Paris Marx is joined by Aaron W. Gordon to discuss how VC-backed tech companies upended the bike-share industry, how that specifically played out in the case of Uber and Jump, and why the dockless bike and scooter model is failing. Aaron is a senior staff writer at Motherboard. He recently reported on Uber’s mismanagement of Jump Bikes . Follow Aaron on Twitter as @A_W_Gordon . You can also read Paris’ thoughts on the future of micromobility . Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspectiv...
Jul 02, 2020•42 min•Ep. 16
Paris Marx is joined by Banu Subramaniam and Debjani Bhattacharyya to discuss Indian politics under Narendra Modi and the BJP; how contract-tracing apps and geofencing are being used to monitor people during COVID-19; and how Hindu nationalism is informing responses to the pandemic on WhatsApp. Banu Subramaniam is a professor of Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the author of “ Holy Science: The Biopolitics of Hindu Nationalism .” Debjani Bhattachary...
Jun 25, 2020•41 min•Ep. 15
Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss how Amazon’s response to COVID-19 has put its workers in danger, how big tech companies are partnering with oil and gas companies, and why the pandemic makes it clear that shopping at Amazon is unethical. Brian Merchant is a senior editor at OneZero and the author of “ The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone ”. He recently wrote how the pandemic is accelerating the Amazonification of the economy and why it’s unethical to continue giving ...
Jun 18, 2020•44 min•Ep. 14
Paris Marx is joined by Edward Ongweso Jr. to discuss how the labor practices, tech products, and global supply chains of tech companies prove they don't care about Black lives — regardless of what they've said in recent statements. Edward also explains why we should defund the police. Edward Ongweso Jr. is a staff writer at Vice. He recently wrote about tech companies' response to Black Lives Matter and what it would mean to defund the police . Follow Edward on Twitter as @bigbla...
Jun 11, 2020•41 min•Ep. 13
Paris Marx is joined by Nika Roza Danilova to discuss how COVID-19 is affecting artists, the privileged worldview of tech, the human essence of art, and why that can’t be replicated by artificial intelligence. She also provides advice on how to best support artists and her hopes for what a better world for artists might look like. Nika Roza Danilova makes music under the name Zola Jesus . Her fifth studio album, Okovi, was released in 2017. Read her essay “ On AI and Silicon Fascist Privilege ” ...
Jun 04, 2020•41 min•Ep. 12
Paris Marx is joined by Dan Hind to discuss the problems with the existing tech industry and its links to the state, and his proposal for reorienting technological development to promote human flourishing and a cooperative economy. Dan Hind is the author of “ The Return of the Public: Democracy, Power and the Case for Media Reform ” and recently wrote a report called “ The British Digital Cooperative: A New Model Public Sector Institution ” for The Next System Project and Common Wealth. He’s als...
May 28, 2020•37 min•Ep. 11
Paris Marx is joined by Veena Dubal to discuss how Uber's misclassification of drivers of independent contractors denies them rights and protections granted to other workers; how that's causing even more problems during the pandemic; the ongoing fight in California to get drivers recognized as employees under Assembly Bill 5; and how ride-hailing services ushered in a second wave of deregulation in the taxi industry. Veena Dubal is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Cal...
May 21, 2020•38 min•Ep. 10
Paris Marx is joined by Joanne McNeil to discuss how our experience online has evolved over the past three decades, the class backgrounds of tech founders, how the AIDS crisis robbed us an important contribution to the early web, and whether COVID-19 will change how we use platforms in the future. Joanne McNeil is the author of “ Lurking: How a Person Became a User .” She has written for the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, WIRED, the Baffler, and more. Follow Joanne on Twitter as @jomc . Tech...
May 19, 2020•38 min•Ep. 9
Paris Marx is joined by Lizzie O’Shea to discuss how learning about history can empower us to imagine more radical futures, how COVID-19 could create the opportunity to demand a better world, and how the praise for essential workers could help us rethink our ideas about work and the economy. Lizzie O’Shea is the author of “ Future Histories: What Ada Lovelace, Tom Paine, and the Paris Commune Can Teach Us about Digital Technology .” She is also the founder and chair of Digital Rights Watch. She ...
May 14, 2020•45 min•Ep. 8
Paris Marx is joined by Rob Larson to discuss how tech billionaires use philanthropy to massage their images, how they're creating a world that leaves nearly everyone else worse off, and how we need to respond with an online socialism to bring tech platforms under worker control. Rob Larson is the author of “ Bit Tyrants: The Political Economy of Silicon Valley ” and an economics professor at Tacoma Community College. He also recently wrote about how billionaire-funded philanthropy is a pub...
May 12, 2020•49 min•Ep. 7
Paris Marx is joined by Grace Blakeley to discuss how neoliberal capitalism benefits the tech monopolies, how they’re thriving as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, and how workers fight back after the defeat of Bernie Sanders and Jeremy Corbyn. Grace Blakeley is the author of “ Stolen: How to Save the World from Financialisation ,” a staff writer at Tribune Magazine, and serves on the Labour Party’s National Policy Forum. She also recently wrote about how COVID-19 is accelerating tech monopolizat...
May 07, 2020•44 min•Ep. 6
Paris Marx is joined by Ilari Kaila to talk about Elon Musk's latest unhinged tweeting episode, his self-serving calls to end COVID-19 lockdowns, and how the outlandish promises he makes and stories he makes result in a cult-like devotion by those who follow him. Ilari Kaila is a Finnish-American writer and Composer-in-Residence at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. His work has been published by Aeon Magazine, Jacobin Magazine, Muftah Magazine, the Finnish Broadcasting Com...
May 05, 2020•45 min•Ep. 5
Paris Marx is joined by Bianca Wylie to talk about the response to COVID-19, how governments’ emphasis on tech solutions ignores (and potentially entrenches) social inequalities, and how we might take control of technology to ensure it works for the public good. Bianca Wylie is the co-founder of Digital Public and Tech Reset Canada, and a Senior Fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation. Follow Bianca on Twitter as @biancawylie . After listening to the interview, consider read...
Apr 30, 2020•55 min•Ep. 4
Paris Marx is joined by Ziya Tong to talk about how COVID-19 is helping us to see the world in a new way, and how that might open the door to reimagining how we organize society. Our "reality bubbles" about work, the food system, technology, and our relationship to nature are being severely challenged, but the question remains whether we can seize this moment to build a better world in the pandemic's aftermath. Ziya Tong is the author of " The Reality Bubble: Blind Spots, Hid...
Apr 27, 2020•42 min•Ep. 3
Paris Marx is joined by James Wilt to talk about how COVID-19 is affecting transportation systems, the flaws in tech’s auto-oriented visions of the future, and why we need to fight for better transit systems to more equitably serve everyone. James Wilt is the author of " Do Androids Dream of Electric Cars?: Transit in the Age of Google, Uber, and Elon Musk ". He's also written for Canadian Dimension, Briarpatch, and Passage. Follow James on Twitter as @james_m_wilt . Tech Won&apos...
Apr 23, 2020•55 min•Ep. 2
Paris Marx is joined by Wendy Liu to talk about how the tech industry is responding to COVID-19, how tech workers may find their jobs at risk in the aftermath, and why we need to change the system to build tech for the public good instead of in service to private capital. Wendy Liu is the author of " Abolish Silicon Valley: How to Liberate Technology from Capitalism ." She has also written for Tribune Magazine, Logic Magazine, and the New Statesman. Follow Wendy on Twitter as @dellsyst...
Apr 20, 2020•41 min•Ep. 1
Tech Won't Save Us challenges the notion that technology alone can solve our problems. Full episodes coming very soon. Support the show
Apr 12, 2020•4 min
