Show Notes You heard that right, everyone. Who knows, maybe we’ll be back someday, though! (Long-time listeners: stick around for the last bit of this episode. Trust us.) Music “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Something special Respond We (still!) love to hear your thoughts. Hit us up via Twitter , Facebook , or email !...
Reviewing what we learned in 2020—and ranking what we read! So many books! Also: MARIMBAAAAAAAAAAA!!! Show Notes The books we covered this season: Phaedrus, Plato: 8.02 , 8.03 The Postmodern Condition, Lyotard: 8.04 , 8.05 The Age of Spiritual Machines, Ray Kurzweil: 8.06 , 8.07 Jurassic Park, Michael Crichton: 8.08 , 8.09 The Printing Press as an Agent of Change, Elizabeth Eisenstein: 8.10 , 8.11 Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness, Simone Browne: 8.12 , 8.13 The Real World of Techno...
Neal Stephenson at double speed and with a smile on his face. Mr. Penumbra’s 24-Hour Bookstore , Robin Sloan Show Notes Robin Sloan Sourdough Ruby George Saunders Cory Doctorow Credits Music “Getaway Car” , by Ezekiel Songs originally written by Make Sure . Used by permission, please don’t use without permission. “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 , meaning you can do whatever you want with this music … as long as you share it for others to likewise do what they ...
The things we learned from Zeynep Tüfekçi’s examination of social media and sociopolitical change. (We liked this book a lot .) Twitter and Tear Gas , Zeynep Tüfekçi Show Notes Zeynep Tüfekçi her recently-launched newsletter Insight 52-Cent Party Cultural Revolution Tianenmen Square Twitter and the 2020 US election Twitter’s own take Hunter Biden Electoral college Ben Thompson Matt Levine’s newsletter Money Stuff His latest issue before going on parental leave back in August profiled in the New ...
Walking through Zeynep Tüfekçi’s masterful explanation of the relationship between social media and protest movements. Twitter and Tear Gas , Zeynep Tüfekçi Show Notes Things we mentioned on the show, in the order we mentioned them: Zeynep Tüfekçi her recently-launched newsletter Insight modern Turkey Zapatistas Occupy Wall Street 1999 World Trade Organization protests Arab Spring Tea Party China’s treatment of the Uyghurs Capacities/capabilities The Capability Approach , Stanford Encyclopedia o...
Thinking about Carl Sagan's views on belief, and how they relate to religion and science Contact , Carl Sagan Show Notes After reading Carl Sagan’s 1985 novel Contact and watching the 1995 movie of the same name, we discuss a major epistemological question: what are the acceptable grounds for belief? Are religious belief and scientific proof compatible? Sagan’s surprisingly nuanced views give us interesting ways forward. Things we mentioned on the show, in the order we mentioned them: Carl Sagan...
Another book from the ’80s, but hey: at least this one is fiction! Contact , Carl Sagan Show Notes We read Carl Sagan’s 1985 novel Contact and watched the 1995 movie of the same name. In this episode, our overview of the book: its plot and its basic interests. Things we mentioned on the show, in the order we mentioned them: Carl Sagan Cosmos: TV show and book Neil Degrasse Tyson Fermi Paradox Wow! signal Very Large Array Arecibo Observatory Neil Patrick Harris (wait for it, it’ll all make sense ...
We argue with Mary Midgley on how she did what she did, more than what she did. Evolution as a Religion , Mary Midgley Show Notes Descartes’ belief that people can’t be rational without God ; see paragraph six Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene David Hume Immanuel Kant John Rawls , the specific claim Stephen most has a problem with is the veil of ignorance concept explained in this page (although this is not mentioned in the episode) Jacques Monod Wickedness: A Philosophical Essay Robinson Crusoe...
What had Mary Midgley so incredibly angry in the 1980s, and what did she do about it? Evolution as a Religion , Mary Midgley Show Notes Richard Dawkins’ The Selfish Gene “Superman” and Friedrich Nietzsche David Hume Immanuel Kant The other book Chris is reading on politics &c. currently: Politics and the Order of Love, Eric Gregory Here’s another great cover of the book from the ’80s! Have to climb to Omega, man! Upcoming Book October (8.18 and 8.19): Contact , Carl Sagan November (8.20 and ...
We point out several concerns that we have with the arguments Dr. Franklin makes in her lectures-turned-book: the ineffectiveness of her holistic and prescriptive technologies frame, her deeply cynical view on policy, and other thorny places that her arguments lead (like the Soviet Union). The Real World of Technology , Ursula Franklin Show Notes Cold War peace movement Peace movements in Canada Second-wave feminism (to which Dr. Franklin’s feminism approximately belongs to) History of environme...
The Real World of Technology , Ursula Franklin Show Notes Cold War peace movement Peace movements in Canada Second-wave feminism (to which Dr. Franklin’s feminism approximately belongs to) Third-wave feminism (to which Dr. Franklin’s feminism approximately does not belong to): Oklahoma historically dumping stuff in rivers Arkansas historically dumping stuff in Oklahoma’s rivers Oklahoma contemporarily dumping stuff in rivers Here’s the great cover of the book from the ’80s–note that at no time a...
Discussing Simone Browne’s epistemology, ideas, and arguments: what persuaded us, and what didn’t? Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness—Explained , Simone Browne Show Notes Critical theory Critical race theory Black feminism Intersectionality White as default in AI , potentially due to biased/non-diverse training data Finding God in the Lord of the Rings Looking for God in Harry Potter Surveillance Studies David Hume The two main subjects we mentioned on the show as relevant were criti...
Digging into Simone Browne’s application of critical race theory to surveillance studies. Dark Matters: On the Surveillance of Blackness—Explained , Simone Browne Show Notes The two main subjects we mentioned on the show as relevant were critical theory (and specifically critical race theory ) and surveillance studies . Notably, while Browne describes herself as a black feminist and makes reference to the adjacent idea of intersectionality , she never explicitly refers to critical (race) theory....
The printing press and the internet are often compared. How similar in impact are they really? The Printing Press as an Agent of Change , Elizabeth Eisenstein Show Notes Eisenstein’s outline: dissemination standardization reorganization data collection preservation amplification reinforcement cultural effects the Republic of Letters Links to things mentioned on the show: On context collapse: 2.02: Basketballs ≠ Pumpkins Our strongest take on “big data:” 6.06: A Kind of Blindness—Smart cities, “b...
Digging into Elizabeth Eisenstein’s magisterial and seminal work on how print changed culture. The Printing Press as an Agent of Change , Elizabeth Eisenstein Show Notes We almost entirely ended up talking about the contents of this book specifically! And we weren’t joking about how dense it is: A picture Chris snapped of p. 113 of The Printing Press as an Agent of Change We did mention a couple other episodes of the show: 8.08: Jurassic Park—Explained on friction 7.09: Frictioneers Upcoming boo...
Don’t go into science for the money: you will get killed by dinosaurs. Jurassic Park , Michael Crichton ( and the movie !) Show Notes We put dinosaurs mostly in the background and talk about what Crichton really wanted to discuss: the science/industrial complex, the limits of science to interpret or re-create nature, the limits of discovery, and disciplinary power. Things mentioned on the show People trying to recreate mammoths in Siberia to fix … climate change? The world’s fastest supercompute...
What the well-known novel and movie have to say about science, ethics, epistemology, and hubris. Jurassic Park , Michael Crichton ( and the movie !) Show Notes Things mentioned on the show Media OS—see TVTropes’ “Extreme Graphical Representation” for many examples. The Expanse TV series overview book series overview Caliban’s War : the book in which “complex simple systems” appear Nuclear meltdowns Three-Mile Island Chernobyl Fukushima Upcoming books Note that we’ve ended up changing plans since...
Digging into Kurzweil’s deficient view of culture and human nature—from sex and family to epistemology and human dignity. The Age of Spiritual Machines, Ray Kurzweil Show Notes Things mentioned on the show Stephen’s music blog 7.06 and 7.07 : The ERLC AI Statement Parts 1 and 2 Mass Effect and Mass Affection The Matrix I, Robot Tolkien, Aüle, dwarves: Dwarves: Origin at Tolkien Gateway Aüle: The Creation of the Dwarves at Lord of the Rings Wiki Turing test and Alan Turing Lanier via Jacobs, 59th...
Reading Ray Kurzweil’s prognostications about the future—and coming to terms with his ruthless optimism. The Age of Spiritual Machines, Ray Kurzweil Show Notes Things mentioned on the show The Age of Intelligent Machines Moore’s Law Universal constants , and especially the speed of light You Are Not a Gadget , by Jaron Lanier The Shallows , by Nicholas Carr René Descartes Ludwig Wittgenstein Paul Feyerabend Thomas Kuhn and particularly The Structure of Scientific Revolutions Daniel Dennett Penti...
The Postmodern Condition, Jean–François Lyotard Lyotard’s postmodernism, the politics of power, and aesthetics: what do we keep and what do we reject? Show Notes Errata Chris, because he was slightly sick, forgot that although we were recording in February, the episode was coming out in March. This threw off everything we said about dates for the rest of the episode. Whoops! (The book schedule is adjusted accordingly below .) Things mentioned on the show “Information wants to be free” The Year o...
Note: Hey listeners, sorry for the weirdness—I (Chris) accidentally published this pointing to the audio for last week’s episode. All fixed now! Jean-François Lyotard on postmodernity, science, and kitschy art. The Postmodern Condition, Jean–François Lyotard Show Notes We do our best to explain this dense piece of French aesthetic theory, its arguments with German idealist philosophers, and its very strong feelings about non-avant-garde art. Errata Chris, because he was slightly sick, forgot tha...
Should we even keep reading this book—with its criticisms of books? Show Notes We dig into our disagreements with and appreciations of Plato’s Phaedrus ! Other things mentioned on the show: C. S. Lewis’ Introduction to Athanasius’ On the Incarnation Marshall McLuhan Ellul and Mumford 2.02: Basketballs ≠ Pumpkins Chat apps Slack and Twist Next month’s book: The Postmodern Condition, Jean–François Lyotard Music “Electric 1 (Part B)” by Elkhorn “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Sponsors Many ...
What did Plato actually argue two and a half millennia ago? Show Notes We really only did one thing in this episode: talked about Plato’s Phaedrus ! What did Plato say? How did he say it? What does it mean? There are, though, lots of interpretations . Relevant to our next episode: people have cited Lyotard a lot . Oh… and Alan Jacobs is back on Twitter . The Andy Matuschak post referenced in the episode Music “Oak Forest” by Ivan Muela “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Sponsors Many thanks...
An overview of Season 8: a book (and movie!) club devoted to the canon (as we define it!) for technology and ethics. Show Notes The authors and topics we discussed in detail on the show: Phaedrus – linked here are a wide array of translations Elizabeth Eisenstein , The Printing Press as an Agent of Change Jane Jacobs , The Death and Life of Great American Cities Hardcore History Music “To My Brain” by Aryl Barkley “Winning Slowly Theme” by Chris Krycho. Sponsors Many thanks to the people who hel...
Hey listeners, we had a miscommunication leading to the episode originally being published with the wrong intro music—sorry to any of you who got that earlier version! This new version has the right intro music (and one edit fix Chris caught listening back through the episode as a bonus). Sorry about any hassle or confusion! An interview with author and editor (and our friend) about his new book! Show Notes An interview with author and editor (and our friend!) Jake Meador —focused especially on ...
Chris and Stephen talk about an interesting article… and then pivot to the nature of this podcast and some of their healthy differences—about the show, and in approach to these questions in general. Show notes Isaac Asimov ’s Caves of Steel Alan Jacobs’ Pinboard “The Web Falls Apart” Chris’ newsletter Across the Sundering Seas the last couple weeks, on progress and decline: Flux (#27) Edges (#28) Jaron Lanier Your Undivided Attention , Episode 9: The Dictator’s Playbook Chris’ Christology class ...
Sustainable long-distance transportation, or really great virtual reality? Fight! Show notes Which would make for healthy localist cities in 80 years: sustainable long-distance transportation, or really great virtual reality? Chris says sustainable long-distance transporation. Stephen says VR. Fight! (In which the phrase “I don’t think that’s true!” appears more than any other episode of the show… ever.) Links Fahrenheit 451 , Ray Bradbury The Opolis Cities/metropolitan areas on the East Coast w...
“Go Do Earth Things”, or, How 80 Years of Non-Technocratic Thinking Might Improve Phoenix, AZ Show notes What will the world be like 80 years from now if we avoid technocratic thinking? We discuss the far future of ecologies, urban planning, and … open-source code economy. Listen all the way through for the closing note about the next episode and one of the most incredible bloopers we’ve ever produced. Best efforts notwithstanding, we couldn’t actually find a news story about the Woodmoor HOA’s ...
Show Notes Press pause on the dystopias. Set aside interventions. Dream a little of a non-technocratic world. We’ve mostly been in the weeds of thinking about specific interventions around technologism this season. Today, we press pause and just spend some time imagining—dare we say, dreaming—of what a non-technocratic world might look and feel like. Links psychohistory The Dispossessed , Ursula K. Le Guin Confessions , Augustine The Expanse Kim Stanley Robinson, New York 2140 and Mars Trilogy, ...
Can adding a little friction back to user interfaces save us? Show notes We talk about the currently-trendy concept of (design) friction and how it is necessary but not sufficient for right action on the Internet. Links Facebook admits that it intentionally defrauded children by making it easy to buy in-game purchases The creator of the retweet button now thinks it was a bad idea (Mea culpa: We stated this article was written in Wired but it was in BuzzFeed) Dark patterns Alt-Meat Trounces Anima...
