For the last five years, I’ve co-taught a class at Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner School of Design (the “d.school”) called “Inventing the Future,” which is designed to help students strengthen their sense of agency and influence in an increasingly complex, uncertain and ambiguous world. As I tweak my syllabus for…

Carissa Carter is the Academic Director of the Stanford d.school, and a long time educator, designer, and map maker. …

“We are as Gods. We might as well get good at it.” — Stewart Brand, Whole Earth Catalog, 1968 Stewart Brand is one of the most influential thinkers, movement makers, authors and community builders of the last 60 years. …

Last December, I visited the Smithsonian Arts + Industries Building FUTURES exhibit, eager to experience what a dedicated museum exhibit on futures might look and feel like. For nearly two decades, my teaching, writing, and designed events have focused on helping people see the future as something they can influence…

As a Designer and Futurist in Residence at the d.school, part of my role is to bring in new perspectives to our home team to spark new connections, learning opportunities, generative relationships, and expansive thinking. Roman Krznaric’s new book, The Good Ancestor, A Radical Prescription for Long-term Thinking, offers a…

With schools re-opening across the United States, and an election right around the corner, how can teachers teach their students about elections and civic engagement in a nonpartisan way? In the midst of so many deep divides, how might educators foster constructive conversations in classrooms despite the fact that civics…

“The future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed.” — William Gibson This quote by the famed science fiction writer is often used as a shorthand description for the implications of emerging technologies. Does it also describe the onset of the Covid-19 virus? We are now facing a very different…

Tomorrow is Super Tuesday. With 14 states and one U.S. territory holding primaries and 1,357 delegates at stake, this is an inflection point in the 2020 election process. For months we’ve listened, watched, and calculated electability — and now, midstream — we need to stop and ask a different question…

Using values-centered design to build agency at scale with Olatunde Sobomehin, Founder and Lead Servant of StreetCode Academy When you meet Olatunde (“Tunde”) Sobemehin, you don’t soon forget it. As the founder, CEO, and Lead Servant of StreetCode Academy, a community initiative to empower a generation of underrepresented leaders, Tunde…