Alle afleveringen
500 afleveringen, van nieuw naar oud
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192. Why the Trains Don’t Run on Time (ft. Justin Roczniak)
16 september 2022 · 1 uur 26 min
We are joined by Justin Roczniak—of the excellent engineering disasters podcast, Well There’s Your Problem—to talk about the potential freight rail strike that has been brewing for a long time and near-future scenarios for the supply chain. We discuss the horrid labor conditions in the industry and the scourge of Precision Scheduled Railroading, a system of management that has transformed the entire railroad sector so it serves one god: The Operating Ratio. Lees meer
follow Justin: https://twitter.com/who_shot_jgr
Well There’s Your Problem: https://linktr.ee/wtyppodSome stuff we reference:
••• SMART-TD, BLET joint statement on rail embargo https://smart-union.org/smart-td-blet-joint-statement-on-rail-embargo/
••• A Nationwide Freight Railroad Shutdown Could Cost $2 Billion a Day https://www.aar.org/economic-impact-of-railroad-shutdown#
••• ‘It’s Going to End Up Like Boeing’: How Freight Rail Is Courting Catastrophe https://www.vice.com/en/article/3angy3/freight-rail-train-disaster-avoidable-boeing
••• Rail Strike Threatens to Slow US Supply-Chain Recovery https://www.bloomberg.com/news/newsletters/2022-09-12/supply-chain-latest-us-railroad-strike-threatens-supply-chain-recovery
••• Rail Unions Are Bargaining Over a Good Job Made Miserable https://www.labornotes.org/2022/02/rail-negotiations-are-about-good-job-made-miserableSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! www.patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: www.bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 191. Family Policing Services
14 september 2022 · 7 min
We discuss a powerful new essay on the multiple violences – domestic, data, administrative, racial – wrought by the state family police, aka “child protective services,” which uses an array of tools to terrorize and tear apart families, particularly targeting those that are Black and Brown. But first, we pour one out for Real Life Magazine and reflect on its importance – and the huge loss – for the tech media landscape. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Birthing Predictions of Premature Death | J. Khadijah Abdurahman https://logicmag.io/home/birthing-predictions-of-premature-death/
••• The Time Tax https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2021/07/how-government-learned-waste-your-time-tax/619568/
••• I Have Studied Child Protective Services for Decades. It Needs to Be Abolished. https://www.motherjones.com/crime-justice/2022/04/abolish-child-protective-services-torn-apart-dorothy-roberts-book-excerpt/Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! www.patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: www.bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)
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190. Beta Meta Mindset
10 september 2022 · 1 uur 15 min
We get an update on Jathan’s journey into the heart of darkness as he returns to suburban America after a four years absence – a stranger in a strange homeland. Riffs and distractions ensue until we end by talking about Mark Zuckerberg going on the Joe Rogan Experience, Meta’s pivot to Alpha Male Mindset, and the rise of Dark Zuck. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Pitch Is Falling Flat https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-31/mark-zuckerberg-s-metaverse-flails-on-joe-rogan-podcast
••• The Continued Unraveling of Mark Zuckerberg’s Malicious Metaverse https://www.coindesk.com/layer2/2022/09/02/the-continued-unraveling-of-mark-zuckerbergs-malicious-metaverse/Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 189. Return of the Grift
6 september 2022 · 6 min
We discuss a great new essay from Noah Kulwin that situates the modern crypto grift economy as a reincarnation of the Savings and Loans Crisis of the 80s – as a way of arguing for a longer view of the historical materialist context of these larger dynamics. New body, old engine. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Tales from the Thrifts https://thebaffler.com/salvos/tales-from-the-thrifts-kulwin
••• Would You Take Out a Loan to Buy This Week’s Groceries? https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/29/dining/buy-now-pay-later-loans-groceries.htmlSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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188. Using AI to Say the Word
2 september 2022 · 1 uur 7 min
We discuss a new startup doing the rounds called Sanas that uses AI “accent translation” to make "non-white" call center workers speak English with a white American accent. This is some real retro throwback tech solutionism / startup utopianism with a very quotable founder at the helm. While Sanas claims it's all about worker empowerment and global equity, we here at TMKonsulting show how Sanas is likely to be used as a tool of exploitation. Plus contribute to broader shifts in the role of large language models for the political economy of AI. We then end with a shout out to FN Meka. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Sansa https://www.sanas.ai/
••• Sanas, the buzzy Bay Area startup that wants to make the world sound whiter https://www.sfgate.com/news/article/sanas-startup-creates-american-voice-17382771.php
••• This Startup Is Selling Tech to Make Call Center Workers Sound Like White Americans https://www.vice.com/en/article/akek7g/this-startup-is-selling-tech-to-make-call-center-workers-sound-like-white-americans
••• Virtual rapper FN Meka underscores how AI perpetuates racial stereotyping https://mashable.com/article/fn-meka-record-deal-racial-stereotypingSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 187. The Mass Upgrading of Landlords
30 augustus 2022 · 6 min
We talk about the booming market for – and community organizing against – landlord technologies that use invasive surveillance to terrorize tenants and automate evictions. In addition to discussing the broader political economy and social toxicity of this shit, we also introduce a new psycho into the canon. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Automating gentrification: Landlord technologies and housing justice organizing in New York City homes https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/02637758221088868
••• Automated landlord: Digital technologies and post-crisis financial accumulation https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0308518X19846514
••• Electronic Fortification in Phoenix: Surveillance Technologies and Social Regulation in Residential Communities https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1078087406292845Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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186. Refusing the Everyday Fascism of Artificial Intelligence (ft. Dan McQuillan)
26 augustus 2022 · 1 uur 30 min
We are joined by Dan McQuillan to discuss his great new book Resisting AI. As Jathan wrote in a blurb for the book: “With analytical and moral clarity, McQuillan makes the case for recognising the radical politics of AI and meeting its goose step march head-on.” We get deep into an excellent discussion spanning the political economy and political epistemology of artificial intelligence. Meanwhile, Ed is trapped in Pittsburgh where he is now forced to live as a worker in a defunct steel factory. Lees meer
••• Follow Dan on Twitter https://twitter.com/danmcquillan
••• Resisting AI: An Anti-fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence https://bristoluniversitypress.co.uk/resisting-ai
••• Data Science as Machinic Neoplatonism https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13347-017-0273-3Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 185. In the Long Term We Are All Dead
21 augustus 2022 · 6 min
We dig deep into Effective Altruism and Longtermism, laying out the origins, beliefs, and actions of this ideological moral system and the networks of influence and wealth that it’s plugged into. Along the way we critique the extreme logical conclusions it leads to, the extremely simpleminded fairy tales it’s based on, and the extremist group of moral zealots, useful idiots, and cynical bullshiters that rule this rationalist religion. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• The Case for Longtermism https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/05/opinion/the-case-for-longtermism.html
••• The Reluctant Prophet of Effective Altruism https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/15/the-reluctant-prophet-of-effective-altruism
••• Stop the Robot Apocalypse https://www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v37/n18/amia-srinivasan/stop-the-robot-apocalypseSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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*Unlocked* – Thiel’s Number One Boy (ft. Noah Lanard)
16 augustus 2022 · 1 uur 9 min
[We are unlocking this episode to share the interview with the main feed. Apologies for the feedback from Noah's audio causing a slight digital buzz when he talks, Jereme cleaned it up as best he could.] Lees meer
Ed is joined by reporter Noah Lanard to talk about his recent profile of Peter Thiel’s apostle: Blake Masters. We track the origins and development of his ideology: from his childhood flirtation with liberalism(?) to his college libertarianism and deeper integration into Thiel’s network of fascists eager to seize control of the GOP and Silicon Valley.
Read the article: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-peter-thiel-donald-trump-arizona-senate-mark-kelly/
Follow Noah: https://twitter.com/nlanardSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 184. Who Hunts the Hunters
16 augustus 2022 · 6 min
We melt our brains discussing two reality tv shows that are taking copaganda to the next level. First up is Ring Nation, a new show produced by Amazon-owned MGM Studios that’s like America’s Funniest Home Videos for a ubiquitous surveillance society. Next is Hunted, a new Australian show based on a UK series that’s like a mix of The Amazing Race + Live PD + 24. I wish this was all fake. I wish this was all a bit. But it’s more than real: it’s reality tv, baby! Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• 'Ring Nation' Is Amazon's Reality Show for Our Surveillance Dystopia https://www.vice.com/en/article/7k8x49/ring-nation-is-amazons-reality-show-for-our-surveillance-dystopia
••• Ready, set, dough: The hide-and-seek game with $100k up for grabs https://www.smh.com.au/culture/tv-and-radio/ready-set-dough-the-hide-and-seek-game-with-100k-up-for-grabs-20220705-p5aza5.html
••• No matter who wins Hunted, Channel 10’s new surveillance game, we all lose https://www.crikey.com.au/2022/07/25/hunted-channel-10-surveillance-show-we-all-lose/
••• Facial recognition smartwatches to be used to monitor foreign offenders in UK https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/05/facial-recognition-smartwatches-to-be-used-to-monitor-foreign-offenders-in-uk
••• SoftBank Reports Record $23.4 Billion Loss as Holdings Fall https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-08/softbank-reports-record-23-4-billion-loss-as-holdings-tumbleSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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183. The Nightmare of Ambient Computing (an Amazon Company)
11 augustus 2022 · 1 uur 18 min
Based on Amazon’s recent acquisitions of One Medical and iRobot—just the latest in a shopping spree of vertical integration—we analyze how these seemingly disparate things all plug into Amazon’s broader strategy for “ambient computing.” In which data from a vast variety of sources and streams are combined and integrated into a range of different services. In which we are always plugged into Amazon’s ever-expanding network through protocols like Sidewalk. In which we are constantly connected to the eternal and ubiquitous market. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Amazon agrees to buy Roomba maker iRobot for $1.7bn www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/05/amazon-buy-roomba-maker-irobot-vaccum
••• Amazon’s Roomba Deal Is Really About Mapping Your Home https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-05/amazon-s-irobot-deal-is-about-roomba-s-data-collection
••• Dave Limp: Amazon’s focus is on the real world, not the metaverse https://www.ft.com/content/3d5bdfa8-d85e-41e8-b2d5-fadf8948cbbaSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 182. Thiel’s Number One Boy (ft. Noah Lanard)
7 augustus 2022 · 4 min
Ed is joined by reporter Noah Lanard to talk about his recent profile of Peter Thiel’s apostle: Blake Masters. We track the origins and development of his ideology: from his childhood flirtation with liberalism(?) to his college libertarianism and deeper integration into Thiel’s network of fascists eager to seize control of the GOP and Silicon Valley. Lees meer
Read the article: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-peter-thiel-donald-trump-arizona-senate-mark-kelly/
Follow Noah: https://twitter.com/nlanardSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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181. Two Bodies, One Brain, No Idea
5 augustus 2022 · 1 uur 7 min
We dig into a convoluted and confused scheme for people selling shares in their future to venture capitalists, which pushes logics of hyper-financialization in even more perverse directions—all proposed by two brothers who are the epitome of a dumb guy’s idea of smart guys. Lees meer
Article we discuss:
••• Is Selling Shares in Yourself the Way of the Future? https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2022/08/01/is-selling-shares-in-yourself-the-way-of-the-futureSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Premium – 180. TMK BC3, Ch.12, Dawn of Everything
1 augustus 2022 · 6 min
At long last, we dive into the last chapter of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. We reflect on this odyssey of a book, pulling out its major themes, discussing the baseline freedoms that are essential for society, considering the nihilistic contradictions inherent to the Enlightenment view of humanity, looking back on how we got stuck in static social relations and dead end political developments, plus more! Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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179. Welcome to the Jüngle (ft. Jörg Tittel)
28 juli 2022 · 1 uur 4 min
We are joined by Jörg Tittel, creator of the new video game The Last Worker, which is part social satire, part interactive narrative, part adventure game. We discuss the ideas, story, design, and production behind the game where players take on the role of the last human worker in an otherwise fully automated fulfillment center the size of Manhattan that is operated by Jüngle—a near future version of Amazon. The Last Worker is coming out on most platforms, including VR, later this year. Lees meer
••• The Last Worker: thelastworker.com
••• Jorg on Twitter: https://twitter.com/newjorg
••• 15 minute demo playthrough of the game: https://youtu.be/Bgp7nLOKlM8Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 178. Fleshing out Fintech as a Systemic Phenomenon
24 juli 2022 · 5 min
Now it’s time to get into the real analysis of fintech as laid out by Saule Omarova’s work. We walk through the dominant regulatory approach to financial markets that came from the New Deal; how the 1980s is the true origin of the fintech revolution; how the secondary financial markets have taken over the whole system; how new technologies focused on making micro-level transactions faster, easier, cheaper have led to making macro-level systems more unstable, unrestrained, and untethered from reality. Lees meer
The paper we discuss:
••• New Tech v. New Deal: Fintech as a Systemic Phenomenon | Saule T. Omarova https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2800&context=facpubSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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177. A Rosetta Stone for Fintech
21 juli 2022 · 1 uur 7 min
We set up and begin discussing a paper that can be described as a Rosetta Stone for how to analyze the development, logics, mechanics, and impacts of fintech innovations from the 1980s onward — and the regulatory regime for financial markets that traces back to the New Deal. This paper is dense in the best way, so it demands (and deserves) a lot of focused time/attention. This episode establishes the bones of the analysis; the next one on the premium feed will flesh out the analysis. Lees meer
The paper we discuss:
••• New Tech v. New Deal: Fintech as a Systemic Phenomenon | Saule T. Omarova https://scholarship.law.cornell.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2800&context=facpubSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview - 176. TMK BC3, Ch.11, Dawn of Everything
18 juli 2022 · 9 min
We dive back into chapter 11 – Full Circle – of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. We revisit the Indigenous critique of how human civilization develops and where the political values underlying modern human societies originate. First outlined in the beginning of the book, we now further flesh out the Indigenous critique and drive home its key conclusions. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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*Unlocked* – What If An Algorithm Bought Your Home?
13 juli 2022 · 1 uur 17 min
{For this week we're unlocking a classic episode} Lees meer
We talk about the absurdities of proptech – or the real estate technology sector – which is jam packed with out-of-control purchasing by house-flipping algorithms powered by automated valuation models that lead to balance sheets filled with liabilities and it’s all fuelled by way too much free-flowing capital. In other words, a classic recipe for disaster.
The article we discuss:
••• House-flipping algorithms are coming to your neighborhood | Matthew Ponsford https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/13/1049227/house-flipping-algorithms-are-coming-to-your-neighborhood/Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview - 175. Why the Electrical Vehicle Won’t Save Us (ft. Paris Marx)
10 juli 2022 · 8 min
Paris Marx is back for part two of our discussion about their new book Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong About the Future of Transportation. This time we dig deeper into the winding history of the electric vehicle and why today’s model of electrification without collectivization is not going to solve our problems—just cause new ones. Lees meer
••• Road to Nowhere | Paris Marx: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3995-road-to-nowhere
••• Follow Paris: https://twitter.com/parismarx
••• Listen to Tech Won’t Save Us: https://twitter.com/techwontsaveusSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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174. Pedal to the Metal (ft. Paris Marx)
7 juli 2022 · 1 uur 14 min
Dear friend of the show, Paris Marx, has an excellent new book just out from Verso called Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong About the Future of Transportation. Paris is back on the show to dive into the book’s historical, grounded, critical analysis with us. This is part 1, with part 2 coming out on the patreon feed later this week. Lees meer
••• Road to Nowhere | Paris Marx: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3995-road-to-nowhere
••• Follow Paris: https://twitter.com/parismarx
••• Listen to Tech Won’t Save Us: https://twitter.com/techwontsaveusSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 173. Stabbed for 9/11 Joke
4 juli 2022 · 6 min
In this real chill episode, the boys get loose, lay back, and just chat. We cover dental work, drug nerds, and oh yeah, that time Jereme got stabbed in Mississippi days after 9/11 for making a joke. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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172. Venture Capital, Chinese Style
30 juni 2022 · 1 uur 3 min
We have a special investigation from Professor Ed, who takes us on a journey through the history and development of innovation policy and venture capital in China. We begin with the massive government Torch Program that, starting in the 1980s, set about engineering a national innovation sector on a scale never seen before. Then in the 1990s we see China begin liberalizing its markets, opening up for different forms of investment both domestic and international. But doing so in its own unique way – not in the style of structural adjustment shocks but as carefully controlled market reforms. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Steve Blank’s series on VC in China: https://steveblank.com/2013/04/10/china-the-sleeper-awakens/
••• OECD report on China’s innovation policy: https://www.oecd.org/science/inno/39177453.pdf
••• CIGI report on China’s Experience in Building a Venture Capital Sector: https://www.cigionline.org/static/documents/documents/no.248_0.pdfSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 171. Technology + Capital + Cities
27 juni 2022 · 5 min
Jathan is back from Sweden where he was giving a keynote at a smart cities conference. For this episode, Jathan delivers his keynote here — “State-as-a-Platform” – Sovereignty and Capital in Smart Governance – which is followed by a rousing discussion about the relations between agency and structure, doom and hope, positioning and maneuvering. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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170. Seasons in the Crypto Abyss (ft. David Gerard)
24 juni 2022 · 1 uur 13 min
We are joined by David Gerard – longtime critic of blockchain, even before it was cool – to discuss the experience of staring into the crypto abyss and having it stare back into you. Lees meer
Follow, read, and support David here:
••• Twitter: https://twitter.com/davidgerard
••• Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain: https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/book/
••• Libra Shrugged: https://davidgerard.co.uk/blockchain/libra/
••• Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/davidgerardSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 169. TMK BC3, Ch.10 (part 2), Dawn of Everything
20 juni 2022 · 6 min
We dive back into chapter 10 – Why the State Has No Origin – of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. And finish up our discussion of how different forms of social power based on violence/sovereignty, information/administration, charisma/heroic politcs all come together in different combinations at different places and points, with some features exaggerated over others, to produce radically different forms of states throughout human history. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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168. Blockchain Imperialism and the Pacific Ideology (ft. Olivier Jutel)
16 juni 2022 · 1 uur 15 min
We’re joined by Olivier Jutel to talk about a fantastic paper he wrote on blockchain imperialism in the Pacific. We discuss how blockchain projects and crypto entrepreneurs are partnering with the US State Department and contributing to the geopolitical agenda of American hegemony. This is all part of the Pacific Ideology – a long history of treating the Pacific islands as a colonial frontier for financial extraction and testbed for experimental innovation. It’s techno-solutionism in the service of imperial soft power. Lees meer
••• Read Olivier’s paper – Blockchain imperialism in the Pacific https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2053951720985249
••• And his other paper – Blockchain humanitarianism and crypto-colonialism https://www.cell.com/patterns/fulltext/S2666-3899(21)00305-6
••• Follow Oliver: https://twitter.com/OJutelSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 167. TMK BC3, Ch.10 (part 1), Dawn of Everything
12 juni 2022 · 10 min
We dive into chapter 10 – Why the State Has No Origin – of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. This is a massive chapter that gets deep into analyzing the features of social power and development of state institutions. We see how control of violence, control of information, and control of charisma all come together in different combinations at different places and points, with some features exaggerated over others, to produce radically different forms of states throughout human history. To really do this chapter justice, we had to break it into two parts. The second part will drop next week. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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166. Slumlords of the Internet (ft. Ben Tarnoff)
9 juni 2022 · 1 uur 19 min
We’re joined by Ben Tarnoff—author of Internet for the People; co-founder of Logic Magazine—to do some historical materialism on the internet. Ben has a great new book coming out that traces the political economic development of the internet, from its origins as a military network to its privatization via wholesale handover to a telecom oligopoly to its existence today as an archipelago of shopping malls run by slumlords. We then discuss why there’s an urgent need for democratizing and demarketizing the internet, what that could look like, and how the seeds of that radical change can already be found in existing projects. Lees meer
••• Order Ben’s book: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3927-internet-for-the-people
••• Follow Ben: https://twitter.com/bentarnoff
••• Read Logic Magazine: https://logicmag.io/Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 165. Phillip K. Dick Move
4 juni 2022 · 7 min
We go from talking about how AI/ML research is dominated by the resources, interests, and tradeoffs of “top labs.” Then discuss how our algorithmic agents become active participants in human culture but in ways that can be unexpected and unknowable. Together these conditions are producing a world that is far more weird, bizarre and unsettling than anybody intended. Less George Orwell, more Phillip K. Dick. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• I don't really trust papers out of "Top Labs" anymore | https://www.reddit.com/r/MachineLearning/comments/uyratt/d_i_dont_really_trust_papers_out_of_top_labs/
••• The Steep Cost of Capture | Meredith Whittaker https://interactions.acm.org/archive/view/november-december-2021/the-steep-cost-of-capture
••• AI Inventing Its Own Culture, Passing It On to Humans, Sociologists Find | Edward Ongweso Jr | https://www.vice.com/en/article/pkp7y7/human-culture-to-increasingly-come-from-unexplainable-ai-sociologists-findSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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164. Untethered, Unleashed (ft. Crypto Critics’ Corner)
3 juni 2022 · 1 uur 18 min
We are joined by Bennett Tomlin and Cas Piancey, hosts of the great podcast Crypto Critics’ Corner, for a deeper dive into stablecoins—a cornerstone // time bomb of the crypto financial system. They explain how stablecoins, and specifically Tether, have become systemically important to the workings of the system and the wealth of big players, creating too big to fail institutions that continue growing despite their practices, performance, and people being anything but stable. Lees meer
Listen to Crypto Critics’ Corner: https://twitter.com/CryptoCriticPod
Follow Bennett Tomlin: https://twitter.com/BennettTomlin
Follow Cas Piancey: https://twitter.com/CasPianceySubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 163. TMK BC3, Ch.9, Dawn of Everything
30 mei 2022 · 9 min
We dive into chapter 9 – Hiding in Plain Sight – of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. We discuss the utopian experiment of Teotihuacan in Mesoamerica 2000 years ago: a city that revolted against authoritarian rule and instituted a socialist system, complete with universal housing and democratic governance, which lasted for hundreds of years. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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*Unlocked* – In the Shadow Banks of Silicon Valley (part 2)
25 mei 2022 · 1 uur 31 min
(While Jereme works to overcome a technical problem from our last record, we are unlocking an episode.) Lees meer
We continue our discussion of Hilary Allen’s paper on DeFi and shadow banking and dive into her comparative analysis between Wall Street and Silicon Valley. We see how there are direct analogues between the kind of financial innovations and systemic fragilities that led to the 2008 crash and the crisis dynamics of DeFi: overleveraging and crypto tokens; rigidity and smart contracts; bank runs and stablecoins. Allen then argues that the best approach is not to legitimize DeFi through regulation, but to erect a firewall that prevents it from integrating with the mainstream economy and financial sector.
Some stuff we reference:
••• DeFI: Shadow Banking 2.0 | Hilary J. Allen https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4038788
••• Is Crypto Re-Creating the 2008 Financial Crisis? | Charlie Warzel, Hilary Allen https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/galaxy-brain/624cb2ebdc551a00208c1524/crypto-bubble-web3-decentralized-finance/
••• Defi and Shadow Banking 2.0: Leverage, rigidity and bank runs | Cory Doctorow https://doctorow.medium.com/defi-and-shadow-banking-2-0-7bae9d1d308eSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 162. Bring on the Eternal Winter
24 mei 2022 · 8 min
(Sorry for the delay!) We comb through Andreessen Horowitz’s inaugural 2022 State of Crypto Report, devoting more time and attention to discussing its claims and framing than it should warrant. But considering the outsized influence a16z has here, they force us to take seriously even their most inane fever dreams. In the process of reviewing the report, we receive a masterclass in how to lie with graphs and numbers. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Introducing the 2022 State of Crypto Report | a16z https://a16zcrypto.com/state-of-crypto-report-a16z-2022/
••• The 2022 State of Crypto Report | a16z https://a16z.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/state-of-crypto-2022_a16z-crypto.pdfSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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161. Visions of Bubbles Dancing in My Head
20 mei 2022 · 1 uur 16 min
We check in on our old friend / enemy / mentor, Masayoshi Son, and see how the SoftBank Vision Fund has been faring over the last year. The Masa multiplier effect is his ability to amplify the state of the larger tech sector. When it’s good, it’s really good. But when it’s really bad—in the way tech sector valuations have been dropping this year—oh boy, it’s enough to make you want to [redacted]. Fortunately, nobody has a stronger stomach for loss than Masa. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Tech bubbles are bursting all over the place | The Economist https://www.economist.com/business/2022/05/14/tech-bubbles-are-bursting-all-over-the-place
••• After a bruising year, SoftBank braces for more pain | The Economist https://www.economist.com/business/2022/05/16/after-a-bruising-year-softbank-braces-for-more-painSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 160. TMK BC3, Ch.8, Dawn of Everything
16 mei 2022 · 10 min
We dive into chapter 8 – Imaginary Cities – of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. We talk about the origins of cities and contradict the commonly held belief that proto-state governance—e.g. centralized, hierarchical administration—developed in tandem with urban society. Instead, early cities existed for hundreds of years, organized by bottom-up self-governance, before the palaces and temples became the centers of urban power. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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159. Big Tech Trouble in China
13 mei 2022 · 1 uur 24 min
We review China’s hard, fast, and big regulatory responses to big tech’s rising power over the last year, discuss the vastly different political theories motivating tech policy in the US, Europe, and China, and look ahead for what’s to come as China unveils a new set of sweeping, world leading regulations for AI decision-making. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• China’s Tech Crackdown: A Year-in-Review https://www.lawfareblog.com/chinas-tech-crackdown-year-review
••• What Xi Means by ‘Disorderly Capital’ Is $1.5 Trillion Question https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-09-09/what-xi-means-by-disorderly-capital-is-1-5-trillion-question?sref=z97LigUM
••• Antitrust in China – 2021 Year in Review https://www.gibsondunn.com/antitrust-in-china-2021-year-in-review/
••• China Is About to Regulate AI—and the World Is Watching https://www.wired.com/story/china-regulate-ai-world-watching/Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 158. In the Shadow Banks of Silicon Valley (part 2)
9 mei 2022 · 9 min
We continue our discussion of Hilary Allen’s paper on DeFi and shadow banking and dive into her comparative analysis between Wall Street and Silicon Valley. We see how there are direct analogues between the kind of financial innovations and systemic fragilities that led to the 2008 crash and the crisis dynamics of DeFi: overleveraging and crypto tokens; rigidity and smart contracts; bank runs and stablecoins. Allen then argues that the best approach is not to legitimize DeFi through regulation, but to erect a firewall that prevents it from integrating with the mainstream economy and financial sector. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• DeFI: Shadow Banking 2.0 | Hilary J. Allen https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4038788
••• Is Crypto Re-Creating the 2008 Financial Crisis? | Charlie Warzel, Hilary Allen https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/galaxy-brain/624cb2ebdc551a00208c1524/crypto-bubble-web3-decentralized-finance/
••• Defi and Shadow Banking 2.0: Leverage, rigidity and bank runs | Cory Doctorow https://doctorow.medium.com/defi-and-shadow-banking-2-0-7bae9d1d308eSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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157. In the Shadow Banks of Wall Street (part 1)
5 mei 2022 · 1 uur 4 min
We discuss an extremely good paper by law professor Hilary J. Allen – DeFI: Shadow Banking 2.0 – which lays out a very clear, critical, and comparative analysis of the unregulated financial instruments that led to the 2008 global financial crash and their systemic similarities to the unregulated financial innovations that are emerging in DeFi / Web3. In this first part, we lay out the causes of the 2008 crash, explaining specific instruments and dynamics that caused this hyper-complex fragile system to collapse. In part two, on the patreon later this week, we explain how DeFi is already unfolding in ways that are best described as: “It is happening again.” Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• DeFI: Shadow Banking 2.0 | Hilary J. Allen https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4038788
••• Is Crypto Re-Creating the 2008 Financial Crisis? | Charlie Warzel, Hilary Allen https://newsletters.theatlantic.com/galaxy-brain/624cb2ebdc551a00208c1524/crypto-bubble-web3-decentralized-finance/
••• Defi and Shadow Banking 2.0: Leverage, rigidity and bank runs | Cory Doctorow https://doctorow.medium.com/defi-and-shadow-banking-2-0-7bae9d1d308eSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Premium – 156. TMK BC3, Ch.7, Dawn of Everything
1 mei 2022 · 10 min
We dive into chapter 7 – Ecology of Freedom – of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. In which we discuss the tragedy of the commons, ecological imperialism, flirtations with farming, domestication of plants and animals, dangers of teleological reasoning, and much more. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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155. TMK Side Quest
28 april 2022 · 1 uur 11 min
We take a walk on the weird side as a brief reference to the novel Guns of the South by Harry Turtledove—a graphomaniac author of alternative histories and all around beautiful mind—leads us down a rabbit hole of increasingly bizarre discoveries. Enjoy a little something different from our normal programming… Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 154. What If An Algorithm Bought Your Home?
25 april 2022 · 8 min
We talk about the absurdities of proptech – or the real estate technology sector – which is jam packed with out-of-control purchasing by house-flipping algorithms powered by automated valuation models that lead to balance sheets filled with liabilities and it’s all fuelled by way too much free-flowing capital. In other words, a classic recipe for disaster. Lees meer
The article we discuss:
••• House-flipping algorithms are coming to your neighborhood | Matthew Ponsford https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/13/1049227/house-flipping-algorithms-are-coming-to-your-neighborhood/Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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*Unlocked* – 151. Sharecropping by Another Game
20 april 2022 · 1 uur 9 min
We are unlocking a premium episode in which we discuss Ed’s new reporting on the political economy of play-to-earn games, focusing on Axie Infinity and its super-exploitative system of “managers” and “scholars.” Surprise, surprise – the technological and financial foundation of Axie Infinity is just a house of cards built on a bed of sand. Its failure is inevitable. The question is: how much damage will it do along the way? Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• The Metaverse Has Bosses Too. Meet the ‘Managers’ of Axie Infinity | Ed Ongweso Jr. https://www.vice.com/en/article/88g3ag/the-metaverse-has-bosses-too-meet-the-managers-of-axie-infinity
••• Miami Mayor Unveils Laser Eyes Robot Bull Statue at Bitcoin Conference https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5q9wm/miami-mayor-unveils-laser-eyes-robot-bull-statue-at-bitcoin-conferenceSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 153. TMK BC3, Ch.6, Dawn of Everything
17 april 2022 · 7 min
We dive into chapter 6 – Gardens of Adonis – of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. Here we bust the myth of the “Agricultural Revolution” in two main senses. First, we bust the idea of agricultural development as a linear, deterministic, teleological transitional stage in human society. Second, we bust the idea of agriculture as a revolution that happened immediately, spread quickly, and never turned back. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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152. Mr. Worldcoin and the Orb (ft. Richard Nieva)
15 april 2022 · 1 uur 8 min
We’re joined by Richard Nieva, reporter at Buzzfeed, who, along with his colleague Aman Sethi, just published a massive investigation into Worldcoin, a company that aims to distribute crypto to people around the world in exchange for having their eyes scanned by an ominous biometrics device called the Orb. We discuss the long list of major issues with Worldcoin’s operations—including faulty technology, delayed payments, labor exploitation, colonialist extraction, and much more—as uncovered by Richard and Aman’s reporting. Lees meer
Follow Richard: https://twitter.com/richardjnieva
Follow Aman: https://twitter.com/AmannamaArticles we discuss:
••• “What Did You Do With Our Eyes”: This Startup Promised People Free Crypto If They Scanned Their Eyeballs. Now People Feel They've Been Scammed | Richard Nieva, Aman Sethi https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/richardnieva/worldcoin-crypto-eyeball-scanning-orb-problems
••• Deception, exploited workers, and cash handouts: How Worldcoin recruited its first half a million test users | Eileen Guo, Adi Renaldi https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/04/06/1048981/worldcoin-cryptocurrency-biometrics-web3/
••• Crypto Startup That Wants to Scan Everyone’s Eyeballs Is Having Some Trouble | Ellen Huet https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/worldcoin-the-eyeball-scanning-crypto-unicorn-hits-signup-snagsSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 151. Sharecropping by Another Game
10 april 2022 · 7 min
We discuss Ed’s new reporting on the political economy of play-to-earn games, focusing on Axie Infinity and its super-exploitative system of “managers” and “scholars.” Surprise, surprise – the technological and financial foundation of Axie Infinity is just a house of cards built on a bed of sand. Its failure is inevitable. The question is: how much damage will it do along the way? Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• The Metaverse Has Bosses Too. Meet the ‘Managers’ of Axie Infinity | Ed Ongweso Jr. https://www.vice.com/en/article/88g3ag/the-metaverse-has-bosses-too-meet-the-managers-of-axie-infinity
••• Miami Mayor Unveils Laser Eyes Robot Bull Statue at Bitcoin Conference https://www.vice.com/en/article/g5q9wm/miami-mayor-unveils-laser-eyes-robot-bull-statue-at-bitcoin-conferenceSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 149. TMK BC3, Ch.5, Dawn of Everything
7 april 2022 · 11 min
We dive into chapter 5 – Many Seasons Ago – of The Dawn of Everything by Graeber and Wengrow. Lees meer
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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150. The Cynics of Web3 (ft. Molly White)
6 april 2022 · 1 uur 28 min
We’re joined by one of the best critical observers of Web3 around – Molly White, creator of Web3 is Going Just Great – to discuss what made her, as a software engineer who is immersed in the tech sector and discourse, finally have to take a stand on Web3. We then break down how Web3 fetishizes its own apparent complexity-as-convolution, the pitfalls in how it is covered by reporters, the cynicism of its biggest advocates, and the internal ideological contradictions at the heart of Web3. Lees meer
Check out Molly’s work:
••• Web3 is Going Just Great https://web3isgoinggreat.com/ /// https://twitter.com/web3isgreat
••• The (Edited) Latecomers Guide to Crypto https://www.mollywhite.net/annotations/latecomers-guide-to-crypto
••• Molly’s website https://www.mollywhite.net/annotations/latecomers-guide-to-crypto
••• Molly’s twitter https://twitter.com/molly0xFFFSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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148. Tesla: The World’s Most Valuable Racism Factory
31 maart 2022 · 1 uur 7 min
Content warning: this episode has explicit discussion of anti-Black racism experienced by Black workers at Tesla, including racist discrimination, imagery, and slurs. We discuss the details of a class-action lawsuit filed on behalf of more than 4,000 current and former Black workers at Tesla. The lawsuit is based on a long list of allegations of rampant, systemic, abhorrent acts of racism and discrimination in the company’s automotive plant in Fremont, California. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• California Department of Fair Employment and Housing vs. Tesla Motors, Inc. https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/e8/c4/932fafa44013b4e7a4bc082b9615/dfeh-tesla-complaint.pdf
••• Black Tesla employees describe a culture of racism: ‘I was at my breaking point’ https://www.latimes.com/business/story/2022-03-25/black-tesla-employees-fremont-plant-racism-california-lawsuit
••• Tesla Now Runs the Most Productive Auto Factory in America https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-tesla-factory-california-texas-car-production/
••• The “Lost Cause” Goes West: Confederate Culture and Civil War Memory in California https://boomcalifornia.org/2020/06/07/the-lost-cause-goes-west-confederate-culture-and-civil-war-memory-in-california/Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)
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Patreon Preview – 147. Anarchish and the Billionaire’s Bard
27 maart 2022 · 8 min
Our impromptu discussion last week about Jame C. Scott and dual use anthropology made us revisit a classic essay in which Malcolm Harris critically analyzes the anarcho-liberal politics advocated for by Scott. Imagine if the normative basis for your “radical” politics amounted to: throw your hands up like you just don’t care, because nothing matters anyway. We then move on to a new essay offering a thoughtful critique of sci-fi author Neal Stephenson and his latest book that centers on an anarcho-capitalist billionaire geoengineering our salvation. Lees meer
Some stuff we reference:
••• Anarchish: James C. Scott’s “Two Cheers for Anarchism” | Malcolm Harris https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/anarchish-james-c-scotts-two-cheers-for-anarchism/
••• Professor Who Learns From Peasants | https://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/05/books/james-c-scott-farmer-and-scholar-of-anarchism.html
••• The Billionaire’s Bard | Rob Madole https://thebaffler.com/latest/the-billionaires-bard-madoleSubscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Grab fresh new TMK gear: bonfire.com/store/this-machine-kills-podcast/
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl)