This week, a special episode All About the Future,

why people don't always help their future selves.

Yes, we know about the future and we make plans about the future,

but they're generally inadequate.

How should we conceptualize who future generations actually are?

We don't know much about people a few thousand years before now.

How can we even pretend to speak about people in one million years?

Plus, should we alter the biology of future generations?

This is the Nature Podcast for February the 25th, 2016.

I'm Kerry Smith.

And I'm Char Shamley Bundell.

The human brain isn't really wired to think about the future. We put things off till

tomorrow. We cross that bridge when we come to it. I wanted to investigate the cognitive biases

that affect how we think about our own future lives. But first, let's explore the not too distant future with Kirsten and her son Tobias.

Listen, I want to explain something, right?

Yeah.

I'm going to take one biscuit and leave it here with you.

And if you want to, you can eat the biscuit.

Okay. But, but if you want to, you can eat the biscuit. Okay.

But, but if you lead the biscuit and don't eat it while I get ready,

then when I come back, then I'll give you another one and then you'll have two biscuits.

Okay!

...