One evening in London, Ontario in 1968, R. Buckminster Fuller stood in front of an audience of artists and academics and delivered what he called “thinking out loud” – a stream of consciousness lecture. One that touched on everything from the frequencies of chemical elements, to the human condition, to very remote stars.

Fifty years after Fuller’s visit to London, how do Fuller’s technological ruminations on the future hold up? How do artists and thinkers working today respond to his work? In this podcast we tease apart a few of Fuller’s futurist theories and address some of the gaps in his techno-utopian vision for progress. Where have his ideas been adapted? And, where has the road map for the future diverged from the path that Fuller predicted?

The series takes shape as three episodes, accompanied by in depth interviews with novelist Kerri Sakamoto and art historian Eva Díaz. The podcast brings together information on Fuller and London’s art scene, along with interview with artists, curators, and scholars, including Judith Rodger, Jason McLean, Jessica Karuhanga, Amanda Myers, Adam Rome, Gabrielle Moser, Stephanie Wakefield, Skawennati, and Mary Kavanagh, amongst others.

The Remote Stars podcast is written and produced by Angela Shackel and Braden Labonte of Accounts and Records and Christina Battle. Kirsty Robertson and Sarah E.K. Smith are the supervising producers. Additional research and fact checking assistance by Alyssa Tremblay and Mirella Ntahonsigaye.