Friendship Futurism Podcast
Friendship Futurism is a podcast about relationships in the 22nd century and beyond—where we explore how to build community and strengthen connections in a post-digital world.
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Episodes
11. Expert matchmaker teaches you unconventional ways to find love with Marcela Owen
Marcela and I expose the most common mistakes people make on a date, when to decide to lower your standards, whether a matchmaker’s job is more like a data scientist or a therapist, what people get wrong about online dating, and how to use AI to find a partner.
10. How to subliminally influence your friends with Bill Mei
The tables are turned as Lisa (from Ep. 7) interviews Bill on her podcast, Creative in Process. I talk about how to attract people with strong opinions, why creativity is a skill and not based on luck, the future (nonexistent) people I’m most inspired by, and my #1 tip to avoid getting replaced by AI.
9. Genetically altering yourself to live forever with Kat Kajderowicz
Kat and I talk about the power dynamics between young and old people, the latest longevity and anti-aging research you can apply to your life, how to stand out in a group discussion, and how to get hundreds of people interested in deep technical topics. Kat is the founder of DNA Deviants, a synthetic biology community with a weekly journal club and tons of interesting events.
8. Making others excited to talk to you and 100x your engagement with Neville Medhora
Neville and I chat about how to 100x your engagement in online communities, specific tactics you can implement to make other people want to talk to you at conferences and parties, strategic risk taking when sneaking into events, and how to resist propaganda.
I credit a lot of my writing talent to Neville’s mentorship; he is the one of the most talented writers and communicators I know. Neville runs Copywriting Course, a paid community with over 1,000 members learning how to write well and sell like hell.
7. Connecting across racial and religious divides with Lisa Xia
Lisa and I talk about the dark side of extraversion, how to manage the energy and conversation dynamic of a group, what non-religious people can learn about church communities, tips for storytelling and authentic relating, and the magic of diversity and bridging divides. Lisa is a human-centered creative who vlogs, innovates on meditation, and teaches at her church.
6. The cheat code to hosting a memorable party with Nick Gray
Nick and I talk about the secret tactics that novice and experienced hosts use to put together incredible parties, how to keep the momentum going in a party, how to reject someone you don’t want to hang out with, and the world’s best icebreaker question. Nick is the bestselling author of The 2-Hour Cocktail Party, a step-by-step guide to easy-to-host parties to help you build relationships with regular gatherings.
5. How to help thousands of people have deep conversations with Ashley Kirsner
Ashley and I talk about embracing your inner cringe, ways to calm down your nervous system, structures for great social interactions, how to ask good questions, and a philosophy for having fun. Ashley is the founder of Skip The Small Talk, a research-informed curated social experience with regular events across 8 major cities in the U.S. helping thousands of people connect over deep conversations.
4. Starting a social networking app from scratch with Julian Ilson
Julian and I talk about friendships of context, how to seed a social networking app, why one friend is always closing, how to discourage ghosting, and plucking your best friend out of the parallel universe. Check out Julian’s startup at we3app.com.
3. Scaling a community to 1,000 members in a year with Emily Fang
Emily and I talk about strategies to become Internet famous, building a DAO, dealing with haters, how to avoid being commoditized online, why I’ll never be cool, and how scale requires 1:1 effort. Emily is the co-founder of Asian Wander Women (with Ivy Xu) and its eponymous venture studio DAO which has grown to 1,000 members in just over a year.
2. Your unique strengths as an event host with Solon Teal
Solon and I talk about how to create true-to-yourself gatherings in the online world that make people go “wow”, why some people are open and others are closed, how communities are both selfish and selfless, loneliness and novelty in the internet age, how not to be a relationship freeloader, the future of diversity of thought in online spaces, and so much more. Check out Solon’s startup at talk.social.
1. The beginning with Jessica Fan
Jess and I talk about what it means to have friendships in the 21st century, why octopuses are the best animal to model communities, the cycle of emotions, the garden of relationships, and how to make online gatherings so good that people prefer them to the in-person version.