Somehow I missed this swashbuckling undebate between Niall Ferguson and Peter Schwartz on the general topic of: is the future screwed? Schwartz (see video here, in which he claims we will mostly all die from sudden global climate change-induced violence long before peak oil is an issue) is the optomist, Niall Ferguson is concerned things might be uncomfortable for us.

Alternative histories, finance, evolutionary biology, cosmology, corn syrup, Hashemites, diesel-shitting microbes, China, complexity, dead friends and imaginary ones. And laughs! And if you really need hard futurism, Schwartz (back in April) predicts substantial rebalancing of the the finance system within weeks. It’s a corker. Summary here, mp3 here, podcast here for the whole seminar series, if you wish to descend the full rabbit hole (highly, highly recommended). Don’t miss the Q&A after.

“Not Life of Brian, Meaning of Life. Sorry. Jet lag.” — Niall Ferguson