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.
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How DOGE is Remaking the US Government w/ Makena Kelly
Paris Marx is joined by Makena Kelly to discuss how Elon Musk’s DOGE is reshaping the US government and the consequences that has for government employees and the wider public.Makena Kelly is a senior writer at WIRED and writes the weekly Politics Lab newsletter.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.Also mentioned in this episode:Makena wrote about how DOGE is replacing government IT roles and also the COBOL Cowboys back in 2020.Support the show
Patreon Preview: The Harms of Generative AI w/ Alex Hanna
Our Data Vampires series may be over, but Paris interviewed a bunch of experts on data centers and AI whose insights shouldn’t go to waste. We’re releasing those interviews as bonus episodes for Patreon supporters. Here’s a preview of this week’s premium episode with Alex Hanna, the Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. For the full interview, support the show on Patreon.Support the show
The Tech Oligarchy’s Campaign Against the Media w/ Eoin Higgins
Paris Marx is joined by Eoin Higgins to discuss how tech billionaires set out to change the media ecosystem and made it profitable for influential voices to shift to the political right. Eoin Higgins is a journalist and the author of Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left.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.Also mentioned in this episode:Read an excerpt of Eoin’s book on LitHub.Last year, Peter Thiel bragged to Ann Coulter about killing Gawker.Rick Perlstein wrote about the time he met Marc Andreessen.Support the show
Patreon Preview: Sam Altman’s Self-Serving AGI Future w/ Julia Black
Our Data Vampires series may be over, but Paris interviewed a bunch of experts on data centers and AI whose insights shouldn’t go to waste. We’re releasing those interviews as bonus episodes for Patreon supporters. Here’s a preview of this week’s premium episode with Julia Black, a reporter on The Information’s Weekend Team. For the full interview, support the show on Patreon.Support the show
How Spotify Remade the Music Industry w/ Liz Pelly
Paris Marx is joined by Liz Pelly to discuss how Spotify changes how we listen to music and the broader impacts it has on the wider music industry.Liz Pelly is a music journalist and the author of Mood Machine.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.Also mentioned in this episode:You can read an excerpt of Liz’s book in Harper’s.The CEO of Suno AI said people “don’t enjoy” making music.Support the show
The Problem With Cyberlibertarianism w/ Chris Gilliard
Paris Marx is joined by Chris Gilliard to discuss David Golumbia's final book Cyberlibertarianism and how right-wing politics shaped how we think about the internet.Chris Gilliard is co-director of the Critical Internet Studies Institute and author of the forthcoming book Luxury Surveillance, coming in 2026.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.Also mentioned in this episode:David Golumbia wrote an essay called “ChatGPT Should Not Exist” in December 2022.Matt Bors drew a comic called “You made become a Nazi!”Cyberlibertarianism is out now from the University of Minnesota Press.Support the show
Patreon Preview: Do We Live in a Simulation? w/ Émile P. Torres
Our Data Vampires series may be over, but Paris interviewed a bunch of experts on data centers and AI whose insights shouldn’t go to waste. We’re releasing those interviews as bonus episodes for Patreon supporters. Here’s a preview of this week’s premium episode with Émile P. Torres, a postdoctoral researcher at Case Western University. For the full interview, support the show on Patreon.Support the show
The New Tech Oligarchy w/ Gaby Del Valle
Paris Marx is joined by Gaby Del Valle to discuss the inauguration of Donald Trump and what the tech oligarchy hopes to get from their relationship with him.Gaby Del Valle is a policy reporter at The Verge and is working on a book on ecofascism that will be released by Bloomsbury in 2026.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.Also mentioned in this episode:Gaby wrote about Elon Musk’s plans for DOGE and the eugenic ideas in Silicon Valley.The Guardian published an opinion piece titled, “I knew one day I’d have to watch powerful men burn the world down – I just didn’t expect them to be such losers.”Tesla applied for more H-1B visas as it was laying off thousands of workers.Support the show
Patreon Preview: The Fascistic Solutionism of AI w/ Dan McQuillan
Our Data Vampires series may be over, but Paris interviewed a bunch of experts on data centers and AI whose insights shouldn’t go to waste. We’re releasing those interviews as bonus episodes for Patreon supporters. Here’s a preview of this week’s premium episode with Dan McQuillan, author of Resisting AI and a lecturer at Goldsmiths University of London. For the full interview, support the show on Patreon.Support the show
How to See Tech Like a Luddite w/ Jathan Sadowski
Paris Marx is joined by Jathan Sadowski to discuss the relationship between technology and capitalism, and what lessons can be taken from the Luddites to properly assess and understand these systems.Jathan Sadowski is is the author of The Mechanic and the Luddite: A Ruthless Criticism of Technology and Capitalism. He’s also the co-host of This Machine Kills and a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University.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.Also mentioned in this episode:Jathan wrote about AI and the Tinkerbell Effect in Futurism.Support the show
Patreon Preview: How Big Tech Made the Cloud w/ Dwayne Monroe
Our Data Vampires series may be over, but Paris interviewed a bunch of experts on data centers and AI whose insights shouldn’t go to waste. We’re releasing those interviews as bonus episodes for Patreon supporters. Here’s a preview of this week’s premium episode with Dwayne Monroe, a senior cloud architect and longtime consultant these kinds of projects. For the full interview, support the show on Patreon.Support the show
What Netflix Has Done to Movies w/ Will Tavlin
Paris Marx is joined by Will Tavlin to discuss how the Netflix model transformed film into the Typical Netflix Movie and how the company uses claims about data to deceive the public.Will Tavlin is a New York-based writer who has written for n+1, Bookforum, and the Columbia Journalism Review.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:Will wrote about Netflix and the Typical Netflix Movie for n+1.Support the show
How Cloud Giants Cement Their Power w/ Cecilia Rikap
Paris Marx is joined by Cecilia Rikap to discuss the ways Amazon, Microsoft, and Google gain power from companies becoming dependent on their cloud services and how generative AI exacerbates that problem.Cecilia Rikap is an Associate Professor in Economics at University College London.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.Also mentioned in this episode:Paris and Cecilia were co-authors on the “Reclaiming digital sovereignty” white paper.Cecilia wrote a report called “Dynamics of Corporate Governance Beyond Ownership in AI.”Support the show
Maybe We Should Destroy AI w/ Ali Alkhatib
Paris Marx is joined by Ali Alkhatib to discuss the difficulty of holding the AI industry accountable and why sometimes it makes sense for people to destroy AI systems that are harming them.Ali Alkhatib works with Logic(s) magazine and was previously the director of the Center for Applied Data Ethics.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:Ali wrote a blog post called “Destroy AI.”Support the show
The Year in Tech w/ Molly White, Brian Merchant, & Eric Wickham
Paris Marx is joined by Molly White, Brian Merchant, and Eric Wickham to discuss the highs and lows (mostly lows) of this year in tech news.Molly White is the creator of Web3 is Going Just Great and Follow the Crypto. Brian Merchant is my co-host on System Crash, a new podcast we’re hosting. He’s also a longtime tech journalist and author of Blood in the Machine. Eric Wickham is the producer for Tech Won’t Save Us, along with a bunch of other podcast, and an independent journalist.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:Molly joined Brian and Paris on System Crash.Peter Thiel made some dumb remarks about Luigi Mangione on the Piers Morgan show while looking very shiny.Apple sold fewer than half a million Vision Pro headsets this year.Support the show