When we think about energy these days, it is usually in terms of crisis, climate change and anxiety. Energy has become a hotly debated commodity. But energy is so much more than those concepts. Energy is always in flux. We can actively decide how much we use and where we get our energy from. Today’s conversation is an exploration of various ways in which we can obtain enough clean energy in the future and how we can transform our relationship to energy itself. For this last episode of Future Dimensions, host Ricardia talks to experts who paint a big energy picture. We learn about some of the m ..read more

In a world that’s changing at lightning speed, being sentimental about the past goes way beyond holding onto people and places in the past. Rather, it has become a powerful force, influencing pop culture, product design, and the entire trajectory of our lives. In our tenth episode, we're traveling back to our human love for all things retro – and finding out why nostalgia will inspire the next leaps in technology, design, and art. Together with existential psychologist Clay Routledge, our host Ricardia explores why our human desire to look back shapes how we look forward. She learns that our p ..read more

Get in touch with our guest: Erin Ashley Simon: Website Erin's Instagram C. Thi Nguyen: click here Thi's Book: click here Millions of people around the globe play video games. Gaming has become an integral part of daily life, and already now, we’re seeing how games transform how we work, socialize, and learn. In our ninth episode, we’re going one step further – and see how the seamless merging of gaming and reality will change our view on the world and how we act in it. Our host Ricardia talks to gamer and entrepreneur Erin Ashley Simon who opens our eyes to a future where gaming will create g ..read more

By the year 2100, an estimated 10 billion people will be living in cities. In an urban future where more than twice as many of us commute, go shopping, take kids to school, visit parents in the suburbs and have goods shipped to the doorstep, city planners might be driven to their limits. After all, all these activities will put increasing strain on our urban mobility systems. That’s why our episode 8 embraces the idea of moving in different ways and explores forward-looking city designs that encourage individual mobility – while still making the most of our public spaces. Looking at the future ..read more

The rise of tools powered by state-of-the-art artificial intelligence allows us to create texts, images, videos or ideas with just a few clicks, and the technology is making giant leaps forward every day. In our seventh episode, we explore how this rapid evolution might change our society – and whether creativity will remain something uniquely human or not. To get to the heart of these questions, Ricardia dives into the world of AI art and its implications for creative workflows with a digital artist who goes by the name BLAC.ai. She invites an actual AI model to reflect on itself and tell us ..read more

Enjoying that vibrant feeling of a live concert … everywhere you go, even in your car? In our sixth episode, we tune in to the future of music – and to the sound innovations both we as listeners and the artists we love can look forward to. Ricardia meets a pianist who takes his classical pieces to new dimensions with a magic glove. With a neuroscientist, she ventures into the depths of the brain to find out about its vital role in creating lasting music moments. She asks a sound engineer what the future holds for immersive soundscapes inside our cars, and she learns from Grammy Award winner De ..read more

All over the world, many people are increasingly dissatisfied with their jobs. They are quietly quitting. And they are actually quitting. But what if the future of work offered much more room for individual choice? What if it were full of opportunities? In the fifth episode of Future Dimensions, Ricardia Bramley explores what lies ahead for employees out there. Together with futurist Alexandra Levit and journalistic entrepreneur Felix Zeltner, she examines the possible cures for our ailing system of work. However, simply reducing the number of working hours, facilitating remote work arrangemen ..read more

What came first – space stories from the 1990s or the smartphone? The fourth episode of the "Future Dimensions" feature podcast by Mercedes-Benz demonstrates how fiction and reality consistently inspire one another. Ricardia talks to architect and film director Liam Young about why fictional worlds are also a reflection of our society. She asks design professor Dennis Cheatham how sci-fi technology is shaping our everyday lives. Learns from science fiction professor Lisa Yaszek why we should all dream of a better world, even in challenging times. And takes a deep dive into the fascination, pow ..read more

Houses made of mushrooms and textiles grown organically? The third episode of "Future Dimensions" focuses on how we can harness the power of innovative materials to change the way we deal with our resources. As part of the episode, Ricardia asks founder Caroline Till to tell her about the whole range of new materials. She visits a lab where a team of architects around Jonathan Dessi-Olive is using fungal cultures to create unexpected things. And talks to designer and entrepreneur Maurizio Montalti about how novel materials are driving innovation and enabling designers to think in entirely new ..read more

Are you looking for additional insights into our visions, guests and podcast? Explore our website now: www.mercedes-benz.com/en/art-and-culture/zeitgeist/mercedes-benz-podcast Get in touch with our guests: António Paraíso, Luxury. Marketing. Innovation. Speaker. Consultant www.antonioparaiso.com Dr. Benjamin Berghaus, Researcher & Lecturer www.brghs.de Dr. Wided Batat, Professor, Author & Entrepreneur www.linkedin.com/in/dr-wided-batat-728b7210 Daria Krivonos, CEO at Copenhagen Institute for Futures Studies www.cifs.dk Sofia Ilmonen, Designer & Founder www.sofiailmonen.com Dounia W ..read more