Soonish

Making a solo, sound-rich, journalistic podcast is a challenging and sometimes lonely pursuit. It's made less lonely by my wonderful colleagues, especially my fellow producers at Hub & Spoke. But the most encouraging thing is that so many people listen—and that some of you also send your hard-earned dollars my way via Patreon. You are, very literally, the reason I make the show. So it’s time to give you an update about recent accomplishments and upcoming changes.

It’s been a very full year. I published six regular episodes, plus a short bonus episode. I took a sustained look at Facebook and why I feel it's broken beyond repair, and what can be done to save the larger social media sphere. I told you about two groundbreaking mid-century artists who showed us the future and helped pave the way for the US space program. I went to California for a series of exclusive interviews at Apple, and told you about a new display that's bound to change the way we think about digital images. I looked at the technologies that threaten the integrity of the 2020 election, and others that could safeguard future elections. And I brought you a special in-depth interview with Lily Cunningham, maker of the wonderful Apollo-history podcast Moonrise.

At the same time, I launched a new monthly print column for Scientific American, I arranged to bring four amazing new shows into Hub & Spoke (The Constant, Open Source, Rumble Strip, and Subtitle), I helped organize a 50th-anniversary reunion and $1 million fundraising campaign for the college newspaper where I became a journalist, I created and produced a podcast about innovation and business leadership for MIT Technology Review, and I wrote a book about aliens (coming in April—pre-order now!).

I've got a bunch of intriguing new stories in the works for the fourth season of Soonish, coming in 2020. But first, I'm going to take a bit of a breather. I need time to think about how to refresh the show, and to find a format and pace that will allow me to make more episodes per year.

If I have one big personal regret right now, it's that my paid freelance and consulting gigs don't leave me as much time as I'd like to work on the podcast. But along those lines, I'm involved in two or three exciting new projects which—once they get fully underway—ought to leave me with more time and resources to make Soonish.

So, thanks again for your being a listener. If you're missing Soonish during the coming hiatus, consider re-listening to some episodes from the archives. And please stand by for news about where the future will take us! My best wishes for a happy holiday season and a peaceful new year.

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