Plutopia News Network

The Plutopia News Network podcast welcomes writer, editor, and media critic Gareth Branwyn to discuss his workshop “Dreaming for Creatives,” which focuses less on dream symbolism or interpretation and more… The post Gareth Branwyn in Slumberland first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

Shira Chess joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss The Unseen Internet: Conjuring the Occult in Digital Discourse, arguing that online culture has always been shaped not just by code… The post Shira Chess: The Unseen Internet first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

David Weinberger weigh AI's real strengths, especially pattern recognition, against its major dangers: hallucinations, bias, corporate power, and energy costs. The post David Weinberger on AI first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

Award-winning Scottish science fiction author Ken MacLeod joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss his work's political themes: failed modern systems, rising nationalism, and the struggle to find common interest… The post Ken MacLeod: Imagined Futures first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

On this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, Jon, Scoop and Wendy welcome award-winning British science fiction novelist and literature professor Adam Roberts to discuss his new critical book… The post Adam Roberts: Fantasy first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

In this Plutopia News Network podcast, author and social media expert Dave Evans discusses the nature and spread of online misinformation and introduces Does It Square?, an AI-assisted fact-checking tool… The post Dave Evans: Does It Square? first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

In this Plutopia News Network podcast, Charles Herrman interviews philosopher Randall Auxier about his unconventional academic path, process philosophy, and personalism, exploring how his early struggles with formal instruction led… The post Living Philosophy first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

Roy Casagranda returns to the Plutopia News Network to help the hosts process what Scoop calls the “cornucopia of crap” that was 2025, ranging from social media's corrosive incentives to… The post Roy Casagranda: Reviewing 2025 first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

In this excerpt from the Plutopia News Network, Cory Doctorow discusses his book Enshittification and the broader forces behind why digital platforms (and other industries) have “suddenly gotten worse.” He… The post Cory Doctorow: Enshittification first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

Austin environmental activist Paul Robbins joins the Plutopia News Network to discuss the 2025–26 edition of the Austin Environmental Directory, framed around “resilience” in the wake of Winter Storm Uri… The post Paul Robbins: Resilience first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

Deborah Hyde joins the Plutopia News Network podcast to explore why sane, rational people can sincerely report supernatural experiences — ghosts, werewolves, UFOs — without those experiences necessarily reflecting reality.… The post Deborah Hyde: Skeptical Inquiry into the Supernatural first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

Austrian filmmaker and multidisciplinary artist Johannes Grenzfurthner joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss his two new films: Hacking at Leaves, an experimental documentary sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic and rooted… The post Johannes Grenzfurthner: Hacking at Leaves first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

On this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, security technologist and author Bruce Schneier joins the hosts to discuss his new book Rewiring Democracy: How AI Will Transform Our… The post Bruce Schneier: Rewiring Democracy first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

On this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, hosts Jon, Wendy, and Scoop talk with Próspera VP of Growth Lonis Hamaili and community development consultant David Armistead about Próspera,… The post Próspera: Governance as a Service (GaaS) first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

On this episode of the Plutopia News Network, Jon, Scoop and Wendy talk with Jennifer Granick, Surveillance and Cybersecurity Counsel at the ACLU, about the expanding machinery of government and… The post Jennifer Granick: Surveillance and Cybersecurity first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

Technologist and former British Telecom chief scientist Peter Cochrane joins the Plutopia to talk about his lifelong pursuit of truth and his work on a “truth engine” that used AI… The post Pete Cochrane: Pursuing Truth first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

The Plutopia podcast hosts Dr. Sophie Nightingale, a psychologist at Lancaster University, to discuss how digital technology — especially social media, generative AI, and the constant flow of online information… The post Sophie Nightingale: Our Minds on Digital Technology first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

Ben Collier, Senior Lecturer at the University of Edinburgh and chair of the Foundation for Information Policy Research, joins Plutopia to discuss his MIT Press book Tor: From the Dark… The post Ben Collier: From the Dark Web to the Future of Privacy first appeared on Plutopia News Network.

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network Podcast, hosts Jon Lebkowsky, Scoop Sweeney, and Wendy Grossman talk with mathematician and juggler Colin Wright, who holds a PhD in pure…

The Plutopia podcast welcomes Sumner Erickson, who discovered the tuba in sixth grade by chance and, at 18, won a job with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra after studies at the…

On this Plutopia episode, Mike Aaron — once a renewable-energy policy aide, now a “digital lifeguard” — explains how fast-evolving tech and social engineering are fueling scams and identity theft,…

In this Plutopia News Network episode, political historian Dr. Roy Casagranda joins Jon and Scoop for a wide-ranging conversation on leadership, U.S. presidents from Eisenhower to Trump, and the fragility…

Nate Wilcox joins Plutopia News Network with a wide-ranging critique of U.S. politics, media, technology, and foreign policy. He argues the political center has collapsed, institutions lack credibility, and executive…

On this Plutopia News Network episode, hosts talk with In Formation magazine's humor editor Brian Maggi and writer/contributing editor Paulina Borsook about their newly released Issue #3 — an intentionally…

The Plutopia podcast talks with Dr. Jeremy Faludi, a Delft University sustainable design researcher and lead author of Sustainable Design: From Vision to Action, about practical, systems-level strategies for lower-impact…

Hugh Forrest, former President and longtime programming lead for Austin's famed South by Southwest Festival, joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss shifting from running massive events to consulting on smaller…

In this Plutopia News Network podcast, Dr. James Wayman, a pioneer in biometrics, shares his career journey. His studies grew from computational acoustics in the 1970s to becoming a leading…

On this episode of the Plutopia podcast, the hosts revisit Austin's formative 1970s music scene through Scoop’s archival 1977 interview with Fletcher Clark and Jack Jacobs, co-founders of the eclectic…

On this episode of Plutopia, we welcome Michael Marshall — project director at the Good Thinking Society, editor of The Skeptic, President of the Merseyside Skeptics Society, and host of…

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, acclaimed journalist and New Yorker staff writer John Seabrook joins hosts Scoop Sweeney, Wendy Grossman, and Jon Lebkowsky to discuss his deeply personal…

On this episode of the Plutopia podcast, veteran journalist and author Chris Tomlinson joins us to unpack his reporting on the July 4th floods in Central Texas — why they…

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, cyberpunk author Pat Cadigan joins the hosts to discuss her new novelization of the classic Japanese sci-fi series Ultraseven. Cadigan shares…

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, philosopher Charles Herrman discusses his lifelong study of honor and dignity as cultural forces, framing them as a dichotomy shaping societies…

Journalist and author Brendan McNally joins the Plutopia podcast this time as we discuss his latest book, Traitor’s Odyssey: The Untold Story of Martha Dodd and a Strange Saga of…

On this Plutopia News Network episode, buildings archaeologist Dr. James Wright — founder of Triskele Heritage, author of the “Medieval Myth-Busting” blog, and writer of Historic Building Myth Busting: Uncovering…

In this “Talking Heads” edition of the podcast, Plutopia News Network cohosts Jon, Scoop, and Wendy roam freely across a grab-bag of current issues and curiosities: airport security hassles, billionaire…

You might say Professor Chris French is a skeptic’s skeptic. He has published over 150 articles covering the psychology of paranormal beliefs and anomalous experiences. He emphasizes the importance of…

Dr. Patrick Ball, a statistician and founder of the Human Rights Data Analysis Group (HRDAG), joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss how rigorous data analysis can expose and challenge human…

In this wide-ranging Plutopia podcast episode, Dr. Neil Baer — television writer, physician, and public health advocate — discusses The Promise and Peril of CRISPR, a book he edited that…

Cybersecurity expert Jonathan Kamens, a longtime technologist with a background in software engineering and digital security, was dismissed from his role at the Department of Veterans Affairs by Elon Musk's…

The Electronic Frontier Foundation has worked for more than three decades to defend free speech online, fight illegal surveillance, advocate for users and innovators, and support freedom-enhancing technologies. EFF has…

The legendary Sandy Stone returns to the Plutopia podcast this time as we discuss “Girl Island,” an upcoming partially-animated film based on her life and early visions of gender identity.…

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network, Will Kreth—founder and CEO of HAND (Human and Digital) — joins Plutopians to discuss the future of identity, digital media, and the…

This time on the Plutopia podcast, climate scientist Michael Tobis, our man in the Great White North, joins us to talk about U.S.-Canadian relations. As Canadians go to the polls…

Ray Thompson, a revenue and operations executive and managing partner at Buy Build Sell LLC, joined the Plutopia podcast while on a 23,000-mile road trip across the U.S. with his…

On this episode of the Plutopia podcast, singer-songwriter Axon Chamberlain (aka “The Herban Cowboy”) rejoins Plutopians to debut tracks from his newly released CD “Pub Fare,” recorded live in tap…

British author and cartoonist Daryl Cunningham has created a graphic novel about Elon Musk, originally published in France under the title Elon Musk, Investigation into a New Master of the…

Paul Alan Levy, a public interest attorney at Public Citizen, specializes in defending internet-related free speech cases, particularly those involving individuals targeted by lawsuits for their online expression. While personally…

In 1975, the United States Senate Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations with respect to intelligence activities began a formal inquiry into abuses committed by the CIA, NSA, FBI, and…

Pat Cadigan is a renowned science fiction and cyberpunk author known for works like Synners and Mindplayers. In 2023 she released a novelization of the classic Japanese Ultraman TV series,…

Austin activist Suzy Shelor joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss a range of pressing issues with the politics of the moment, including Elon Musk's increasing influence over government, Trump's authoritarian…