EP 443: Imagining a Radically Different World of Work

The future of work doesn't have to be an extension of today's reality.

This is the first installment in Strange New Work, a new series from What Works about imagining radically different ways of working and doing business.

In this episode, I take a closer look at speculative fiction and its role in the collective imaginary. Is science fiction all space operas and apocalyptic battles? Not hardly. Science fiction isn't really about the future. It's a commentary on and reimagining of the present.

Footnotes:

• All of the books I mention in this series can be found here.
  • No Time to Spare by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • The Immortal King Rao by Vauhini Vara
  • The Jewel-Hinged Jaw by Samuel Delaney
• "The Epistemic Value of Speculative Fiction" by Johan de Smedt and Helen de Cruz
• "Sci-Fi Idea Bank" by Packy McCormick
• Ursula K. Le Guin in conversation with The Nation on YouTube
• Vauhini Vara on Amanpour and Company on YouTube
• "The Measure of a Man" Star Trek: The Next Generation (Season 2, Episode 9)

Each installment in Strange New Work is published in essay form at WhatWorks.FYI

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What is What Works?

Work is central to the human experience. It helps us shape our identities, care for those we love, and contribute to our communities. Work can be a source of power and a catalyst for change. Unfortunately, that's not how most of us experience work—even those who work for themselves. Our labor and creative spirit are used to enrich others and maintain the status quo. It's time for an intervention. What Works is a show about rethinking work, business, and leadership for the 21st-century economy. Host Tara McMullin covers money, management, culture, media, philosophy, and more to figure out what's working (and what's not) today. Tara offers a distinctly interdisciplinary approach to deep-dive analysis of how we work and how work shapes us.