Top Rank Podcast

We are all being watched. From our phones to our Facebook activity, our data is being collected—and, in many cases, sold—to target us with ads, predict our identities and interests, determine our credit worthiness, and even evaluate our propensity for commiting crimes.

In the midst of a crucial moment in conversations about surveillance and public “safety,” we talked with Sareeta Amrute, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Washington and director of research at NYC think tank Data & Society, to discuss the history of the data and surveillance economies and what’s at stake now.

“Diversity”—in particular, the lack of it—has become a buzzword in the past two decades, especially within the realms of education, entertainment, and corporate America. Companies and institutions alike are spending millions of dollars on programs to make their ranks more inclusive and reflective of ever-shifting demographics. Yet, as journalist and professor Pamela Newkirk (@ptnewkirk) argues, diversity remains “conspicuously lacking” in these contexts, both despite of and, in some ways, because of the efforts to confront it. On this episode, we speak with Professor Newkirk about her new book “Diversity, Inc: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business,” and the paradoxes, pitfalls and potential of business-driven approaches to rectifying social inequality.

Check out Pamela Newkirk's book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/pamela-newkirk/diversity-inc/9781568588230/

Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @ptnewkirk

“Diversity”—in particular, the lack of it—has become a buzzword in the past two decades, especially within the realms of education, entertainment, and corporate America. Companies and institutions alike are spending millions of dollars on programs to make their ranks more inclusive and reflective of ever-shifting demographics. Yet, as journalist and professor Pamela Newkirk (@ptnewkirk) argues, diversity remains “conspicuously lacking” in these contexts, both despite of and, in some ways, because of the efforts to confront it. On this episode, we speak with Professor Newkirk about her new book “Diversity, Inc: The Failed Promise of a Billion-Dollar Business,” and the paradoxes, pitfalls and potential of business-driven approaches to rectifying social inequality.

Check out Pamela Newkirk's book here: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/pamela-newkirk/diversity-inc/9781568588230/

Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @ptnewkirk

If the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has unveiled anything, it is the sheer unsustainability of our contemporary conditions. Just a few weeks ago, life as we knew it was “normal,” but that sense of normal was a world already in crisis, in which the sustainability of life on Earth was being sacrificed again and again for capital gain. On this episode, we spoke with Whitney McGuire & Dominique Drakeford, founders of Sustainable Brooklyn, about the story behind their friendship and organization, and what sustainability means in these uncertain times.

Check out Sustainable Brooklyn:

https://www.sustainablebk.co/

@sustainablebk

@whitneymcguire

@dominiquedrakeford

Follow the @toprankpodcast on SoundCloud and iTunes for more episodes

If the ongoing COVID-19 crisis has unveiled anything, it is the sheer unsustainability of our contemporary conditions. Just a few weeks ago, life as we knew it was “normal,” but that sense of normal was a world already in crisis, in which the sustainability of life on Earth was being sacrificed again and again for capital gain. On this episode, we spoke with Whitney McGuire & Dominique Drakeford, founders of Sustainable Brooklyn, about the story behind their friendship and organization, and what sustainability means in these uncertain times.

Check out Sustainable Brooklyn:

https://www.sustainablebk.co/

@sustainablebk

@whitneymcguire

@dominiquedrakeford

Follow the @toprankpodcast on SoundCloud and iTunes for more episodes

After a brief hiatus as we transitioned into this new year and decade, we are back in the booth with Jessica Lynne, a writer and cultural critic from coastal Virginia and co-founder of ARTS.BLACK, an online journal that publishes art criticism from Black perspectives. We spoke with Jess about the craft of criticism, the relationship between research, love and vulnerability, and the art of finding balance.

Find Jessica online at @lynne_bias.

https://www.jessicalynne.co/

https://arts.black/

After a brief hiatus as we transitioned into this new year and decade, we are back in the booth with Jessica Lynne, a writer and cultural critic from coastal Virginia and co-founder of ARTS.BLACK, an online journal that publishes art criticism from Black perspectives. We spoke with Jess about the craft of criticism, the relationship between research, love and vulnerability, and the art of finding balance.

Find Jessica online at @lynne_bias.

https://www.jessicalynne.co/

https://arts.black/

Who has the power to write history and how has the digital age transformed this process? On this episode, we speak with Professor Maria Cotera about her approach to grassroots community history-making with the Chicana por mi Raza Digital Memory Collective, an ongoing Chicana feminist history project documenting the oral histories and personal archives of women across the U.S. We speak with Professor Cotera about the politics of producing knowledge, the role of social media in new modes of archiving, and practical tips for independent scholars interested in pursuing their own research.

Professor Cotera is an Associate Professor in the Department of Women’s Studies and the American Culture Department at the University of Michigan.

You can learn more about Chicana Por Mi Raza here: http://chicanapormiraza.org/about

Who has the power to write history and how has the digital age transformed this process? On this episode, we speak with Professor Maria Cotera about her approach to grassroots community history-making with the Chicana por mi Raza Digital Memory Collective, an ongoing Chicana feminist history project documenting the oral histories and personal archives of women across the U.S. We speak with Professor Cotera about the politics of producing knowledge, the role of social media in new modes of archiving, and practical tips for independent scholars interested in pursuing their own research.

Professor Cotera is an Associate Professor in the Department of Women’s Studies and the American Culture Department at the University of Michigan.

You can learn more about Chicana Por Mi Raza here: http://chicanapormiraza.org/about

Salome Asega is a NYC based artist, educator and researcher whose work engages with the intersection of technology, design and social justice. Currently, she is the Technology Fellow at the Ford Foundation's Creativity and Free Expression program area, and a director of Powrplnt, a digital art community organization for youth in Brooklyn. On this episode, we chat with Salome about her dynamic interdisciplinary career, how her childhood has shaped her practice, and the political urgency of deploying design principles to imagine a more just present & future.

Keep up with Salome here http://www.salome.zone

and on IG @computers_puting