Cloud Civilisations

This is Clicks & Capital, a five-part series from the archives recorded in November 2023, exploring the role of digital technologies in individuals’ finances. I spoke with Anna Rohmann about her PhD research on this.  *** In this first episode, we explore what inspired Anna's research: the GameStop short squeeze in January 2021, where retail investors on Reddit challenged Wall Street hedge fun...

In this second episode, we look at how social media has affected financial literacy. Platforms and finance influencers (or Finfluencers) have changed how people learn about finance, lowering barriers to financial knowledge and redefining who financial ‘experts’ are. Digital content like memes also play a role in socialising people into financial subjects. *** This is Clicks & Capital, a five-p...

In this third episode, we discuss FinTech apps and how they influence people’s perception & relation to finance. By considering the physical or embodied experience of FinTech apps, we consider their additional effects on individuals. We explore how the glitzy promise of new technology is seen to positively democratise financial wealth for the people; however, this may still result in power ine...

In this fourth episode, we address how social stratification—such as gender, race, and class—has historically shaped inequality in retail investing and financial literacy. We focus on gender and discuss what forms of ‘FinTech Feminism’ are out there currently. While it aims to empower women and promote financial inclusion, there are potential downsides to this trend. Like inadvertently exposing ma...

In this fifth and final episode, we delve into crypto finance—an alternative to traditional monetary systems driven by decentralized blockchain technology. Crypto has proven to attract investors with wide-ranging ideologies around value creation, including some users viewing it as a hedge against existing financial structures. We also explore how decentralized finance (DeFi) challenges traditional...

This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics. In this final episode, I speak with Max Roberts about his project on artists who use live coding in their music performances. Max has a background rooted in anthropology but has since worked across education, healthcare and tech. While gaining extensive experience in produc...

This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics. In this 8th episode, I speak with Gabriella DeMaio about her project on Virtual YouTubers (aka 'VTubers') who work on Twitch, and how labour transforms in digital spaces. Gabriella is a digital anthropologist and cultural insights researcher with an interest in virt...

We’ve reached Episode 7 of my Mastering the Digital series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research projects. The popularity of astrology online initially inspired this week’s guest to embark on her research project exploring the magic of the online realm and spirituality in the Internet age. I spoke with Eylül Bombacı, a researcher, anthropologist and editor; pre...

This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics. In Episode 6, I spoke with Rugun Sirait about her project on the use of sound on TikTok. Rugun is a freelance researcher with an interest in various forms of media and modalities, including documentary films, sound, music, and social media. In her spare time, she also does...

Can digital technologies help us care for our loved ones? This is one of the big questions discussed on the newest podcast episode of my Mastering the Digital series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research projects. In Episode 5, I talk to Hugh Knapp about his project on how technologies in the home are used by family members to care for their loved ones living w...

Can humans form emotional connections with chatbots? Well, in the case of Replika, “the AI companion who cares”, they have certainly been shown to do so. This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics. In Episode 4, I speak with Jiqing about her project on this generative AI chatbot application originally released in Nov...

Why is there such a craze for pets on social media? In this short and sweet bonus episode from the archives recorded a year ago, I chat with Cheng Meng about Chinese users’ consumption of pet-related social media content. Meng is a multilingual business anthropologist currently working at a consumer tech company. According to a Xinhua article published earlier this year in June, 2022 saw more than...

This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics. In this 3rd episode, I speak with Zachary Cannon about his project on the impact of digital tools on contemporary music. He focuses on how music makers (singer/songwriters, audio engineers, DJs…) in London create, distribute, consume and perform music. Some key takeaways: D...

This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics. In this second episode, I speak with Helen Robertson about her project on the emerging field of ‘Grief Tech’. She dives into how Artificial Intelligence is being used to ‘re-animate’ people after they are no longer physically with us. Some key takeaways: StoryFile, the tech...

This is the ‘Mastering the Digital’ series, where digital anthropologists and I deep dive into their diverse research topics. In this first episode, I speak with Disha Shanbhag about her project exploring how flexible working conditions affect international students in London . Her research was driven by her interest in the intersection of technology and labour. Some key insights: Digital technolo...

A bonus episode to wrap up 2022 and kickstart the new year: today I'll be sharing some findings from a mini ethnographic group project as part of our master's programme on the use and consequence of smartphones. Specifically, this episode will focus on how mobile health (aka mHealth) tracking practices have affected how these international young adults understand their bodies.  Our participan...

In this episode, I chat with Nishi about online fan communities or 'fandoms' of pop stars. This topic is extremely broad and diverse, so this is just a shallow first dip into this fascinating world. This includes both the positive unifying forces of community building across global borders, as well as the more sinister aspects of parasocial relationships and the blurred moral accountability of inf...

The fifth and last episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy. **Note: This episode was originally published Nov 28 2022, but was re-uploaded due to a...

The fourth episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy. Alessia and I talk Covid-tracing apps and the essential 'Green Health Code,' while unpacking he...

The third episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy.  Steven and I talk ‘Runology’ aka 润学 (rùn xué). What even is ‘Run Philosophy’? How did th...

The second episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy. Candice and I dive into the different roles of the compound (i.e.-gated residential neighbourho...

Join host Yung Lo as she explores ordinary human experiences of the extraordinary digital world with guests. Approx. every two weeks, usually on the weekend. Let’s dive into the humanly digital.

The first episode of the Digital X Dynamic 0 series, where guests and I explore different digital aspects of our experiences during the heavily restricted 2022 Shanghai city-wide lockdown, imposed officially from April until June as part of the Chinese government's national "dynamic zero-COVID" policy. Selina and I reminisce about life under arguably the world’s strictest lockdown: how the highly...