How connected is the struggle for racial justice and the fight for a democratic economy? How has racism hindered the fight, and how can activists work together for a better future on both fronts? This month on, Looks Like New, MEDlab director Nathan Schneider hosted a group conversation of 100+ guests to understand these questions. This event hosted Jason Spicer, an assistant professor at Baruch College’s Marxe School of Public and International Affairs, and findings from his recently published book, Co-Operative Enterprise in Comparative Perspective: Exceptionally Un-American. This presentation is followed by a response from Jessica Gordon Nembhard of John Jay College, whose book Collective Courage is the definitive history of the African-American cooperative. This event seeks to broadcast just how much racism has actively held back the future of a democratic economy. Both Jason Spicer and Jessica Gordan Nembhard stress how important knowing the connection between a democratic economy and the struggle for racial justice is.

In an ever more messy online media environment, it can be hard to know where to let ourselves be truly creative. This month on Looks Like New, MEDLab community fellow Andy DiLallo spoke with Yancey Stricker, best known as a co-founder and former CEO of Kickstarter. Strickler's story started on a farm in Virginia before he became a music journalist and founder of a leading tech company. Most recently, he co-founded Metalabel, a new platform that fosters creative expression and meaningful collaboration among artists. He has also been a leading storyteller about life online, including through his influential 2019 essay, "The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet."

Whether or not we have children of our own, many of us have wondered how we approach their privacy in the digital world. What's the best way we can approach this increasingly important question? In this episode, MEDLab research fellow Antoinette Kendrick speaks with danah boyd, a leading researcher, scholar, and thought leader in the fields of technology, social media, and youth culture. She is a Partner Researcher at Microsoft Research, founder of the non-profit organization Data & Society, and a Visiting Distinguished Professor at Georgetown University. Her book It's Complicated: The Social Lives of Networked Teens is a foundational text on youth digital culture ,examining the ways teens use social platforms and the societal expectations that follow. 

Every one of us has felt the impact of the shortcomings within our current economic system. Where did this system go wrong? More importantly, what can we do to make it right? 

To answer these questions we spoke to Marjorie Kelly, a Distinguished Senior Fellow with the Democracy Collaborative, author of The Making of a Democratic Economy (co-authored with Ted Howard), Owning our Future: The Emerging Ownership Revolution, and The Divine Right of Capital. For years Kelly has been a thought leader in the next generation of employee ownership, impact investing, and the construction of a community-rooted democratic economy.  

In this episode, we explore Marjorie Kelly’s long list of experiences and unique perspectives on the economic situation we all find ourselves in. MEDLab director  Nathan Schneider moderates a discussion with Marjorie Kelly and a cast of live audience members about our unique socio-economic challenges and what we can do about them. 

Within a rapidly evolving digital landscape, it can be difficult to identify the more harmful effects of digital media use on children.

This month we interviewed Antoinette Kendrick, a second-year doctoral student and Instructor in CU Boulder’s department of Media Studies. She received her bachelor's degree in psychology and her master's degree in social work from the University of Oklahoma. Her research focuses on the social impact of digital media use on children and how we can enable effective strategies for teaching media literacy.

On the episode, we discuss how Antoinette's background in social work informs her approach to media literacy for youth. Tune in to listen as we discuss platform politics, how we can curtail exposure to graphic media, and reforms for educating children on digital media literacy.

On this episode, Dr. Klassen discusses with us her how she arrived at her dissertation research topic and process of conducting the research. Tune in to listen as we discuss Afro Futurism, Ethical Speculative Projects, and Black Mirror.

Dr. Christopher Bell is a culture consultant at Skydance, Disney, and Pixar as well as a Associate Professor of Media Studies at C.U. Boulder, "Harry Potter" scholar, and all around nerd. His TED Talk, "Bring on the female superheroes," asked where were all the strong women in modern media? And where were all the toys, games, and costumes to accompany such characters?

In this episode of "Looks Like New" Dr. Bell discusses how modern technology allows scholars and academics to turn to audiences beyond the classroom, both directly through content of his own making and as the informed voice of accountability in his role as culture consultant.

Online technologies have often taken on a life of their own when a community forms around them. Users put their tools to use in ways the designers never expected. What would it mean to truly hand ownership and control of tools to the people who rely on them most? This month, we turn to Anjali and James Young, the founders of Collab.Land, a piece of software used by thousands of online communities. In 2023, they distributed control of their product to their users, thanks to a blockchain-based token and a cooperative company. But this was not a straightforward process. They explain their hopes and their challenges in attempting this "exit to community."

A new kind of social media is emerging that is open, interoperable, and not controlled by any one company. One iteration of it is called Bluesky. Bluesky lets you follow feeds specific to your interests, and each feed is created, curated, and run by individuals or groups. Rather than relying on corporate engineers, this is everyone's opportunity to try their hand in building their own algorithm and cultivating an online experience.

This month's guest, Rudy Fraser, is the founder of Papertree, a resource that provides joint money accounts for communities. Papertree started as a crowdfunding system to help neighborhoods provide financial assistance for groceries to community members. Rudy chose to build Blacksky, his own feed on Bluesky, to create a space for Black internet users to build a safe and supportive community online. Listen to this month's episode to learn more about the emerging opportunities in social media through Rudy's experience building Blacksky—and how novel moderation systems are reaching for new ways of connecting people online.

On this episode we have the privilege of hosting a distinguished returning guest, who’s groundbreaking research has reshaped the landscape of media studies; the Provost Professor of Communication, Journalism, Cinematic Arts, Education, and East Asian Languages and Cultures at the University of Southern California, Dr. Henry Jenkins.

What does it mean to be a fan in the digital age? What do fan practices look like?

In this episode Dr. Jenkins takes us through fan activism to purchasing practices in China as he discusses research on emerging fan cultures. In this episode we will learn all about the new landscape of global fandom in an increasingly digitally mediated world.