People in Silicon Valley tend to believe that innovation is driven exclusively by the free market, and that the best thing the government can do is get out of the way. But Margaret O’Mara says history tells us otherwise — the government has been supporting innovation from the start.

It’s become common knowledge that our devices are distracting us. But our attention has been deteriorating for decades now — long before the advent of digital technology. Johann Hari explains why modern life is eroding our capacity to think deeply, and what that means for our ability to solve society’s most pressing challenges.

Claire L. Evans explores the internet that was, through the stories of the women who shaped it. In highlighting these women’s innovations, Claire reveals a completely different history of computation and the internet, one that prioritizes community, trust and the production of knowledge — all things we need a lot more of today.

When Pulitzer Prize finalist Nicholas Carr wrote The Shallows in 2010, many were skeptical of his claims that the internet was changing the way our brains work. Twelve years later, it’s clear he was right. Taylor sits down with Nick to figure out how he saw everything so clearly — and where we’re headed.

Timothy Caulfield, professor of health law and science policy, joins host Taylor Owen to discuss how the Joe Rogan/Spotify COVID misinformation controversy reflects a moment of deep-seated mistrust in science and the weaponizing of the scientific process.

As much as the tech industry thinks it’s about the future, it’s astonishing how profoundly it replicates the past, including our colonial legacy. Animikii’s Jeff Doctor talks about how colonialism is embedded in tech and how tech reinforces colonialism.

Following the success of the General Data Protection Regulation, the European Parliament is working on three new policy proposals to further rein in big tech.

The discovery of neuroplasticity is one of neuroscience’s most important recent advances. Dr. Norman Doidge reflects on how technology is rewiring the brain and shares his views on the societal implications of these changes.

Hélène Landemore thinks that for a government to be truly democratic, it needs to involve citizen deliberation. She calls this radical proposal “open democracy.”

We take you back, to when fake news actually meant fake news, with Craig Silverman, the journalist who popularized the term long before Donald Trump. How did those early years of fake and lucrative viral stories made to look like real news get us to a US insurrection?