05 | Brain Rot: Meet the people who ditched their smartphones. Is it worth it?

We’ve all dreamt of lobbing our smartphone into the ocean and going off grid. So what happens when you follow through with it?For our final episode of Brain Rot, we speak to the people who decided they’d had enough. From a French village, to Gen Z ‘luddites’ in New York City and a group of parents in regional Victoria, there are clubs, campaigns and even laws dedicated to a smartphone-free life.But in 2025, how do you pull it off? And is it actually worth it?Guests:Stan AwtreySportswriter, The Atlanta Journal-ConstitutionVincent Paul-PetitMayor, Seine-Port, FranceLisa GivenProfessor of Information Sciences, RMIT UniversitySteph ChallisFounder, The Phone PledgeJameson ButlerCo-Founder, The Luddite ClubCredits:Presenter: Ange LavoipierreProducer: Fiona PepperSenior Producer: James BullenSound Engineer: Ross RichardsonThanks to Sam Goerling for the assistance with French translation.This story was made on the lands of the Gadigal and Menang Noongar peoples.