Share
Culturally Determined
The "Enshittification" of Online Life, with Cory Doctorow
Novelist and Internet activist Cory Doctorow discusses "enshittification," the term he coined for how online platforms start out great but gradually become nightmarish for users. How can we fight back against the forces of enshittification? Cory suggests some federal policies that would put power back in the hands of regular Americans. Plus: What made Twitter a once-thriving platform, and what will happen to it now?
Recorded March 16, 2023
Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDet
LINKS
Cory's piece, "The ‘Enshittification’ of TikTok"
https://pluralistic.net/2023/01/21/potemkin-ai/#hey-guys
Cory's book, with Rebecca Giblin, "Chokepoint Capitalism"
https://chokepointcapitalism.com/
Cory's new novel, "Red Team Blues"
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865847/redteamblues
Cory's forthcoming book, "The Internet Con"
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/721311/the-internet-con-by-cory-doctorow/
Cory's site, pluralistic.net
Follow @doctorow
Follow @aryehcw
More episodes
View all episodes
Deep into the Abyss of Philip Roth, with Hannah Gold
51:03|Aryeh talks with writer Hannah Gold about her reported essay in Harper's on the literary festival celebrating Philip Roth's 90th birthday, which was held in Newark, New Jersey last year.Recorded December 5, 2023Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDetLINKSHannah's piece, "Your Mind’s in the Hands of Everything: Letting Go of Philip Roth"https://harpers.org/archive/2023/12/philip-roth-newark-your-minds-in-the-hands-of-everything/Aryeh's interview with Laura Marsh on Blake Bailey's Roth biographyhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/culturally-determined/id981282353?i=1000519264087Follow @togglecoatFollow @aryehcw.bsky.socialAbortion Pills via Telemedicine, with Kiki Freedman
34:54|Aryeh talks to Kiki Freedman, the co-founder and CEO of Hey Jane, the leading virtual reproductive and sexual health care clinic.Recorded July 16, 2024Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDetLINKSHey Jane websitehttps://heyjane.com/KFF on the Comstock Act and abortionhttps://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/issue-brief/the-comstock-act-implications-for-abortion-care-nationwide/Follow @kgfreedmanFollow @HeyJaneHealthFollow @AryehCWThe Political Economy of Hollywood, with Daniel Bessner
45:06|Daniel discusses his recent Harper's cover story, "The Life and Death of Hollywood," which focuses on the economics of entertainment as private equity and streaming have changed the industry.Recorded May 24, 2024Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDetLINKSDaniel's piece, "The Life and Death of Hollywood"https://harpers.org/archive/2024/05/the-life-and-death-of-hollywood-daniel-bessner/Max Read on the piecehttps://maxread.substack.com/p/one-weird-trick-for-fixing-hollywood-6f0Sean Clements's podcast, "Subtitles On"https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/subtitles-on-with-sean-clements/id1694805292Daniel's podcast, "American Prestige"https://www.americanprestigepod.com/Follow @dbessnerFollow @AryehCWSkylines and Fish Weirs, with Jon Kimball
01:01:45|Aryeh talks to Jon Kimball, co-host of the podcast Election Profits Makers, about political prediction markets, Trump's VP options, the beauty of city skylines, the sorry state of the social media site formerly known as Twitter, whether Gen Xers have the worst politics, and more!Recorded April 26, 2024.Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDetLINKSElection Profits Makers podcasthttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/election-profit-makers/id1136826256Aryeh's 2021 interview with David Reeshttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/riding-the-waves-of-prediction-markets-with-david-rees/id981282353?i=1000545531373Sarah Miller on Gen Xhttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/style/gen-x-generation-discourse.htmlAryeh's interview with Sarahhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/hating-gen-x-while-being-gen-x-with-sarah-miller/id981282353?i=1000628237579Follow @jonkimballFollow @AryehCWA Journey Through the Deep State, with Kerry Howley
47:20|Kerry Howley talks about her book "Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs: A Journey Through the Deep State," named one of the 10 Best Books of 2023 by the New York Times.Recorded November 14, 2023.Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDetLINKSKerry's book, "Bottoms Up and the Devil Laughs: A Journey Through the Deep State"https://www.amazon.com/Bottoms-Up-Devil-Laughs-Journey/dp/0525655492/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=Kerry's 2017 profile of Reality Winnerhttps://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/12/who-is-reality-winner.htmlThe titular Monster Energy videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bntfUA6TmLsJorie Graham's poem, "Overheard in the Herd"https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poetrymagazine/poems/148785/overheard-in-the-herdKerry's piece, "Ginni and Clarence: A Love Story"https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/clarence-thomas-ginni-thomas-marriage-love-story.htmlFollow @KerryHowleyFollow @AryehCWTaylor's Version, with B.D. McClay
01:40:00|B.D. McClay — essayist, critic, and scholar of Taylor Swift Studies — helps Aryeh understand the biggest cultural phenomenon of the year. Recorded November 5, 2023Follow Culturally Determined @CulturallyDetLINKSB.D.'s Substackhttps://notebook.substack.com/B.D.'s essay on illness, "The Bad Patient"https://www.thedriftmag.com/the-bad-patient/B.D. on "1989 (Taylor's Version)"https://notebook.substack.com/p/1989-revisitedAryeh's interview with Kaitlyn Tiffany about her One Direction bookhttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/how-fangirls-remade-the-internet-with-kaitlyn-tiffany/id981282353?i=1000570796480On the Q of the Gaylor communityhttps://www.reddit.com/r/HobbyDrama/comments/oyqehq/music_fan_blogging_big_reputation_how_one_taylor/?share_id=f2GVW57klA4suITkuxi6ZKobe Bryant on Taylorhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KUa_RegHjgTed Gioia's open letter to Taylorhttps://www.honest-broker.com/p/an-open-letter-to-taylor-swiftThe Taylor fan who went to jail for refusing to serve in the IDFhttps://www.teenvogue.com/story/taylor-swift-fan-account-twitter-creator-israeli-military-prisonClare Coffey on Taylor and Bruce Springsteenhttps://notebook.substack.com/p/miss-americana-and-the-heartbreakSteven Hyden on Taylorhttps://uproxx.com/indie/ask-a-music-critic-when-will-taylor-swift-popularity-fade/Boswell the dog on Instagramhttps://www.instagram.com/life_of_boswell/Follow @bdmcclayFollow @AryehCWHating Gen X While Being Gen X, with Sarah Miller
01:05:01|Sarah discusses her recent New York Times essay, "Hate Gen X? Get in Line (Behind a Gen X-er)." Why are young people lumping together Boomers and Xers? Why do so many Gen X writers spend time railing against "woke" ideas? Is Elon Musk more defined by being Gen X or by being a billionaire? And why do Xers find Millennials so annoying?Recorded September 14, 2023Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDetLINKSSarah's NYT piece, "Hate Gen X? Get in Line (Behind a Gen X-er)."https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/25/style/gen-x-generation-discourse.htmlSarah's NYT piece on not having kidshttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/19/style/new-friend-children-conversation.htmlChuck Klosterman's book, "The Nineties"https://www.amazon.com/Nineties-Book-Chuck-Klosterman/dp/0735217955Big Fun, "Teenage Suicide, Don't Do It"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sO3WEfBIPvMSara's Substack, "The Real Sarah Miller"https://therealsarahmiller.substack.com/Follow @sarahlovescaliFollow @AryehCWMel Brooks: Disobedient Jew, with Jeremy Dauber
48:17|Historian Jeremy Dauber talks about his new book, "Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew," which is part of the Yale Jewish Lives series. He discusses Brooks's Brooklyn childhood, his Borscht Belt years, writing on "Your Show of Shows" and working with Carl Reiner, his move to Hollywood, why parody was his main genre, and his comedic legacy.Recorded July 18, 2023Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDetLINKS:Jeremy's book, "Mel Brooks: Disobedient Jew"https://www.amazon.com/Mel-Brooks-Disobedient-Jewish-Lives/dp/0300244274Brooks's Oscar-winning short film, "The Critic"https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PramR5oxn50Follow @JeremyDauberFollow @AryehCWWhat Do We Do with the Art of Monsters? with Claire Dederer
47:35|Claire Dederer talks about her new book, "Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma," a blend of cultural criticism and memoir in which she thinks deeply about the work of great artists who were also horrible people.Recorded July 24, 2023.Follow Culturally Determined on Twitter @CulturallyDetLINKSClaire's new book,"Monsters: A Fan's Dilemma"https://www.amazon.com/Monsters-Fans-Dilemma-Claire-Dederer/dp/0525655115Claire's 2017 essay, "What Do We Do with the Art of Monstrous Men?"https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2017/11/20/art-monstrous-men/Follow @aryehcw Follow @ClaireDederer