Future Around & Find Out

You know what would be awesome? If we could build the future we want — before we muck it up.
Future Around & Find Out helps builders think clearly about AI and emerging technologies, grapple with the implications, and decide what to build next.
Independent technologist and former NPR journalist Dan Blumberg speaks with founders, makers, and you to celebrate breakthroughs, call BS on the hype, explore how things might go sideways — and how we can steer the future in the right direction.
The Webby Awards have honored the show (formerly known as CRAFTED.) as a top tech podcast three years in a row!
On Tuesdays, we feature interviews with the builders changing how we work, live, and play.
On FAFO Fridays, futurist Kwaku Aning joins Dan for a playful recap of the week in tech, including the amazing, the scary, and the strange.
You’ll also hear about innovations that too often get overshadowed by AI, including in deep tech, biotech, fintech, quantum computing, robotics, blockchain, and more.
Across it all, you’ll hear sharp takes on what comes next and what builders need to know now.
So let’s Future Around & Find Out together!
FutureAround.com

(Music by Jonathan Zalben)

You know what would be awesome? If we could build the future we want — before we f* it up. 
Future Around & Find Out helps builders think clearly about AI and emerging technologies, grapple with the implications, and decide what to build next. 
Independent technologist and former NPR journalist Dan Blumberg speaks with founders, makers, and you to celebrate breakthroughs, call BS on the hype, explore how things might go sideways — and how we can steer the future in the right direction. 
The Webby Awards have honored the show (formerly known as CRAFTED.) as a top tech podcast three years in a row!   
On Tuesdays, we feature interviews with the builders changing how we work, live, and play. We dig into how they apply new technologies in practice, pressure-test their ideas, and grapple with second-order effects.   
On FAFO Fridays, futurist Kwaku Aning joins Dan for a sharp, playful recap of the week in tech, including the amazing, the scary, and the strange. And we’ll explore innovations that often get overshadowed by AI, including in deep tech, biotech, fintech, quantum computing, robotics, blockchain, and more. 
Across it all, you’ll hear sharp takes on what comes next and what builders need to know now.   
So let’s Future Around & Find Out together!   
Learn more and sign for the newsletter: FutureAround.com

Here's the full text of this short episode:
Hey everyone, Dan here with a quick, exciting update on this show... the name is about to change! 
In a few days -- on January 20th --  you'll see that this podcast will have new cover art, a new name, a new trailer, and more...
I'm not going to reveal that name today, but I do want to share a bit of why I'm changing the name of a show that's been honored 3 years straight by the Webby Awards -- and what is NOT changing.
OK, so there are three main reasons for the name change:
- the first is very practical: "crafted" is really hard to find in search. I've literally stood next to people who are looking to subscribe and they can't find the show. I swear this wasn't the case when we launched 3yrs ago, but today there are several shows that are either called crafted or something close to it. 
- the second reason is more personal: the show is mine now -- that wasn't always the case. You may recall the show launched when I was with a high craft software consultancy doing product and client work. The podcast was a surprise! When I left and got full ownership of the show I didn't want to change too many things all at once. Also, I like the name crafted, but -- and this leads to the *real* reason I'm changing --- it no longer fits the show.
- crafted is a past tense verb. and it perfectly described the original incarnation of this show, where founders, makers, and innovators would look *back* on things they'd built and we'd do a sort of case study that would help other builders learn from their mistakes and understand how that great product or company they built got so great...
So here's the thing... I'm not really doing that sort of case study thing anymore. And I haven't for a while. Creating explicitly educational content is not favorite thing. I'm not exactly a "here is a framework" kind of guy. There are other people who LOVE to create that sort of content and they do a great job with it. 
So I've been following my interests... For a while now, this show has been much less concerned with teaching case studies and much interested in what comes *next.* 
* What are the implications of new tech? 
* How will AI change how we live, work, play, teach our kids...? 
* Should we get ready to live with humanoid robots? 
* How are stablecoins changing the world of money? 
* And what about quantum computers? 
And what do builders need to know about these things so that we can build a future we actually want? 
See that part is not changing... the show is still for builders. And you can take that literally: as in people who make software. Or if you want you can take it a bit more broadly: as in: people who putting in the work to build a better future.
Sorry if that's a bit cheesy, but it's true. Because while I'm optimistic that we will build an amazing future, there is... uh... a lot going on right now in tech and in the world. And I believe that, together, we have power to steer the future in the right direction. 
This show will still feature the world's top technologists. And we're going to get into all of these future-forward things. Of course, we'll talk about things they've done in the past, because if we don't learn from history... well, you know how that expression goes. 
So, get ready to see some new art and a new name -- I'll give you a hint, it'll have the word future in it -- on Tuesday. 
And I would love your help spreading the word. When the new trailer and website drop, please share them with all your builder friends. 
So stay tuned...

Travel is one of the most demo-friendly use cases for AI — and one of the hardest industries to actually disrupt.
Every AI launch seems to promise the same thing: “Tell me where you want to go, and I’ll plan everything.” But behind the slick demos sits a deeply consolidated industry dominated by platforms, hotel chains, and airlines that optimize for upsell and extraction.
Rafat Ali is the founder and CEO of Skift, which bills itself as “the daily homepage for the global travel industry.” We discuss whether AI is likely to have a traveler-friendly effect — or whether the big platforms will just use these new tools of hyper-personalization to extract even more from us. 
We cover: 
Whether AI creates new intermediaries—or just strengthens existing giants
Why no breakout consumer AI travel startup has emerged (yet)
Where AI does work in travel today: ops, logistics, and B2B automation
Why travel is a graveyard for “great UX, bad business” startups (RIP Hipmunk
Rafat’s dad hacks for traveling with three kids
---
Featured voices:
Rafat Ali — Founder and CEO of Skift
Me (Dan Blumberg) — I’m the host of CRAFTED. and the founder of Modern Product Minds. HMU if you want to build something great! I love building from zero to one.
---
And if you please…
Share with a friend! Word of mouth is by far the most powerful way for podcasts to grow
Subscribe to the CRAFTED. newsletter at crafted.fm
Share your feedback! I’m experimenting with new episode formats and would love your honest feedback on this and other episodes. Email me: [email protected] or DM me on LinkedIn
Sponsor the show? I’m actively speaking to potential sponsors. Drop me a line and let’s talk.
Get psyched!… There are some big updates to this show coming soon!

This week I’m turning the mic over to podcast friends Mike Masnick and Ben Whitelaw, hosts of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, a show about what happens when we talk on the internet, the messy world of content moderation, trust & safety, and the laws trying (and often failing) to keep up.
In their first episode of the new year, they build a 2026 bingo card of things that might happen across AI, regulation, and online speech. Not predictions exactly — more a way to follow along and yell “BINGO” as we stumble into another year of deepfakes, age verification fights, and calls to repeal Section 230.
You can find links to Ctrl-Alt-Speech on all podcast apps here: https://www.ctrlaltspeech.com/
And this — for now — name change coming soon! — is CRAFTED. Sign up for the newsletter and stay tuned at https://www.crafted.fm
The new name and the reasons why are coming in about a week.