Technology and magic have a long, rich history together. Each Wednesday, filmmaker Heather Freeman guides us through this apparent paradox with technologists and historians from around the world. If you're into history, witchcraft, magic, social media, artificial intelligence, infotech, or ethics, this podcast brings them together with friendly familiars and malicious bots.
In this last episode of Familiar Shapes, we’ll look at the brighter sides of the history of witchcraft, as well as efforts to make sure digital technologies are safe and equitable. We’ll say a fond farewell to our speakers – and launch ourselves into future histories.In this episode Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University Dr. Alexander Cummins, an independent historian researching early modern European and early American religion, philosophy, medicine, and magicProf. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter GroupAlex Hogan Managing Partner of Etic LabsProf. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Paolo Parigi, Lead Trust Scientist for AirBnB and instructor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford UniversityDr. Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at CharlotteDr. Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre DameDr. Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Special thanks to Jeff and Quinn Murphy, the producer’s family.Sound Design by Seth Grant www.sethgrantmedia.com Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits and additional thanks and credits for the Familiar Shapes podcast series.
In this second-to-last episode of Familiar Shapes, we’ll look at magical thinking in the digital age. We may not all be chaos magicians, but yelling at broken machines sure feels good. In this episode Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of SuffolkDr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of ExeterDr. Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - BerkeleyAlex Hogan Managing Partner in Etic LabsProf. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Paolo Parigi, Lead Trust Scientist for AirBnB and instructor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University.Dr. Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Sound Design by Seth Grant www.sethgrantmedia.com Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
We consider the moral challenges of big data, machine learning, and the need for ethics in computer science and information technology.In this episode Heather Freeman interviews:Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter GroupDr. Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;Alex Hogan Managing Partner in Etic Labs;Dr. Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology; Paolo Parigi, Lead Trust Scientist for AirBnB and instructor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University.Dr. Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Sound Design by Seth Grant www.sethgrantmedia.com Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
This week’s episode focuses on the research of Dr. Patrick Bergemann, which was the basis of his 2019 book Judge Thy Neighbor: Denunciations in the Spanish Inquisition, Romanov Russia, and Nazi Germany. Heather Freeman interviews: Prof. Patrick Bergemann, Assistant Professor of Organization and Management at the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine.* Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter *At the time of the interview, Prof. Bergemann was an Assistant Professor at the Booth School of Business at the University of Chicago.Sound Design by Seth Grant www.sethgrantmedia.com Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
We consider solutions to the social media monsters we all feed — even if only a few of us are their creators. In this episode Heather Freeman interviews:Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter Group;Dr. Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;Dr. Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;Paolo Parigi, Lead Trust Scientist for AirBnB and instructor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University.Dr. David Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT;Dr. Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte;Dr. Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;Dr. Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Sound Design by Seth Grant www.sethgrantmedia.com Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
When and why did the early modern witch trials end — or did they? In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews: Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of SuffolkProf. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Prof. Sean McCloud Associate Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, and Communication Studies Faculty Affiliate at the University of North Carolina at CharlotteSound Design by Seth Grant www.sethgrantmedia.com Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
It’s been said that personal data is the new oil. Just a few years ago, companies like Cambridge Analytica bought user data from social media companies to create hyper-targeted political ads. Cambridge Analytica isn’t around anymore, but the practice is still with us, it’s evolved, and poses a real challenge to democracies around the world.In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;Dr. Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;Dr. David Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT;Dr. Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte;Dr. Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;Dr. Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Recommended ResourcesNoujaim, J. & Amer, K. (Directors). (2019). The Great Hack. Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/80117542Edelman, G. (2020, March 3). Why Don’t We Just Ban Targeted Advertising? From protecting privacy to saving the free press, it may be the single best way to fix the internet. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/why-dont-we-just-ban-targeted-advertising/Brown, S. (2020, June 29). Privacy Isn’t a Right You Can Click Away: Senator Sherrod Brown wants to drastically scale back the permitted uses of your personal data—and ban facial recognition outright. WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/privacy-isnt-a-right-you-can-click-away/Witt, J., & Pasternack, A. (2019, July 26). The strange afterlife of Cambridge Analytica and the mysterious fate of its data. FastCompany.com. https://www.fastcompany.com/90381366/the-mysterious-afterlife-of-cambridge-analytica-and-its-trove-of-data Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive. Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.Sound Design by Charlie A. Franco https://www.instagram.com/charliepunkoi/
Racy, frightening, and sensationalist, early modern pamphlets about witch trials were the clickbait of their day. And just like clickbait today, they shaped popular beliefs in dangerous ways.In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews: Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of SuffolkDr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and ScotlandDr. Alexander Cummins, an independent historian researching early modern European and early American religion, philosophy, medicine, and magic.Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter Dr. Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
It’s incredibly easy to build a bot. And incredibly hard to track down their makers. In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;Dr. Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;Dr. Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor inComputer Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte;Dr. Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive. Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
We check out the legal structures surrounding the early modern witch trials and consider how Matthew Hopkins, the infamous 17th-century ‘Witchfinder General’, was himself pestered him by diabolic familiars. In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of SuffolkDr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and ScotlandProf. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Prof. Sean McCloud Associate Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, and Communication Studies Faculty Affiliate at the University of North Carolina at CharlotteDr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. Guest appearances by Jeff Murphy and Quinn Murphy.Sound Design by Charlie A. Franco https://www.instagram.com/charliepunkoi/ Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
In this episode of Familiar Shapes, we dig into the very heart of this entire series: misinformation. What exactly is it? How do we distinguish it from true information? And how is dangerous, false information spread on social media? In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:David Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT;Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Sound Design by UNC Charlotte Digital Media BFA Student Charlie A. Franco. (Great work, Charlie!) Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
Who was accused of witchcraft? Mostly women. But for reasons that are both predictable and surprising.In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of SuffolkProf. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive. Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
In this episode, we look at some of the more sophisticated bots, from those that employ Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, to those that employ -- well, human beings.In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University ;Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter Group;Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;Alex Hogan Managing Partner of Etic Labs;Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;David Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT;Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte;Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
What exactly was the early modern witch’s familiar? Was it a cuddly pet or a malevolent demon? In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of SuffolkDr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and ScotlandProf. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Dr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. Additional sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
Note to Listeners - DOH! I managed to upload an incorrect version and just realized that now. Classy. Your welcome. If you already listened to it, really sorry about those audio errors. And if you haven't listened yet -- excellent! And if you haven't gotten to this episode yet, jump ahead to end for some practical advice of social media hygiene.What exactly constitutes a "bad bot"? And how they manipulate human behaviors in online social networks? In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Douglas Guilbeault Assistant Professor in the Management of Organizations, University of California - Berkeley;Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;David Rand, Associate Professor of Management Science and Brain and Cognitive Sciences at MIT;Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte;Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
This is an important note to listeners. Disinfo campaigns are happening right now on social media, amidst national protests, demonstrations, and the on-going pandemic. It's up to each of us to fact check the things we see before we share them.For more information, please read (and consider sharing) the following articles:'None Of This Is True': Protests Become Fertile Ground for Online Disinformation. NPR (6/1/2020) https://www.npr.org/2020/06/01/867137863/none-of-this-is-true-protests-become-fertile-ground-for-online-disinformationWhite nationalist group posing as antifa called for violence on Twitter. NBC News (6/1/20) https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/twitter-takes-down-washington-protest-disinformation-bot-behavior-n1221456Social Media Usage Is At An All-Time High. That Could Mean A Nightmare For Democracy. NPR (5/27/2020) https://www.npr.org/2020/05/27/860369744/social-media-usage-is-at-an-all-time-high-that-could-mean-a-nightmare-for-democrFacebook Steps Up Efforts To Combat The Spread Of Coronavirus Misinformation. NPR (5/26/2020) https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/03/26/822245048/facebook-steps-up-efforts-to-combat-the-spread-of-coronavirus-misinformationIt’s not easy to spot disinformation on Twitter. Here’s what we learned from 8 political ‘astroturfing’ campaigns. Hint: Don’t look for an account that tweets like a bot. Washington Post (10/28/2019) [Although this is an ‘older’ article, there’s no reason to believe these tactics aren’t still in place. Just be wary. ~HF] https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/10/28/its-not-easy-spot-disinformation-twitter-heres-what-we-learned-political-astroturfing-campaigns/If Russia can create fake ‘Black Lives Matter’ accounts, who will next?. Washington Post (10/15/2017) [Again, another ‘old’ article. And we’re seeing this phenomenon happening again right now. ~HF] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/if-russia-can-create-fake-black-lives-matter-accounts-who-will-next/2017/10/15/ffb2e01e-af79-11e7-be94-fabb0f1e9ffb_story.html
We’ll see what early modern grimoires tell us about the magical beliefs and practices of that era. And then we’ll take a gander at summoning Luridan the Familiar. (You know. For kicks.)In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews: Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of SuffolkDr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and ScotlandDr. Alexander Cummins, an independent historian researching early modern European and early American religion, philosophy, medicine, and magic.Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Dr. Daniel Harms librarian and author of Of Angels, Demons, and Spirits: A Sourcebook of British Magic.Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
We’ll look at how social bots interact with people in on-line social networks, and how sometimes people behave like, well, bots. In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter Group;Alex Hogan Managing Partner in Etic Labs;Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology;Samira Shaikh Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte;Tim Weninger Associate Professor in Computer Science at the University of Notre Dame;Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at Texas.Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
Who were the early modern cunning folk, and what exactly were they doing with all those books? And how do we act ethically in a community and avoid the 'Tragedy of the Commons'?In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. John Callow, Visiting Lecturer at the University of SuffolkDr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University Dr. Alexander Cummins, an independent historian researching early modern European and early American religion, philosophy, medicine, and magic.Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Prof. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Prof. Sean McCloud Associate Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, and Communication Studies Faculty Affiliate at UNC CharlotteDr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. Addition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
What did early modern people really think about magic? And how do on-line spaces differ from real-world spaces?In this episode, Heather Freeman interviews:Dr. Vikki Carr, an independent scholar researching witchcraft beliefs of Early Modern England and ScotlandDr. Nicholas Christakis, the Sterling Professor of Social and Natural Science at Yale University Prof. Owen Davies Reader in Social History at the University of Hertfordshire Susan Etlinger, industry analyst for the Altimeter GroupProf. Marion Gibson Associate Dean for Education in the College of Humanities, and Professor of Renaissance and Magical Literatures at the University of Exeter Prof. Ronald Hutton Head of the School of Humanities and Professor of History at the University of Bristol Srijan Kumar Assistant Professor, School of Computational Science and Engineering at the Georgia Institute of TechnologyProf. Sean McCloud Associate Professor of Religious Studies and American Studies, and Communication Studies Faculty Affiliate at UNC CharlotteDr. Charlotte-Rose Millar, a postdoctoral fellow in the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities at the University of Queensland. Quinn Murphy, Heather Freeman’s eleven-year old son.Samuel Woolley Assistant Professor of Journalism at the University of Austin at TexasAddition sounds from Freesound.org, ccMixter, Free Music Archive.Visit https://www.familiarshapesthemovie.com/episodes for the full list of music credits.
Tay is a bot-gone-wrong and John Walsh was a cunning-man accused of witchcraft. Their stories are chased with a crash course in the history of information technologies. Filmmaker Heather Freeman interviews Owen Davies (University of Hertfordshire), Susan Etlinger (Altimeter Group and The Centre for International Governance Innovation), Marian Gibson (University of Exeter), and Samuel Woolley (University of Texas - Austin).Addition Sounds thanks to:Freesound.orgfromtexttospeeach.comchild/crying/demonic/angry: They don't love me anymore. They don't love me I hate you by 11linda / AmeAngelofSin / Ashley Eddy Music thanks to:cdk - Sunday by Analog By Nature (c) copyright 2016 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/cdk/53755 Time by Darkroom (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/mactonite/29957 Ft: SackJo22Solitude by Entertainment for the Braindead is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.San Fairy Ann by Hypermagic is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License.Right by The Insider is licensed under a Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 International License. Traffic and Dark Alleys by Kai Engel is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial License.The Fairy by Pk jazz Collective is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License.Urbana-Metronica (wooh-yeah mix) by spinningmerkaba (c) copyright 2011 Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (3.0) license. http://dig.ccmixter.org/files/jlbrock44/33345 Ft: Morusque, Jeris, CSoul, Alex BerozaImagination; The Way You Talk; and A Childish World by Zebrat is licensed under a Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 International License
What do you do when Covid-19 kills the context of your feature documentary film? You turn it into a podcast, apparently. Filmmaker Heather Freeman interviews Owen Davies (University of Hertfordshire), Marion Gibson (University of Exeter), Douglas Guilbeault (Annenberg School of Communication), Paolo Parigi (AirBnB and Stanford University), Samira Shaikh (UNC Charlotte), Tim Weninger (University of Notre Dame), and Samuel Woolley (University of Austin at Texas) about the early modern witch trials and the dangers lurking on social media.Addition sounds and thanks to:Voice of AmericaFreesound.orgQuinn Freeman MurphyMusic from ccMixter Social Distancing (Extended Mix) (w/ Darkroom) by Whitewolf (c) copyright 2020Jerus by septahelix (c) copyright 2020Je suis un Phoenix by Bluemillenium (c) copyright 2020Morsbach,1954. by Bluemillenium (c) copyright 2012 Solstice Contemplation by duckett (c) copyright 2011
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