TED Talks Daily

How science fiction can shape our reality | Your Undivided Attention

Mar 27, 2022

Kim Stanley Robinson, acclaimed American science fiction writer known for his climate-focused works like 'The Ministry for the Future,' discusses the power of science fiction in shaping our reality. He highlights how storytelling can illuminate complex challenges like climate change and inspire innovative solutions. The conversation dives into the importance of imagining both utopian and dystopian futures and advocates for systemic change and individual action to combat climate grief. Robinson emphasizes hope as a biological necessity in the fight for a sustainable future.

28:14

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Episode guests

Kim Stanley Robinson

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Episode notes

Intro

2min

Imagining Futures: Climate Change in Fiction

23min

Finding Hope and Action in the Fight Against Climate Change

4min

The Struggle for Equitable Healthcare Access

2min

Advocating for Health Equity and Rights

3min

The meta-crisis is so vast: climate change, exponential technology, addiction, polarization and more. How do we grasp it, let alone take steps to address it? One of the thinking tools we have at our disposal is science fiction. To the extent that we co-evolve with our stories, science fiction can prepare us for the impending future -- and empower us to shape it. On this episode on Your Undivided Attention, a podcast from the TED Audio Collective, we're thrilled to have one of the greatest living science-fiction writers: Kim Stanley Robinson. His most recent novel is "The Ministry for the Future," a sweeping epic that reaches into the very near future and imagines what it would take to unite humanity and avoid a mass extinction. Whether or not you've read the book, this episode has insights for you. And if this episode makes you want to read the book, our conversation won't spoil it. Listen to more podcasts from TED at youtube.com/tedaudiocollective.

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