This week’s guest is Rob Hopkins, a renowned author, musician, and co-founder of the Transition Network. He shares captivating insights from his upcoming book that dives into historical movements embracing future visions for social change. Rob discusses the empowerment of radical imagination in envisioning a flourishing future and critiques climate complacency. He emphasizes the transformative power of storytelling and community in combating global challenges while encouraging listeners to build a hopeful world together.
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question_answer ANECDOTE
Time Traveler Speech Sparks Book
Rob Hopkins performed a time traveler speech imagining a successful 2030 future.
Audience reacted emotionally with tears, sparking the inspiration for his book.
insights INSIGHT
Future Imagination Uses Memory
Imagining the future uses the same brain processes as remembering the past.
Our 'memory cupboards' must be filled with positive future images to foster imagination.
volunteer_activism ADVICE
Create Multi-Sensory Future Memories
Use multi-sensory exercises to create vivid memories of the future.
Include sights, sounds, and smells to embed emotional connection to desired futures.
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The book explores what it’s like to be a time traveler from Rob’s perspective, how dreams and imagination are powerful tools for driving change, and the role that art and music play in the fight for a better future. It explores examples of communities that have made a claim on the future, from the Afrofuturism and Black Utopianism of jazz musician Sun Ra to the occupation of Waterloo Bridge in London and the pop-up community that arose as a result. And finally, it look at how the future is not just an abstract concept, but something that can be felt, touched, heard, seen, and smelled.
The machine
a hot team, a legendary season, and a heart-stopping World Series : the story of the 1975 Cincinnati Reds
Joe Posnanski
In 'The Machine', Joe Posnanski chronicles the 1975 season of the Cincinnati Reds, often referred to as the Big Red Machine. The book delves into the larger-than-life personalities of players like Pete Rose, Joe Morgan, and Johnny Bench, as well as other key team members such as Tony Perez, Davey Concepcion, and Ken Griffey Sr. Posnanski explores the team's dominant performance throughout the season and their dramatic World Series against the Boston Red Sox, particularly the epic Game 6. The book humanizes the players and provides insights into their motivations, struggles, and the team's overall dynamic under manager Sparky Anderson.
Our guest this week, Rob Hopkins, is a towering figure in the world of regenerative change. Co-founder of Transition Network and of Transition Town Totnes, he is host of the podcast 'From What if to What Next', stars in the groundbreaking French film 'Demain', speaks at TED Global and TEDx events and most recently, has created a collaborative music project with artist Mr Kit, ‘Field Recordings from the Future‘ which will be released on 17th of May 2025, alongside his new book,‘How to Fall in Love with the Future’.
With the subtitle, 'A Time Traveller's Guide to Changing the World', this book does what it says on the tin - it offers a radical, moving, deeply inspiring dive into the people and movements throughout history who have used visions of the future to inspire positive change on a large and dramatic scale. From the life and writings of musician Sun Ra and the history of Black utopian movements to the latest neuroscience on what goes on in our minds—and hearts—when we travel through time, Rob brings essential new thinking to anyone overwhelmed with dread and anxiety for the future. He asks us to consider: what would the world look like if we all got to work imagining—and then building—a world we were deeply in love with?
So this is our invitation to you: Listen to Rob now, then read his book, then explore what a genuinely flourishing future would feel like for you. And then together, let's make this happen.
What we offer: Accidental Gods, Dreaming Awake and the Thrutopia Writing Masterclass If you'd like to join us at Accidental Gods, this is the membership where we endeavour to help you to connect fully with the living web of life. If you'd like to join our next Gathering 'Becoming a Good Ancestor' (you don't have to be a member) it's on 6th July - details are here. If you'd like to train more deeply in the contemporary shamanic work at Dreaming Awake, you'll find us here. If you'd like to explore the recordings from our last Thrutopia Writing Masterclass, the details are here
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