Author: Paris Marx, Brian Merchant

Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss the fallout from the US election, what it means for the tech industry, and more importantly, what it might mean for all of us. They also celebrate the show hitting 250 episodes!

Brian Merchant is a longtime tech writer and author of Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham. Transcripts are by Brigitte Pawliw-Fry.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Brian wrote about the results of the election on his newsletter.
• Paris wrote about why we need to remember who enabled Elon Musk to obtain his power.
• There are already reports of advertisers returning to Twitter/X to gain favor with Musk and Trump.
• OpenAI is moving away from its original non-profit status.
• Uber chief legal officer Tony West told Kamala Harris to stop attacking big business.

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Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss the history of the Luddites, why we have their story all wrong, and what we can learn from them today.
 
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist at the LA Times and the author of Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• An excerpt from Brian’s book was published in Fast Company. He also explained why he’s a Luddite in the Washington Post.
• In 2014, Brian wrote “You’ve Got the Luddites All Wrong.”
• On October 12, we’ll be holding a Luddite Tribunal in New York City.
• We also mentioned the work of David Noble, Eric Hobsbawm, and E. P. Thompson.

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Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss the vision of the future of computing offered by Apple’s Vision Pro headset and why it should be resisted.
 
Brian Merchant is the technology columnist at the LA Times. He’s also the author of The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone and Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech. Follow Brian on Twitter at @bcmerchant.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

The podcast is produced by Eric Wickham and part of the Harbinger Media Network.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Paris will be in Edmonton, Alberta on June 24. More info here.
• Brian wrote a column about the Apple Vision Pro for the LA Times, and another about Uber drivers in California getting payouts.
• Paris also wrote about why Apple Vision Pro should be ridiculed for Disconnect.
• David Karpf called virtual reality the “rich white kid of technology.”
• Meta employees are not working in the metaverse.
• Mark Gurman reported on the internal division at Apple over whether to release the Vision Pro in its current form.

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In a special episode to celebrate the release of host Paris Marx’s new book Road to Nowhere, Brian Merchant takes over as guest host to interview Paris about the book, the tech industry’s visions for transportation, and why they don’t solve our mobility challenges.

Paris is the host of Tech Won’t Save Us and the author of Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation. Brian Merchant is a tech journalist, author of The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, and co-editor of Terraform: Watch/Worlds/Burn. Follow Brian on Twitter at @bcmerchant.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.
 
Also mentioned in this episode:

• Road to Nowhere is available anywhere you buy books, but Verso has it discounted until July 8 as part of its Summer Reads sale.
• An excerpt of Road to Nowhere about the dystopian future the tech industry is creating was recently published in Wired.
• Paris recently spoke to StreetsBlog USA about the problem with Apple CarPlay.

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Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss the impact of the iPhone after 15 years, including its effects on how we work, how we use technology, and what it’s meant for Apple.

Brian Merchant is a tech journalist, author of  The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone, and co-editor of Terraform: Watch/Worlds/Burn. Follow Brian on Twitter at @bcmerchant.

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• In 2011, Cory Moll tried to unionize Apple stores. In June 2022, a store in Maryland became the first to vote to form a union.
• Apple’s claims about privacy are, at least to some degree, a clever marketing campaign.
• Paris previously wrote about some of Apple’s environmental messaging.
• The previous episode with Brian on the iPhone is episode 78 (Sep 16, 2021), and I also spoke to Jenny Chan about the conditions at Foxconn factories where iPhones are manufactured on episode 27 (Sep 17, 2020).

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Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss Mark Zuckerberg’s big plans for the metaverse, everything that’s wrong with it, the concept’s scifi origins, and why Silicon Valley is desperate to make it happen.

Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone and Blood in the Machine, coming in 2022. Follow Brian on Twitter at @bcmerchant.

🚨 T-shirts are now available!

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• Brian wrote about the dystopian origins of the metaverse for Motherboard and why Silicon Valley wants it to succeed for The Atlantic.
• Paris wrote about how the metaverse is a way to get us to spend more time and money in digital spaces for Business Insider.
• Matthew Ball made the business case for the metaverse last year.
• Apple’s changes to iOS privacy settings cost Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Snapchat an estimated $9.85 billion in revenue.
• Emails sent by Oculus CEO Jason Rubin in 2018 asserted that consumers want the metaverse (something that’s not at all clear).
• David Karpf wrote about how VR keeps failing and getting revived for Wired.
• Apple’s AR headset or glasses are supposedly coming in 2022.
• Microsoft is trying to get in on the metaverse with workplace applications of its own.
• Brian hosted a series for Motherboard about the themes of Dune.

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Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss the development of the iPhone, how Apple manages the press, and how the parts of the company’s supply chain that get too little attention.

Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone and Blood in the Machine, coming in 2022. Follow Brian on Twitter at @bcmerchant.

🚨 T-shirts are now available!

Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter, and support the show on Patreon.

Find out more about Harbinger Media Network at harbingermedianetwork.com.

Also mentioned in this episode:

• In 1968, Douglas Engelbart showed off the “Mother of All Demos.”
• David Nye wrote the American Technological Sublime.
• Paris thinks Apple’s Steve Jobs Theater has big church vibes.
• Disgraced former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes tried to emulate Steve Jobs.
• IBM built the Simon smartphone in the 1990s, but it was ahead of its time.
• In 2011, Apple made $473,000 per retail employee — far more than other retailers. Its revenue per square foot was almost double Tiffany’s. That year, Cory Moll also led a push for an Apple Retail Workers Union, but Apple fought back and he left the company in 2013.
• In 2010, after facing criticism, Steve Jobs said the suicide rate at Foxconn factories was “well below the China average.”
• In December 2020, workers at a Wistron iPhone factory in India ransacked the factory because they weren’t getting paid.
• Jenny Chan, Mark Selden, and Ngai Pun wrote Dying for an iPhone: Apple, Foxconn, and The Lives of China’s Workers (US/UK).
• Apple files annual conflict minerals reports. You can read their 2021 report here.

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Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss how Amazon’s response to COVID-19 has put its workers in danger, how big tech companies are partnering with oil and gas companies, and why the pandemic makes it clear that shopping at Amazon is unethical.

Brian Merchant is a senior editor at OneZero and the author of “The One Device: The Secret History of the iPhone”. He recently wrote how the pandemic is accelerating the Amazonification of the economy and why it’s unethical to continue giving Amazon money. Follow Brian on Twitter as @bcmerchant.

Tech Won't Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (@techwontsaveus) and host Paris Marx (@parismarx) on Twitter.

Support the show