Tech Won't Save Us - TopPodcast.com

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A Better Internet Requires Ending the Monopolies w/ Cory Doctorow Sep 10, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Cory Doctorow to discuss how the problems we associate with Big Tech aren’t the result of mind-control systems, but corporation consolidation. Cory argues we need to stop buying the overblown sales pitch, stop collecting so much data, and enforce antitrust legislation against the tech monopolies.
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. His most recent non-fiction book, “How to Defeat Surveillance Capitalism,” is available for free at OneZero. You can also preorder his next fiction book, “Attack Surface,” on Kickstarter or anywhere else books are sold. Cory has a daily blog at Pluralistic.net and you can follow him on Twitter as @doctorow.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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Thinking about Tech in the Present Tense w/ Ben Tarnoff Sep 03, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff to discuss why we should look to the Luddites for inspiration, how history could inform a better future of technology, and what tech organizing might look like under a Joe Biden administration.
Ben Tarnoff is a co-founder of Logic Magazine and co-authored “Voices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk About What They Do–and How They Do It” with Moira Weigel. The book will be released in October and can be preordered now. Follow Ben on Twitter as @bentarnoff.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.
Mentioned in this episode:

“To decarbonize we must decomputerize: why we need a Luddite revolution” by Ben Tarnoff
“From Manchester to Barcelona” by Ben Tarnoff
“The Making of the Tech Worker Movement” by Ben Tarnoff
“The Making of the English Working Class” by E.P. Thompson
“The Machine Breakers” by Eric Hobsbawm
“Present Tense Technology” by David Noble

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We Can’t Talk About Tech Without Talking About Resources w/ Thea Riofrancos Aug 27, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Thea Riofrancos to discuss why we should care about the supply chains of technology, what that resource extraction means for people in Latin America, and how we should think about a less resource-intensive future.
Thea Riofrancos is the author of “Resource Radicals: From Petro-Nationalism to Post-Extractivism in Ecuador” and co-author of “A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal.” She is also an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Providence College and a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute. Her argument against green extractivism was published by Logic Magazine. Follow Thea on Twitter as @triofrancos.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.
Also mentioned in this episode:

“Planetary Mine: Territories of Extraction under Late Capitalism” by Martín Arboleda
“Could a Green New Deal makes us happier people?” by Kate Aronoff
“Do Androids Dream of Electric Cars?: Public Transit in the Age of Google, Uber, and Elon Musk” by James Wilt

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How Tech Journalism Legitimized the Gig Economy w/ Sam Harnett Aug 20, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Sam Harnett to talk about how the flaws in tech journalism provide a distorted view of what “tech” companies are actually doing and why it looks like California will finally force ride-hail drivers to be recognized as employees (without Uber and Lyft).
Sam Harnett is a reporter covering labor and tech at KQED in the Bay Area. He recently made a radio series called “How We Got to Here” and is the co-creator of The World According to Sound. Sam has an essay about the problems with tech journalism in “Beyond the Algorithm: Qualitative Insights for Gig Work Regulation.” Follow Sam on Twitter as @SamWHarnett.
For more related articles, see Sam’s article about how Uber and Lyft evaded regulations for eight years, Paris’ article on why California should kick them out if they won’t comply with labor law, and Veena Dubal’s criticism of the franchise model they’re now considering.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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What the History of TV Can Teach Us About Netflix w/ Tom Evens Aug 13, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Tom Evens to discuss how the history of the television industry can give us important insights into the state of streaming video services and how regulators might respond to ensure they serve the public good instead of just their private goals.
Tom Evens is the co-author of “Platform Power and Policy in Transforming Television Markets” and a Professor of Media, Innovation and Communication Technologies at Ghent University. Follow Tom on Twitter as @EvensTom.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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How to Defeat an Apple Store w/ Tania Davidge Aug 06, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Tania Davidge to discuss the campaign to stop Apple from building a store in the middle of Melbourne’s Federation Square and how the company’s vision of a town square differs from what a true public space should be.
Tania Davidge is architect, artist, educator, writer, and researcher. She is the president of Citizens for Melbourne, a public space advocacy group, and the co-founder of the architectural research practice OoPLA. She recently wrote about the need to preserve Melbourne’s Federation Square as a key public gathering space. Follow Tania on Twitter as @taniadavidge.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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The Boring Company is a Complete Joke w/ Alissa Walker Jul 30, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Alissa Walker to discuss how Elon Musk’s Boring Company transportation system has changed over the past few years, what his plans in Las Vegas mean for workers and transit users, and why tech companies are distracting us from a real vision of better cities.
Alissa Walker is the urbanism editor at Curbed, co-host of LA Podcast, and a contributor to KCRW’s Greater LA. She recently reported on the latest updates on the Boring Company and its project in Las Vegas, and did a great breakdown of how the whole concept has evolved back in January. Follow Alissa on Twitter as @awalkerinLA.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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Space Mining Brings Capitalism to the Cosmos w/ Julie Michelle Klinger Jul 23, 2020

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Paris Marx is joined by Julie Michelle Klinger to discuss the myths around rare earth elements and how they’re fueling a movement to enclose and mine space. But a better, more collaborative future that treats space as a commons is still possible, and the Global South may show us the way forward.
Julie Michelle Klinger is the author of “Rare Earth Frontiers: From Terrestrial Subsoils to Lunar Landscapes” and an Assistant Professor of Geography & Spatial Sciences at the University of Delaware. Her argument about why space is not the final frontier was recently published on urbanNext. Follow Julie on Twitter as @Prof_Klinger.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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The Global South Holds a Better Future of Tech w/ Juan Ortiz Freuler Jul 16, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Juan Ortiz Freuler to discuss the recent global negotiations on the taxation of multinational corporations, how Africa is demanding the digital labor of its citizens be accounted for, how these tensions threaten to fragment the web, and why the Global South may hold a better future of technology that transcends the capitalist, centralized, and individualist platforms which currently dominate.
Juan Ortiz Freuler is an Affiliate at the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University and a member of the Tierra Común network of researchers. He recently made the case for a digital non-aligned movement. Follow Juan on Twitter as @juanof9.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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Smart Tech Is Designed For Control w/ Jathan Sadowski Jul 09, 2020

Show notes

Paris Marx is joined by Jathan Sadowski to discuss the politics of smart technology, how it enables powerful actors to further control the population, and why we should be more comfortable dismantling technologies that don’t serve the public good.
Jathan Sadowski is the author of “Too Smart: How Digital Capitalism is Extracting Data, Controlling Our Lives, and Taking Over the World” and a Research Fellow in the Emerging Technologies Research Lab at Monash University. He recently wrote about how smart tech is a means for corporate control and the need to dismantle urban surveillance systems. Follow Jathan on Twitter as @jathansadowski.
Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

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