The girlies investigate our modern-day digital panopticon through an exploration on the history of surveillance in the US. From wiretapping to Watergate to hidden AirBnb spyware, Americans have been accustomed to and unsettled by being watched for decades. Digressions include the 2016 vibes and a pig named Heidi Klum.

This episode was produced by Julia Hava and Eliza Mclamb and edited by Allison Hagan. Research assistance from Penelope Spurr.

NOTE: This episode mentions the role of surveillance in cases of police brutality. We wanted to note that it was recorded before the horrific murder of Sonya Massey by the police — a tragic reminder, as mentioned in the episode, that surveillance alone is rarely enough to provoke justice. Our thoughts are with the Massey family. 

SOURCES:

19th Century - The Origins of Surveillance

A Brief History of Surveillance in America

Airbnb Has a Hidden-Camera Problem

CAN THE USE OF ‘NANNY CAMS’ BE MORALLY JUSTIFIED?

Castle Doctrine

During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Electronic performance monitoring: a risk factor for workplace stress

George Holliday, Who Taped Police Beating of Rodney King, Dies at 61

How citizen journalism has changed since George Holliday’s Rodney King video

John Locke and the labor theory of value

Psychological aspects of active surveillance

Psychology and Surveillance Capitalism: The Risk of Pushing Mental Health Apps 

She Thought She Caught a Man Cheating, So She Posted on TikTok

Social anxiety disorder: more than just shyness

Sun on Privacy: 'Get Over It' | WIRED

Surveillance as Cultural Practice

Surveillance Culture: Engagement, Exposure, and Ethics in Digital Modernity

Surveillance of the intimate

Surveillance under the Patriot Act

Towards a psychology of surveillance: do ‘watching eyes’ affect behaviour?

The Employer-Surveillance State

The Work of Being Watched: Interactive Media and the Exploitation of Self-Disclosure

There’s no place like home

They Used Smartphone Cameras to Record Police Brutality—and Change History

What constant surveillance does to your brain

‘What have you caught?' Nannycams and hidden cameras as normalised Watching Me, Watching You

Where would racial progress in policing be without camera phones?

Who's watching?: Daily practices of surveillance among contemporary families

Why we must continue to turn the camera on police

Us and them - the social impact of 'new surveillance' technologies