Silicon Valley has a solution for everything, but who do its ideas really serve? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its thought leaders, and the worldview it spreads. They challenge the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. But if tech won't save us, what will? This podcast isn't simply about tearing tech down; it also presents radical ideas for tech designed for human flourishing instead of surveillance, acquisitions, or to boost stock prices. A better world is possible, and so is better technology.
How Foreverism Degrades Our Culture w/ Grafton Tanner
Paris Marx is joined by Grafton Tanner to discuss the dangers and consequences of companies and politicians leveraging nostalgia for their own purposes.
Grafton Tanner is the author of Foreverism. He also teaches at the University of Georgia.
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. Support the show on Patreon.
The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.
Also mentioned in this episode:
- Paris wrote about the material footprint of data centers in Disconnect.
- Ian McKellen broke down on the set of The Hobbit after acting with no other actors on a green screen.
- In an interview with Charlie Rose, George Lucas described differences between Soviet and US film industries.
- Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy told Vanity Fair it wasn’t as fun making Star Wars films today as it was making the original trilogy.
- Jake Gyllenhaal described the difficulty of acting in a Marvel film after Spider-Man: Far From Home.