Dreaming Against the Machine

Episode 13: More Everything Forever, with Adam Becker

This week is a reversal: Adam is interviewed by Jack Stilgoe, professor of science and technology studies at University College London. Jack and his colleagues ask Adam about how he came to write his most recent book, what the process of writing it was like, and how things have changed since he wrote it.Messages: • Support the show at patreon.com/DreamingAgainstTheMachine • Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram • Subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts! • Check out other great podcasts from Multitude like Pale Blue PodAbout the show:Dreaming Against the Machine is a podcast about envisioning a realistic and hopeful future. Each week, the show’s host, journalist and astrophysicist Dr. Adam Becker, will have an earnest (and entertaining!) conversation with a guest about possible futures, seen through the lenses of history, science, and culture. In a world where tech oligarchs and their power fantasies are driving visions of the future, Dreaming Against the Machine aims to take back the terms of the public conversation about what our world can and should be.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 12: The Cosmic Perspective, with Katie Mack

This week, Adam talks with Katie Mack, physicist and author, about feeling some type of way about the end of the universe. Along the way we also discuss illusions of control, entropy, and why it can be good to feel insignificant.Messages: • Support the show at patreon.com/DreamingAgainstTheMachine • Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram • Subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts! • Check out other great podcasts from Multitude like Wow if TrueAbout the show:Dreaming Against the Machine is a podcast about envisioning a realistic and hopeful future. Each week, the show’s host, journalist and astrophysicist Dr. Adam Becker, will have an earnest (and entertaining!) conversation with a guest about possible futures, seen through the lenses of history, science, and culture. In a world where tech oligarchs and their power fantasies are driving visions of the future, Dreaming Against the Machine aims to take back the terms of the public conversation about what our world can and should be.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 11: Reverse Centaurs and AI, with Cory Doctorow

This week, Adam talks with Cory Doctorow, author, blogger, and tech policy advocate. Cory explains why your boss wants to replace you with an AI, why that won't work, and why they're trying to do it anyhow -- and what you can do about it. Cory and Adam also talk about the AI bubble and how its myth of perpetual growth is fed by greed, along with some terrible misunderstandings of science fiction. Cory's new book, The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI, is out TODAYMessages: • Support the show at patreon.com/DreamingAgainstTheMachine • Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram • Subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts! • Check out other great podcasts from Multitude like Tiny MattersAbout the show:Dreaming Against the Machine is a podcast about envisioning a realistic and hopeful future. Each week, the show’s host, journalist and astrophysicist Dr. Adam Becker, will have an earnest (and entertaining!) conversation with a guest about possible futures, seen through the lenses of history, science, and culture. In a world where tech oligarchs and their power fantasies are driving visions of the future, Dreaming Against the Machine aims to take back the terms of the public conversation about what our world can and should be.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 10: Better Off Regulated, with Ed Zitron

This week's guest is tech critic, podcaster, and professionally angry dude Ed Zitron. Adam asks Ed what things would have to happen for him to be less angry (mostly, regulating the tech industry). Along the way they also discuss the SpaceX IPO and why it's a scam, the absolute folly of data centers in space, and the bizarre financial vortex of Coreweave.Messages: • Support the show at patreon.com/DreamingAgainstTheMachine • Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram • Subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts! • Check out other great podcasts from Multitude like This Guy SuckedAbout the show:Dreaming Against the Machine is a podcast about envisioning a realistic and hopeful future. Each week, the show’s host, journalist and astrophysicist Dr. Adam Becker, will have an earnest (and entertaining!) conversation with a guest about possible futures, seen through the lenses of history, science, and culture. In a world where tech oligarchs and their power fantasies are driving visions of the future, Dreaming Against the Machine aims to take back the terms of the public conversation about what our world can and should be.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Episode 9: Algorithmic Bias, with Safiya Noble

This week, Adam talks with Safiya Noble, professor of social science at UCLA and author of Algorithms of Oppression. They talk about how algorithms reinscribe systemic biases, what a better tech industry might look like, and how we might get there.Messages: • Support the show at patreon.com/DreamingAgainstTheMachine • Follow us on Bluesky and Instagram • Subscribe to the show wherever you get your podcasts! • Check out other great podcasts from Multitude like Simple and CleanAbout the show:Dreaming Against the Machine is a podcast about envisioning a realistic and hopeful future. Each week, the show’s host, journalist and astrophysicist Dr. Adam Becker, will have an earnest (and entertaining!) conversation with a guest about possible futures, seen through the lenses of history, science, and culture. In a world where tech oligarchs and their power fantasies are driving visions of the future, Dreaming Against the Machine aims to take back the terms of the public conversation about what our world can and should be.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.