Mark Zuckerberg has a new podcast where he tries to figure out the future

The Facebook CEO faces widespread criticism over his handling of a series of scandals that have plagued the social network

A protester wearing a model head of Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg poses for media outside Portcullis House on 27 November, 2018 in London, England (Getty Images)

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has launched a new podcast aimed at looking to the future and figuring out technology's place in society.

The first episode is on the future of the internet and journalism, which involved Mr Zuckerberg travelling to Berlin to talk with Mathias Döpfner, the CEO of media giant Axel Springer.

Tech and Society with Mark Zuckerberg follows Mr Zuckerberg's New Year's resolution to publicly discuss the key technology issues with "leaders, experts, and people... from different fields".

The 34-year-old entrepreneur first started hosting video debates at the beginning of the year, so far posting two episodes.

In the latest episode earlier this month, Mr Zuckerberg revealed that he wants to create a new section on Facebook dedicated to high-quality and trusted news that could offer new ways to support funding for journalism.

Audio versions are now being published as a podcast titled Tech and Society With Mark Zuckerberg, which appear to be exclusive to Spotify for the moment.

"Follow along as Mark Zuckerberg hosts a series of conversations on the future of technology and society," the podcast description reads.

"He and his guests take on the biggest questions about tech's place in the world - along with the opportunities, challenges, hopes and anxieties that come with it."

When launching the video series, Mr Zuckerberg described it as a "personal challenge" and pledged to put himself "out there more than I've been comfortable with and engage more".

To date, the Facebook chief executive has held debates with Harvard law professor Jonathan Zittrain and Mr Dopfner.

The move comes amid mounting pressure for Facebook to be more transparent about its practices in light of data privacy concerns and scrutiny about the influence of fake news and other content circulated on its platform.

Additional reporting from agencies.