Discussing the scam of plastic recycling and how industry lobbies protect the market for plastic. Revealing misconceptions about plastic recycling efficiency. Obama's role in America's oil production. Microplastics found in unborn babies. The need for better tech and a better world.

The podcast discusses the setback for gig workers' rights in Europe, Uber's first annual profit, challenges faced by platform workers, data rights, Uber's financial success, and empowerment through strikes by food delivery workers in the UK.

Exploring the dangers of leveraging nostalgia, the podcast delves into the impact of foreverism on cultural franchises like Marvel and Star Wars. It questions the purpose behind constant reboots and remakes, reflecting on societal implications of nostalgia amidst economic uncertainties. The discussion also explores cinematic constraints, corporate influence on popular properties, and the implications of technology, storytelling, and politics influenced by nostalgia and foreverism.

Paris Marx is joined by Zachary Kaiser to discuss the power of tech interfaces, why data isn’t an accurate reflection of the world, and why we need to discuss democratic decomputerization.Zachary Kaiser is an Associate Professor of Graphic Design and Experience Architecture at Michigan State University. He’s also the author of Interfaces and Us: User Experience Design and the Making of the Computable Subject.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:Paris is speaking in Auckland on February 18 at an event hosted by Tohatoha.Zachary wrote about dream reading technologies for Real Life.Zachary mentions specific works by David Golumbia, Ivan Illich, Aaron Benanav, John Cheney-Lippold, Thomas F. Tierney, Marisa Brandt, Arturo Escobar, and James Ferguson.Support the show

Nastasia Hadjadji, a French journalist, discusses Emmanuel Macron's 'startup nation' policies, the dismantling of France's welfare state, and the consequences of creating national tech champions. Topics include Macron aiding Uber, attracting the crypto industry, police surveillance, erosion of public services, algorithmic surveillance, and precarious labor conditions.

Victor Pickard, Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy, joins the show to discuss the crisis in news media and the need for structural alternatives. Topics include the decline of local newspapers, the negative effects of commercialization, the influence of libertarian ideas on media, and the impact of the 1996 Telecommunications Act. They also explore challenges for independent publications and the importance of reinvesting in public infrastructure for journalism and democracy.

Eric Silver discusses Spotify's attempt to dominate podcasting, the challenges faced by the podcast industry, the incorporation of video into podcasting, the impact of the ad market, the shift in podcasting content, and the financial expenses of podcast production.

Timnit Gebru, founder of the Distributed AI Research Institute, discusses AI hype, the influence of tech companies on regulation, and tech's connection to Israel's military campaign in Gaza. They cover topics such as discriminatory AI systems, labor exploitation, OpenAI drama, and the involvement of tech companies in military contracts.

Paris Marx is joined by Vincent Bevins to discuss the mass protests of the 2010s, the role that social and traditional media played in them, and why the horizontalism of those movements ultimately didn’t work.Vincent Bevins is a longtime foreign correspondent who has worked for the Washington Post, Financial Times, and LA Times. He’s the author of The Jakarta Method and If We Burn: The Mass Protest Decade and the Missing Revolution.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 and produced by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.Also mentioned in this episode:Read excerpts from If We Burn in The Guardian and In These Times.Vincent mentioned the work of Charles Tilley, Cihan Tuğal, Evgeny Morozov, and Andrey Mir.Support the show

Naomi Klein joins the podcast to discuss the problems of personal branding on social media, the left's response to the pandemic creating an opening for the right, and the fight over the roots of Western society. They explore the concept of the mirror world, the shift towards right-wing ideologies and conspiracy theories, the role of technology in radicalization, and the importance of alternative narratives.