist who has a radical way to fix the problems in our oceans, one from the past. He wants to see them held in common, as mediaeval resources often were. He talks to Jason about how this would work. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See...
-
What does genetic engineering mean for our futures?
Gene editing therapies are just starting to be used to treat conditions. In this episode, Jason talks to Matthew Cobb, Professor of Zoology at the University of Manchester about how we got here, and what it could mean for each of us in the future. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted…
more -
How did gift-giving work in the past?
When European settlers arrived in the Americas they found many economies based on gift-giving. Jason talks to Brian Owensby about how this worked, how it didn't work, and how this could have led to conflict between the Old World and the New. Producer: Natt Tapley Sound: Pete Dennis Hosted on…
more -
What is the digital mediaeval?
Jeremy Silver is the CEO of Digital Capital, and he believes that we are living in our 'digital mediaeval period'. He joins Jason today explain what he means by that, what problems it poses, and what we need to do to move to a 'digital renaissance'. Producer - Natt Tapley Sound - Pete Dennis…
more -
How did they deal with pandemic disease in the 1660s?
Jason talks to Rebecca Rideal about 1666, and pandemics, great fires, and wars. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How big were mediaeval warhorses?
Jason talks to Alan Outram and Oliver Creighton who have done the most extensive study of mediaeval warhorses ever made. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Why are our trees going north?
Ben Rawlence joins Jason to explain how the tree-line is moving, what that means for us, and what we can do about it. Produced by: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How can we bring back action comics?
Jason talks to comics legend Garth Ennis about war, computer games, history, and how to bring back comics of the past. Producer: Natt Tapley Assistant Producer: Abi Robinson Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Can we geo-engineer our way out of climate change?
In this episode Jason talks to Gernot Wagner about the damage we're doing to our limate and whether or not it's on our power to reverse it. Producer: Natt Tapley Assistant Producer: Abi Robinson Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Are we going to run out of soil?
Jason talks to Jo Handelsman, the Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery at University of Wisconsin, about the role soil has played in the historical invasions of Ukraine, how fast we're running out of soil and what will happen when we do. Presenter: Jason Kingsley Producer: Natt…
more -
Is the world coming to an end?
Professor Nicholas Guyatt joins Jason to talk about apocalyptic cults, beliefs in the end of the world, and what that might look like. Producer: Natt Tapley Assistant Producer: Abi Robinson Audio: Pete Dennis Image: St Jean de Montmartre 4th Horseman of Apocalypse by Peter Haas licensed under...
-
Were the Dark Ages dark?
Jason talks to David Perry & Matt Gabriele about their new book, The Bright Ages, which tries to reassess the period after the fall of the Roman empire (if that even happened). Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Assistant Producer: Abi Robinson Photo by Ali Khalil from Pexels:...
-
When did we invent love?
Jason talks to Professor Suzannah Lipscomb about how we find out about mediaeval women in the past, how marriages worked, and whether or not Henry VIII was the ultimate romantic? Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Assistant Producer: Abi Robinson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for...
-
How does bias change the world?
Jason talks to Jessica Nordell , who showed how small amounts of bias can have huge impact on large organisations. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Assistant Producer: Abi Robinson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Why do we have to work?
In this episode, Jason talks to Professor Jan Lucassen about the different roles work has played in human history. Have we always worked? Will we always work? How do we define work? Producer: Nathaniel Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Assistant Producer: Abi Robinson Photo by Yury Kim from Pexels Hosted...
-
Should we worry about World War III?
Recorded last month, Jason talks to Cold War historian Alex von Tunzelmann about tensions between Russia and the West, and whether or not we're all likely to die in a Third World War. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Assistant Producer: Abi Robinson Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy...
-
Do plants have souls?
Hildegard of Bingen was a mediaeval abbess who was famous in her own time for her thoughts about the natural world. Michael Marder talks to Jason about what her philosophy can teach us today about the way in which we interact with plants and what it could mean for our future. Producer: Natt…
more -
Are we entering new Fire Age?
Are we entering a new Age of Fire? Emeritus Professor Stephen Pyne believes that we have altered the geological age through our control of fire. Jason talks to him about our past manipulation of fire, and what the world is likely to look like in this new Fire Age. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio…
more -
How can we beat our unconscious biases?
Jason talks to Pragya Agarwal about unconscious bias, brain structures and what we can do to combat our own unconscious biases. Producer: Natt Tapley Sound: Pete Dennis Photo by Daniel Reche from Pexels Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
Is there life on Mars?
One of the designers of the Mars Rover, Larry Crumpler, who has been involved in space exploration for forty years joins Jason to talk about the history of space exploration, and where it goes next. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
-
How can we communicate science better?
Simonyi Professor for the Understanding of Science, Marcus du Sautoy joins Jason to talk about what we need to know about science, why it's important, and how we can improve our understanding. Producer: Natt Tapley Audio: Pete Dennis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Jason Kingsley is a technologist who started one of the UK's most exciting games companies, Rebellion. He's also fascinated by the past. In this podcast he talks to historians, scientists, and experts from all fields about what we the future might hold, and what we should do to prepare for it.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
HOSTED BY
Jason Kingsley
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Future Imperfect have?
Future Imperfect currently has 50 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Future Imperfect about?
Jason Kingsley is a technologist who started one of the UK's most exciting games companies, Rebellion. He's also fascinated by the past. In this podcast he talks to historians, scientists, and experts from all fields about what we the future might hold, and what we should do to prepare for it....
How often does Future Imperfect release new episodes?
Future Imperfect has 50 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Future Imperfect?
You can listen to Future Imperfect on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Future Imperfect?
Future Imperfect is created and hosted by Jason Kingsley.
URL copied to clipboard!