Democracy Works

The problem(s) with platforms


Listen Later

Cory Doctorow coined the term "enshittification" to describe how tech platforms have eroded over time. According to him, the process goes something like this: 

First, they are good to their users; then they abuse their users to make things better for their business customers; finally, they abuse those business customers to claw back all the value for themselves. Then, they die.

Doctorow joins us in a collaborative interview with News Over Noise to discuss how enshittifiation has affected our ability to find information, engage in deliberative democracy, and more. We also discuss what coalitions are necessary to push back against enshittification and how science fiction can help us imagine a more democratic world.

Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, including The Lost Cause, a science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency, and The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Production.

Doctorow's blog, Pluralistic

Doctorow's lecture on enshittification

 

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Democracy WorksBy Penn State McCourtney Institute for Democracy

  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7
  • 4.7

4.7

76 ratings


More shows like Democracy Works

View all
This American Life by This American Life

This American Life

90,949 Listeners

Fresh Air by NPR

Fresh Air

38,189 Listeners

The Political Scene | The New Yorker by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The Political Scene | The New Yorker

3,954 Listeners

The New Yorker Radio Hour by WNYC Studios and The New Yorker

The New Yorker Radio Hour

6,670 Listeners

The Gray Area with Sean Illing by Vox

The Gray Area with Sean Illing

10,700 Listeners

1A by NPR

1A

4,624 Listeners

The Daily by The New York Times

The Daily

111,917 Listeners

Radio Atlantic by The Atlantic

Radio Atlantic

2,321 Listeners

Stay Tuned with Preet by Preet Bharara

Stay Tuned with Preet

32,390 Listeners

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat by New York Times Opinion

Interesting Times with Ross Douthat

6,751 Listeners

Throughline by NPR

Throughline

16,043 Listeners

The Ezra Klein Show by New York Times Opinion

The Ezra Klein Show

15,335 Listeners

For the Ages: A History Podcast by The New York Historical

For the Ages: A History Podcast

375 Listeners

Impromptu by The Washington Post

Impromptu

175 Listeners

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams by Crooked Media

Assembly Required with Stacey Abrams

1,536 Listeners