Jane McGonigal

This collection features brilliant minds like Kat Cole, a business leader known for her rise through Focus Brands, and Noreena Hertz, a loneliness expert whose work critiques societal norms. Adam Grant reveals the importance of intellectual humility, while NASA's Thomas Zurbuchen discusses complex decision-making in space missions. Jane McGonigal showcases the benefits of gaming on skills, and Nir Eyal offers strategies to combat distraction. Seth Godin, Angela Duckworth, and Jim Collins further explore creativity, mindset, and trust in relationships, providing invaluable insights from diverse fields.

Jane McGonigal, a renowned future forecaster and game designer, shares her insights on predicting crises like COVID-19, rooted in simulations from 2010. She highlights the transformative power of video games for mental health, revealing how they can cultivate optimism and empower individuals. The conversation dives into the challenges posed by climate change and societal disillusionment among youth, advocating for proactive solutions. With her unique blend of gaming and futurism, she inspires listeners to embrace change and prepare for the unpredictable future.

Jane McGonigal, a PhD game designer, champions the power of video games in fostering skills and mental health recovery. She discusses how challenging games can build confidence and a growth mindset. The impact of gaming on decision-making, mental resilience, and post-traumatic growth is explored. Jane shares insights on using games for education and creativity, emphasizing the importance of balancing play with real-life skills. Additionally, she touches on navigating misinformation and the potential of gaming in future technologies.

Jane McGonigal, a futurist and game designer, explores how to effectively predict future trends using innovative methods. She discusses the psychological impacts of rapid change and introduces techniques like future backcasting and hyper-specific journaling. Jane emphasizes the importance of positive visualization to reduce anxiety and prepare mentally for challenges. Additionally, she highlights the evolving landscape of Web3 gaming and the potential for immersive experiences in the metaverse, encouraging listeners to engage with creative foresight.

Future forecaster and game designer Jane McGonigal ran a social simulation game in 2008 that had players dealing with the effects of a respiratory pandemic set to happen in the next decade. She wasn’t literally predicting the 2020 pandemic—but she got eerily close. Her game, set in 2019, featured scenarios we're now familiar with (like masking and social distancing), and participant reactions gave her a sense of what the world could—and eventually, did—look like. How did she do it? And what can we learn from this experiment to predict—and prepare for—the future ourselves? In this episode, Jane teaches us how to be futurists, and talks about the role of imagination—and gaming—in shaping a future that we’re truly excited about. This is an episode of The TED Interview, another podcast in the TED Audio Collective. To hear more episodes—starting with a season all about the future of intelligence—follow The TED Interview wherever you're listening to this. We'll be back on July 22 with a new season of TED Tech—and a surprise. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jane McGonigal, a visionary futurist, challenges us to rethink the words "unimaginable" and "unthinkable." She introduces compelling hypothetical scenarios, urging listeners to creatively anticipate future risks. With a glimpse into a 2033 altered by climate challenges and a radical zero-waste society in 2031, she encourages critical thinking about our collective paths. McGonigal emphasizes the importance of balancing optimism with realism, equipping us to face the unpredictable future.

Jane McGonigal (@avantgame), PhD, is a senior researcher at the Institute for the Future and the author of The New York Times bestseller Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Her work has been featured in The Economist, Wired, and The New York Times. She has been called one of the "top ten innovators to watch" by BusinessWeek and one of the "100 most creative people in business” by Fast Company. Her TED talks on games have been viewed more than ten million times. In this conversation, we dig into everything from recovering from head trauma to how you can use Candy Crush Saga to lose weight. Not enough? How about using Tetris to prevent PTSD, or using Call of Duty to increase empathy? Her latest book is SuperBetter, which offers a revolutionary (science-based) approach for getting stronger, happier, and more resilient. I’ve been testing it, and it works. Not only am I feeling better, but I’m having more fun. As adults, we often lose track of play. My hope is that this episode will help you to reclaim it. It’s not frivolous; it can help you get a lot more done with less stress. In this episode we discuss: Examples of real world problems that are solved with games or by gamers How Jane climbed herself out of the hole of suicidal thoughts Action steps for using gaming lessons and applying them to real life How to build a quest into your life The health effects of Candy Crush Saga On the use of psychedelics to simulate traumatic experiences And much more... Links, resources, and show notes from this episode can be found at http://fourhourworkweek.com/podcast This episode is sponsored by Athletic Greens. I get asked all the time, “If you could only use one supplement, what would it be?” My answer is, inevitably, Athletic Greens. It is my all-in-one nutritional insurance. I recommended it in The 4-Hour Body and did not get paid to do so. Get 50% off your order at Athletic Greens.com/Tim This podcast is also brought to you by 99Designs, the world’s largest marketplace of graphic designers. Did you know I used 99Designs to rapid prototype the cover for The 4-Hour Body? Here are some of the impressive results. Click this link and get a free $99 upgrade. Give it a test run... Enjoy!***If you enjoy the podcast, would you please consider leaving a short review on Apple Podcasts/iTunes? It takes less than 60 seconds, and it really makes a difference in helping to convince hard-to-get guests. I also love reading the reviews!For show notes and past guests, please visit tim.blog/podcast.Sign up for Tim’s email newsletter (“5-Bullet Friday”) at tim.blog/friday.For transcripts of episodes, go to tim.blog/transcripts.Interested in sponsoring the podcast? Visit tim.blog/sponsor and fill out the form.Discover Tim’s books: tim.blog/books.Follow Tim:Twitter: twitter.com/tferriss Instagram: instagram.com/timferrissFacebook: facebook.com/timferriss YouTube: youtube.com/timferrissPast guests on The Tim Ferriss Show include Jerry Seinfeld, Hugh Jackman, Dr. Jane Goodall, LeBron James, Kevin Hart, Doris Kearns Goodwin, Jamie Foxx, Matthew McConaughey, Esther Perel, Elizabeth Gilbert, Terry Crews, Sia, Yuval Noah Harari, Malcolm Gladwell, Madeleine Albright, Cheryl Strayed, Jim Collins, Mary Karr, Maria Popova, Sam Harris, Michael Phelps, Bob Iger, Edward Norton, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Neil Strauss, Ken Burns, Maria Sharapova, Marc Andreessen, Neil Gaiman, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Jocko Willink, Daniel Ek, Kelly Slater, Dr. Peter Attia, Seth Godin, Howard Marks, Dr. Brené Brown, Eric Schmidt, Michael Lewis, Joe Gebbia, Michael Pollan, Dr. Jordan Peterson, Vince Vaughn, Brian Koppelman, Ramit Sethi, Dax Shepard, Tony Robbins, Jim Dethmer, Dan Harris, Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Vitalik Buterin, Elizabeth Lesser, Amanda Palmer, Katie Haun, Sir Richard Branson, Chuck Palahniuk, Arianna Huffington, Reid Hoffman, Bill Burr, Whitney Cummings, Rick Rubin, Dr. Vivek Murthy, Darren Aronofsky, and many more.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

In a fascinating conversation, game designer and futurist Jane McGonigal explores how gaming can enhance our ability to foresee and prepare for future challenges. She discusses the power of mental time travel and techniques for envisioning diverse outcomes. McGonigal highlights how games can cultivate resilience, improve problem-solving skills, and foster collaborative communities. She also emphasizes the importance of identifying 'green flags' for positive relationships and the role of creativity in navigating crises, making the future seem more imaginable and achievable.

Jane McGonigal's new books details how she creates alternate reality games in which people take part in virtual worlds, and, in so doing, gain a sensitively to the cues (and a familiarity with the conditions) that could lead to certain outcomes, making it possible to both prevent those outcomes and create the futures they'd rather live in instead.LINK TO LINK TO THE FREE CONVERSATION LAB WORKSHOP: https://www.mishaglouberman.com/free-convolab-march14Patreon: http://patreon.com/youarenotsosmart Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

In this engaging discussion, Jane McGonigal, a renowned designer of alternate reality games and Director of Games Research at the Institute for the Future, reveals how gaming can transform real-world challenges. She shares her journey and champions the idea that gaming systems outshine traditional education. Jane proposes a challenge to the Web3 community and discusses the potential for game developers to be nominated for a Nobel Prize. Through her innovative concepts, she underscores the importance of a curiosity mindset and how gamifying education can empower individuals and communities.