Tech Won't Save Us
Episodes
How Spotify is Built On Artist Exploitation w/ Liz Pelly
26 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Liz Pelly to discuss how the Spotify model of streaming music continues a long trend of exploitation in the music industry and...
The Injury Crisis in Amazon Warehouses w/ Will Evans
19 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Will Evans to discuss how excessive productivity targets are causing high rates of injury at Amazon warehouses, how executives...
How Video Games are Shaped by Capitalism w/ Daniel Joseph
12 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Daniel Joseph to discuss the relationship between video games and capitalism, how the gaming experience has become increasingl...
Jobs Suck, But Not Because of Automation w/ Aaron Benanav
05 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Aaron Benanav to discuss why jobs are getting worse because the economy’s slowing down, not because technology is speeding u...
Section 230 Protects Free Expression Online w/ Evan Greer
29 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Evan Greer to discuss Republican and Democratic desires to amend or revoke Section 230, why the proposals won’t solve proble...
What Rural China Teaches Us About the Future of Tech w/ Xiaowei Wang
22 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Xiaowei Wang to discuss how technology is being used to connect rural China to global supply chains, what that means for life ...
Why Google’s Ad Business Could Implode w/ Tim Hwang
15 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Tim Hwang to discuss how digital ad markets became financialized, why Google and Facebook have an incentive to hide how poorly...
Silicon Valley is Embracing Anti-China Nationalism w/ JS Tan
08 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by JS Tan to discuss the internet’s connection with neoliberalism, China’s protectionist measures to develop its own tech ind...
Major Publishers Want to Shut Down Digital Lending w/ Maria Bustillos
01 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Maria Bustillos to discuss the important work of the Internet Archive, why it opened a digital National Emergency Library duri...
How Google & Facebook Dominate Digital Ads w/ Shoshana Wodinsky
24 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Shoshana Wodinsky to discuss how digital ad markets work, how Google and Facebook maintain their dominance, and why the TikTok...
How Foxconn Treats the Workers Who Built Your iPhone w/ Jenny Chan
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Jenny Chan to discuss the difficult lives of Foxconn factory workers, the company’s relationship with Apple, the structural ...
A Better Internet Requires Ending the Monopolies w/ Cory Doctorow
10 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 corporat...
Thinking about Tech in the Present Tense w/ Ben Tarnoff
03 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 technol...
We Can’t Talk About Tech Without Talking About Resources w/ Thea Riofrancos
27 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 p...
How Tech Journalism Legitimized the Gig Economy w/ Sam Harnett
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
What the History of TV Can Teach Us About Netflix w/ Tom Evens
13 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 vid...
How to Defeat an Apple Store w/ Tania Davidge
06 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
The Boring Company is a Complete Joke w/ Alissa Walker
30 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Space Mining Brings Capitalism to the Cosmos w/ Julie Michelle Klinger
23 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 min...
The Global South Holds a Better Future of Tech w/ Juan Ortiz Freuler
16 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Juan Ortiz Freuler to discuss the recent global negotiations on the taxation of multinational corporations, how Africa is dema...
Smart Tech Is Designed For Control w/ Jathan Sadowski
09 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Jathan Sadowski to discuss the politics of smart technology, how it enables powerful actors to further control the population,...
Why Uber Failed at Micromobility w/ Aaron W. Gordon
02 Jul 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 t...
Technofascism in India w/ Banu Subramaniam & Debjani Bhattacharyya
25 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Banu Subramaniam and Debjani Bhattacharyya to discuss Indian politics under Narendra Modi and the BJP; how contract-tracing ap...
Amazon Wants to Dominate Everything w/ Brian Merchant
18 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 partne...
Tech Giants Don't Care About Black Lives w/ Edward Ongweso Jr.
11 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 do...
Art is More Than Ones and Zeroes w/ Nika Roza Danilova
04 Jun 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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, a...
A Cooperative Vision for Technological Innovation w/ Dan Hind
28 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Uber's War on Drivers w/ Veena Dubal
21 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Veena Dubal to discuss how Uber's misclassification of drivers of independent contractors denies them rights and protections g...
How Tech Platforms Affect Our Digital Lives w/ Joanne McNeil
19 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 foun...
History Shows Radical Futures Are Possible w/ Lizzie O'Shea
14 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 creat...
Tech Billionaires Think They’re Better Than You w/ Rob Larson
12 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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...
Fighting Back Against the Tech Monopolies w/ Grace Blakeley
07 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Grace Blakeley to discuss how neoliberal capitalism benefits the tech monopolies, how they’re thriving as the COVID-19 pande...
Elon Musk is a Cult Leader w/ Ilari Kaila
05 May 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 Tech Distracts Us From the Bigger Picture w/ Bianca Wylie
30 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Paris Marx is joined by Bianca Wylie to talk about the response to COVID-19, how governments’ emphasis on tech solutions ignores (and potentially en...
Bursting the Reality Bubble w/ Ziya Tong
27 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 reimagin...
Transit is the Future w/ James Wilt
23 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 ...
Tech's Response to COVID-19 w/ Wendy Liu
20 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
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 a...
A Brief Introduction
12 Apr 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Tech Won't Save Us challenges the notion that technology alone can solve our problems. Full episodes coming very soon. Support the show