Catching Up with Critique
We seem to be returning to a cycle of excellent critique about the current wave of tech. As always, Paris Marx is knocking it out of the park with the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast - and I’ve really enjoyed the new weekly chat with Brian Merchant over on System Crash. This week was sans-Paris, but had Cory Doctrow on as a guest host for the week. This was such a good conversation about the week that was and I do really appreciate Cory’s perspective on things.
I've also started to listen to This Machine Kills with Jathan Sadowski and Edward Ongweso Jr.. I came across Jathan's work recently on the Tech Won't Save Us episode and Ed's appearances on Better Offline's coverage of CES. I love their dialogic style, which again isn't necessarily conversational, but more rap battle or consecutive monologues where they riff off each other and spin their own story. If you're up for something with a bit more passion and swearing, Ed Zitron has found his voice in his Better Offline podcast and newsletter Where's Your Ed At.
I also found that Helen Beetham has been recording a podcast, Imperfect Offerings and has two chats with indomitable Audrey Watters. I’ve missed Audrey’s critical voice on tech, but I've always understood her motivation and need to escape it and spend her energy elsewhere. I haven’t been able to get into her Second Breakfast and it's original focus on fitness and fit-tech (but loved hearing her experience of running and feeling good). There is a real return to form in these two episodes - and uneasy recognition of her tagline of the Casandra of Ed Tech (it was all true and more people should have listened!). The dialogue between Audrey and Helen is more in the style of intellectual dialogue, as opposed a straight-up conversation, but there is a warmth and respect between the two that's refreshing as it's not adversarial. There is more rigorous agreement, but they bring together two different perspectives and experiences together to explore with depth and care our current situation. There is The Audrey Watters episode which is then followed by the Second Breakfast x Imperfect Offering #2.
Keeping on the Audrey theme, I also watched her chat with Jim Groom on blogging and writing - and it was a fantastic way to start the week. Hearing her journey into writing, finding and reinventing yourself was really inspiring.