What is the metaverse and how is it changing the already-porous boundaries between the real and the virtual? For today’s show, Esty explores the metaverse and what it means for society with digital media scholar Janet Murray and tech journalist Adi Robertson from The Verge. Janet Murray is a professor in the School of Literature, […]
Building a Better Tech World
Information and communications technologies have offered so much to the world—including WORT community radio and this very show! But it’s important that we bring a critical lens to the way we think about, design, and use technological tools like AI, data, and the internet. That’s the message of Your Computer Is on Fire, a new […]
Big Tech and Democracy
The suspension of former Pres. Trump’s accounts on major sites like Twitter and Facebook last month has reignited a national conversation about what and how we communicate on the internet—and why we should reimagine it. Who stays? Who goes? Who decides? Today, we talk with social media expert Sarah T. Roberts about these issues, including […]
Uncovering Unsafe Working Conditions in Amazon Warehouses
The team at Reveal from The Center for Investigative Reporting made headlines last month with their findings from a year-long investigation into unsafe working conditions at Amazon warehouses. In this episode, we talk to data reporter Melissa Lewis to get a fuller picture of Amazon’s labor practices, including the effects of robots in the fulfillment […]
A Look to the Future: Military, Politics, and Artificial Intelligence
For today’s episode, we look to the future with an eye to politics, tech, society, and humanity. First, Greg Palast stops by the studio as part of his three-day visit to Madison for the 18th annual Fighting Bob Fest. He outlines his opposition to siting F-35 jets in Madison—or anywhere—and briefly talks Trump, 2020, and […]
