Thinking about Tech in the Present Tense w/ Ben Tarnoff

09/03/20 • 44 min

Paris Marx is joined by Ben Tarnoff to discuss why we should look to the Luddites for inspiration, how history could inform a better future of technology, and what tech organizing might look like under a Joe Biden administration.
Ben Tarnoff is a co-founder of Logic Magazine and co-authored “Voices from the Valley: Tech Workers Talk About What They Do–and How They Do It” with Moira Weigel. The book will be released in October and can be preordered now. Follow Ben on Twitter as @bentarnoff.
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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.
Mentioned in this episode:

“To decarbonize we must decomputerize: why we need a Luddite revolution” by Ben Tarnoff
“From Manchester to Barcelona” by Ben Tarnoff
“The Making of the Tech Worker Movement” by Ben Tarnoff
“The Making of the English Working Class” by E.P. Thompson
“The Machine Breakers” by Eric Hobsbawm
“Present Tense Technology” by David Noble

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“To decarbonize we must decomputerize: why we need a Luddite revolution” by Ben Tarnoff
“From Manchester to Barcelona” by Ben Tarnoff
“The Making of the Tech Worker Movement” by Ben Tarnoff
“The Making of the English Working Class” by E.P. Thompson
“The Machine Breakers” by Eric Hobsbawm
“Present Tense Technology” by David Noble

Support the show

Previous Episode

We Can’t Talk About Tech Without Talking About Resources w/ Thea Riofrancos

Paris Marx is joined by Thea Riofrancos to discuss why we should care about the supply chains of technology, what that resource extraction means for people in Latin America, and how we should think about a less resource-intensive future.
Thea Riofrancos is the author of “Resource Radicals: From Petro-Nationalism to Post-Extractivism in Ecuador” and co-author of “A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal.” She is also an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Providence College and a Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute. Her argument against green extractivism was published by Logic Magazine. Follow Thea on Twitter as @triofrancos.
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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.
Also mentioned in this episode:

“Planetary Mine: Territories of Extraction under Late Capitalism” by Martín Arboleda
“Could a Green New Deal makes us happier people?” by Kate Aronoff
“Do Androids Dream of Electric Cars?: Public Transit in the Age of Google, Uber, and Elon Musk” by James Wilt

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Next Episode

A Better Internet Requires Ending the Monopolies w/ Cory Doctorow

Paris Marx is joined by Cory Doctorow to discuss how the problems we associate with Big Tech aren’t the result of mind-control systems, but corporation consolidation. Cory argues we need to stop buying the overblown sales pitch, stop collecting so much data, and enforce antitrust legislation against the tech monopolies.
Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. His most recent non-fiction book, “How to Defeat Surveillance Capitalism,” is available for free at OneZero. You can also preorder his next fiction book, “Attack Surface,” on Kickstarter or anywhere else books are sold. Cory has a daily blog at Pluralistic.net and you can follow him on Twitter as @doctorow.
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. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

Support the show