Critical Media Studies
The Critical Media Studies podcast discusses the interplay of technology and culture from an academic perspective. In each episode we consider the work of a prominent thinker in the field of critical media studies and discuss the implications of their work in relation to other thinkers and in light of current social contexts.
Latest episodes
Feb 7, 2025 • 49min
#86: Freddie deBoer - The Indoor Plumbing Test
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss “The Indoor Plumbing Test” by cultural critic Freddie deBoer and ponder the question: Is AI only hype?
Jan 24, 2025 • 1h 2min
#85: Derek Thompson - The Anti-Social Century
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Derek Thompson’s Atlantic essay, “The Anti-Social Century.” They discuss how the evolution of media technologies over the last 50 years, culminating in the development of AI have produced our current state of technologically enhanced solitude.The Anti-Social CenturyI'm In Love With Chat GPT
Jan 10, 2025 • 47min
#84: Wai Chee Dimock – AI and the Humanities
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Wai Chee Dimock’s PMLA editor’s column, AI in the Humanities. After a brief summary of her argument they focus on the practicality of a humanistic approach to designing AI and its possible impacts.
Dec 27, 2024 • 49min
#83: Matteo Wong - The GPT Era Is Already Ending
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Matteo Wong’s Dec. 9th article in The Atlantic, “The GPT Era Is Already Ending.” They trace the algorithmic shift from Chat GPT to 01 and discuss whether this transition gets any closer to genuine intelligence. We encourage you to listen to the previous episode on Benjamin Labatut’s “The Gods of Reason” as a primer for this one.
Dec 13, 2024 • 59min
#82: Benjamin Labatut - The Gods of Logic: Before and After Artificial Intelligence
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Benjamin Labatut’s essay, “The Gods of Logic: Before and After Artificial Intelligence. In tracing his historical approach to the development of AI, Barry and Mike highlight the unpredictability of language as opposed to the certainty of mathematics.Link to article.
Nov 29, 2024 • 56min
#81: Jodi Dean - Blog Theory
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Jodi Dean’s book, “Blog Theory.” They focus on her notion of “communicative capitalism,” treating the book as a time capsule of sorts. They take her arguments from 2010 and suggest their relevance to our current situation in 2024.
Nov 15, 2024 • 53min
#80: Bolter and Grusin, pt. 2
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss chapter one of Bolter and Grusin’s book and attempt to define their foundational term, remediation.
Nov 1, 2024 • 52min
#79: Bolter and Grusin - Remediation pt. 1
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Jay David Bolter and Richard Grusin’s introduction to their 1999 Media Studies book, Remediation. In particular, they discuss the four key concepts that Bolter and Grusin introduce: mediation, remediation, immediacy, and hypermediacy.
Oct 18, 2024 • 1h 3min
#78: Kember and Zylinska pt.2
In the follow up to their previous episode, Barry and Mike discuss how Kember and Zylinska use Steigler’s notion of an “originary technicity” to articulate a third position between the philosophy Raymond Williams and Marshall McLuhan.
Oct 4, 2024 • 56min
#77: Kember and Zylinska - Mediation and the Vitality of Media pt. 1
This is the first of two episodes on Kember and Zylinska’s essay “Mediation and the Vitality of Media” from their book, Life after New Media: Mediation as a Vital Process (2012). Barry and Mike discuss the problems with and reasons for the binary divisions in media theory, particularly the way in which the field understands the relations between “old” and “new” media. Kember and Zylinska note that the contradictions in the field stem from unresolved tensions in the McLuhan/Williams debate. We discuss their attempts to overcome the binary.
