#34 Digital Infrastructure with Nicole Starosielski

When you send a message to a friend—whether by text, email, or social media—you probably don’t think much about where it’s actually going. We’ve grown so accustomed to our free-floating devices and digital clouds and seemingly wireless connectivity that we might not realize just how wired our digital world truly is. The reality is, every message we send travels through a vast physical system: routers, cell towers, data centers, power grids, and miles of undersea and terrestrial fiber networks. And every part of it depends on human decisions. This means that the future of digital infrastructure depends not just on engineers but on policymakers, biologists, economists, designers, even journalists. But how do we bring all these people together?Nicole Starosielski, professor of Film and Media at UC Berkeley, is working on exactly that. She studies the hidden physical systems that make the internet possible—from undersea cables to global media networks to the environmental costs of connectivity—and is training a new generation of leaders who can navigate this field across all dimensions.Further reading:"Professor Nicole Starosielski (Film & Media) launches world's first certificate in internet infrastructure at Berkeley"UC Berkeley's Summer Minor and Certificate in Global Digital Infrastructure (GDI)This episode was written and hosted by Pat Joseph and Leah Worthington and produced by Coby McDonald. Special thanks to Nicole Starosielski, Pat Joseph, and Nat Alcantara. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions.Support the show