Podcasts about Doctorow

On this episode of Lawfare Daily, Senior Editor Kate Klonick and Senior Editor Alan Rozenshtein speak with Cory Doctorow—science fiction author, activist, journalist, adviser to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and the writer who coined "enshittification"—about his new book, “The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI.” Doctorow argues that the most important thing about the AI boom isn't what the technology can or can't do, but the historic investment bubble and the new arrangements of work being built on top of it—the same analytic lens he brought to platform decay, now turned on AI.They discuss whether the AI bubble will actually burst or merely deflate, and the unit economics underneath it; the "reverse centaur," the worker conscripted to serve the machine; and how it maps onto a broader culture and questions of AI "knowledge collapse," the human analogue to AI model collapse.Additional Resources:Cory Doctorow's daily newsletter, Pluralistic Ed Zitron, "The Hater's Guide to the AI Bubble," (Where's Your Ed At, 2025)Andrew J. Peterson, "AI and the Problem of Knowledge Collapse" (arXiv, 2024)Benjamin Recht, “The Irrational Decision: How We Gave Computers the Power to Choose for Us” (Princeton University Press, 2026)This episode also ran as an episode of Scaling Laws with an introduction from Alan Rozenshtein. Find Scaling Laws on the Lawfare website, and subscribe to never miss an episode.To receive ad-free podcasts, become a Lawfare Material Supporter at www.patreon.com/lawfare. You can also support Lawfare by making a one-time donation at https://givebutter.com/lawfare-institute.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/lawfare. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Gilbert Doctorow : Is Russia Winning the Ukraine War?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on my podcast, audio from Sunday’s launch in Menlo Park for The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI at Kepler’s Books with Angie Coiro. Catch me next tonight in Toronto at Osler Records, tomorrow in NYC with Jonathan Coulton at The Strand, Thursday in Philly with David Williams and Friday in Chicago... more

Gilbert Doctorow : EU Sleepwalking Into War With RussiaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on my podcast, I read a recent post from my Pluralistic newsletter, “The World Has Moved On,” which analogizes Stephen King’s Dark Tower series to the Enshittification hypothesis. In the Dark Tower novels, we crisscross a fallen world in which decay is all around us. The buildings are rotten, the machines have stopped... more

Gilbert Doctorow : Are Russians Happy? Are They Patient?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Seth Doane heads to Barcelona for a visit to La Sagrada Família, the largest unfinished Catholic Church in the world, designed by the late pioneering architect Antoni Gaudí, which has been under construction since 1882. Ben Mankiewicz talks with legendary director Steven Spielberg about his new film “Disclosure Day,” his career, and Spielberg's belief that there are aliens among us. Mo Rocca goes behind the scenes of the Tony-nominated Broadway musical “Ragtime,” based on the bestselling novel by E.L. Doctorow.

This week on my podcast, I read my latest Locus Magazine column, “The Age of Vapor,” about the role science fiction imaginaires plays in fueling high-tech investment bubbles. It's one thing to make everything about imaginary technology when you're writing SF. The point of those imaginative exercises is to illumi­nate: To provoke reflection on our... more

This week on my podcast, I read AI and a world without migrants, a recent essay from my Pluralistic blog, which psychoanalyzes the sociopathic fantasies that are driving the AI investment bubble. I don’t care who you are, there will always be times when hell is other people. Not because other people are horrible –... more

Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler is a big-hearted, tender and hilarious story about love, ghosts, and community. Natalie joins us to talk about New York City, the 1980s, nostalgia, boundaries, hope and more with host Miwa Messer. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang.                     New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Waiting on a Friend by Natalie Adler My Bad: A Personal History of the Queer Nineties and Beyond by Hugh Ryan Gentrification of the Mind: Witness to a Lost Imagination by Sarah Schulman Let the Record Show: A Political History of ACT UP New York, 1987-1993 by Sarah Schulman Fear City: New York's Fiscal Crisis and the Rise of Austerity Politics by Kim Phillips-Fein Beloved by Toni Morrison The House of Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne The Black Book by Middleton A. Harris Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes by Tony Kushner Borrowed Time: An AIDS Memoir by Paul Monette And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts How to Survive a Plague: The Story of How Activists and Scientists Tamed AIDS by David France The Book of Daniel by E. L. Doctorow  

This week on my podcast, I present an hour-long excerpt from the audiobook for The Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Life After AI, which is currently on pre-order through my latest Kickstarter campaign: A short, provocative guide to what’s good, bad, and stupid about AI and the discourse around AI, by the author of Enshittification. In... more

The Lincoln Center revival of Ragtime — with music by Stephen Flaherty, lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, and a book by Terrence McNally, adapted from the novel by E. L. Doctorow — has just garnered 11 Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, along with multiple acting nods for its acclaimed cast. This new production feels more timely and resonant than the one that first played on Broadway in 1998. In addition to the fictional Coalhouse Walker Jr. and the archetypal figures known simply as Father, Mother, and Younger Brother, Ragtime brings to life several real celebrities and power brokers from turn-of-the-century New York. Anna Grace Barlow, who portrays Broadway sensation Evelyn Nesbit, and Rodd Cyrus, who embodies legendary illusionist Harry Houdini, join Carl Raymond from The Gilded Gentleman podcast for a behind-the-scenes conversation about their characters and their experiences bringing this revival to the stage. This show is brought to you by The Gilded Gentleman podcast, produced by the Bowery Boys and edited and produced by Kieran Gannon. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gilbert Doctorow : Will the Ukraine War End Soon?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : Ukraine War Hits Russians' PocketbooksSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on my podcast, I read Comrade Trump, a recent column from my Pluralistic newsletter, which will be syndicated in The Nerve. All of which means that my experience of the Trump years is decidedly weird. On the one hand, I exist in a near-perpetual state of anxious misery, as Trump and his chud... more

Listen to the FULL EPISODE ad-free/early on Substack: https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Dr. Gilbert Doctorow based in Brussels, is an independent political analyst, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and holds a doctorate in Russian history from Columbia University. He talks his new book War Diaries Volume 2 The Russia-Ukraine War, 2024, why Putin has slow walked the war, Europe's cowardice on Trump, Russian elections, and much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PODCAST!!!   Follow Me X- https://x.com/CoffeeandaMike IG- https://www.instagram.com/coffeeandamike/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeandaMike/ YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@Coffeeandamike Rumble- https://rumble.com/search/all?q=coffee%20and%20a%20mike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-and-a-mike/id1436799008 Gab- https://gab.com/CoffeeandaMike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Website- www.coffeeandamike.com Email- info@coffeeandamike.com   Support My Work Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/coffeeandamike Paypal- https://www.paypal.com/biz/profile/Coffeeandamike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Patreon- http://patreon.com/coffeeandamike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Cash App- https://cash.app/$coffeeandamike Buy Me a Coffee- https://buymeacoffee.com/coffeeandamike Bitcoin- coffeeandamike@strike.me   Mail Check or Money Order- Coffee and a Mike LLC P.O. Box 25383 Scottsdale, AZ 85255-9998   Follow Gilbert Substack- https://substack.com/@gilbertdoctorow Order Gilbert's new book- https://a.co/d/0dIqAZyl   Sponsors Vaulted/Precious Metals- https://vaulted.blbvux.net/coffeeandamike McAlvany Precious Metals- https://mcalvany.com/coffeeandamike/

Gilbert Doctorow: Is Putin On the Ropes?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : The Kremlin Prepares for War With EuropeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Na ensolarada Califórnia, uma junção de Universitários Brilhantes, Laboratórios Industriais e o Financiamento do Exército Americano deu origem a um ecossistema carregado de diversidade de pensamentos, comportamentos e invenções, eventualmente se espalhando por toda costa oeste e que alteraram o curso da Comunicação mundial. Entenda as contradições, as histórias de inovação, as traições e toda a tecnologia que transformou o Vale do Silício num berço de talentos sem paralelo em lugar nenhum do mundo. Patronato do SciCast: 1. Patreon SciCast 2. Apoia.se/Scicast 3. Nos ajude via Pix também, chave: contato@scicast.com.br ou acesse o QRcode: Sua pequena contribuição ajuda o Portal Deviante a continuar divulgando Ciência! Contatos: contato@scicast.com.br https://twitter.com/scicastpodcast https://www.facebook.com/scicastpodcast https://www.instagram.com/PortalDeviante/ Fale conosco! E não esqueça de deixar o seu comentário na postagem desse episódio! Expediente: Produção Geral: Tarik Fernandes e André Trapani Equipe de Gravação: Fernando Malta, Marcelo de Matos, Gabriela Reciputti, Gustavo Rebelo, Roberto Spinelli, Marcos Sorrilha Citação ABNT: Scicast #685: História do Vale do Silício. Locução: Fernando Malta, Marcelo de Matos, Gabriela Reciputti, Gustavo Rebelo, Roberto Spinelli, Marcos Sorrilha. [S.l.] Portal Deviante, 22/04/2026. Podcast. Disponível em: https://www.deviante.com.br/podcasts/scicast-685 Imagem de capa: Referências e Indicações Sugestões de literatura: The Man Behind the Microchip: Robert Noyce and the Invention of Silicon Valley - Leslie Berlin (2005) Broken Genius: The Rise and Fall of William Shockley - Joel N. Shurkin (2006) Blank, Steve. "The Secret History of Silicon Valley." Steve Blank, steveblank.com/category/secret-history-of-silicon-valley. Doctorow, Cory. "The Traitorous Eight and the Battle of Germanium Valley." Pluralistic, 24 Oct. 2021, pluralistic.net/2021/10/24/the-traitorous-eight-and-the-battle-of-germanium-valley. "Fairchild Semiconductor founders." Computer History Museum, www.computerhistory.org/revolution/digital-logic/12/275. "Fred Terman: Father of Silicon Valley." Hewlett-Packard History, www.hewlettpackardhistory.com/item/the-father-of-silicon-valley. "Stanford and Silicon Valley." Best Practices in State and Regional Innovation Initiatives: Competing in the 21st Century, National Academies Press, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK158815. "The “Traitorous Eight” and the Rise of Fairchild Semiconductor." All About Circuits, 28 Feb. 2022, www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/the-traitorous-eight-and-the-rise-of-fairchild-semiconductor. "The Origins of Silicon Valley: Why and How It Happened." Stanford Digital Repository, Stanford University, purl.stanford.edu/dw901gv8707. "The suburban office park that launched Silicon Valley." The Hustle, 25 Apr. 2025, thehustle.co/originals/the-suburban-office-park-that-launched-silicon-valley. "The Traitorous 8 and Birth of Silicon Valley." Investing Caffeine, 13 Mar. 2016, investingcaffeine.com/2016/03/13/the-traitorous-8-and-birth-of-silicon-valley. "The Traitorous Eight Traitorously Leave Shockley Semiconductor." PBS, www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/eight/index.html. “William Shockley — accidental inventor of Silicon Valley." Engelsberg Ideas, 11 Jun. 2022, engelsbergideas.com/portraits/william-shockley-accidental-inventor-of-silicon-valley. Sugestões de filmes: Silicon Valley - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2547530/ Jobs (2013) dirigido por Joshua Michael Stern - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2357129/ Piratas do Vale do Silicio - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/ Triunfo dos Nerds - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115398/ Sugestões de vídeos: Documentário que detalha a criação do Transistor: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0hEFafx7Eg Vídeo detalhando o quanto o Altair 8800 foi revolucionário: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwEmnfy2BhI Sugestões de links: Código fonte em Assembly que deu origem a Microsoft: https://l1nq.com/Wkrso See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Gilbert Doctorow : Trump Shattering NATOSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : Is President Trump a Madman?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on my podcast, I read Not Normal, my latest Locus Magazine column, about the surreal and terrible world we’ve been eased into thanks to anti-circumvention laws. If you were paying attention in 1998, you could see what was coming. Computers were getting much cheaper, and much smaller. From cars to toast­ers, from speakers... more

Gilbert Doctorow : Why Does the Kremlin Hesitate ?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow provides a critical assessment of current global conflicts critiquing the cautious military strategies of Vladimir Putin and Xi Jinping, arguing that their failure to enforce “red lines” has undermined their international deterrence. Doctorow also examines the presidency of Donald Trump, suggesting his Realpolitik approach and “war of aggression” in Iran may paradoxically lead to the collapse of NATO and the EU. The discussion explores how the energy crisis and Middle Eastern instability are accelerating European deindustrialization and structural decay. Ultimately, he highlights the tension between liberal interventionism and a rising global framework defined by competing spheres of influence. Watch on BitChute / Brighteon / Rumble / Substack / YouTube *Support Geopolitics & Empire! Become a Member https://geopoliticsandempire.substack.com Donate https://geopoliticsandempire.com/donations Consult https://geopoliticsandempire.com/consultation **Listen Ad-Free for $4.99 a Month or $49.99 a Year! Apple Subscriptions https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/geopolitics-empire/id1003465597 Supercast https://geopoliticsandempire.supercast.com ***Visit Our Affiliates & Sponsors! Above Phone https://abovephone.com/?above=geopolitics American Gold Exchange https://www.amergold.com/geopolitics easyDNS (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://easydns.com Escape The Technocracy (15% off with GEOPOLITICS) https://escapethetechnocracy.com/geopolitics Outbound Mexico https://outboundmx.com PassVult https://passvult.com Sociatates Civis https://societates-civis.com StartMail https://www.startmail.com/partner/?ref=ngu4nzr Wise Wolf Gold https://www.wolfpack.gold/?ref=geopolitics Websites Website https://gilbertdoctorow.com Substack https://gilbertdoctorow.substack.com About Gilbert Doctorow Gilbert Doctorow is an independent political analyst based in Brussels. He is a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and holds a doctorate in Russian history from Columbia University. *Podcast intro music used with permission is from the song “The Queens Jig” by the fantastic “Musicke & Mirth” from their album “Music for Two Lyra Viols”: http://musicke-mirth.de/en/recordings.html (available on iTunes or Amazon)

We're journeying back to the early 1990s this week to discuss the forgotten failure Billy Bathgate. Adapted from E.L. Doctorow's Pulitzer finalist, the film cast Dustin Hoffman as real-life mobster Dutch Schultz opposite a Loren Dean as the fictionalized street kid who falls under his wing. With Bruce Willis in a supporting role at the peak … Continue reading "385 – Billy Bathgate"

Gilbert Doctorow : How Trump's War Affects Russia and ChinaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : The Trump–Putin Call Everyone Is Trying to DecodeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : Are Kremlin Officials Supportive of Putin?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : Has Russia Lost Trust in Trump's Leadership?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : A New Russian Attitude at Negotiations?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : Does the Kremlin Trust Washington?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on my podcast, I read All laws are local a recent post from my Pluralistic.net blog, about the ephemerality of our seeming eternal verities. In other words, things that seem eternal and innate to the human condition to you are apt to have been invented ten minutes before you started to notice the... more

Ragebait, sponcon, A.I. slop — the internet of 2026 makes a lot of us nostalgic for the internet of 10 or 15 years ago.What exactly went wrong here? How did the early promise of the internet get so twisted? And what exactly is wrong here? What kinds of policies could actually make our digital lives meaningfully better?Cory Doctorow and Tim Wu have two different theories of the case, which I thought would be interesting to put in conversation together. Doctorow is a science fiction writer, an activist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the author of “Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It.” Wu is a law professor who worked on technology policy in the Biden White House; his latest book is “The Age of Extraction: How Tech Platforms Conquered the Economy and Threaten Our Future Prosperity.”In this conversation, we discuss their different frameworks, and how they connect to all kinds of issues that plague the modern internet: the feeling that we're being manipulated; the deranging of our politics; the squeezing of small businesses and creators; the deluge of spam and fraud; the constant surveillance and privacy risks; the quiet rise of algorithmic pricing; and the dehumanization of work. And they lay out the policies that they think would go furthest in making all these different aspects of our digital lives better.Mentioned:Enshittification by Cory DoctorowThe Age of Extraction by Tim Wu“Fighting Enshittification” by Josh RichmanBook Recommendations:Small Is Beautiful by E. F. SchumacherManipulation by Cass R. SunsteinThe Rise and Fall of the Great Powers by Paul KennedyCareless People by Sarah Wynn-WilliamsLittle Bosses Everywhere by Bridget ReadJules, Penny & the Rooster by Daniel PinkwaterThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Annie Galvin. Fact-checking by Will Peischel. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Isaac Jones and Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show's production team also includes Marie Cascione, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Jack McCordick, Michelle Harris, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser. And special thanks to Natasha Scott. Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gilbert Doctorow : What Putin Is Telling TrumpSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on my podcast, I read “Threads’ margin is the Eurostack’s opportunity,” a recent post from my Pluralistic.net blog, about the tactics that digital sovereignty advocates can deploy to counter Meta’s (further) enshittification of Threads. The funny thing is, the OG App creators were just following the Facebook playbook. When Facebook opened up to... more

Dr. Gilbert Doctorow based in Brussels, is an independent political analyst, a magna cum laude graduate of Harvard College and holds a doctorate in Russian history from Columbia University. He shares brief thoughts on what is happening in the United States, Europe humiliated at Davos, Russia/Ukraine resolution, and much more. PLEASE SUBSCRIBE LIKE AND SHARE THIS PODCAST!!! Watch Show Rumble- https://rumble.com/v7525lg-trumps-realism-on-ukraine-gilbert-doctorow.html YouTube- https://youtu.be/qT8dUuMCroA   Follow Me X- https://x.com/CoffeeandaMike IG- https://www.instagram.com/coffeeandamike/ Facebook- https://www.facebook.com/CoffeeandaMike/ YouTube- https://www.youtube.com/@Coffeeandamike Rumble- https://rumble.com/search/all?q=coffee%20and%20a%20mike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Apple Podcasts- https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/coffee-and-a-mike/id1436799008 Gab- https://gab.com/CoffeeandaMike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Website- www.coffeeandamike.com Email- info@coffeeandamike.com   Support My Work Venmo- https://www.venmo.com/u/coffeeandamike Paypal- https://www.paypal.com/biz/profile/Coffeeandamike Substack- https://coffeeandamike.substack.com/ Patreon- http://patreon.com/coffeeandamike Locals- https://coffeeandamike.locals.com/ Cash App- https://cash.app/$coffeeandamike Buy Me a Coffee- https://buymeacoffee.com/coffeeandamike Bitcoin- coffeeandamike@strike.me   Mail Check or Money Order- Coffee and a Mike LLC P.O. Box 25383 Scottsdale, AZ 85255-9998   Follow Gilbert Substack- https://substack.com/@gilbertdoctorow   Sponsors Vaulted/Precious Metals- https://vaulted.blbvux.net/coffeeandamike McAlvany Precious Metals- https://mcalvany.com/coffeeandamike/ Independence Ark Natural Farming- https://www.independenceark.com/      

Gilbert Doctorow : Russia and Ukraine: Real Negotiations or Delay?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Gilbert Doctorow : Trump Through Russian EyesSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on my podcast, I read “Code is a liability (not an asset),” a recent post from my Pluralistic.net blog, about the bad ideas behind the drive to replace programmers with chatbots. Code is a liability. Code’s capabilities are assets. The goal of a tech shop is to have code whose capabilities generate more... more

Dr. Gilbert Doctorow : The Cold War Is Back — Trump, Putin, CubaSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This week on my podcast, I play the audio from (Digital) Elbows Up: How Canada Can Become a Nation of Jailbreakers, Reclaim Our Digital Sovereignty, Win the Trade-War, and Disenshittify Our Technology, a speech I delivered on November 27, 2025 at OCADU in Toronto, Canada (video here, transcript here). I recognize that this is all... more

There's a bizarre thing happening online right now where everything is getting worse.Your Google results have become so bad that you've likely typed what you're looking for, plus the word “Reddit,” so you can find discussion from actual humans. If you didn't take this route, you might get served AI results from Google Gemini, which once recommended that every person should eat “at least one small rock per day.” Your Amazon results are a slog, filled with products that have surreptitiously paid reviews. Your Facebook feed could be entirely irrelevant because the company decided years ago that you didn't want to see what your friends posted, you wanted to see what brands posted, because brands pay Facebook, and you don't, so brands are more important than your friends.But, according to digital rights activist and award-winning author Cory Doctorow, this wave of online deterioration isn't an accident—it's a business strategy, and it can be summed up in a word he coined a couple of years ago: Enshittification.Enshittification is the process by which an online platform—like Facebook, Google, or Amazon—harms its own services and products for short-term gain while managing to avoid any meaningful consequences, like the loss of customers or the impact of meaningful government regulation. It begins with an online platform treating new users with care, offering services, products, or connectivity that they may not find elsewhere. Then, the platform invites businesses on board that want to sell things to those users. This means businesses become the priority and the everyday user experience is hindered. But then, in the final stage, the platform also makes things worse for its business customers, making things better only for itself.This is how a company like Amazon went from helping you find nearly anything you wanted to buy online to helping businesses sell you anything you wanted to buy online to making those businesses pay increasingly high fees to even be discovered online. Everyone, from buyers to sellers, is pretty much entrenched in the platform, so Amazon gets to dictate the terms.Today, on the Lock and Code podcast with host David Ruiz, we speak with Doctorow about enshittification's fast damage across the internet, how to fight back, and where we can lay blame for where it all started.”Once these laws were established, the tech companies were able to take advantage of them. And today we have a bunch of companies that aren't tech companies that are nevertheless using technology to rig the game in ways that the tech companies pioneered.”Tune in today.

Gilbert Doctorow Explodes: Trump's Maduro “Kidnapping” Is an Impeachable CrimeSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Gilbert Doctorow : The Totalitarian EU.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Dr. Gilbert Doctorow : Will the EU Steal Russian Bank Deposits?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

There's a word that's gained a lot of popularity in the last year: “ensh*ttification”. It refers to a trajectory many see with digital platforms: they initially offer immense value to users, only to systematically degrade that quality over time in order to extract maximum surplus for shareholders. We invited the coiner of this term, science fiction author and activist Cory Doctorow, on the podcast to discuss whether he thinks this decline is an inevitable feature of digital markets or a consequence of specific policy failures. And, most importantly, how he thinks it could be reversed.For Doctorow, "ensh*ttification" is not simply a result of "revealed preferences", where users tolerate worse service because they value the platform, but rather the outcome of a regulatory environment that has permitted the creation of high switching costs and the elimination of competitors. Doctorow also argues that historically, interoperability acted as an engine of dynamism, allowing new entrants to lower the barriers to entry. But current IP frameworks, such as anti-circumvention laws, have been "weaponized" to prevent this, effectively allowing firms to enforce cartels and engage in rent-seeking behavior.Finally, Doctorow offers a critical assessment of the current AI boom, arguing that the sector is creating "reverse centaurs", where human labor is conscripted to correct algorithmic errors, and warns of a potential asset bubble driven by inflated revenue attribution. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Gilbert Doctorow : Trump Embraces RealismSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The new revival of the musical Ragtime, by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (book by Terrence McNally, based on the novel by E.L. Doctorow), is one of the big hits of the new Broadway season. Lincoln Center Theater has produced the latest rendition, and times have certainly changed since the musical's original Broadway production in 1998. The new revival makes the show's characters and issues even more relevant for our present day. Along with the fictional character Coalhouse Walker Jr. and the archetypal characters Father, Mother, and Younger Brother, the show features several celebrities and power players from turn-of-the-century New York. Anna Grace Barlow, who plays Broadway star Evelyn Nesbit, and Rodd Cyrus, who stars as iconic illusionist Harry Houdini, join The Gilded Gentleman for a behind-the-scenes talk about their characters and their experiences performing in the show. This episode was produced and edited by Kieran Gannon. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dr. Gilbert Doctorow : Are US/Russian Negotiations a Waste of Time?See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

“Sometimes a term is so apt, its meaning so clear and so relevant to our circumstances, that it becomes more than just a useful buzzword and grows to define an entire moment,” the columnist Kyle Chayka writes, in a review of Cory Doctorow's book “Enshittification.” Doctorow, a prolific tech writer, is a co-founder of the tech blog Boing Boing, and an activist for online civil liberties with the Electronic Frontier Foundation—so he knows whereof he speaks. He argues that the phenomenon of tech platforms seemingly getting worse for users is not a matter of perception but a business strategy. For example, “the Google-D.O.J. antitrust trial last year surfaced all these memos about a fight about making Google Search worse,” Doctorow explains, in a conversation with Chayka. A Google executive had suggested that, instead of displaying perfectly prioritized results on the first search attempt, “what if we make it so that you got to search two or three times, and then, every time, we got to show you ads?” But, Doctorow argues, there is hope for a better future, if we can resist complacency; big internet platforms all depend on forms of “surveillance” of their users. “The coalition [against this] is so big, and it crosses so many political lines,” Doctorow says, “that if we could just make it illegal to spy on people, we could solve so many problems.”New episodes of The New Yorker Radio Hour drop every Tuesday and Friday. Join host David Remnick as he discusses the latest in politics, news, and current events in conversation with political leaders, newsmakers, innovators, New Yorker staff writers, authors, actors, and musicians.