PODCAST · society
Imperfect world
by Christopher Hobson
’Imperfect world’ is a series of conversations exploring exploring where politics, society, and technology meet. Hosted by Japan-based scholar, Dr Christopher Hobson. imperfectnotes.substack.com
Episodes
-
In conversation with Pete Chambers, Q3 2026
After another extended pause, a new conversation with Pete Chambers. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit imperfectnotes.substack.com
-
In conversation with Pete Chambers, Q4 2025
After an extended pause, a new conversation with Pete Chambers on 2025: what is taking shape, what is disappearing, and how much is involuting. Thanks to Memento Mastering for assistance with production. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get...
-
In conversation with Pete Chambers, Q1 2000-25
A quarter of the way through the year, a quarter of the way through the century. On a recent visit to Australia, I had the opportunity for another in-person meeting with Peter Chambers. In the conversation, we explore the difficulty of defending the shabby status quo, disappointment and distaste...
-
In conversation with Pete Chambers, Q3 2024
Continuing the conversation with Pete Chambers, recorded in the third quarter of 2024. This returns to the central theme of smartphones, social media and digital technologies, thinking through the social costs and consequences that come with them. What we are faced with is an ever-growing gap...
-
In Conversation with Joseph Vogl
In this episode, Chris and Pete welcome Joseph Vogl, who is a Regular Visiting Professor at Princeton University, and until last year, he was Professor of Modern German Literature, Cultural and Media Studies at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. Our conversation focuses on Vogl's most recent book:...
-
In Conversation with Guillaume Pitron
In this episode, Chris and Pete welcome Guillaume Pitron, an investigative journalist who has been uncovering and examining the material realities of the unceasing advance of digital technologies, most notably through a pair of books: The Rare Metals War (La Guerre des métaux rares) and The Dark...
-
In conversation with Pete Chambers, Q1 2024
Continuing the conversation with Pete Chambers, this time recorded in-person during a trip to Australia in February 2024. Donald Horne famously described the country as ‘a lucky country run mainly by second rate people who share its luck.’ That depiction could easily be applied to much of the…
more -
In conversation with Pete Chambers, late 2023
Continuing the conversation with Pete Chambers, in late 2023, in which late-ness is deep with connotations. Our dialogue was partly prompted by Naomi Klein’s thought-provoking new book, Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World. Using frames of mirrors, shadows and others, Klein manages to…
more -
In Conversation with Laleh Khalili
…the oceans remain the crucial space of globalization: nowhere else is the disorientation, violence and alienation of contemporary capitalism more manifest. But this truth is not self-evident and must be approached as a puzzle, or mystery; a problem to be solved. Allan Sekula & Noël Burch, ‘The...
-
In conversation with Pete Chambers, August 2023
In conversation again with Pete Chambers. With this episode we have moved to a new recording setup and the audio quality is much better as a result. Thanks for the feedback from listeners and to our producer, Peter Van Hoesen, for his guidance. Our starting point is the extreme weather that has...
-
In conversation with Pete Chambers, July 2023
Last year I produced a series of conversations on thinking through technology and society, including with L.M. Sacasas, David Cayley, and Elke Schwarz. Some of the most productive were with my friend and colleague, Pete Chambers, a scholar based at RMIT University in Melbourne, whose work engages...
-
In Conversation with PC, late 2022
Earlier this year, with support from the Toshiba International Foundation, I produced a series of conversations thinking through how technology interacts with and shapes our world. It was a meaningful process, resulting in a collection of fruitful dialogues, which can be accessed here. While that...
-
In Conversation with PC, again
After an unscheduled pause, the ‘Imperfect World’ series resumes with the final edition of what hopefully will be the first season. One of the aims of this project has been to share the process of thinking through, and thinking with, others. Reflecting this, for this episode I had a follow up...
-
In Conversation with Andrew Pickering
In this episode I speak with Andrew Pickering, a leading historian of science, known for his sociological studies of scientific practices and knowledge production in books such as Constructing Quarks: A Sociological History of Particle Physics and The Mangle of Practice: Time, Agency and Science....
-
In Conversation with Elke Schwarz
In this episode, I speak with Elke Schwarz, a scholar based at Queen Mary University of London, working on the political and ethical implications of digital technologies and autonomous systems. Recently, she has been returning to the insights of Günther Anders, another 20th century thinker who...
-
In Conversation with Sun-ha Hong
In this episode, I speak with Sun-ha Hong, a scholar based at Simon Fraser University, author of the 2020 book, Technologies of Speculation: The limits of knowledge in a data-driven society. His work challenges claims that we should simply listen to what ‘the data’ tells us, questioning whether…
more -
In Conversation with Gabriele de Seta
In this episode I speak with Gabriele de Seta, a scholar working on machine vision, digital media and related technologies in China. His piece about the Chinese term ‘black technology’ (heikeji 黑科技) captured my attention, which led me to write this note. The expression ‘black technology’…
more -
In Conversation with L.M. Sacasas
In this episode, I speak with L.M. Sacasas, who has become a leading voice in examining the ethical, social and cultural consequences of technologies. His prior blog, The Frailest Thing, and current Substack newsletter, The Convivial Society, offer a wealth of insight, encouraging a greater...
-
In Conversation with Claire Benn
In this episode of ‘Imperfect World’, I speak with Claire Benn, a philosopher who explores how our growing reliance on digital technologies are impacting our moral landscape, and the ethical challenges that come from a world shaped by machines. Writing in 1969, Paul Goodman observed that…
more -
In Conversation with PC
In this episode of ‘Imperfect World’, I speak with PC, a scholar and writer based in Melbourne, who has recently started a substack called, Living together, somehow. His work is not for the fainthearted: powerful, expressive explorations of the ambivalences of the contemporary Western condition,...
-
In conversation with David Cayley
This conversation was already posted on the ‘Imperfect world’ podcast feed, I am cross-posting it here in case this platform is better suited for some audience. For future episodes, I will post them across both platforms simultaneously. To begin this series of ‘Imperfect World’ conversations, I...
-
'Imperfect world' podcast
Much of this substack has been trying to make sense of the present moment, and what ethical action looks like in a world that appears to be changing and warping in ways we are struggling to comprehend. I am continuing to work on this, as I think we are in a transitional period, and trying to make...
We're indexing this podcast's transcripts for the first time — this can take a minute or two. We'll show results as soon as they're ready.
No matches for "" in this podcast's transcripts.
No topics indexed yet for this podcast.
Loading reviews...
ABOUT THIS SHOW
’Imperfect world’ is a series of conversations exploring exploring where politics, society, and technology meet. Hosted by Japan-based scholar, Dr Christopher Hobson.
imperfectnotes.substack.com
HOSTED BY
Christopher Hobson
CATEGORIES
Loading similar podcasts...
Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does Imperfect world have?
Imperfect world currently has 22 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is Imperfect world about?
’Imperfect world’ is a series of conversations exploring exploring where politics, society, and technology meet. Hosted by Japan-based scholar, Dr Christopher Hobson. imperfectnotes.substack.com
How often does Imperfect world release new episodes?
Imperfect world has 22 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to Imperfect world?
You can listen to Imperfect world on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts Imperfect world?
Imperfect world is created and hosted by Christopher Hobson.
URL copied to clipboard!