Reasons to be Cheerful with Ed Miliband & Geoff Lloyd
News:Politics
Hello! Do you ever glance at your phone to check an email then look up to discover that two hours have gone by? In a world where information is abundant, our attention is hot property. What exactly do we know about how our attention is drawn and held by the environment and technology around us? We talk to Professor Polly Dalton who researches the psychology of attentional capture and to tech ethicist James Williams about why the issue of the attention economy cuts deep. Does it have the potential to change the course of our lives and restrict our freedom? We try to break free from the shackles of Silicon Valley with Tom Hodgkinson, editor of The Idler, who tells us about his strategy to resist the demands on our attention and time without even having to resort to a brick phone.
Plus: Ed’s in denial about his National Portrait Gallery debut…
Guests
James Williams, technology ethicist at the Oxford Internet Institute and the author of Stand Out of Our Light: Freedom and Resistance in the Attention Economy (@WilliamsJames_)
Polly Dalton, professor of cognitive psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London (@PollyDalton)
Tom Hodgkinson, editor of the Idler magazine and author of How to Be Idle (@idler)
More information
Buy or read a copy of James’ book (open access) here
Watch a video of James talking about the attention economy (Youtube)
Subscribe to the Idler or purchase Tom’s book How to be Idle
Is modern life ruining our powers of concentration? (The Guardian, 2023)
Ed mentions The Shallows by Nicholas Carr
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
217. ONE STOP COP (26) SHOP: the verdict
216. YOUR ONE-STOP COP(26): One week in
215. FOLLOW THE (CITY) LEADER: the power of local action on the climate crisis
214. PALACES FOR THE PEOPLE: the future of public libraries
213. WOULDN’T IT BE NICE IF WE WERE OLDER: creating age-friendly communities
212. WARMER HOMES AND LOWER BILLS: time to get retrofit
211. WHO GETS ON IN MODERN BRITAIN: breaking the class ceiling
210. HAVE I GOT TOOZE FOR YOU: Adam Tooze on Covid, climate & learning from history
209. THE RISE OF ROBO-BOSSES: reining in algorithmic management
208. THE FUTURE OF MONEY: from cryptocurrency to the decline of cash
207. BORN TO REWILD
206. COUNTDOWN TO THE CLIMATE SUMMIT #4: What can we all do?
205. COUNTDOWN TO THE CLIMATE SUMMIT #3: What needs to happen?
204. COUNTDOWN TO THE CLIMATE SUMMIT #2: What are the stakes?
203. COUNTDOWN TO THE CLIMATE SUMMIT #1: How did we get here?
202. REASONS TO BE WELSH (Rhesymau i fod yn Gymreig)
201. SECRETS AND LIDOS: the people-powered pool movement
200. PUTTING FAIRNESS AT THE HEART OF THE GREEN TRANSITION
199. STRAIGHT TO VOICEMAIL: the right to disconnect from work
198. A DECENT LIFE FOR ALL: the case for a new social guarantee
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Tiny Desk Concerts - Video
The Infinite Monkey Cage
The Audio Long Read
No Such Thing As A Fish
BBC Earth Podcast