97. The Future is Now?

The Allusionist

Helen Zaltzman

Arts, Education, Words, Linguistics, History, Entertainment, Helen Zaltzman, Etymology, Society & Culture

4.7 • 3.8K Ratings

🗓️ 11 April 2019

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

“There are two ways to say ‘The future is now’: you can say it optimistically, like, ‘The future is now! Isn't that cool?’ Or you could be like, ‘The future is now, and we're totally screwed.’” Rose Eveleth, of the future-envisioning podcast Flash Forward, tracks the past and present of one of her favourite phrases.

Transcript

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0:00.0	This is the illusionist in which I, Helen Zoltzman, strap on a jet pack of language.
0:10.0	Coming up in today's show, the future is now!
0:14.1	But also coming up?
0:15.1	How does that work?
0:16.7	What an infernal phrase, eh?
0:19.9	On with the show.
0:22.9	I couldn't say this to most people, but you probably understand getting obsessed with
0:31.7	a phrase where you're like, what is this thing that we say that is weird?
0:35.3	And the one that I've been obsessed with for a while is the future is now.
0:38.4	This is Rose Everleth.
0:40.0	She makes the podcast flash forward about how certain scenarios might play out in the
0:44.7	future, which may or may not be now.
0:48.0	I tend to use it most ironically where you see something dumb with technology and you're
0:53.5	like, oh, the future is now.
0:54.7	Like, oh, an internet-connected toaster.
0:56.2	Oh, the future is now.
0:57.8	Social networks, the dogs.
0:59.3	Exactly, yes.
1:00.3	Right.
1:01.3	And other people, I think, use it much more straightforwardly and much more non-ironically,
1:04.5	which is like, oh, things are happening so quickly.
1:07.4	The future is upon us.
	...

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