The RegenNarration 139. Douglas Rushkoff on surviving the tech billionaires & embodying the over-culture
Douglas Rushkoff is the Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics who MIT named one of the “world’s ten most influential intellectuals.” He also hosts the podcast I listen to most, called Team Human. And he’s the best-selling author of 20 books, including the new one, Survival of the Richest: Escape Fantasies of the Tech Billionaires. The publisher’s blurb reads: ‘We always knew but now we *know*. The tech elite mean to leave us all behind. In Survival of the Richest, Rushkoff traces the origins of The Mindset in science and technology through its current expression in missions to Mars, island bunkers, and the Metaverse.’
A big early influence on me, Frances Moore Lappé, said: “Beyond eye-opening, this book is eye-popping. A master story-teller, Rushkoff brings to life perhaps the greatest challenge of our time, The Mindset that drives so much destructive behaviour, and blinds us to solutions beyond new technology and consumption. A must read.”
This is a profound and fun journey, firstly into the Mindset, then back out again. Where the billionaire preppers and trans-humanists are ultimately dead ending, the current of life is flowing elsewhere.
0.00 Introduction
3.30 The Mindset!
19.30 Origins of The Mindset
33.00 Getting caught up in The Mindset while trying to ‘fix it’ (while exploring family stories and the wonders of epigenetics)
42.30' encounter with the Maori and our respective exchanges with Tyson Yunkaporta
53.30 ‘Human’ economies and platforms
61.00 If we’re the over-culture now …
66.00 A transformative tale in Douglas’ life before choosing to start a family
73.00 Music ...
This conversation was recorded online with Douglas at home in New York City on 27 September 2022 (Australian time).
Title slide image: Douglas Rushkoff.
Music:
Regeneration, composed by Amelia Barden, from the soundtrack of the new film Regenerating Australia, available for community screenings now.
Find more:
Stay tuned for a special ‘offcuts’ extra to this episode, out next week.
Read a transcript of our conversation on the episode web page.
Douglas’ website, where you can also pick up the book Survival of the Richest (and others).
The Team Human podcast.
Hear my previous conversation with Douglas on episode 41: ‘Playing for Team Human’.
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