Rose Eveleth

Photo courtesy of Eler de Grey

Rose Eveleth is the host of Flash Forward and Advice For and From the Future. She also has a newsletter about podcasts, Bucket of Eels. Subscribe here. Follow Rose on Twitter here. Follow Flash Forward on Twitter here. Follow Advice For and From the Future here.

Kindly introduce yourself and tell us what you do!
I’m Rose Eveleth, and I’m the “chief futurologist” (a title I just made up) at Flash Forward Presents. I’m the creator and host of Flash Forward and the brand new Advice for and from the Future, and my goal is to help demystify the future. You know when you see a headline like “Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg clash over the future of artificial intelligence” and you’re like “what the fuck does that even mean?” I’m here to help you understand, to ask the right questions about the future, and ultimately to find the places that you can get to work to make the future better.

How much time goes into each episode of Flash Forward?
Each episode takes me about 50-70 hours total, from conception through research, booking, interviewing, scripting, editing, all that.

What's your process for a Flash Forward episode? Do you have a HUGE list of ideas somewhere? Are you thinking of ideas all the time?
I am definitely always thinking about episode ideas. And really, the hard part isn’t coming up with ideas, it’s figuring out which ones to do. The future is everything! It’s politics, art, culture, science, technology, sports, food. Every single vertical in a magazine or newspaper has a future. Once you start thinking about “what if…” it’s really easy to come up with a billion ideas!

Why don't you think more people don't mix fiction and nonfiction into one?
I think it’s rare because it’s hard to do and requires a pretty specific skillset. Journalists are (rightfully!) very wary of accidentally spreading misinformation and fiction producers don’t generally have the experience in reporting to make it work. It’s hard to blend the two in a way that feels satisfying while also not being misleading. I happen to have this unusual set of skills that positions me in this unique place where I feel confident that I can leverage the power of both to build something greater than the sum of the respective parts.

For your new show, Advice For and From the Future, are the questions submitted to you or do you make them up?
It’s a combination! Some of the questions are written by me (especially for these first few episodes) and others are organically submitted by listeners. I’m really excited to start diving into the ones that I didn’t come up with, because I really do want to help people think through the questions they have about the future.

What's your goal for every episode of Flash Forward?
The overall goal of the show is twofold: unpack where the future comes from, and explain to you where you can get involved to shape it. Contrary to what many technologists, corporations and politicians would have you believe, the future isn’t set. It hasn’t happened yet! You and I really can make a difference if we decide to. And so the show really tries to help you understand how we got to today, the powers that shaped what we think the future could and should be, and how you can influence that future.

What do you hope your show does for people?
I hope that it makes them feel empowered to actually shape the future. Nothing is set in stone. We can build better futures!

Women podcasters are constantly criticized for their voices. What is your relationship to yours? How would you describe your voice?
You know, maybe I’m an ego maniac but I’ve just never been self conscious about my voice. Early on I got an iTunes review of the show that said that my voice was so awful that it made the reviewer want to vomit and I just found it funny. I know that for some people these critiques really sting but for me they’re just funny. (There are other kinds of criticism that really does get to me.) It’s not that I think I have an amazing voice, but it’s mine, and there’s really nothing I can do to change it, and I think it’s just fine as it is. I think that my voice is me, it conveys my energy and enthusiasm, and if that bothers you then there are approximately eighty thousand shows hosted by men who sound bored with themselves that you can go listen to.

I always ask podcasters what show they would start if they could do anything, without worrying about logistics or whether or not anyone would listen. You kind of address this in your newsletter! Can you share some of the best ideas you've ever stumbled upon that have yet to be made?
Oh this is such a good question. I LOVE coming up with podcast ideas (hence my newsletter, Podcast Idea) and I wish people would stop saying “ugh there are too many podcasts.” More podcasts! Especially from folks who don’t normally get investments from podcasting funders! A few of my favorite ideas from Podcast Idea, that I genuinely would love to produce are Flipped, Not Dead Yet, and Fact Holes.

Why did you start Advice For and From the Future?
I give a lot of talks about the future, along with making Flash Forward and writing for places like WIRED and VICE and other publications that don't have ALL CAPS names. And since I'm out there in the world as a journalist/futurologist who seems approachable to people, I get a lot of questions from folks that really are asking for advice: should I have a kid? Can I ask my friend to turn off her Alexa device when I go to her house? Should I cryopreserve my dog? Flash Forward isn't really set up to answer a lot of those questions, and I always tried to respond with advice when I could, but I thought it would be fun and hopefully useful to create something that answered questions publicly. The show is a bit weirder than Flash Forward and will let me go in directions I can't with the original show, so I'm excited!

If you could write one rule for all podcasters to follow, what would it be?
Stop worrying about your microphone and spend more time thinking about your content. I get a lot of emails from folks who want to start podcasts, and 75% of the time they ask me about mics and setup. That stuff matters to a point, but you should really think about what your actual show is first. What can you make regularly? Is it already out there? What is special about your show? Why should anybody listen? Do you have 10 episodes gamed out? I really wish people starting out would think more about that stuff than whether they have the right mic or not, because really, if your actual show is amazing listeners will care way less about the sound quality. Early episodes of Welcome to Night Vale were recorded on a cheap Yeti. Early episodes of Flash Forward were recorded on a really cheap Edirol mic I went in on with a friend to afford to buy. Content matters more than clean audio.

Who are some podcasters who are doing great work but aren't getting the attention they deserve?
I’m really excited about the new show Extra Spicy! I’m decidedly NOT a true crime fan, but Plant Crimes is a lovely twist on the genre. George the Poet just won a Peabody but I still think more people should listen to his show.

Can you recommend some podcasts for us?
I always like to shoutout The Story Collider, Gender Reveal, Ologies, Articles of Interest and Short Wave. Floodlines is brilliant, too.

Thanks, Rose!