Future Perfect Creators & Guests

Sigal Samuel is a novelist, journalist, essayist, and playwright. She is currently Staff Writer at Vox.Samuel previously worked as Religion Editor at The Atlantic, Opinion Editor at the Forward, and Associate Editor at the Daily Beast. Her work has also appeared in the Rumpus, BuzzFeed, Electric Literature, Refinery 29, Il Sole 24 Ore, Haaretz, Tablet, and the Walrus. She has appeared on NPR, BBC, CBC, and Huffington Post Live.Her six plays have been produced in theaters from Vancouver to New York. Her first novel, "The Mystics of Mile End," was published in 2015. Sigal earned her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and her BA in Philosophy from McGill University. She was raised in Montreal.

Dylan Matthews is a journalist. Currently, he is a correspondent for Vox.com, where he was one of the initial founders in 2014.

Dr. Peniel E. Joseph is a scholar, teacher, and leading public voice on race issues who holds a joint professorship appointment at the LBJ School of Public Affairs and the History Department in the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas.

Kelly Wanser is a technologist and climate activist. She is most known for advocating for research into the potential for climate intervention technologies. She is the founder and currently the Executive Director of the climate change research company SilverLining.Previously, Wanser was the co-founder and Principal Director of the Marine Cloud Brightening Project, a company that researches the impact of particles on clouds and climate.Wanser received her B.A. in Economics and Philosophy from Boston College.

Byrd Pinkerton is a reporter and producer. Currently, she is a reporter and Podcast Producer for Vox. She has produced and reported for three seasons of the podcasts "The Impact" and "Future Perfect," as well as episodes of "Today Explained," "Reset," and "Worldly."Previously, Pinkerton was a news assistant for NPR, where she produced pieces for "Weekend All Things Considered," "Morning Edition," and "Weekend Edition," and wrote for the NPR Education Desk.Pinkerton received her B.A. in German and Media & Aesthetics from Princeton University.

David Wolpe is the Max Webb Senior Rabbi of Sinai Temple.

Isaac Arnsdorf is a political reporter, currently covering national politics for ProPublica.Previously, Arnsdorf covered lobbying and campaign finance for Politico. He previously worked for Bloomberg News.

Dr. Lori Marino is a neuroscientist and expert in animal behavior and intelligence. She is the founder and executive director of The Kimmela Center for Animal Advocacy and President of the Whale Sanctuary Project.Previously, Marino was a senior lecturer at Emory University for 20 years and faculty affiliate at the Emory Center for Ethics.Marino received her B.A. in Physiological Psychology from New York University, her M.A. in Experimental Psychology from Miami University, and her Ph.D. in Biological Psychology from SUNY University at Albany.

Kimberly Nicholas is a writer, speaker, and professor of Sustainability Science.

Ferris Jabr is a science journalist. He is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine and Scientific American.Jabr's work has appeared in The New Yorker, The Atlantic, Harper’s, New York, Foreign Policy, Wired, Outside, Slate, Pacific Standard, Hakai, Modern Farmer, Aeon, Lapham’s Quarterly, McSweeney’s, and The Los Angeles Review of Books, and in the anthology "The Best American Science."Jabr received his B.S. from Tufts University and his I have an M.A. in Journalism from New York University.