New Books in Science, Technology, and Society

Jack Buffington, a sustainability expert and professor at the University of Denver, tackles the failures of environmental policies that focus on symptoms rather than root causes. He emphasizes the interplay between supply chains and sustainable practices, advocating for innovative approaches over consumer-driven changes. Buffington discusses the urgent need for community-based solutions to water scarcity, and he challenges cognitive dissonance in tackling climate change. Moreover, he compares governance models, highlighting the role of leadership in promoting effective environmental policies.

Ben Connable, a Director Executive at Battle Research Group and Adjunct Professor at Georgetown, dives into the complex realities of ground combat in his book. He reveals that the evolution of warfare is often gradual, challenging the myth of revolutionary military changes. Connable discusses the ongoing relevance of tanks, critiques the generalization of lessons from Ukraine, and argues for strategic investments in counter-drone technology. His findings emphasize the necessity for evidence-based approaches in understanding and planning modern military tactics.

Tim Lenton, Chair in Climate Change at the University of Exeter, discusses his groundbreaking work on climate tipping points. He exposes the urgent need for swift action to prevent global catastrophe and the frustrating inaction among current leaders. Lenton highlights inspiring trends like the rise of electric vehicles and grassroots movements driving positive change. He emphasizes how small, strategic policy shifts can create significant impacts, advocating for collaborative efforts to foster sustainability and social justice in tackling the climate crisis.

Jimi Jones, an experienced archivist and author, teams up with Marek Jancovic, a media studies professor, to discuss their book on audiovisual preservation. They dive into the evolution of digital video standards like JPEG 2000 and Matroska, balancing fidelity with practical needs. The duo reveals the social complexities besetting archivists and the tech industry's role in shaping these formats. Their conversation highlights the delicate interplay between innovation and the sustainability of cultural heritage, underscoring the dynamic nature of memory in our tech-driven world.

Gary Rivlin, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author of "AI Valley," dives into the competitive landscape of AI development. He shares insights from tech giants like Microsoft and Google, examining the emergence of transformative tools like ChatGPT. Rivlin also explores the interplay between regulation and innovation, highlighting differing beliefs on AI oversight. He profiles key figures, including LinkedIn's Reid Hoffman, and discusses the rapid evolution of AI technology and its potential societal impact, comparing it to the internet boom of the 1990s.

In this enlightening discussion, Noah Giansiracusa, an award-winning mathematician and author, reveals how algorithms shape our lives while often benefiting the few. He explains 'Robin Hood math' as a tool for individuals to reclaim power over their data. Topics like the manipulation of social media algorithms, the importance of understanding expected value in gambling and insurance, and the impact of logarithmic perception on our view of money are unpacked. Giansiracusa empowers listeners to become more algorithmically literate and make informed decisions.

Jascha Bareis, a political scientist from the Institute for Technology Assessment and Systems Analysis, discusses the fascinating dualities of autonomous weapons. He highlights how these technologies blur boundaries between human action and machine decisions in warfare. The conversation delves into the psychological impacts, exploring how popular narratives like *Terminator* influence military planning. Bareis also emphasizes the urgent need for meaningful human control and the ethical dilemmas posed by rapid advancements in autonomous warfare technology.

Raphael Cormack, an award-winning editor and assistant professor at Durham University, explores the intriguing world of occultism in the 1920s and 30s. He discusses charismatic figures like Tahra Bey, who captivated Paris with Eastern mysticism, and Dr. Dahesh, who created a unique panreligious faith in Lebanon. Cormack delves into how these holy men reflected societal anxieties of their time, drawing parallels to today’s quest for meaning in an increasingly complicated world. Their stories resonate with our current search for understanding amidst uncertainty.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re hearing an awful lot about the fraught relationship between science and media. In his book, News from Mars: Mass Media and the Forging of a New Astronomy, 1860-1910 (University of Pittsburgh Press, 2019), historian of science Joshua Nall shows us that a blurry boundary between science and journalism was a key feature—not a bug—of the emergence of modern astronomy.Focusing on objects and media, such as newspapers, encyclopedias, cigarette cards, and globes, Nall offers a history of how astronomers’ cultivation of a mass public shaped their discipline as it managed controversies over the possibility of canals on Mars, and even interplanetary communication. This book is strongly recommended for historians of science and communication, as well as those with an eye for material culture.Joshua Nall is curator of modern sciences at the Whipple Museum of the History of Science in the Department of the History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge.Mikey McGovern is a PhD candidate in Princeton University’s Program in the History of Science. He is writing a dissertation on how people used statistics to make claims of discrimination in 1970s America, and how the relationship between rights and num- bers became a flashpoint in political struggles over bureaucracy, race, and law. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

'Seeing Like a Platform: An Inquiry into the Condition of Digital Modernity (Taylor & Francis, 2025)' by Petter Törnberg & Justus Uitermark In my conversation with Petter Törnberg about Seeing Like a Platform, we kept returning to a simple but unsettling point: platforms don't just carry our messages or connect us to information. They've created an entirely new way of knowing the world. His book with Justus Uitermark argues that when everything must be tagged, ranked, and fed through recommendation engines, we get a reality that only makes sense through those mechanisms. This goes beyond previous technological shifts. The printing press expanded what we could know. Television changed how quickly we could know it. But platforms have altered the conditions of knowledge itself. When a platform "sees" the world, it only recognizes what can be counted, sorted, and optimized. Everything else becomes invisible or, worse, stops seeming real. We start mistaking the map for the territory, except now the map is writing itself based on our clicks and swipes. What troubles me most about Törnberg's analysis is how naturally we've adapted to this new epistemology. We optimize our research for algorithmic discovery. We think in terms of engagement rather than understanding. The platform's logic becomes so embedded in daily life that other ways of organizing knowledge start to feel antiquated, inefficient. For STS researchers, this creates a genuine bind: we're trying to study platform society while swimming in its assumptions. The challenge isn't escaping platform thinking but remembering that there are other ways to think. Notes: The Ascendance Of Algorithmic Tyranny Talking about Machines: An Ethnography of a Modern Job (Collection on Technology and Work) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society