Vance Crowe Podcast › Guests › Kevin Kelly

Kevin Kelly

Founding executive editor of Wired magazine, author

On the podcast

Shaping the Future with the Power of Optimism

2023-05-10 · Discussed his book "Excellent Advice for Living" and his long-running theory of technology and optimism.

In their own words

“Our present is formed by optimist of the past, and it's gonna be optimists today who are gonna shape our future because they're the ones who are imagining it and believing it's possible.”May 2023, on the Vance Crowe Podcast, on the Vance Crowe Podcast

“There's two functions that you need to make something great. One of them is this kind of unleashed, unhinged, irresponsible generator of ideas. And then there's the editor, polisher, critic — you don't want it too early.”May 2023, on the Vance Crowe Podcast, on the Vance Crowe Podcast

“Answers become cheap, become free. I think what becomes valuable is questions, having a good question, being able to create something that is being driven by the kind of questions that you're asking.”May 2023, on the Vance Crowe Podcast, on the Vance Crowe Podcast

Where this conversation traveled

Moments in later episodes where Kevin Kelly's ideas and work resurfaced, drawn from the show's transcripts.

Guest Shaun Newman cited Kelly's "1,000 True Fans" concept when describing his own strategy of building a small, trusted audience rather than chasing viral reach. Listen →

Shaun Newman, November 2022

Reflecting on changes he made to his own show, Vance credited a specific piece of advice from Kelly's podcast about the value of family traditions.

Vance Crowe, December 2023

Discussing the early promise of the internet as an equalizing force, Vance referenced Kelly and Stewart Brand's shared view from the Whole Earth Review era.

Brian Hopkins, October 2020

If you valued this conversation

Kenneth Stanley — on novelty and open-ended systems, adjacent to Kelly's technium framework
Jim Rutt — fellow Whole Earth Review-era technologist and futurist
Matt Ridley — on innovation as a compounding, optimistic process

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