Think Civic

Think Civic

By Ajay and EvanTechnology
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Think Civic episodes

  • Lauren Chambers: From Astrophysics to the ACLU of Massachusetts

    Lauren Chambers comes on CivTech Talks to chat about obtaining her degree in Astrophysics and African American Studies at Yale University, why she left astronomy due to racial inequalities that face Black astronomers and technologists, how she ended up as the Staff Technologist at the ACLU of Massachusetts, the amazing technical and social projects she has worked on during her career, and some of the amazing resources and organizations that help individuals enter civic and social tech careers.

    37 min
  • Mitchell Weiss: We The Possibility

    Evan and Ajay talk with Harvard Business School Professor and former Chief of Staff to the Mayor of Business Mitchell Weiss about his book We the Possibility. Mitchell Weiss discusses why government should transition to "possibility government", how government should be more accepting of failure, and how civic technologists can make the biggest impact in government. 

    37 min
  • Vinesh Kannan: Building Values As A Technologist

    In our second episode with Vinesh Kannan, Vinesh discusses how studying at the Illinois Institute of Technology, working at the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and attending Chi Hack Night enabled him to build a set of values that guided his decision to leave Google. Evan dives into how Vinesh inspired him to also embark on a civic tech journey of his own. Ajay and Vinesh converse about the gaslighting that can occur at Facebook and Google. 

    45 min
  • Vinesh Kannan: On Google's Mistreatment of Dr. Timnit Gebru and April Curley
    In part one of our two-part series, Vinesh Kannan discusses his resignation from Google due to the company's mistreatment of Dr. Timnit Gebru, an ethics artificial intelligence researcher, and April Curley, a diversity recruiter. Vinesh and Ajay compare and contrast their experiences at Google and Facebook, describe how both companies suppress dissent within their ranks, and how civic technologists can learn from their experiences. Evan announces CivTech Talk’s partnership with Impactful. If you’re interested in diving deeper into public interest tech, make sure to visit our friends over at Impactful at weareimpactful.org.
    56 min
  • Bob Zhao: A Civic Technologist’s Tale - There and Back Again
    Ajay and Evan talk with Bob Zhao about his study abroad experience at the London School of Economics, where he got to observe the UK’s Government Digital Service and their civic tech practices. From there, the trio discuss Bob’s American civic tech journey at the Washington University chapter of Design for America, the Office of Personnel Management, and with the National Institutes of Health’s STRIDES Initiative. Evan demonstrates why he is the podcast’s biggest Anglophile.
    29 min
  • Jessie Singh: A Technologist Finds a Home at the National Institutes of Health
    Ajay and Evan chat with Jessie Singh about utilizing technology with COVID-19 projects, coding for the National Institutes of Health during his time as a Coding It Forward Civic Digital Fellow, and finding and building civic tech communities during the pandemic. Evan reminisces about the Green Bay Packers’ season coming up just short, while Ajay dives deep as to how his journey to government began with a double doink, immense jet lag, and an entire flight of Philadelphia Eagles fans after his beloved Chicago Bears lost to the Eagles in the 2019 NFL Playoffs.
    30 min

About Think Civic

From the publisher's feed

A podcast and newsletter for exploring civic responsibility in tech, policy, design, and more. Hosted by Ajay Jain and Evan De Broux.