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Tech Won't Save Us

Author: Paris Marx

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Silicon Valley wants to shape our future, but why should we let it? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its big promises, and the people behind them. Tech Won’t Save Us challenges the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. It’s not your usual tech podcast.

240 Episodes
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Paris Marx is joined by Mohammad Khatami and Gabi Schubiner to discuss the complicity of Google, Amazon, and Microsoft in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza and how tech workers are organizing to stop it.Mohammad Khatami and Gabi Schubiner are former Google software engineers and organizers with No Tech for Apartheid.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the ...
Paris Marx is joined by Molly White to discuss why the crypto industry is spending millions on this election cycle and Coinbase’s potential breach of election finance law. Molly White writes the Citation Needed newsletter. She is the creator of Web3 Is Going Just Great and Follow the Crypto.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcas...
Paris Marx is joined by Hussein Kesvani to discuss the far-right attacks that happened after the Southport stabbing in the UK and how larger structural issues in media, politics, and tech laid the groundwork for violence against visible minorities.Hussein Kesvani is a co-host of Trashfuture and Ten Thousand Posts.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the sho...
Paris Marx is joined by Luke LeBrun and Rachel Gilmore to discuss Shopify's connection to right-wing politics, through its interpersonal connection to a far-right news outlet and its reluctance to enforce its content policy on users selling hateful merchandise through their platform. Luke LeBrun is the editor of PressProgress and Rachel Gilmore is an independent journalist.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring peo...
Paris Marx is joined by Chris Carlsson to discuss Processed World, a tech-critical, anti-capitalist magazine that satirized the absurdity of work in its publishing run between 1981 and 2005. Chris Carlsson is the author of many books, including most recently When Shells Crumble. He’s the director of Shaping SF and a cofounder of Critical Mass. He was also one of the people behind Processed World.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society w...
Paris Marx is joined by Jacob Silverman to discuss why tech billionaires have become more supportive of Donald Trump in the upcoming US election and whether Kamala Harris’ candidacy will disrupt their plans.Jacob Silverman is the co-author of Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud and is working on a new book called Gilded Rage that is scheduled for Fall 2025.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society wi...
Paris Marx is joined by Sasha Luccioni to discuss the catastrophic environmental costs of the generative AI being increasing shoved into every tech product we touch. Sasha Luccioni is an artificial intelligence researcher and Climate Lead at Hugging Face.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with Th...
Paris Marx is joined by David Gerard to discuss Jack Dorsey’s decision to leave Bluesky, his obsession with Bitcoin, and his contributions (or lack thereof) to modern technology. David Gerard is the author of Attack of the 50 Foot Blockchain and Libra Shrugged. He also makes Pivot to AI with Amy Castor.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreo...
Paris Marx is joined by Jason Koebler to discuss the AI-generated spam filling Facebook, how the platform seems to have given up trying to stop it, and where the internet goes from here.Jason Koebler is the co-host of the 404 Media Podcast.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production...
Paris Marx is joined by Jason Hickel to discuss how technology would change in a degrowth society and why it doesn’t make sense to organize society around profit and infinite expansion. Jason Hickel is the author of Less Is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World. He’s also a Professor at the Institute for Environmental Science and Technology at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and a Visiting Senior Fellow at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics.Tech...
Paris Marx is joined by tante to discuss why it’s hard for Europe to challenge the US and China on tech and why we should change how we think about innovation.tante is a writer, speaker, and Luddite working on tech and its social impact.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is...
Paris Marx is joined by Nitasha Tiku to discuss how US tech companies are flocking to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to fund their expensive AI ambitions.Nitasha Tiku is a tech culture reporter at the Washington Post.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric ...
Paris Marx is joined by Joseph Cox to discuss how the FBI created an encrypted phone company called Anom to read criminals’ messages and eventually carry out the largest international sting operation by law enforcement.Joseph Cox is the author of Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever and the host of the 404 Media Podcast.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand bett...
Paris Marx is joined by Nora Kenworthy to discuss how people rely on GoFundMe to access healthcare and the further inequities that adds to an already deeply unequal healthcare system. Nora Kenworthy is the author of Crowded Out: The True Costs of Crowdfunding Healthcare and an Associate Professor in the School of Nursing and Health Studies at the University of Washington Bothell.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of i...
Paris Marx is joined by Gil Duran to discuss Balaji Srinivasan’s plan to implement “tech Zionism” in San Francisco and the threat posed by Silicon Valley's growing opposition to democracy.Gil Duran is an independent journalist and former editorial page editor for the Sacramento Bee. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is mad...
Paris Marx is joined by Paolo Gerbaudo to discuss how Chinese electric car maker BYD operates, its growing international success against Tesla, and whether it will be able to move into the North American market.Paolo Gerbaudo is the author of The Digital Party and The Great Recoil. He’s a senior research fellow at the Department of Political History, Theories and Geography of Complutense University in Madrid.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider so...
Paris Marx is joined by Ed Niedermeyer to discuss Tesla's stagnation as an electric vehicle manufacturer and what that could mean for its future as competitors cut into their market share.Ed Niedermeyer is the author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors and co-host of the Autonocast.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The...
Paris Marx is joined by Nicole Lipman to discuss SHEIN’s rise to the top of the fast fashion industry and how it exacerbates the sector’s labor and environment problems.Nicole Lipman is a writer and assistant editor at n+1.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickh...
Paris Marx is joined by Meghan O’Gieblyn to discuss parallels between transhumanism and Christian narratives of resurrection, despite the fact many transhumanists identify as staunch atheists. Meghan O’Gieblyn is an advice columnist at Wired and the author of God, Human, Animal, Machine.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is...
Paris Marx is joined by Alex Shephard to discuss the legalization of sports betting in the United States, the growing influence of gambling in professional sports, and its negative impact on the lives of sports fans.Alex Shephard is a senior editor at The New Republic.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnershi...
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Comments (50)

Collins Leona

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Jun 11th
Reply

Anthony Famularo

Paris!! Talk less! You're always just recapping what your guests have just said. It's aggravating!

May 9th
Reply

ncooty

This was like listening to 2 high, sophomoric twits yammer over a joint. It was an uncritical, facile, blathering armchair exploration of a lazy, loose hypothesis.

May 6th
Reply

Anthony Famularo

Right?

Apr 3rd
Reply

Priya Dharshini

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Jan 16th
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ncooty

This was simply stupid. In addition to many other misrepresentations in this conversation, effective accelerationism and effective altruism were presented as birds of a feather. However, effective accelerationism arose *in opposition* to effective altruism (which the former call "doomers"). To see it in action, see the recent fisco with Sam Altman at OpenAI.

Dec 15th
Reply (1)

ncooty

Another episode beating on a straw man. Paris is more interested in guffawing at misrepresentations and wallowing in mischaracterizations than in understanding a topic or testing ideas. It's childishness masquerading as thoughtfulness for the sake of hollow self-righteousness.

Dec 14th
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ncooty

@1:05:35: Although I generally agree with most of the criticisms against Israel mentioned in this episode, Paris's equivocation about Oct. 7th was reprehensible. Is he so stupid as to think it undercuts Palestinian advocacy to reproach the vile barbarism of Oct. 7th? It seems as if Paris is so zealously obsequious towards his guests that he often finds himself with a mouthful of foot... and that's the generous interpretation.

Nov 26th
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ncooty

You started this episode with a complete misrepresentation of what Summers said. You've made such a habit of strawmanning that I just don't find you credible anymore.

Nov 23rd
Reply

ncooty

I dislike many things about Elon Musk, but this whole Musk sub-series was quite weak. It included many legitimate criticisms, but it was padded out with too many loose connections, weakly argued criticisms, and vague aspersions.

Nov 3rd
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ncooty

Tezla?

Oct 26th
Reply

ncooty

I'm often impressed by just how off-putting vocal fry is for me. In this case, I couldn't stop the episode fast enough. What's especially strange is how the prevalence of vocal fry has sky-rocketed in the last 10 years (along with other affectations, such as up-talk and some forms of lisping).

Sep 8th
Reply (1)

Jenny Mummert

Host....please use another word or phrase when confirming or agreeing with something your guest says. The response "Absolutely! " is soooo over used by your generation.

Jul 29th
Reply

ncooty

Much too race-centric, even to the point of racializing geography and claiming that each of us inherits the sins (and grievances) of historical people of the same race (even irrespective of a lack of genealogical connection). This is just more "race-first" garbage made combustible with misappropriated words, such as "colonial".

Jul 23rd
Reply

Jenny Mummert

Fascinating discussion.

Jun 11th
Reply

ncooty

Summary: P: kind of in particular kind of in particular A: sort of sort of sort of sort of

Jun 4th
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ncooty

@50:30: Another lazy commentator who fancies herself a journalist, yet spreads rumors (which were started to undermine unions' negotiating positions) that could be dispelled with a simple Google search. "The Apprentice" began in 2004. It's beginning had nothing to do with the 2007 labor strike. Good grief. Do your job.

May 21st
Reply

ncooty

@52:50: Paris thinks there's only a weak genetic component of intelligence, and that there's little evidence to the contrary? Good grief, he does like to speak confidently--with hedged hyperbole--about things he clearly knows little about. Ugh, it seems a "liberal education" increasingly entails training people to make smug, ignorant "critiques" and has little to do with learning anything... presumably because that would evince a colonially hegemonic othering of their lived ways of knowing, or some such BS.

May 21st
Reply

ncooty

@9:15: The guest thinks no one had ever heard of rationalism or effective altruism before 2022?! Talk about solipsism. Just because it's new to her doesn't mean it's new to the universe. She might even discover that if she were to, I don't know, look into things a bit--almost like a journalist would. And she thinks rationalism and effective altruism are "right-wing"? What is this crap? Is she equating effective altruism with the narrow issue of "earning to give"? If so, the criticism shouldn't be against the process that identifies that course as effective, but against the economic system that makes the observation true... or perhaps against its misuse in practice. In any case, she's bad at thinking or bad at communicating. Many podcast guests seem more interested in provocation than in accuracy. Maybe accuracy doesn't "drive engagement"--and yet again, a podcast criticizing tech replicates its vices.

May 21st
Reply

ncooty

@9:04: Anti-entropy? I assume that's more deontological than teleological. If it's a goal, good luck with that.

May 21st
Reply