Politics has never been stranger – or more online. Each week on WIRED Politics Lab, our reporters guide you through the exciting, challenging and sometimes entertaining vortex of internet extremism, conspiracies, and disinformation. Expect in-depth analysis and conversations based on facts and research. Plus, we’ll give you information you can actually use to lift the fog of disinformation we find ourselves in today.
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Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 1 day 11 hours 20 minutes
College Is Broken. We Can Fix It.
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode talk to education journalist and author of The Inequality Machine, Paul Tough about the future of higher education. Even as many Americans return to college campuses this month, rising costs and a lower return on investment has raised uncomfortable questions about just what those classes are all leading towards. Can college be saved? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Get In, We're Taking Back the Internet
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode talk to Cory Doctorow, a writer, internet activist and the author of The Internet Con: How To Seize the Means of Computation. As the US government takes Google to court in an anti-trust case this week, Doctorow explains why he believes monopoly power has made the internet a miserable place and what we can do to get our digital lives back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Learning to Let Go (of the Wheel)
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode talk to Chris Urmson, CEO of the self-driving truck company Aurora. They discuss new legislation in California that could help or hinder a driverless future, whether or not self-driving vehicles are actually safer and the consequences for the transportation industry if (human) truck drivers become unnecessary. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
RERUN: Don't Worry. It Gets Worse.
Gideon and Lauren talk to Noah Raford, a futurist. Raford spent nearly 15 years working as the UAE’s chief futurist where Noah’s job was to predict what was coming down the pike and offer suggestions on how to prepare for it. His advice? Get comfortable with discomfort. This episode originally aired on April 26, 2023. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Maybe You Should Just Join a Commune
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode talk to Kristen Ghodsee, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Everyday Utopia: What 2000 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life. Ghodsee outlines why the traditional nuclear family is failing us and how we can restructure care to build a better future. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
10 Years Until Chatbots Run the World
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode talk to Mustafa Suleyman, the co-founder of DeepMind and InflectionAI. They discuss his new book, The Coming Wave, which outlines why our systems are not set up to deal with the next great leap in tech. Suleyman explains why it's not crazy to suggest that chatbots could topple governments and he argues for a better way to assess artificial intelligence (hint: it has to do with making a million dollars)...
Grimes Wants to Be Less Famous (and Replaced by AI)
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode are joined by c, or as she is more widely known, Grimes. Earlier this year, she launched elf.tech, a website where her fans can use AI to build their very own Grimes songs based on her vocals and stems. They talk about why c wants to push the boundaries of AI art, and why, despite being a techno-optimist at heart, she’s worried about our AI future. Check out the Big Interview with c by Steven Levy in the September issue of WIRED...
Nothing You Own Is Really Yours
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode talk to Aaron Perzanowski, a University of Michigan Law Professor and author of two books on our shifting definitions of ownership, The End of Ownership and The Right to Repair. They dive into why “buying” something means less than it used to and if consumers have any hope of clawing back some semblance of ownership rights from big corporations. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
The Viruses That Could Cure Cancer (And Maybe Wipe Out Humanity)
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode talk to Andrew Hessel, a scientist, writer and entrepreneur who is working to push forward the field of synthetic biology — the science of genetically modifying organisms for everything from vaccines to food production. They discuss how modified viruses can be used to treat a range of cancers, and the wide ranging, science-fiction-like implications of the field. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
An Oracle for the Climate Crisis
Gideon Lichfield and Lauren Goode talk to author Stephen Markley about his book The Deluge, a 900 page epic that attempts to lay out the next couple of decades of the climate crisis. They discuss what our climate future may entail and how future histories like Markley's help us all process and imagine a way through the coming catastrophes. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices