Episodes
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Jeremy Smith: Beyond the Voter Rolls
Civitech co-founder and CEO Jeremy Smith joins Plutopia to discuss how technology, personal trust, and grassroots organizing can expand political participation in Texas and beyond. He explains how Civitech helps… The post Jeremy Smith: Beyond the Voter Rolls first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Nicole Ozer and the Electronic Frontier Foundation
Nicole Ozer, the new Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss protecting privacy, free expression, and digital rights, and civil liberties as AI… The post Nicole Ozer and the Electronic Frontier Foundation first appeared on Plutopia News...
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J. M. Logan: Monsters, Myths, and Moviemaking
Filmmaker J. M. (Josh) Logan joins Plutopia to discuss how his experience in special effects, sound, and post-production shapes his approach to directing. Exploring his feature “The Relic: Dragon,” he… The post J. M. Logan: Monsters, Myths, and Moviemaking first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Jen Thompson: Wild Pivot
On the Plutopia News Network podcast, former Republican strategist Jen Thompson discusses her memoir, Wild Pivot: Notes from a Political Life Rewritten, and the near-fatal car crash that prompted her… The post Jen Thompson: Wild Pivot first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Cory Doctorow: AI, Corporate Power, and the Fight for Worker Control
Cory Doctorow returns to the Plutopia podcast to discuss The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI and the struggle over who controls technology in the workplace. He distinguishes between… The post Cory Doctorow: AI, Corporate Power, and the Fight for Worker Control first appeared on Plutopia...
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Paulina Borsook: Cyberselfish Redux
Technology journalist Paulina Borsook returns to Plutopia to discuss the republication of Cyberselfish: A Critical Romp through the Terribly Libertarian Culture of High Tech, her 2000 critique of Silicon Valley’s… The post Paulina Borsook: Cyberselfish Redux first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Jeff Jarvis: Hot Type
Journalist and educator Jeff Jarvis returns to the Plutopia podcast to discuss Hot Type: The Magnificent Machine That Gave Birth to Mass Media and Drove Mark Twain Mad, exploring how… The post Jeff Jarvis: Hot Type first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Richard Wolinsky: Science Fiction
Broadcaster Richard Wolinsky joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss Spaceships, Ray Guns, Martian Octopods, his oral history weaving decades of interviews with science fiction writers, editors, and fans into… The post Richard Wolinsky: Science Fiction first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Data Centers, Political Chaos, and the Cost of the AI Boom
The Plutopia team discusses data-center opposition, the uncertain AI boom, political chaos, public health, and an increasingly unreliable media. The post Data Centers, Political Chaos, and the Cost of the AI Boom first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Finn Myrstad: Reclaiming the Internet
Finn Myrstad explains how Big Tech exploits our data and attention—and how stronger rules could help us reclaim the internet. The post Finn Myrstad: Reclaiming the Internet first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Peter Wang: Beyond Skynet
Peter Wang, Anaconda’s co-founder and Chief AI Innovation Officer, argues that AI’s greatest dangers are less likely to resemble a violent science-fiction takeover than an unobtrusive erosion of human autonomy… The post Peter Wang: Beyond Skynet first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Leonie Tanczer: Technology and Control
Dr. Leonie Tanczer discusses how smartphones, connected household devices, surveillance tools, location trackers and AI can be repurposed to facilitate domestic abuse, allowing perpetrators to monitor, manipulate and intimidate victims… The post Leonie Tanczer: Technology and Control first…
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Amber Case: Calm Technology
Cyborg anthropologist Amber Case argues that technology should quietly support human life rather than dominate our attention. Contrasting clock-driven “Chronos” time with meaningful “Kairos” time, she explains how smartphones, unstable… The post Amber Case: Calm Technology first appeared on...
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Brett Hurt: Love Conquers Fear
In this Plutopia podcast interview, entrepreneur and author Brett Hurt presents the optimistic thesis of his book Love Conquers Fear: humanity can use AI and other rapidly advancing technologies to… The post Brett Hurt: Love Conquers Fear first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Rob van Eijk: Privacy, AI, and Digital Sovereignty
Dr. Rob van Eijk discusses how Europe treats privacy as a fundamental right under the GDPR, contrasting it with the United States’ largely consumer-protection approach. He explains the distinction between… The post Rob van Eijk: Privacy, AI, and Digital Sovereignty first appeared on Plutopia News...
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Living Your Truth: Counseling, Community, and LGBTQ Resilience
In this Plutopia News Network interview, Dallas, Texas counselor and longtime LGBTQ advocate Candy Marcum reflects on more than four decades of providing affirming mental health care, her activism during… The post Living Your Truth: Counseling, Community, and LGBTQ Resilience first appeared on...
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Texas at a Crossroads
The Plutopia News Network team takes a wide-ranging look at the changing political landscape in Texas, using Jon Lebkowsky’s experience as a delegate to the Texas Democratic Convention as a… The post Texas at a Crossroads first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Peter Richardson: Brand New Beat
Peter Richardson discusses Brand New Beat, his history of Rolling Stone’s first decade and its roots in San Francisco counterculture and music scene. The post Peter Richardson: Brand New Beat first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Hugh Forrest: Growing Experiences
Hugh Forrest reflects on four decades helping shape South by Southwest and the challenges of scaling creative communities without losing authenticity. The post Hugh Forrest: Growing Experiences first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Steven Bellovin: Don’t Get Hacked!
In this Plutopia podcast episode, security researcher and educator Steve Bellovin discusses the increasingly centralized and balkanized internet, the practical and social problems with age verification, the limited role of… The post Steven Bellovin: Don’t Get Hacked! first appeared on Plutopia…
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Deborah Cohen: Bad Influence
Award-winning medical journalist Deborah Cohen examines how social media algorithms, influencers, wellness brands, and AI tools transformed the way people find and evaluate health information. The post Deborah Cohen: Bad Influence first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Patient Power in the Age of AI
Three longtime patient-empowerment advocates — e-Patient Dave deBronkart, Hugo Campos, and Gilles Frydman — join Plutopia to discuss how AI is transforming participatory medicine by giving patients new tools to… The post Patient Power in the Age of AI first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Plutopia Tribal Chat
In this hosts-only “Plutopians Gone Wild” episode, Jon Lebkowsky, Scoop Sweeney, and Wendy Grossman range freely across early online culture, disaster response, politics, surveillance, AI, advertising, podcasts, and pop culture.… The post Plutopia Tribal Chat first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Cindy Cohn: Privacy’s Defender
Cindy Cohn joins Plutopia to discuss her new book, Privacy’s Defender, and reflects on her decades of work with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, from the landmark Bernstein encryption case to… The post Cindy Cohn: Privacy’s Defender first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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David Miles: The Viral Sneeze
David Miles discusses his book Sneeze: The History and Science of the Common Cold, arguing that “the common cold” is best understood as a broad category of respiratory viral illness… The post David Miles: The Viral Sneeze first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Nathan Schneider: Governable Spaces and Democracy
Nathan Schneider joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss cooperatives, platform ownership, and the dangers of “implicit feudalism” online, arguing that many digital spaces train users to choose between powerful admins… The post Nathan Schneider: Governable Spaces and Democracy first appeared on...
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Ed Lenert: AI, Truth, and Political Kayfabe
Dr. Edward Lenert returns to Plutopia to discuss his year-long, million-word engagement with large language models and what that experience reveals about AI, thought, trust, creativity, and danger. The conversation… The post Ed Lenert: AI, Truth, and Political Kayfabe first appeared on Plutopia...
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Helen Pearson: Beyond Belief
In this Plutopia podcast episode, journalist and author Helen Pearson discusses her book Beyond Belief, which traces the rise of evidence-based decision-making in medicine, government, education, conservation, and other fields,… The post Helen Pearson: Beyond Belief first appeared on Plutopia…
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Tereza Pultarova: Space, Science, and Drone Wars
In this Plutopia News Network episode, science and technology journalist Tereza Pultarova discusses her path from covering space exploration to reporting on defense technology after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine,… The post Tereza Pultarova: Space, Science, and Drone Wars first appeared…
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Stephen Dulaney: The AI Ambition
Stephen Dulaney, a UX strategist turned AI builder, describes how losing his job pushed him to reinvent himself by collaborating with large language model–based AI agents to design, code, test,… The post Stephen Dulaney: The AI Ambition first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Paulina Borsook on Tech, AI, and Billionaire Madness
Paulina Borsook In this Plutopia News Network conversation, Paulina Borsook reflects on the coming reissue of her book Cyberselfish with a mix of gratitude, puzzlement, and discomfort, describing the book… The post Paulina Borsook on Tech, AI, and Billionaire Madness first appeared on Plutopia…
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Anne Boysen: AI Hype, Agents, and Risk
In this Plutopia podcast episode, futurist and data analyst Anne Boysen argues that today’s AI systems, especially large language models and emerging AI agents, are being adopted far faster than… The post Anne Boysen: AI Hype, Agents, and Risk first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Marc Abrahams: Improbable Research and Ig Nobel Prizes
In this Plutopia News Network interview, Marc Abrahams discusses the Ig Nobel Prizes, which he founded in 1991 after becoming editor of the “Journal of Irreproducible Results.” These prizes honor… The post Marc Abrahams: Improbable Research and Ig Nobel Prizes first appeared on Plutopia News...
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Roy Casagranda on Iran, War, and Global Fallout
In this Plutopia News Network episode, Jon and Scoop talk with political scholar Dr. Roy Casagranda, joining from Dubai, about Iran’s modern history, the rise of the Islamic Republic, and… The post Roy Casagranda on Iran, War, and Global Fallout first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Kate Devlin: Robot Love
In this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, we interview AI and society expert Kate Devlin about the rise of AI companions, sex robots, and the evolving relationship between… The post Kate Devlin: Robot Love first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Gareth Branwyn in Slumberland
The Plutopia News Network podcast welcomes writer, editor, and media critic Gareth Branwyn to discuss his workshop “Dreaming for Creatives,” which focuses less on dream symbolism or interpretation and more… The post Gareth Branwyn in Slumberland first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Shira Chess: The Unseen Internet
Shira Chess joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse, arguing that online culture has always been shaped not just by code… The post Shira Chess: The Unseen Internet first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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David Weinberger on AI
David Weinberger weigh AI’s real strengths, especially pattern recognition, against its major dangers: hallucinations, bias, corporate power, and energy costs. The post David Weinberger on AI first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Ken MacLeod: Imagined Futures
Award-winning Scottish science fiction author Ken MacLeod joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss his work’s political themes: failed modern systems, rising nationalism, and the struggle to find common interest… The post Ken MacLeod: Imagined Futures first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Adam Roberts: Fantasy
On this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, Jon, Scoop and Wendy welcome award-winning British science fiction novelist and literature professor Adam Roberts to discuss his new critical book… The post Adam Roberts: Fantasy first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Dave Evans: Does It Square?
In this Plutopia News Network podcast, author and social media expert Dave Evans discusses the nature and spread of online misinformation and introduces Does It Square?, an AI-assisted fact-checking tool… The post Dave Evans: Does It Square? first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Living Philosophy
In this Plutopia News Network podcast, Charles Herrman interviews philosopher Randall Auxier about his unconventional academic path, process philosophy, and personalism, exploring how his early struggles with formal instruction led… The post Living Philosophy first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Roy Casagranda: Reviewing 2025
Roy Casagranda returns to the Plutopia News Network to help the hosts process what Scoop calls the “cornucopia of crap” that was 2025, ranging from social media’s corrosive incentives to… The post Roy Casagranda: Reviewing 2025 first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Cory Doctorow: Enshittification
In this excerpt from the Plutopia News Network, Cory Doctorow discusses his book Enshittification and the broader forces behind why digital platforms (and other industries) have “suddenly gotten worse.” He… The post Cory Doctorow: Enshittification first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Paul Robbins: Resilience
Austin environmental activist Paul Robbins joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss the 2025–26 edition of the Austin Environmental Directory, framed around “resilience” in the wake of Winter Storm Uri… The post Paul Robbins: Resilience first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Deborah Hyde: Skeptical Inquiry into the Supernatural
Deborah Hyde joins the Plutopia News Network podcast to explore why sane, rational people can sincerely report supernatural experiences — ghosts, werewolves, UFOs — without those experiences necessarily reflecting reality.… The post Deborah Hyde: Skeptical Inquiry into the Supernatural first...
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Johannes Grenzfurthner: Hacking at Leaves
Austrian filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Johannes Grenzfurthner joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss his two new films: Hacking at Leaves, an experimental documentary sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and rooted… The post Johannes Grenzfurthner: Hacking at Leaves first appeared on Plutopia...
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Bruce Schneier: Rewiring Democracy
On this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, security technologist and author Bruce Schneier joins the hosts to discuss his new book Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our… The post Bruce Schneier: Rewiring Democracy first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Próspera: Governance as a Service (GaaS)
On this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, hosts Jon, Wendy, and Scoop talk with Próspera VP of Growth Lonis Hamaili and community development consultant David Armistead about Próspera,… The post Próspera: Governance as a Service (GaaS) first appeared on Plutopia News Network.
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Jennifer Granick: Surveillance and Cybersecurity
On this episode of the Plutopia News Network, Jon, Scoop and Wendy talk with Jennifer Granick, Surveillance and Cybersecurity Counsel at the ACLU, about the expanding machinery of government and… The post Jennifer Granick: Surveillance and Cybersecurity first appeared on Plutopia News Network.