Following hot on the heels of Slack and Spotify, Microsoft ventured into the arena of branded podcasts. Partnering up with Gimlet Media, they created .future, a podcast all about how new technologies impact upon our lives with topics ranging from health in the digital age to the work space of the 21st century.

The Minecraft episode is quite engaging: it tells four different stories about people whose lives have been completely changed by the game. One story is about a struggling young photographer who decided to post videos of her newbie attempts at Minecraft only to become the popular YouTuber MinecraftChick, getting noticed by the game creators Mojang, and going on to become its brand director.

I expected the podcast to be tilted towards Microsoft itself but it seems to focus on themes or topics rather than products. It’s story-driven and engaging so more’s the pity that since season one over a year ago, there hasn’t been a follow-up season. Here’s hoping it won’t be left in the .past.

If you’re looking for more future-oriented podcasts there always Flash Forward covering cutting edge topics from CRISPR babies to teleportation.

https://creative.gimletmedia.com/shows/future/