In his new book, Gray Matters: A Biography of Brain Surgery, neurosurgeon Dr. Theodore Schwartz delves into the history and practice of neuroscience. What he and his fellow scientists have discovered is that our lives are based on stories that our brains construct, and those stories are not fact, but fiction. Ted is certainly not the first guest on this podcast to talk about the relationship between brain science and storytelling— but as a neurosurgeon, he comes at it from a uniquely hands-on perspective.

To learn more, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Founder, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe 

Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Ted Schwartz, Lauren Morrow, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, and Megan Worman.

Immersive entertainment company Layered Reality's approach is, as the name suggests, layered: they combine components of immersive theater with new technologies to create productions that feel participatory, immersive, and alive. Today, their CEO Andrew McGuinness joins us to talk about how he’s built such a successful immersive entertainment company and where he plans to take it next.

To learn more, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Founder, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe 

Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Andrew McGuinness, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, and Megan Worman.

Today, we revisit an episode from 2020 with Jose Antonio Vargas, Founder of the nonprofit Define American. Drawing on his background as a journalist and his own experience as an undocumented immigrant, Jose created Define American to educate storytellers, challenge stereotypes, and ultimately change the narrative around immigration, one story at a time.

To learn more, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Founder, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe 

Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Jose Antonio Vargas, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, and Megan Worman.

In this revisited episode, we go back to a conversation with Vince Kadlubek of legendary immersive art collective Meow Wolf, whose installations give visitors agency to re-engage their imaginations and create their own stories—an experience that can be transformational.

To learn more, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Founder, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe 

Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Vince Kadlubek, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, and Megan Worman.

Legendary Disney veteran and Academy Award winner Glen Keane has made invaluable contributions to the art of animation. In this episode, we revisit a conversation from 2020 with Glen about his story, craft, and philosophy on creativity.

For additional links and more information, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Founder, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe 

Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Glen Keane, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, and Megan Worman.

Since this 2020 conversation with artist, educator, and AI practitioner Stephanie Dinkins, essential questions about artificial intelligence have only become more pressing. In turn, Stephanie's method of approaching AI—with a conscious eye towards breaking down bias, rather than perpetuating it— has only become more necessary.

For additional links and more information, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Founder, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe 

Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Stephanie Dinkins, Bonnie Eldon, Michael Bass, David Gray, and Megan Worman.

Silo, the TV adaptation of Hugh Howey's acclaimed sci-fi novel Wool, has become one of Apple TV's hottest properties since it aired last May: it's earned a second season and several nominations in the forthcoming 2024 BAFTA Television Awards among other accolades. To celebrate the success of Silo, we're revisiting this episode with Hugh about how Wool took the world by storm. 

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Founder, Jason Oberholtzer

Executive Producer, Mike Rugnetta

Editor, Garrett Crowe 

Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Hugh Howey, Bonnie Eldon, Meghal Janardan, Sarah Vitak, Elisabeth March, Michael Bass, and Megan Worman.

Today, we revisit a conversation from 2021 with immersive storytelling pioneers Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël of Felix & Paul Studios. For over ten years, these two have been carefully developing a unique experiential language— a language which they’ve deployed to incredible effect in the location-based VR experience Space Explorers: The Infinite. Felix and Paul discuss the elements of this language and how it came to be in this revisited episode.

For additional links, information, and more, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Music, and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Félix Lajeunesse, Paul Raphaël, Bonnie Eldon, David Gray, Amy Snook, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Improvisation is an essential skill for comedians at the famous Second City— and it’s a valuable skill for creators and businesses off stage, too. No one knows this better than Kelly Leonard, the Executive Director of Learning and Applied Improvisation at Second City Works. In this episode, Kelly shares some of his insights into how improv can make us better bosses, makers, friends, family members, and all around better people.

For additional links, information, and more, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Kelly Leonard, Bonnie Eldon, David Gray, Amy Snook, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

We all get sick-- and yet somehow, so much of the communication from biopharmaceutical companies fails to connect with the average person. Jim Weiss, the Founder and Chairman of health innovation company Real Chemistry, is working to change that. In this episode, Jim shares how his consultancy is making healthcare communications more effective, creative, and human.

Listen to Jim's podcast, Get Real with the Chairman, here.

For additional links, information, and more, please visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Jim Weiss, Danielle Clark-Brown, Kate Vos, Bonnie Eldon, David Gray, Amy Snook, Michael Bass, Eitan Wolf, and Megan Worman.

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey has been delighting Children Of All Ages for generations. However, The Greatest Show On Earth is anything but dated — after all, you don’t last for 150 years without regular refreshes. Join Juliette Feld Grossman, COO of Feld Entertainment, as she walks audiences through the new circus and how her family business has been so successful in creating wildly popular live family entertainment.

For additional links, information, and more, please visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Juliette Feld Grossman, Sabrina Lowe, Steve Yaros, Bonnie Eldon, Elisabeth March, David Gray, Amy Snook, Michael Bass, and Megan Worman.

On today’s episode of the FoST Podcast, founder and CEO of Niantic John Hanke discusses his company’s philosophy when it comes to making AR games, his predictions for the future of mixed reality, and Rangers Wanted, the brand-new AR app Niantic created with the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Trigger XR, and FoST.

For more information, additional links, and more, visit our website.

Download Rangers Wanted for iOS here, and for Android here.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to John Hanke, Bonnie Eldon, Elisabeth March, David Gray, Amy Snook, Michael Bass, and Megan Worman.

Paola Antonelli is Senior Curator of Architecture & Design at the Museum of Modern Art, where she’s been expanding the understanding and appreciation of design in all its forms for nearly 30 years. On this episode of the FoST Podcast, Paola asks thought-provoking questions about the value of design, illuminates design’s relationship to story, and discusses the evolution of the museum.

For more information, additional links, and more, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Paola Antonelli, Esther Omole, Bonnie Eldon, Elisabeth March, David Gray, Amy Snook, and Megan Worman.

In this revisited episode, we return to a conversation from February 2023 with Greg Lombardo, VP and Head of Experiences at Netflix. As Netflix's experiential offering continues to grow, Greg's insights on creating immersive entertainment that successfully engages fans both on a deep level and on a large scale remain incredibly relevant.

For more information, additional links, and more, visit our website.

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© 2024 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Greg Lombardo, Bonnie Eldon, Elisabeth March, David Gray, Amy Snook, and Megan Worman.

The high-touch, immersive storytelling of theater company Les Enfants Terrible’s show Alice’s Adventures Underground is made possible by a complex system behind the scenes. On this episode of the FoST Podcast, Creative Director James Seager and Artistic Director Oliver Lansley pull back the curtain to give us a special look at the magic that the audience doesn’t see.

For additional links, information, and more, visit our website.

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© 2023 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to James Seager, Oliver Lansley, Laura Nicholson, Bonnie Eldon, Elisabeth March, David Gray, Amy Snook, and Megan Worman.

AKQA is not just one of the most successful design and innovation agencies in the world— it’s also a workplace that allows creative people to truly thrive. On today’s episode of the FoST Podcast, AKQA founder and CEO Ajaz Ahmed discusses his principles of leadership and how AKQA serves its clients, employees, and community.

For additional links, information, and more, visit our website.

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© 2023 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Ajaz Ahmed, Bonnie Eldon, Elisabeth March, David Gray, Amy Snook, and Megan Worman.

This week, the FoST Podcast is celebrating a very special occasion: our 100th episode. For this milestone, we’re honored to interview Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu, the renowned filmmaker behind such critically acclaimed works as Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) and The Revenant. He also created the immersive installation Carne y Arena, which uses VR and multisensory elements to powerfully convey the experience of immigrants at the US-Mexico border. Alejandro represents what we aspire to at FoST: someone who believes in using new technology not for its own sake, but in the service of telling more powerful, empathetic, and human stories.

For additional links, information, and more, visit our website.

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© 2023 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Alejandro Gonzáles Iñárritu, Paloma Quintanal, Bonnie Eldon, Elisabeth March, David Gray, Amy Snook, and Megan Worman.

For decades, Maira Kalman has worked on countless projects across many different kinds of media and with many different collaborators— all while staying true to her signature smart, funny style. On this episode of the FoST Podcast, she talks about cultivating curiosity, clarity, and confidence throughout her illustrious career.

For additional links, information, and more, visit our website.

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© 2023 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Maira Kalman, Kimisa H, Bonnie Eldon, Elisabeth March, David Gray, and Megan Worman.

Experience designers are working on turning the innate knowledge of human experience into a craft. Abraham Burickson's forthcoming book, Experience Design: A Participatory Manifesto, distills his learnings as one of the foremost experts in this field into a practical handbook for everyone who wants to create memorable, transformative experiences.

For additional links, information, and more, visit our website.

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© 2023 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Executive Producer, Jason Oberholtzer

Producer, Meghal Janardan

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix, Andrew Atkin

Music and Final Assembly, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Abraham Burickson, Bonnie Eldon, Meghal Janardan, Elisabeth March, Michael Bass, David Gray, and Megan Worman.

On this special episode of the Future of StoryTelling Podcast, pioneering photographer Stephen Shore talks about the craft of photography, tells stories from his illustrious career, and shares his philosophy on art and life.

For additional links, information, and more, visit our website.

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© 2023 Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp.

124 West 13th Street

New York, NY 10011

Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher

Director, Carolyn Merriman

Assistant Producer, Madison Brown

in collaboration with Charts & Leisure

Founder, Jason Oberholtzer

Executive Producer, Mike Rugnetta

Editor, Garrett Crowe

Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli

With special thanks to Stephen Shore, Bonnie Eldon, Meghal Janardan, Elisabeth March, Michael Bass, David Gray, and Megan Worman.