Plutopia News Network

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 products and services. Faludi stresses life-cycle assessment (LCA) to “run the numbers” and focus effort where it matters—durability, repairability, energy efficiency—citing examples like Fairphone and circular-economy models that outdo recycling alone. He contrasts Europe’s stronger policy and recycling performance with U.S. shortcomings and frequent greenwashing, arguing most missteps stem from not quantifying impacts. Current projects include making medical devices and even clinical trials greener (where travel dominates impacts), aviation design that prioritizes weight reduction, and evaluating AI’s heavy training energy footprint. He also describes biomimicry-inspired 3D-printing research using water-based, upcycled materials that slash energy and embodied impacts, though print strength still lags plastics. The conversation returns to tools—systems thinking, LCA, circularity metrics—and Faludi’s workbook-style book, which pairs methods with exercises, business models, and collaboration practices to turn sustainability “vision” into actionable design. Jeremy Faludi: One of the things that I teach people in this book is how to run the numbers on things, how to do a life cycle assessment yourself, or at the very least, how to look up an LCA that other people have done. Or in fact, we include a bunch of Pre-calculated LCAs of different product categories in the book so that you can sit there and say, okay, I’m designing a t-shirt, or I’m designing an office chair, or I’m designing a mobile phone. What are the biggest environmental impacts, probably? Where should I spend my design time and effort?

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 community-focused experiences. Hugh argues that size is the enemy of community — people attend events to form a few meaningful connections — and says organizers should design “experiences,” not just events. These experiences should prioritize community formation, face-to-face interaction, safety, and year-round engagement. Reflecting on lessons learned, he notes how growth fractures communities, how conflicts can be weathered with transparency, and how logistics decisions (like moving hallway chats into rooms) can unintentionally dilute the magic. The conversation widens to the internet’s lost sense of fun, the limits and risks of AI (including energy costs), and the enduring need for professionally curated local journalism and civic forums. Forrest highlights his work with Andus Labs to keep humans central in tech adoption and concludes that fostering smaller, civil, in-person gatherings remains vital to rebuilding trust and connection. Hugh Forrest: Size is very much the enemy of community. This was something we talked about some at South by Southwest, and everybody made the decision, well, no, we shouldn’t restrict size. And part of the decision-making process was because we had so many problems getting any kind of size to the thing. But again, size and scale is the enemy of productive conversations. No one goes to a conference or an event to meet 15,000 other people, 20,000 other people, 30,000 other people. You go there to meet, to make strong connections with, a much smaller portion of people. There are an infinite amount of mulligans I would take advantage of if you could do that in life, but certainly one of the ones would be in rethinking the growth of South by Southwest.

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 authority on automated human identification. He explains the challenges of technologies such as fingerprinting, facial recognition, and retinal scans, emphasizing that biometric “accuracy” is complicated by issues like false matches, enrollment failures, and human anomalies. Wayman discusses legal cases, privacy concerns, and misuse of biometric data, noting how law enforcement sometimes over-relies on flawed recognition results. He highlights advances in deep learning for facial recognition, ongoing challenges such as monomodal and multimodal fusion, and the risks of contactless fingerprinting, while also stressing that the bigger privacy threat may lie in ubiquitous cellphone tracking. The conversation ranges from regulatory battles over biometric data, to surprising anecdotes about physiological variations, to unintended consequences of deploying these systems, offering a candid, often humorous look at both the promise and pitfalls of biometric technologies. James L. Wayman: We can’t recognize them from drones. We can’t recognize them at 100 meters. And that’s due to air scintillation more than anything else. We cannot recognize them at a high angle. So — now this is interesting — I love to volunteer my time for criminal cases, and I get a lot of phone calls from public defenders who don’t have any money, and that’s fine. I’m happy to do that. And they say “The police have some images of a bank robber, and they say it’s my client. Can you show that these images from the bank are not my client?” And so she sends me a nice picture of her client, right? Driver’s license or something. And then sends me these pictures from the bank, up the top of a head where the guy’s wearing a hat. No. I cannot testify that that person is not your client, although I will be happy to testify that the prosecution can’t testify that it is the client.

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 show band Balcones Fault. The conversation traces their unlikely journey from academia and banking into Austin’s burgeoning countercultural soundscape, where the band became known for wild, genre-blending performances and theatrical full-moon shows at the legendary Armadillo World Headquarters. Mixing satire, spectacle, and musical virtuosity, Balcones Fault embodied Austin’s spirit of creativity and weirdness, helping lay the foundation for the city’s later reputation as the “Live Music Capital of the World.” Fletcher Clark: Jack was living down in Austin. I was living up in Boston, getting kind of fed up with doing the banking business. And I was coming down to Austin on my way to California, and I stopped in, and Jack had been hyping me about what a nice place it was. You know, come on down, it’s a nice place. And the good music scene happened, and he was hanging out and picking a lot with the Greezy Wheels and some of the local bands that were happening down there. And he jammed a few times with this drummer and bass player and this other guy. And I came down to visit, and it became clear that my plans to go to California ought not to go through, and I just ought to stay there. So we had this jam session in the afternoon. We worked up — it was me and Jack and a bass player and a drummer, and this other fellow who, by the way, now runs Armadillo World Headquarters, Hank Aldrich — sat on the original jam session. We worked up about 20 tunes. Jack Jacobs: Yeah, and thing that really kept him there though was you know those double wide papers? Well, Fletcher came down from Boston where uh I started turning on when I was in college and I always thought that pot was something that was sort of like allspice or paprika that came in a little plastic bag and it was some kind of green powder. And I didn’t really discover that it was an agricultural commodity until I moved much closer to the border.

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 the Be Reasonable podcast — to unpack “compassionate skepticism”: why emotions drive belief, how pseudoscience and conspiracies spread (from flat earth to QAnon to the Rogan pipeline), and practical ways to change minds without shaming. He shares fieldwork — from exposing psychic scams to organizing homeopathy protests — and lessons on building resilient, rational communities in a post-truth world. Michael Marshall: If you want to start to be an effective communicator and you want to start to be effective at helping people check their own biases and beliefs, you come through that because you realize that’s not the best tactic. Telling people they’re an idiot isn’t going to help them, and shouting at them, and acting like you’re smarter than them, is never going to help people out. So, if you really have the right goals in mind of trying to help people, you come through that adolescence into an understanding that, first of all, we need to know what it is these people feel. Because people are led first and foremost by their emotions and not by the facts. That’s true of them, it’s true of us. We train our emotions to be satisfied by good answers, but our our instincts, first and foremost, come from our gut. If I said something to you that sounded false, you’d fact-check it. If I said something to you that sounded true, you’d accept it, because your gut is telling you, yeah, that sounds about right, I won’t question it. So we all make these decisions based on emotion.

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 and provocative new book, The Spinach King: The Rise and Fall of an American Dynasty. Drawing from a trove of family documents inherited after his father’s death, Seabrook uncovers the complex, and often dark, legacy of Seabrook Farms — his family’s frozen food empire that once dominated agriculture in southern New Jersey. The conversation explores themes of power, exploitation, family dysfunction, capitalism, and historical memory, as Seabrook reflects on uncovering painful truths, reconciling with his past, and telling the long-silenced stories of exploited workers whose labor built his family’s fortune. John Seabrook: I felt that I was fulfilling some kind of from the grave wish of my father, to achieve, not just revenge, but also justice in some way for what he endured and what he tried to do and and why the company failed. And so that’s kind of what I did. And it motivated me while I was writing to feel like I was doing this for my father. And it also brought me into a better understanding with my father, who was kind of a chilly and remote person. But now I understood why, because he had to survive this sociopath. It was pretty clear that this man who created this company was a sociopath, and that probably helped him in many ways in creating and controlling the company, but it brought the family down.

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 were predictable and preventable — and to warn that American democracy is being endangered by aggressive redistricting and other election-rigging tactics. Now a columnist on money, politics, and life in Texas for the Houston Chronicle and Hearst newspapers, Tomlinson — author of Tomlinson Hill and co-author of Forget the Alamo — also talks about accountability journalism, Texas’s evolving disaster-response model versus FEMA, H-E-B’s disaster brand, the precarious economics of local news, and the threats reporters face in today’s polarized climate. It’s a sobering, timely conversation about policy failures, history Texans still aren’t taught, and what it will take to keep both journalism and democracy alive. Chris Tomlinson: We are in dangerous times. And I feel like I rub my bosses the wrong way when I keep trying to make this point — that we are in far more perilous times than most Americans realize. As soon as I get off with you, I’m going to file my column about redistricting that will be online tomorrow. You know, this is fundamental democracy stuff going on now. And if we keep losing journalism and we keep losing independence and we keep allowing the election elections to be rigged through how we draw the political maps — then we’re in serious trouble. Links: Chris’s page at the Houston Chronicle: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/author/chris-tomlinson/ July 2025 Central Texas floods Jessie Singer, There Are No Accidents Wendy’s review: https://www.pelicancrossing.net/netwars/2022/04/grounded.html H-E-B Grocery: https://heb.com H-E-B Disaster Relief Why Texans are calling H-E-B the ‘FEMA of Texas’ after devastating floods Mattress Mack Citizen Kane New York Times Pitchbot: @nytpitchbot.bsky.social Texas Constitution

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 how she came to work on the project, her early exposure to Ultraman, and her appreciation for the show’s themes of teamwork and heroism. The discussion branches into reflections on science fiction’s role in shaping cultural perspectives, changes in media consumption, the challenges of AI and copyright, and the increasing dangers of misinformation and deepfakes. The conversation also reflects on nostalgia, historical awareness, and the enduring value of books and analog media in an increasingly digital world. Pat Cadigan: I was one of the very rare Americans who had seen the original Ultraman, so they asked me if I would be interested in doing the novelizations. And I said, yeah, sure, I’ll try anything. So they they got me the DVDs and uh and they picked out the stories For Ultraman, but when it came to Ultraseven, they told me to pick out the stories to novelize. So I did that on Ultra 7. I think that’s the big strength of both of them – of Ultraman and Ultraseven. It’s not just that he’s such a powerful hero — but he has he’s got people who have his back.

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 and conflicts worldwide. He explains that honor and dignity function as intertwined yet distinct values—honor is the face of dignity, and dignity has honor’s back—and explores how cultures typically emphasize one over the other. Herrman illustrates how honor-based societies, driven by respect, trust, and earned worth, contrast with dignity-based societies that uphold acceptance, faith, and inherent rights. Applying this lens, he examines political, religious, and international tensions, arguing that deeper understanding and mutual respect between these cultural types could reduce conflict and help preserve democratic values. Honor and dignity are not easy to define, but most people have an idea of what honor and dignity are, and generally speaking, that idea is going to be fairly good. But let me try something on you that is not that well known. In my work, I consider that dignity is the back of honor. And honor is the face of dignity. So if you lose a little bit of honor by doing a faux pas, and people recognize you as having a fair amount of dignity, that dignity will keep you afloat. And if you have honor and you express that honor in doing a good job for the community, then that’s not only honor, but it also heightens your dignity. So honor is a reflection of dignity and dignity has honors’ back. Charles Herrman on Google Scholar

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 Soviet Espionage, which tells the story of Martha Dodd, the daughter of an American ambassador in 1930s Berlin who became a Soviet spy. McNally spent years researching declassified CIA files and interviewing people with knowledge of Martha and her amazing story. McNally reveals how Dodd’s promiscuous entanglements with Nazi elites and later a Soviet diplomat drew her into espionage, leading to years of FBI surveillance, a failed spy career, and an absurd exile in Communist Prague. His meticulous research, drawing on declassified CIA, FBI, KGB, and Venona project files, plus interviews with old spies and exiles, paints a darkly comic portrait of espionage driven by flawed, colorful personalities. Brendan McNally: I found what was essentially a hot babes of the Third Reich website where somebody had devoted a whole website to Nazi girlfriends and wives and mistresses, and there she was, Martha Dodd. And as it turned out, she had been lovers with so many different Nazis, it would make your head spin — including the head of the Gestapo. And similar along the line, she fell in love with a Russian diplomat who turned out to be a Soviet spy, and he recruited her for the Soviet intelligence. For a year or two, she was Stalin’s top gal, top spy in Berlin.

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 Folklore, History, and Archaeology — joins hosts Jon Lebkowsky, Scoop Sweeney, and Wendy Grossman to unpack 25 years probing cellars, attics, castles, pubs, and church walls. Wright explains how he marries fieldwork, archival sleuthing, and dendrochronology to challenge cherished legends: ship timbers recycled from Spanish-Armada wrecks, mile-long secret tunnels, pubs claiming eleventh-century origins, spiraling castle stairs built to favor right-handed defenders, and the bawdy carvings adorning medieval churches. While his evidence-first approach can anger believers, Wright uses humor and detailed “show-your-work” transparency to bridge emotion and fact—demonstrating that, even in a post-truth age, rigorous archaeology can separate folklore from history without losing the stories that make old buildings matter. James Wright: People don’t like their truths, their entries, their stories being questioned, being queried. But I always try and do this by presenting all the evidence. In this anti-truth environment that we live in at the moment, a post-truth world, that doesn’t always work. Logic and reason and evidence are discounted by people — it’s feelings and emotion for most people at this point — which is why I do try and deliver some of these debunkings in a wry and exasperated and humorous sort of way. I do find that humor can sometimes help it across the line, trying to meet people halfway rather than just standing up and being bullheaded and trying to shout them down. That’s never going win any fans at all. But I always do show my working out. I always do show where the evidence comes from. I do think that the truth is fundamentally important.

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 excesses, the politics of air-conditioning, ICE detentions, LA’s media myths, Juneteenth and U.S. travel fears, hometown highways, regime-change misadventures, MAGA culture wars, abortion and right-to-die debates, food safety, cannibalism lore, hot-pepper cuisine, and even Joe Rogan. It’s an unscripted, globe-spanning conversation that blends personal anecdotes, cultural commentary, and wry humor into an hour of eclectic Plutopian chatter.

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 understanding why people believe in the paranormal, emphasizing psychological explanations for experiences often attributed to ghosts, aliens, psychic powers, or past lives. Professor French joins the Plutopia podcast this time as we discuss his latest book, The Science of Weird Shit, Why Our Minds Conjure the Paranormal. Drawing from personal experience and decades of research, he outlines how cognitive biases, memory flaws, sleep paralysis, and suggestibility contribute to paranormal beliefs. Chris shares his transformation from believer to skeptic, discusses the challenges of testing paranormal claims, and critiques popular yet unsubstantiated phenomena like alien abductions and reincarnation. The conversation underscores the importance of critical thinking in an age saturated with misinformation, conspiracy theories, and entertainment masquerading as fact. Chris French: Like a lot of post-graduates, when I was doing my PhD, I used to teach in an adult education college in Leicester. I would give an introductory lecture on psychology and then say, “what topics would you like me to prepare lectures on?” I must have had so much time on my hands. And I’d go away and prepare a lecture just for the following week. I remember doing one on parapsychology that was totally uncritical, and I look back now and think — now they’re probably sitting there thinking, well, he’s doing a PhD, he must know what he’s talking about. I did not know what I was talking about at all. But it was during that period when I was doing my PhD that a friend recommended a particular book, called Parapsychology, Science or Magic. It was by James Alcock, a Canadian psychologist, and it was the first skeptical treatment of all this stuff that I’d ever read. And not only did I really enjoy the book, I also found his arguments very persuasive and that’s what opened my eyes to the wonderful world of skepticism.

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 rights abuses — even when official data is missing or manipulated. Beginning with his work in El Salvador during its civil war, Ball explains how statistical methods, including multiple systems estimation, have been used to identify patterns of violence, hold perpetrators accountable, and support truth commissions worldwide. He emphasizes that governments committing abuses rarely provide accurate data, so HRDAG has developed tools over decades to uncover the truth, even in the face of lies and obfuscation. While Ball’s own focus is mostly international, HRDAG increasingly works on U.S. issues like police violence, missing data, and systemic racism, using AI to process large volumes of testimony and documents efficiently but with rigorous oversight. Despite rising disinformation and political secrecy, Ball remains committed to defending truth with data, underscoring the moral obligation to witness and document state violence — cheerfully and persistently.  Patrick Ball: Governments that commit human rights violations do not generally provide us with data about it, so our methods have been developed over decades specifically to respond to government obfuscation. People who commit violence and, even more so, those who apologize for people who commit violence, always lie about it — always. My experience is not mostly in the United States. My colleagues at the Human Rights Data Analysis Group mostly work on U.S. issues now. I do not. I wrote that one paper and I don’t really work much on the U.S., I work in a variety of other countries. But our methods, the methods that we use to figure out what’s going on even when there is no official data, and in the face of official lies, are useful in all these contexts. And so if under your hypothesis is that the Trump administration is going to hide data, misrepresent arguments, lie about it, well, our methods will be very useful. Relevant Links Human Rights Data Analysis Group HRDAG’s page on police violence, including a link to “Violence in Blue” Structural Zero New Scientist interview of Patrick Ball by Wendy Grossman Wendy Grossman’s net.wars interview with Patrick Ball regarding correlation and piles of data   

In this wide-ranging Plutopia podcast episode, Dr. Neil Baer — television writer and producer, physician, and public health advocate — discusses The Promise and Peril of CRISPR, a book he edited that explores the ethical, medical, and social implications of gene editing. While CRISPR holds transformative potential to cure diseases like sickle cell anemia and beta thalassemia, Baer warns of a slippery slope when it comes to altering human embryos, raising difficult questions about disability, human variation, and who decides what traits are worth preserving. The conversation touches on potential abuses such as eugenics, designer soldiers, bioterrorism, and corporate exploitation, while also examining CRISPR’s impact on biodiversity, animal welfare, and transhumanism. Baer emphasizes the need for public understanding, strong ethical frameworks, and compassionate storytelling in navigating the complex intersection of science, identity, and politics in an era where scientific facts are increasingly challenged. Neal Baer: You know, evolution is so long, and this is what makes me nervous when we start to tinker with evolution as well. I’m not saying we shouldn’t have CRISPR to alleviate suffering. I think we should have CRISPR to alleviate the suffering of sickle cell disease or beta thalassemia or many other genetic diseases. Should we use it to get rid of these these diseases? Well I think there would be no one who would argue that Tay-Sachs is a good thing. But in our book, Ethan Weiss, who’s a cardiologist at UC San Francisco, has a child with albinism. And he says that he and his wife would have probably decided to abort had they known that she was carrying a fetus with albinism. But once their child was born — they can’t imagine life without her. So should we get rid of albinism? Should we get rid of Down Syndrome? This is the slippery slope of CRISPR. Relevant Links CRISPR Genetically modified organism Genus Genetically Modifying Livestock for Improved Welfare: A Path Forward Eugenics New Yorker article on people who feel no pain Michael Sandel, The Atlantic, “The Case Against Perfection” Hollywood, Health, and Society ER ER: Blizzard ER: Hell and High Water The Pitt St. Elsewhere Dr. Kildare The Boys From Brazil Gattaca Law and Order SVU: Selfish Law and Order SVU: Transitions JK Rowling’s essay explaining her views on trans issues Background image by Elena I Leonova, license: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International

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 Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE). Kamens, who had joined the U.S. Digital Service to serve the public, criticized DOGE for pursuing three main goals: profiting Musk and his allies through government contract manipulation; dismantling the federal government to remove constraints on elite power; and centralizing Americans’ personal data to support authoritarian control. In a revealing conversation on the Plutopia News Network podcast, Kamens discussed his career roots in digital activism, his work on early internet FAQ archives, and his dismay at the dismantling of functional government institutions. He warned of growing threats to democracy, including loyalty vetting for government hires, data misuse, and Project 2025’s goals, while holding out faint hope that economic backlash from Trump’s tariffs could galvanize public resistance. Jonathan Kamens: Doge is trying to do three different things. I think it’s important to lift this out of the weeds and to look high level at what the three things they’re trying to do are. The first thing is grift, right? They’re trying to steal money to benefit people like Elon Musk. You know, Elon Musk wants to rig how contracts are awarded by the government so he and Donald Trump can control who gets the contracts. And guess what? Funnily enough, a lot of those contracts are coincidentally going to go to Elon Musk’s companies and his friends, right? So that’s number one. Number two is they’re trying to destroy the government. I’m just going to be frank here. I’m not going to beat around the bush. I’m not going to equivocate. What Trump and Project 2025 are trying to do is destroy the federal government. It was Grover Norquist who said many years ago that he wanted to shrink the government down to a size that was small enough that he could drown it in a bathtub. These folks do not believe that there should be a federal government which constrains rich white Christian men in any substantive way. And therefore they are trying to destroy every aspect of the federal government which constrains them or their actions, which is most of the government, right? The whole, you know. And then the third thing they’re trying to do is they’re trying to amass all of the data that the federal government has on Americans in one place. Image background via Martin Grandjean. Copyright terms and licence: CC BY-SA 3.0 Links USDS 2024 report Michael Lewis: The Fifth Risk: Undoing Democracy Michael Lewis: Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service Repository of Usenet FAQs Project 2025 DOGE plan to rewrite SSA code Russell Vought Moshe Feinstein

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 fought to clear the way for open source software, encryption, security research, file sharing, and important new technologies. In the latest episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, Plutopians speak with Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), and Kevin Welch, President of EFF-Austin, about the history and evolving mission of EFF in defending digital rights. They discuss EFF’s ongoing battles against illegal surveillance, government overreach, and data misuse, especially under the second Trump administration. The conversation explores threats posed by the consolidation of government databases, the misuse of emerging technologies by law enforcement, and the need for decentralized, local activism. Emphasizing free speech, privacy, and the importance of empowering communities, the guests underscore both the urgency and the possibility of building a more just and secure digital future. Cindy Cohn: I take heart in the idea that we can change course if we want to. And we’re starting to see it. In some ways, the extreme moves of the second Trump administration have made a lot of people really recognize that they need to look for other ways. We hear from people all the time at EFF, just the list of people who want security trainings, who want to know how to use encryption, who want to know how to use technologies that stand with them and protect them has gone way, way up. And it’s not just human rights defenders and journalists who are always the canaries in the coal mine around these things. It’s a much wider range of people who want access to technologies that help protect them and that stand with them. Links The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) EFF-Austin Electronic Frontier Alliance Open Rights Group EDRi (European Digital Rights 404 Media on databases David Hume The Verge on the BEE AI pin US states setting up mini-DOGEs Ellen Ullman – Close to the Machine Global Internet Liberty Campaign Articles 11 and 13 of the Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market RightsCon

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. We also discuss gender roles, trans rights, political oppression, and much more. We dive into everything from gender roles and trans rights to political power, patriarchy, and the weirdness of independent media. Sandy shares sharp insights on how power imbalances shape our ideas about sex and gender, reflects on the resilience of the trans community, and takes some well-aimed shots at the forces trying to erase progress. It’s a wild, thoughtful, and deeply honest conversation—part personal story, part cultural critique, and all Sandy. Sandy Stone: When we talk about what is gender and where does it come from — one of the places — not the only place, but one of the places gender comes from, it’s a very powerful place — is from power imbalances. That’s a very strong way that in our society desire gets constructed, whether you know it or not, sexual tension. Anyway, that’s one way that we construct sexual difference, is through power relationships. And ultimately when I say that, what I’m getting back to is patriarchy, obviously, to the fact that most power structures are controlled by men, and therefore men generally get to say what sex and gender are.

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 growing threat of deepfakes. Kreth, an early media pioneer and former first employee at Wired Magazine, outlines his mission to address the lack of source verification in a world where AI-generated fraud, such as unauthorized use of likeness and voice, is on the rise. He explains how HAND provides persistent, consent-based identity verification to help authenticate public figures and their AI-generated replicas. The conversation ranges from the early days of online media and metadata management to the implications of synthetic media, AI ethics, and cognitive overload in the post-internet age. Kreth emphasizes the need for robust identity frameworks, content provenance, and media literacy, drawing on examples from entertainment, technology, and cultural history to illustrate the urgent need for tools to preserve authenticity in a digitally manipulated world. Will Kreth: The threat of deepfakes is the number one thing that captures people’s attention. So, why does what I do matter – as a piece of the solution, of the provenance of the source verification, of the verifiable credentials of the individual? We provide a free to search and match, persistent, no-expiration-date unique [ID standard] to identify the [media] object – the person, and then a parent-child relationship to their replica — [created] with their consent. So, while there are many companies who’ve raised quite a lot of money to use AI to detect deepfakes, there are fewer companies engaged in the necessary work around source [provenance] verification — of what is real, and what is [created] with consent. In a world where fraudsters and scam artists and others have been appropriating, if not fully stealing, people’s name, image, and likeness (their NIL), their name, version, and [likeness], and sometimes their voice, which is even a more scary and dangerous area.

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 this week to elect new members of Parliament, the Trump administration’s ongoing attacks on Canadian tariffs and trade loom large. Michael describes how Trump’s aggressive rhetoric and trade policies have unified Canadians, strengthened national identity, and fueled a widespread desire to disengage economically from the U.S. He explains that while Canada has long relied on exporting resources like minerals, oil, and grain to the U.S., Trump’s actions have triggered a re-evaluation of these ties. Canadians are increasingly wary of American politics, committed to preserving their universal healthcare system, and prepared to resist any attempt at annexation. Tobis also highlights the deep cultural and economic interconnections between the two countries, the vulnerabilities created by globalization, and the stark contrasts in political stability, health care, and social safety nets. The conversation expands into broader concerns about trade, climate change, and the unpredictable impacts of populist movements, ultimately emphasizing that Canada’s relationship with the U.S. has been irrevocably altered. Michael Tobis: Nobody was kicking them out of Greenland. Nobody’s kicking them out of the north of Canada. Nobody was saying you guys can’t have our minerals. What we live on is shipping you guys our minerals. That’s why we’re a prosperous country. It’s because you guys want our minerals and we ship them. You want our grain and our oil and we ship them. What we’ve learned is that we’ve abandoned our manufacturing sector and a lot of the high-tech sector to America. And now that we’re saying, and I really can’t overemphasize how widespread this is. People do not want to do business with the United States.

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 family. Taking a break from years of intense corporate work, he embraced remote working and launched a new business aimed at helping people become entrepreneurs through acquisitions. The journey—covering 49 states so far—offered him deep connections with people from all walks of life, reinforcing his belief that most Americans are decent and not as divided as portrayed by the media. Along the way, Ray reflected on personal milestones, explored the country’s natural beauty, engaged in meaningful civil discourse, and promoted a shift toward more sustainable, community-focused, and cooperative ways of living and working. I met hundreds of people. I’ve spent two hours in a hardware store in Custer talking to a gentleman. I’ve spent times sitting at the bar eating a steak with someone I’d never met. Artists studios in Maine and you name it. I’ve met all kinds. We might have certain leanings, but I didn’t meet the radicalized segment that the media focuses on. It was not present. I found that really encouraging and inspiring, really. And that was a great part of the trip, just meeting that many people and seeing how close we really are. If we just take the time to spend more time together talking to each other as opposed to exchanging comments on Facebook or social media.

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 rooms and mixed with care. He reflects on how his creative process has shifted from striving for perfection to playing music for personal joy and healing—especially in a world marked by stress and political turmoil. Along with performances of politically charged and heartfelt originals like “For All” and “Free America,” Axon shares thoughts on activism, artistic authenticity, and the challenge of promoting his work in a noisy media landscape. The conversation touches on the state of democracy, judicial resistance, and artistic expression as a form of protest and comfort. The episode blends music, insight, and wit, spotlighting how art remains a powerful response to uncertainty and despair. Axon: I guess one of the things that we can talk about is a little bit what’s sort of changed with my process. I really become not working at it to get better, but playing at it to feel better. That’s working for me. If you’re playing music just for the joy that it gives you, proficiency just comes along for the ride. That’s been my approach to that, but it made me lazy with the shameless self-promotion stuff. That’s not going to happen on its own. You’ve really got to do some lifting on that. I’ve been out there flogging it like a Mormon with Amway. Axon on Bandcamp Axon on Soundcloud Axon on YouTube

British author and cartoonist Daryl Cunningham has created a graphical biography of Elon Musk, originally published in France under the title Elon Musk, Investigation into a New Master of the World, and now set for English release in September 2025 as Elon Musk, American Oligarch by Seven Stories Press. The book traces Musk’s evolution from his South African roots to his current controversial role as a powerful, far-right tech figure. Cunningham initially struggled to find an English-language publisher, attributing the resistance to fears of legal pushback and Musk’s political influence. On this Plutopia News Network podcast, Cunningham discusses his approach to graphic nonfiction, comparing it to visual documentaries that simplify complex subjects without dumbing them down. While he acknowledges Musk’s work ethic and capacity for stress, Cunningham is deeply critical of the billionaire’s growing authoritarian tendencies and government dependence. He places Musk within a broader pattern of ultra-wealthy individuals using power and media to shape public perception and weaken democratic norms. The conversation touches on science denial, billionaire influence, global authoritarian trends, and Cunningham’s upcoming book focused on the figures surrounding Donald Trump, including Steve Bannon and the Heritage Foundation. Throughout, Cunningham emphasizes the importance of defending truth, science, and democracy in an increasingly chaotic political environment. Darryl Cunningham: I started off the book admiring some qualities about him. His drive, his ability, his flexibility, his thinking – he’s indefatiguable in his work – he’s got an incredible work ethic. Not just what I think, other people who’ve worked with him said that he can deal with levels of stress. That’s almost his superpower, really. But obviously the dark elements of his personality as he’s got richer and more powerful have come to the fore. And those things I really dislike. Tesla or SpaceX wouldn’t exist without intervention by the US taxpayer, the US government, at crucial points in their existence. It’s as simple as that, really. He’s the biggest welfare queen out there.

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 committed to protecting all forms of speech, Levy balances this ideal with the progressive values of his organization. He only takes cases when the speech is legally defensible and advancing the case could help set a broader legal precedent. Throughout his career, Levy has developed legal strategies, like the influential Dendrite test, to protect anonymous online speakers from frivolous or strategic lawsuits intended to silence them (SLAPP suits). He warns against threats to online speech, such as efforts to dismantle Section 230 protections, and emphasizes the need for libel insurance for content creators. Despite the growing challenges posed by powerful individuals, corporations, and shifting legal standards, Levy continues to advocate for robust protections of free expression in the digital age. Paul Alan Levy: I like the idea of protecting speech of all kinds, even if I potentially disagree with it, although I’m constrained by the fact that I work for Public Citizen, which is a progressive organization which isn’t always happy with my defending speech with which some of my colleagues at Public Citizen disagree. Beyond that, the question is whether the plaintiff has a tenable claim and whether – for all sorts of claims that may be made against speech, there are degrees of validity and degrees of protection, and I have to assess two things, really. First of all, is the speech legally defensible? And will defending the speech in a particular instance help advance the law by making it easier for other speakers? And really, both conditions have to be met for me to take a case. Links: Tom Lehrer: “Smut” The Dendrite case Links to others of his cases at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Alan_Levy Carole Cadwalladr’s SLAPP case British Chiropractic Association vs Simon Singh net.wars on the Singh win on appeal “If Your Tivo Think’s You’re Gay, Here’s How to Set It Straight” Cory Doctorow’s postings on enshittification Serious Trouble

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 the IRS. The committee, known as the Church Committee, was chaired by Idaho Senator Frank Church and was part of a series of investigations into intelligence abuses in 1975, dubbed the Year of Intelligence. The University of California in Berkeley held a seminar on intelligence agency abuses and political assassinations in April 1975. One of the highlights of the UC Berkeley seminar was a lecture by political scientist, author, and researcher Dr. Peter Dale Scott. I was fortunate to have been invited to record the lectures. In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, you’ll hear the full lecture by Dr. Scott. This recording from my archives is now 50 years old. You should listen to this as an example of what can happen when a government uses its intelligence agencies to mislead or harm its citizens. Some of the statements may be outdated or debunked, but Dr. Scott presents a vivid account of extreme misconduct by U.S. intelligence agencies. With that in mind, we present Dr. Peter Dale Scott’s lecture in its entirety on the Plutopia podcast as we take a look back at the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

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, and in July she’ll release a novelization of the Ultraman UltraSeven series. Pat joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss the evolution of the cyberpunk genre and its real-world implications. She reflects on her early influences, the tribal nature of cyberpunk’s rise, and how the genre has shifted from fiction to reality, particularly in the realms of corporate control, surveillance, and digital culture. The conversation covers the increasing relevance of cyberpunk themes, from AI and hacking to political and social upheaval. Cadigan also shares insights on the interplay between technology and human experience, drawing parallels between cyberpunk fiction and contemporary challenges such as privacy concerns, economic instability, and political manipulation. The discussion closes with thoughts on the future of cyberpunk and its continued impact on storytelling and society. I didn’t really know very much about what was going on. I knew that I’d read Bill Gibson’s fiction and I loved it, and it was just the type of thing that piqued my interest and made me think good thoughts, creative thoughts. I forget whether it was Bruce Sterling or John Shirley who said that – I think John said this was a tribal thing, more than anything. And that we were people who were baby boomers – we’d grown up at more or less the same time. We came of age. We were the first generation with mass media and with travel that could be accomplished within a scarily short amount of time. Relevant Links Authors William Gibson Bruce Sterling John Shirley Pat Murphy Rudy Rucker Tom Maddox Cory Doctorow Greg Bear Robert Sheckley Publications Mirrorshades Mondo 2000 BoingBoing James Ball, The Other Pandemic Naomi Klein, Doppelganger Andrea Matwyshyn – research on the Internet of Bodies Cambridge security engineer Ross Anderson Television Paradise Max Headroom

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 shift, and the mainstream media’s rightward drift. She critiques the lack of foresight in policy decisions, highlighting mass firings at the IRS and attacks on birthright citizenship. The conversation touches on grassroots movements like the 50501 protests, resistance efforts, and economic instability under Trump’s administration. Suzy and the Plutopians express concerns about political and corporate overreach, the suppression of dissent, and the erosion of democratic institutions, drawing parallels to historical authoritarian takeovers. Despite the grim outlook, they emphasize the importance of collective action and independent media in resisting authoritarianism. Suzy Shelor: Everything has just been done with a hatchet. I mean, there’s no thought of – I think they’ve probably spent more money closing things down than they would have if they’d just gone through each institution for a year or so, and weeded out that way, but they’re just cutting it. I mean, the IRS just lost 5,000 people in tax season. Nobody thought this out. For all of their “We have this great plan 2025,” nobody thought about consequences. These people, MAGA people just never think about consequences. They think they have the right to say whatever they want to say, and they do, but there are consequences.

Arts and Entertainment Company Meow Wolf creates large-scale interactive and immersive art installations. They recently opened their fifth installation in Houston. Austin based hardware and software developer, Alan Watts, created many of their custom interactive devices, database driven platforms, and animation software. Alan joins us this time on the Plutopia podcast to discuss his work. Photo of installation at Meow Wolf Santa FeAlan details the extensive technical infrastructure behind Meow Wolf’s installations, emphasizing the complexity and cost of maintaining them. Watts shares insights into his creative process, including how he integrates hardware and software to develop engaging, often retro-inspired experiences. He also highlights the importance of accessibility and sustainability in Meow Wolf’s evolving approach. The conversation touches on the broader themes of creativity, digital art, and the evolving role of technology in immersive storytelling. Alan Watts: You see maybe 10% of the work on the outside at Meow Wolf. And you go behind the scenes and look at the server rooms and the documents and the schematics and the one line diagrams. It’s like, oh my God, there is this like – before anything even begins production, we’ve done interactivity matrices. We’ve built out diagrams and it’s kind of amazing to see how much work goes into these and then just sustaining them too is incredibly expensive because this is stuff that’s gonna break and it’s tech and it’s very expensive to maintain. And to have the staff to do that requires that we hand things off when we’re done. So we have to hire people, and train them, that have a certain technical knowledge to be able to fix things on their own. And we’re a company of a thousand people now, across all of our locations. So it’s a beast now, it’s truly a beast. DJ Megahertz at Meow Wolf Houston

Plutopians are joined by EFF-Austin president Kevin Welch. Elon Musk’s team of alleged geniuses continue to disrupt many U.S. government agencies. With that in mind, we discuss Musk’s disruptive influence on U.S. government agencies, democracy, and the rule of law. Our conversation explores how Musk’s unqualified team is recklessly dismantling government technology systems, leading to security breaches, mass layoffs, and data misinterpretation, with concerns over IRS and Social Security databases. The discussion also highlights the long-standing complexities of government software, the dangers of centralized data collection, and the erosion of institutional trust. The hosts reflect on the broader implications of these changes, including the loss of privacy, potential financial manipulation, and the risks of unchecked executive power in an increasingly unstable political landscape. Kevin Welch: It all has very much the feeling of a fishing expedition – they don’t necessarily know what they’re looking for, they’re just looking, and then when they find stuff, they take things out of context to justify continuing to look. If I take them at their word, they’re claiming they found proof of fraud – oh, there’s the same persons in the system multiple times. Dead people are getting tons of money. By the way, I am sure that is happening to a certain degree because there’s no way a system that sprawling, that old, with that much data that you can’t just delete – some of it may not be right. I’m sure to a certain extent it is happening. Hell, reports have been put out under previous administrations identifying some of this problem. But what’s happening is a highly selective window narrative is being built here, combined with people who don’t have the technical expertise to truly know what they’re looking at.

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network Podcast, we discuss how AI is revolutionizing healthcare by empowering patients to take control of their medical decisions. Our guests, Dave DeBronkart (e-Patient Dave), Gilles Frydman, and Hugo Campos are advocates for patient autonomy and participatory medicine. We discuss how AI enables patients to interpret complex medical data, such as clinical notes and lab reports, without relying solely on healthcare professionals. AI can also aid in critical thinking, allowing patients to explore multiple medical possibilities and interventions. Our discussion highlights the balance between AI’s potential and the responsibility patients must take in navigating healthcare decisions, emphasizing the need for AI literacy to maximize its benefits. e-Patient Dave deBronkart: Access to information was a huge limiting factor in how much we could do, and that has changed a lot. There was an article about patients using AI in the New York Times this summer, and it said Google is like a librarian, but AI gives you access to clinical thinking, clinical thought and it has just caused an explosion in the things that people can do. A trivial example is when I get back from a doctor visit now – because of open notes and federal policy I’m allowed to read all the gobbledygook that the doctors put in the computer, and what I do is I copy paste that into ChatGPT and I say “summarize this, what are my action items” and it digests the whole thing and says here are the problems you worked on today here’s what you’re doing about it and here are your next steps.

This episode of Plutopia News Network’s podcast features hosts Scoop Sweeney, Jon Lebkowsky, and Wendy Grossman discussing skepticism, trust, and current societal issues. We explore the erosion of trust in air travel following recent accidents, accessibility concerns for disabled passengers, and broader vulnerabilities in government systems and infrastructure. The conversation shifts to concerns about the concentration of power among elites, the influence of tech billionaires, and the role of social media in shaping public trust. They also touch on movements like 50501, an emerging decentralized protest effort, and the importance of fostering genuine communities amid increasing polarization. Ultimately, they question how to rebuild trust in institutions and media while emphasizing the necessity of engaged, local communities. Links Angela Saini, Superior: The Return of Race Science Angela Saini, Inferior: How Science Got Women Wrong and the New ResearchThat’s Rewriting the Story Douglas Rushkoff: Survival of the Richest 50501 Movement 50501 on Reddit Dark Wire, by Joseph Cox. Wendy’s review at net.wars: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2025/01/27/review-dark-wire/ Tracers in the Dark, by Andy Greenberg. Wendy’s review at net.wars: https://netwars.pelicancrossing.net/2023/05/16/review-tracers-in-the-dark/ USWeb Plutopia interview with Amy Bruckman

Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, a leading expert on electronic voting systems, discusses the vulnerabilities and shortcomings of modern voting technology, particularly the reliability of voter-verified paper ballots and the risks of electronic voting machines. She emphasizes that cryptography alone cannot secure elections and argues that paper ballots must remain the definitive record for vote counting. Mercuri recounts her role in election security, including her dissertation on electronic vote tabulation, her involvement in the Bush v. Gore case, and her testimony on voting system integrity. She highlights the intentional flaws in electronic voting procedures, the potential for fraud or miscounts, and the general lack of public awareness about verification processes. The conversation also explores broader concerns about cybersecurity, digital forensics, and the dangers of increasing reliance on electronic systems without sufficient backup measures. Rebecca Mercuri: There are many states where what they do is provide you with the paper ballot and you put the dots in where, or X’s or whatever they tell you to do. On your selection and then very few places count them manually. But again, the paper would be available for a manual counting, but then it’s usually scanned. But that is a voter-verified paper ballot. It’s a paper ballot that you verified by virtue of you making the selections in there. But they also say, the excuse I hear from election officials is that well, it would be very expensive for us to print out all those ballots. They said, but you’re printing them out anyway. Every person is getting a printed paper ballot. So why is it any more or less expensive? The quantity of paper is identical because whether you’re voting absentee or you’re voting in person, you’re getting a paper ballot. So why not just print it out? But again, this is part of, I refer to it as the charade. It’s the charade of voting. The idea is that we want to make everyone feel that they voted and feel that their vote was counted. And that it’s available for a recount in those places that want to be able to do that. Links Rebecca Mercuri’s Electronic Voting Website Link to Dr. Mercuri’s Dissertation Dr. David Chaum’s Cryptographic Voting Methods Bruce Schneier Cryptogram 12/15/2020 Bruce Schneier’s website UK Post Office Horizon scandal Plutopia interview with Susan McCarthy: The Crowdstrike Apology

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, British immunologist David Miles discusses his book How Vaccines Work and considers the science of vaccines, viruses, and the societal impact of vaccine misinformation. The conversation covers the role of vaccines in combating diseases like COVID-19, polio, and avian influenza, as well as the challenges posed by anti-vaccine narratives fueled by figures like RFK Jr. Miles highlights the importance of sourcing accurate information and the evolutionary mechanics of viruses. The episode also touches on the broader implications of vaccine hesitancy, the economic impact of diseases, and the enduring mystery of viruses like HIV and the common cold. Listeners are encouraged to approach vaccine-related decisions critically, relying on credible resources. David Miles: If somebody has reservations or questions that’s completely reasonable: yes, having a steel needle stuck in you or your child is going to make you think twice about that. But if you go looking for answers, think carefully about where you’re getting that information from. There are organizations like Voices for Vaccines, for example, that give very good information. There are also a lot of people who will give very bad information. And I’m not naming names here because we’ll be here all night. It’s make sure that you’re getting your information from one and not the other.

On this Inauguration Day episode of the Plutopia podcast, we discuss the past, present and future of democracy. We also acknowledge the return of Felonious Trump, the 45th and 47th President of the United States. Our friend Dr. Roy Casagranda joins the podcast as we examine the incoming Trump Dream Team and its possible impact upon the nation. We discuss the potential challenges of the new Trump administration, from appointing incoherent and narcissistic officials to managing (or mismanaging?) critical issues such as NATO, tariffs, immigration, healthcare, climate change, and the economy. The conversation reflects skepticism about Trump’s leadership capabilities, critiques the global and domestic consequences of his proposed policies, and explores the broader dysfunctions of U.S. governance and consumer culture. The episode ends on a somber yet slightly hopeful note, urging action amidst an uncertain political and environmental landscape. Roy Casagranda: The problem is the narcissistic maniacs that he’s appointing to the government are the kind of backstabbing guys who don’t have a coherent plan, they don’t have a coherent policy, they don’t know anything. That’s one of Trump’s problems is that he just doesn’t understand things. I bet he doesn’t know Canada and Denmark are NATO members. I bet he doesn’t know that Greenland belongs to Denmark so that if you attacked Greenland you would effectively be going to war with NATO. I don’t even know what’s supposed to happen if a NATO member attacks a NATO member because Article 5 says if any state attacks a NATO member all the other NATO members are instantaneously or automatically at war. There’s no need for a declaration of war. So I don’t think he can neglect his government of narcissistic maniacs. I think he’s going to have to be there. And I can see them just really making a mess of things too. So it’s possible that this will be okay. We’ll have an incoherent four years where the United States basically is just sort of frozen and paralyzed, where the president is randomly threatening to attack this country and that country and the other country. It wrecks the US’s reputation globally but honestly I don’t know how much lower it can get anyway – we’re close to bottom.

Jon and Scoop consider various political and societal issues, centering on Donald Trump’s potential second term as U.S. president, the constraints of governance, and the role of systemic friction in tempering political ambitions. The Plutopians highlight misunderstandings around Trump’s perceived ability to operate outside the established political framework, emphasizing the persistence of institutional processes. We touch on societal divides, tribalism, and the challenges of coalition-building in a polarized country. Broader themes include the evolution of technology and its impact on media, data privacy, and artistic expression, with tangents into topics like AI’s influence, music industry economics, and the importance of maintaining connections to the natural world amidst digital chaos. The episode is punctuated with humor, nostalgia, and personal anecdotes, reflecting a mix of skepticism and resilience in navigating modern challenges. Jon: It’s not like the doors just open wide for him and the light’s shown and he can just step right in and do whatever the fuck he pleases. So people need to get over that and the problem with that, the problem with feeling that way is that you kind of open up that reality a bit more than it really should be open. We should understand that the people in the USA matter and that it’s really about us. It’s not about the government, it’s not about Donald Trump, it’s about us. Scoop: Well, the whole problem with Trump is he has the same problem a lot of our generation has. His memory is fading. He forgets the problems that he created for himself in Trump 1.0. When he promised all these grand things and the reality stepped in and said, no, you can’t do that, there is a process. And it’s hard, when you deal with a government, it is really hard to escape the process.

This time on the Plutopia podcast, we turn on our time machine and take you back to 1979. King Crimson guitarist and founder Robert Fripp was touring with his Frippertronics real-time tape looping device. He performed shows at UC Berkeley and Mabuhay Gardens, San Francisco’s premier punk venue. Following those shows, Ed Ward and Scoop Sweeney interviewed Robert Fripp and this restored from tape interview. Frippertronics, an innovative real-time tape looping technique, enabled Fripp to create layered, meditative soundscapes that defied conventional rock performance norms. The conversation explores Fripp’s unconventional approach to performance, emphasizing audience interaction and dismantling the typical performer-audience hierarchy. Fripp reflects on the economic and artistic challenges of touring, contrasting his intimate and improvisational Frippertronics shows with the larger, more commercial King Crimson tours. His insights into performance dynamics, audience influence, and the tension between art and commerce offer a unique perspective on the evolving nature of music and live performance. Thank you note from Robert Fripp to Scoop. Robert Fripp: It’s ironic that this particular way of touring, if I were doing it on a purely financial level, really funny, we’re doing so much more money than King Crimson. Touring, I reckon, touring in a three-month form. I could earn as much as I earned from King Crimson, so I’m just saying. Touring with King Crimson took years. I think I earned $3,000, which was one tour in the spring in 1972, when it was known that the band was going to break out. So the booking agency didn’t take it seriously and bought this in a small venue. And I made $3,000, maybe two, two or $3,000 from that tour. That was the only time I ever made money from it. The statistics were, one, by the time the band finished July the first night, the average cost for us playing was $5,000 a night. That’s what it would cost. The average earnings were $5,000 a night. So over six years, with the exception of this one tour, I would have earned nothing. I could earn $3,000 probably in a week, here – I have minimal expenses. Relevant Links Guitar Craft/Guitar Circle Discipline Global Mobile (DGM) Featured photo by Jim Summaria. Creative Commons license: CC BY-SA 3.0

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, communication coach and author Michelle Gladieux discusses her book Communicate with Courage: Taking Risks to Overcome the Four Hidden Challenges. She highlights the importance of communication skills, vulnerability, and ethical influence, providing practical strategies for improving personal and professional relationships. Gladieux shares insights on overcoming challenges like rationalizing the negative, settling for good enough, and striving for perfection while emphasizing the value of failure as a learning tool. Drawing from decades of experience, she offers actionable exercises to help individuals communicate more effectively and courageously. The conversation also touches on leadership, conflict resolution, and the transformative potential of brave and intentional communication. As far as we know, this is a one-way ticket. And we should share what we’ve learned. We should share about ourselves. We should care about what others think. And we should stand for what we think is right. And we should try to do it without being a jerk. So I think we all need communication skills, constantly polishing verbal and written and listening skills. And I think also we all have a message to bear based on our experience. So I wanted to give people a short book. I kept it around 140 pages or so because I know we’re all busy. But I wanted to take about 25 years of coaching and teaching at the college level and consulting and see what I could do for those people who aren’t going to enroll in a communication class in a college or go to a workshop. Maybe this was a way they could raise their game.

Cybersecurity expert Ahana Datta discusses the complexities and evolving nature of cybersecurity, touching on topics like the “security-insecurity paradox,” the challenges of defending against nation-state actors and private hackers, and the vulnerabilities of critical infrastructure, including healthcare systems and Internet of Things devices. She explores the role of AI in both offensive and defensive cyber strategies, the importance of user education, and the persistent risks associated with unsecure systems like email and voting technologies. The conversation also addresses the increasing sophistication of cyber threats, the trust deficit in technological and institutional systems, and the potential of emerging solutions like passkeys to improve security. Ahana emphasizes the need for robust, scalable defenses and collective efforts to mitigate the ever-growing risks in cyberspace. Ahana Datta: So there’s this thing called the Security-Insecurity Paradox and it’s based on the quite classic approaches to stable relations in geopolitics but it applies to cybersecurity as well which is that the more you attack systems inside the space and the more defenses you apply to prevent future attacks the cost of launching new attacks becomes more and more expensive. So if you follow this arms race scenario to its extreme, then certainly it will keep intensifying and will be within the domain of a few very well resourced actors and probably mostly nation state players. Link: “Trust, interdependence, and power in cyber statecraft” by Ahana Datta

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, we explore the evolving dynamics of online interaction, contrasting the personal connections fostered by early online communities with the algorithm-driven experiences of modern social media platforms. Hosts Jon and Scoop reflect on the history and challenges of digital networking, touching on the influence of major tech companies, the manipulation of user attention for profit, and the need for genuine human connection amidst societal polarization. We discuss alternatives like Bluesky and The WELL, emphasizing the value of curated, meaningful interactions over the chaos of mainstream platforms.

This time on the Plutopia podcast we explore an immigration crisis, not the one you might think, but one that occurred almost 50 years ago. We focus on the 1975 Operation Babylift, a controversial airlift of Vietnamese children, many labeled as orphans, during the final days of the Vietnam War. The event garnered international media attention, but questions arose about the true status of the children, with many reportedly having living parents or extended families. Critics argued the operation served political and publicity motives for the U.S. and South Vietnamese governments rather than pure humanitarian goals. The discussion also explored broader issues of international adoption, cultural dislocation, and the use of immigration policies for political leverage, drawing parallels to ongoing debates about immigration and refugee crises. This historical reflection emphasizes the complexities and potential exploitation in global humanitarian efforts. Relevant Links https://www.operationreunite.com/ https://www.adoptedvietnamese.org/

Dr. Ann-Marie Wilson, a psychologist and senior research advisor with the Orchid Project, joined the Plutopia podcast to discuss her extensive efforts to combat female genital mutilation (FGM). Drawing on over 30 years of experience and a profound moment of epiphany during aid work in Darfur, Dr. Wilson described her journey from corporate HR to becoming a leading advocate against FGM. Her activism has contributed to making FGM illegal in countries like Sudan and Somalia, though she emphasized that legislation is only the first step in addressing this deeply ingrained cultural practice. Dr. Wilson highlighted the importance of engaging entire communities—including religious leaders, healthcare providers, and families—to create sustainable change. She shared stories of resilience, progress in Africa and Asia, and the challenges of countering entrenched beliefs, stressing the need for education, group advocacy, and global collaboration to eradicate FGM worldwide. Ann-Marie Wilson: I do believe strongly that without passing a law you’ll not really ever get anywhere. So I think that actually passing the law is a good start because at the moment in any of these countries we could talk about Sudan, we could talk about Somalia, we could talk about Nigeria but the same model is correct. And actually while we did this project, one of our research projects, into let’s have a look at the law in each country and we did that project across all the 28 countries in Africa to start with – we also then added the diaspora which is a technical term for the places from where somebody comes and carry on the practice that could be UK, could be the US, could be France, Germany, etc. And if you start to squeeze a problem from those both angles you start to see – oh, actually, we can make a difference. Links: Overcoming: My Fight Against FGM by Ann-Marie Wilson On the origins of FGM Wendy Grossman’s writeup of last year’s Disinformation Summit: https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/cambridge-disinformation-summit/

Our Thanksgiving episode of the Plutopia podcast features Tiffany Lee Brown, a writer and interdisciplinary artist, and Jane Hirshfield, an award-winning poet and essayist. Tiffany is also an astrologer, Tarot reader, and the creator of the Burning Tarot podcast (see tiffanyleebrown.com). We talk about staying sane during turbulent times, fostering genuine dialogue, and addressing fears that polarize communities. Jane reads her poem “Let Them Not Say,” reflecting on environmental and societal accountability, while Tiffany discusses embracing deep emotional journeys and finding common ground. The group explores building resilience, fostering gratitude, and creating meaningful communities amidst media-driven division. Insights on navigating fear, love, and shared human connection underscore the thoughtful discussion.

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, Jaye Robinson, a multifaceted professional with experience as an attorney, navy diver, and AI specialist, joins Jon and Scoop to explore the societal and ethical impacts of artificial intelligence. The conversation considers the challenges of copyright law in the age of Large Language Models, the mechanics and limitations of AI systems, and the broader implications of generative AI on labor, privacy, and propaganda. Robinson also shares his unique career journey from law to AI, offering insights into how AI tools are reshaping various industries, including healthcare and transportation. The discussion is peppered with philosophical musings, anecdotes about technology’s evolution, and humor, making for an engaging exploration of AI’s place in our increasingly interconnected world. Jaye Robinson: You collect a lot of text that is relevant to what you want this large language model to understand and these general purpose large language models basically just want a lot of things that people have written. Ideally things that people have written well and ideally things that are – yeah copyright is spun there. Ideally every original work of authorship is covered by copyright as soon as it’s committed to a tangible medium. But what those copyrights are varies from work to work and how long they last. It depends on whether you’re Disney in which case they last forever or just a person in which case they last until Disney can steal it. So copyright applies to everything people have written. Copyright is untested waters as compared to what machines have written.

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, engineer Lee Felsenstein shares his experiences with the Homebrew Computer Club, a pioneering group of technology enthusiasts in Silicon Valley during the early days of personal computing. Felsenstein debunks the myth that the counterculture was solely responsible for the personal computer revolution, describing a diverse group of members, including engineers, doctors, and entrepreneurs. He reflects on the organic development of computing and his role in designing the Osborne 1, the first mass-produced portable computer. Felsenstein also discusses the broader social and community impact of technology, his efforts with the Community Memory project, and the role of online networks in shaping modern communication. As the podcast wraps up, he shares insights on open-source, decentralized platforms as potential alternatives to corporate-driven social media. Lee Felsenstein: This myth has developed that the hippies made the personal computer with the Homebrew Computer Club. No. There were hippies there, a few. There were some psychedelic rangers. There were more doctors, physicists, physicians who should have been engineers. There was, as I put it in the book, the usual batch of dweebs and slobs that populated Silicon Valley. There were the guys with white shoes who said, you know you can make money on this. Everybody said, okay, well, maybe show us. But it was quite a mixture of people. Lee’s just-published new book is called Me and My Big Ideas – Counterculture, Social Media, and the Future.

In this episode of the Plutopia News Network podcast, Dr. Roy Casagranda shares his insights on the 2024 election, expressing concerns about Donald Trump’s authoritarian leanings and his potential to undermine democratic principles if re-elected. Comparing Trump’s rhetoric to that of historical authoritarian figures, Casagranda suggests Trump’s repeated claims, such as the election being “stolen,” are part of a strategic manipulation of public opinion, similar to tactics used by dictators. He discusses the troubling alignment of some Americans with Trump’s vision, attributing it to various societal and cultural factors, including xenophobia, racism, and the appeal of simplistic, nostalgic narratives. While acknowledging the influence of media and education on public consciousness, Casagranda also points to the weakened state of democratic institutions and the country’s polarized atmosphere. He warns of potential violence and civil unrest, regardless of the election outcome, underscoring the possibility of a divided America facing ongoing challenges to its democratic fabric. Roy Casagranda: Trump has said he’s going to go after his enemies as soon as he becomes president. And he’s suggested that the military could be used like the National Guard could be used. And he said that if people vote for him in this election, it will be the last election you will participate in. And he has said on day one he’s going to trash the Constitution. Like he’s telling us every single thing you need to know just like Hitler did in Mein Kampf. All you had to do was read the book to know what he was going to do because he told it. And he repeated it, by the way, over and over and over again because he believed if you repeat the big lie over and over and over again, eventually people will start to believe it just like Trump does when he talks about the election was stolen. And so the parallels between him and Hitler are definitely there. I don’t think he’s as smart as Hitler was. And by the way, just for the record, I actually don’t think Hitler was particularly smart. I think people tend to overvalue his intelligence. Almost every decision he made in World War II cost Germany the war.

In The Web We Weave, Jeff Jarvis discusses the tensions between traditional mass media and the rise of the internet, emphasizing how the web has provided a platform for diverse voices that were previously sidelined. Jarvis argues that mass media, traditionally dominated by older, established institutions, has struggled with the democratization of information, often reacting with resistance and moral panic as public discourse shifts online. He explores historical cycles of media-driven moral panics—from novels to video games—and critiques the persistent control exerted by powerful interests over public narratives. As a media critic and academic, Jarvis champions internet freedoms and cautions against homogenizing voices in the age of AI. He advocates for a decentralized media landscape where information is more community-driven, resisting the monopolistic tendencies of both old media and tech giants. Jeff Jarvis: With The Web We Weave, I’m kind of looking at what comes after mass media. You’re right. And the problem for mass media is they resent the hell out of it. They were in charge of everything. They had hegemony over all that we saw and read and they can’t stand that there are voices who were always there. They’re not new voices, but voices who couldn’t be heard before because they weren’t represented in mass media. And so my theory about the internet is that it enabled these voices to at last have their stage, their microphone, and big old mass media run by old white men who look like me have resented it. And so that bleeds into the coverage of the internet. Now media have had many moral panics over the years starting with novels, which were going to destroy women’s morals, and on to Nickelodeons when the Chicago Tribune editorialized against them because they were doing horrible things to the city of Chicago; to film, to radio, let’s not forget the telegraph, too, and then also obviously television and video games and rock lyrics and so on.

Joanna Price, a public librarian with an interest in community-building, discusses the dynamics of building resilient and compassionate online communities. She critiques large social media platforms, like Twitter and Facebook, for fostering alienation and trolls. Joanna shares her vision for smaller, more intimate communities of around 100 people that grow naturally without heavy promotion. This, she believes, reduces the likelihood of bad behavior while fostering kindness and individual empowerment. Moderation is seen as key, emphasizing compassion over punitive measures. She draws inspiration from early internet communities, such as the WELL, and discusses how her proposed new community, Elm’s Bright, seeks to create a positive, intergenerational space focused on shared learning and real-world activities. Joanna Price: On the Internet, we’re very aware of trolls, right? Folks who do come in to intentionally cause trouble. And one of the goals of the kind of community that I’m envisioning is that it’s 100 people max, it probably starts out with somebody and some people they know, right? Either on the internet or in real life and it expands in a less dramatic, advertised way, right? In a sort of natural way that makes it less likely that you will get explicit trolling. But were that to occur, that would I think fall under the bad acting notion of – we just ban them. And, you know, I say we ban trolls and I think I don’t want to suggest that there’s no place for dark humor or fun, right? Like there’s a difference between when we say trolling and we can mean a few different things – sometimes we’re talking about what is essentially making jokes and that’s one thing. And sometimes we’re talking about stuff that’s a lot darker and a lot worse than that.

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, writer and cyberculture celebrity R.U. Sirius discusses the evolution of Mondo 2000, a groundbreaking magazine he co-founded that blended tech, art, and psychedelics. Sirius reflects on its origins, transitioning from High Frontiers and Reality Hackers, exploring how psychedelic culture intertwined with early tech innovation. He recounts Mondo 2000’s unique style, challenges with censorship, and how it navigated the countercultural landscape. Sirius also shares anecdotes about collaborations with figures like Timothy Leary, the cyberpunk movement, and the media’s shift to digital culture. I was watching a show called Science 2000. And it was all the most recent tech and science at that point in 1988 or 1989. And it was supported by advertising for something called Furnishing 2000. And I floated into Queen Mu’s bedroom and I said, “Let’s change the name and use 2000 to sell stuff.” And she immediately said Mondo because somehow she was imagining what the logo would look like. And she thought that would make for a really good logo, which was true. So there you have a rather trippy but a very opiated origin of becoming Mondo 2000. Coming soon from R.U. Sirius in collaboration with Shira Chess: Freaks in the Machine: Mondo 2000 in Late 20th Century Tech Culture. With a foreword by Grant Morrison.

Ken Flippin, a seasoned Texas political consultant and activist, has launched the Green Wave PAC, a political action committee aimed at promoting environmentally conscious political campaigns. Also focused on supporting public school advocates and ousting pro-voucher Republicans, Flippin’s PAC targets local races with the potential to sway the Texas House in favor of more progressive, community-oriented candidates. His broader vision includes ensuring that newly elected officials are well-prepared to tackle complex environmental issues in legislative sessions, and ultimately fostering joy, creativity, and agency in both local and statewide communities. Ken Flippin: If you don’t have somebody that can walk you through, like if you end up on environmental reg or any of the committees that involve the environment (of which there are four), it’s hard to navigate all those issues. So the point of the PAC is, because I’ve been working in environmental policy for some time, to help them prepare, before the session and then during the session, for that. The house seats that I’m targeting all are public school supporters that are trying to oust pro voucher Republicans. And there’s about five or six across the state that we have a chance of winning. And what I’ve heard is that we can win three and we’ll be able to stop vouchers. Support Green Wave Pac by buying Texas Blue Swag! Green Wave image by Chet Gipiti.

Glenn Smith is an author, activist and political consultant. He is not a fan of the conservative fanboys pushing the so-called “Great Replacement Theory.” Glenn also finds little to admire when they worship strongman dictators. In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, Glenn critiques the insecurity among white men driving far-right movements, highlighting how fear of losing status or resources pushes them toward authoritarianism. He emphasizes the dangers of populism and the misconception that dictators will only harm others, pointing out that history shows otherwise. He also touches on the current political climate, discussing efforts to undermine democracy, the role of activism, and the importance of legal battles in defending democratic principles. Glenn Smith: How did so many European white men get so insecure? I mean honestly, in all of this country’s – from deep insecurity that somebody’s gonna take something they have away from them, they can’t compete with people in certain ways. I don’t really don’t know what it is, but it drives this need to dominate so they don’t have to fret about losing to somebody else every day of their lives. It’s a sad thing to see. They pretend that they do this out of strength, but really it’s out of a very unflattering weakness I think in the men who really begin to believe and to act in those ways. People seem to think that if they get a dictator it’s only going to be a dictator over those people they don’t like. They’re going to stay free, of course, but this dictator is only going to mess with people they already don’t like and it never, in history, has worked out that way. Ever. The people who think they’re getting the kind of dictator leader they want always wind up being just as victimized as anyone else under such leadership. You’d think people could like you learn it in high school, learn it in junior higher middle school, not fall for it over and over, but they sure do.