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Has the news in the UK surrounding Right to Repair been giving you deja vu? For us, it feels like forever since the UK government first announced these changes and since they were adopted in Europe back in March. The rules that came into effect last week mean that repairing all new white goods, including dishwashers, washing machines, fridges, and TVs, must be better supported by the long-term availability of spare parts. Overall, it is a move forward but some of the media reporting surrounding the regulations was misleading.

In the US, there was also positive news for Right to Repair. President Biden issues an executive order that gives the Federal Trade Commission increased powers to enforce rules helping independent repair compete. We also hear Steve Wozniak – co-founder of Apple – talking about his support for the right to repair and how he would not have gotten to where he is without it.

This is a book about humans trying to fix problems in the environment, and then making them worse, and then trying to fix them again. It’s about how we’re past conversation and preservation and now onto a stage of intervening to try and avert irreversible disasters. And how hard that is.

What are smart cities? Who creates them and who are they for? Powell explores these questions and more in Undoing Optimization. Her book delivers a thoughtful and comprehensive critique of the concept of smart cities, while also providing a broader look at the tension between corporate power, state power and citizen power. 

We’re here for any book that tells the story of a community of collaborative geeks, who look to solve problems and mysteries together. Bellingcat starts with Higgins at his laptop in Leicester, and tells the story about how he honed his skills together with others around the world, forming teams of “amateur” sleuths who solved the mystery behind the downing of Malaysia Flight 17 in the Ukraine and exposed various war crimes in Syria.

Check out our full reading list for blurbs on the other books on our list:

Links:

[links to purchase books are affiliate links so that you can support both us and independent bookshops via bookshop.org]

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