Familiar Shapes

In this episode of Familiar Shapes, we dig into the very heart of this entire series: misinformation. What exactly is it? How do we distinguish it from true information? And how is dangerous, false information spread on social media? 

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:

David Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT;

Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;

Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.

Sound Design by UNC Charlotte Digital Media BFA Student Charlie A. Franco. (Great work, Charlie!)

Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

Who was accused of witchcraft? Mostly women. But for reasons that are both predictable and surprising.

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:

Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Suffolk

Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire  

Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter 

Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol 

Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. 

Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

In this episode, we look at some of the more sophisticated bots, from those that employ Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, to those that employ -- well, human beings.

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:

Dr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University ;

Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter Group;

Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;

Alex Hogan Managing Partner of Etic Labs;

Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;

David Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT;

Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the  University of North Carolina at Charlotte;

Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;

Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.

Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

What exactly was the early modern witch’s familiar? Was it a cuddly pet or a malevolent demon? 

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:
Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Suffolk

Dr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and Scotland

Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire  

Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter 

Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol 

Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. 

Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

Note to Listeners - DOH!  I managed to upload an incorrect version and just realized that now. Classy. Your welcome.  If you already listened to it, really sorry about those audio errors. And if you haven't listened yet -- excellent! And if you haven't gotten to this episode yet, jump ahead to end for some practical advice of social media hygiene.

What exactly constitutes a "bad bot"? And how they manipulate human behaviors in online social networks?

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:
Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;
Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;
David Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT;
Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in
Computer Science at the  University of North Carolina at Charlotte;
Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;
Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.

Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

This is an important note to listeners.  Disinfo campaigns are happening right now on social media, amidst national protests, demonstrations, and the on-going pandemic. It's up to each of us to fact check the things we see before we share them.

For more information, please read (and consider sharing) the following articles:

'None Of This Is True': Protests Become Fertile Ground for Online Disinformation. NPR (6/1/2020) https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/867137863/none-of-this-is-true-protests-become-fertile-ground-for-online-disinformation

White nationalist group posing as antifa called for violence on Twitter. NBC News (6/1/20) https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/twitter-takes-down-washington-protest-disinformation-bot-behavior-n1221456

Social Media Usage Is At An All-Time High. That Could Mean A Nightmare For Democracy. NPR (5/27/2020) https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/860369744/social-media-usage-is-at-an-all-time-high-that-could-mean-a-nightmare-for-democr

Facebook Steps Up Efforts To Combat The Spread Of Coronavirus Misinformation. NPR (5/26/2020) https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/26/822245048/facebook-steps-up-efforts-to-combat-the-spread-of-coronavirus-misinformation

It’s not easy to spot disinformation on Twitter. Here’s what we learned from 8 political ‘astroturfing’ campaigns. Hint: Don’t look for an account that tweets like a bot. Washington Post (10/28/2019) [Although this is an ‘older’ article, there’s no reason to believe these tactics aren’t still in place. Just be wary. ~HF]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/28/its-not-easy-spot-disinformation-twitter-heres-what-we-learned-political-astroturfing-campaigns/

If Russia can create fake ‘Black Lives Matter’ accounts, who will next?. Washington Post (10/15/2017) [Again, another ‘old’ article. And we’re seeing this phenomenon happening again right now. ~HF] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/if-russia-can-create-fake-black-lives-matter-accounts-who-will-next/2017/10/15/ffb2e01e-af79-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html

We’ll see what early modern grimoires tell us about the magical beliefs and practices of that era. And then we’ll take a gander at summoning Luridan the Familiar. (You know. For kicks.)

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:

Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Suffolk

Dr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and Scotland

Dr. Alexander Cummins, an independent historian researching early modern European and early American religion, philosophy, medicine, and magic.

Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire  

Dr. Daniel Harms librarian and author of  Of Angels, Demons, and Spirits: A Sourcebook of British Magic.

Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol 

Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

We’ll look at how social bots interact with people in on-line social networks, and how sometimes people behave like, well, bots.

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:
Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter Group;
Alex Hogan Managing Partner in Etic Labs;
Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;
Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the  University of North Carolina at Charlotte;
Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;
Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.

Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

Who were the early modern cunning folk, and what exactly were they doing with all those books? And how do we act ethically in a community and avoid the 'Tragedy of the Commons'?

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:

Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of Suffolk

Dr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University

Dr. Alexander Cummins, an independent historian researching early modern European and early American religion, philosophy, medicine, and magic.

Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire  

Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter 

Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol 

Prof. Sean McCloud Associate Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, and Communication Studies Faculty Affiliate at UNC Charlotte

Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. 

Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.

What did early modern people really think about magic? And how do on-line spaces differ from real-world spaces?

In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:

Dr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and Scotland

Dr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University 

Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire  

Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter Group

Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter 

Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol 

Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology

Prof. Sean McCloud Associate Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, and Communication Studies Faculty Affiliate at UNC Charlotte

Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland.  

Quinn Murphy, Heather Freeman’s eleven-year old son.

Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas

Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.
Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.