Anxious Machine

Tanya grew up in a home with only one approved hour of television a week. She had no music in her bedroom, no cellphone, and no computer access, unless her mother was watching over her shoulder.

In Krystyna’s house, on the other hand, the TV was always on, and she could watch whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She now worries, as a single mother, that her children have too much access to screens, since she has very little time or energy to monitor their usage.

The two women take turns telling their stories about fighting for technological freedom, or technological control, and trying to find some kind of balance.

Music:

Back to the Start by johnny_ripper from soundtrack for a film that doesn’t exist

“Lille” by johnny_ripper from soundtrack for a film that doesn’t exist

“Gaël” by johnny_ripper from l’esprit d’escalier

A johnny_ripper remix of “Black Book” by Ori from Deximer

A johnny_ripper remix of “Enough of Our Machines” by Son Lux from Deximer

“A Void” by johnny_ripper from Epilogue

Andria Williams met her husband Dave when they were in their first year of high school. They’ve been together now for almost two decades, but they’ve also spent a significant portion of that time living apart, conducting their relationship over a long distance.

Over the course of those two decades, the technology of communication has also changed in a number of ways. Andria describes her struggle to adapt to those communication technologies, especially considering that she doesn’t even enjoy talking on the phone.

Andria runs the Military Spouse Book Review, and she has a novel forthcoming from Random House.

Scoring music in this episode came from Glass Boy.

On this episode, my guest is Stephen Hackett, who publishes the website 512 Pixels and co-hosts the podcast Connected. We talk about what it’s like to put the life of someone you love, someone you would protect with your own life, in the hands of medical experts.

Stephen has written a number of pieces on this topic over the years. These are my favorites:

Two Years

The Fifth Floor

Three

Six

Stephen also runs a fundraiser for St. Jude Research Hospital every year. The hospital not only treats children like Josiah, it also shares all the research it does with doctors around the world, and it has a policy never to deny treatment to any child on the basis of race, religion, or an inability to pay. You can donate to the hospital here.

Parents of young children have an especially fraught relationship with their smartphones. On the one hand, these devices are indispensable tools for getting things done and staying connected to the adult world while in the midst of childcare. On the other hand, the culture is constantly telling parents, and particularly mothers, that they’re too distracted by these devices, that smartphones are stealing precious attention away from our kids.

But the idea that parents should be focusing so much attention on their kids is itself a modern invention. In fact, our current understanding of parenthood and childhood is, in a very real way, the product of technology.

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Moms, Let Go of Your Smartphone Guilt

Siobhan Adcock’s website

Amy Shearn’s website

Opening Credits by johnny_ripper

Spring Solstice by Podington Bear

Cylinder Three by Chris Zabriskie

The Dark Glow of the Mountain by Chris Zabriskie

Walkin Flags by Sealadder

Button Mushrooms by Podington Bear

Stuck Dream by Podington Bear

88 by Podington Bear

What True Self? Feels Bogus, Lets Watch Jason X by Chris Zabriskie

Sometimes in your life, you reach a crossroads, go on a men’s weekend, spend too much time alone in the forest, have a mid-life crisis, and start thinking you can change the world with your podcast. This episode is about that happening to me. Part one of a three-part series.

Support Anxious Machine on Patreon

Subscribe (or write a review) in iTunes

Startup

Opening Credits by johnny_ripper

Divider by Chris Zabriskie

Audrey by johnny_ripper

Mario Bava Sleeps in a Little Later Than He Expected To by Chris Zabriskie

Black Book by johnny_ripper

The Dark Glow of the Mountains by Chris Zabriskie

A Void by johnny_ripper

Program Reverie by Podington Bear

Massive by Podington Bear