Temp Workers' Creative Uprising

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This chapter traces the journey of temp workers in San Francisco who founded a publication to critique modern office life, using humor and creativity to express their frustrations with alienation. It also discusses the relationship between political activism and joy, advocating for a more enjoyable approach to social change amidst the challenges of neoliberalism.

Paris Marx is joined by Chris Carlsson to discuss Processed World, a tech-critical, anti-capitalist magazine that satirized the absurdity of work in its publishing run between 1981 and 2005.

Chris Carlsson is the author of many books, including most recently When Shells Crumble. He’s the director of Shaping SF and a cofounder of Critical Mass. He was also one of the people behind Processed World.

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:

You can find the full archive of Processed World on the Internet Archive.
Chris wrote about his experience making Processed World in Notes from Below.
Jacob Silverman wrote a great piece on the legacy of Processed World for The Baffler.

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