Device & Virtue

When Wired magazine started, they did the weirdest thing a tech magazine could do—they picked a patron saint. Was Marshall McLuhan a digital prophet? Chris interviews Nick Ripatrazone, author of Digital Communion: Marshall McLuhan's Spiritual Vision for a Virtual Age (2022). Nick is the Culture Editor for Image and a Contributing Editor for the Catholic Herald . Find out why McLuhan, in his mid-20...

Do you use Slack at work? Is your email inbox overflowing? Has any of this tech made our work better? Workplace tech has grown a lot… from memorandums to fax machines to email to Slack! So are we all more efficient? Or more overwhelmed? Workers check their email every 6 minutes. Slack users check it every 5! How do we get anything done? Do we just send messages to show our boss that we’re working?...

The war in Ukraine has tanks in the streets, but don’t miss the invisible weapons— hackers from both sides are launching online attacks. Chris & Adam ask a really subtly perplexing question: is digital war violence? BIG TOPICS INCLUDE This episode floats into all sorts of things: The 31 year old digital marketer that has become the tech mastermind behind Ukraine’s digital offense and defense S...

Author Tony Reinke thinks Christians have made a wrong turn with technology, and he is out to steer us right. We’re coming along for the ride. We interview Tony Reinke, author of the new book God, Technology, and the Christian Life , exploring how humanity’s innovation relates to God’s purposes. You don’t want to miss this conversation! IN THIS EPISODE… Why Tony thinks non-Christians will be innov...

CELEBRATING 50 EPISODES 50 technologies. 50 arguments. 50 episodes. After 6 seasons, we’re celebrating with clips from our greatest hits. Get ready for flashbacks. We dug into the archives, and dusted off a handful of clips that have stuck with us, going all the way back to Season 1! We add some updated thinking and reflect on why these episodes were chart-toppers for us. Plus, sample some episode...

New! We are launching www.patreon.com/deviceandvirtue and have a goal to have 50 listeners become brand-new members of our DV crew! We need you! (And join by May 2 for a special bonus!) Special message from Adam + Chris: "Hey there! We love our listeners! You're smart. You notice the tech around you. And you know that our mission has always been to "argue" about the wrongs and rights of technology...

Does he use Alexa in his own house? We've got a interview with the founder of Alexa, Jeff Adams. MORE QUESTIONS INCLUDE What’s the story of how Alexa came about? How does your faith affect your work in technology? What are the next big things coming with voice technology? PLUS, CHRIS & ADAM DISCUSS: Are we good at predicting the next big technology? (seems like… no) How the first automobile re...

SHOULD WE PUT OUR MONEY WHERE OUR PRAYER IS? How do you pray? In the morning? With friends from church? How about with your smartphone? Millions of people already are, and paying a subscription to do so. And Big Tech thinks you will too. Are Prayer Apps good for the soul? Adam and Chris dive into the spiritual, and financial, realities of Prayer Apps and this new pay-to-pray world. We do everythin...

LIVING WITH AN IMMANENT SENSE OF THE DIGITAL Felicia Wu Song is a Christian sociologist who says digital natives aren't as native as we think. Is there any hope for the rest of us? She says, yes. Chris interviews Dr Felicia Wu Song about her new book Restless Devices . She explains her belief that our digital routines and habits are themselves forms of discipleship. She says they not only form our...

WHOSE EXPERTS? WHICH INFORMATION? Doctors and scientists have fallen on hard times. Experts are facing a crisis of trust, and we think technology is a major factor. We explore why on this episode of Device & Virtue. Chris proposes how elders, priests, and magicians gave way to the modern expert, how digital media has led to the expert’s decline, and who is rising up in their wake. Meanwhile, A...

Sometimes a new technology comes along that you’ve barely heard of but could change everything. Like how we OWN things. Adam & Chris are putting the fun in Non-Fungible Tokens—the relatively new digital tech also known as “NFTs” OWN THE NFT FOR THIS DEVICE & VIRTUE EPISODE Are we kidding? No! You can buy the NFT for this very episode! CHECK IT OUT HERE CHRIS & ADAM ARGUE ABOUT NFTS The...

Well. Facebook has announced that their new name is Meta. As in “metaverse.” As in a science fiction nerd-term becoming reality. As in—is this our future?? Chris & Adam laugh and raise eyebrows as they watch Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement of what he thinks future life will be like for relationships, work, and play. What does a virtual reality life offer that life today doesn't? Is this bad? Go...

Meet a new smartphone that can’t install apps, doesn’t have Facebook, and that’s why people want it. Does it make life better? Adam interviews Chris Kaspar, founder of Techless and maker of the Wisephone, aiming to change how people relate to their most personal device. They talk about digital addiction, parenting, smartphone self-control, and more. Then, in the post-interview discussion, Chris an...

Is my smartphone listening to me? Too many creepy stories are out there about suspiciously perfect ads appearing after just a conversation with a friend! So Adam starts getting a little paranoid and tries an experiment with some friends. Then he brings It to Chris to prove that our phone’s microphones have to be spying on us. Welcome to the world of digital marketing which is still right in front...

Ever seen a Bible professor wear virtual reality goggles? Dr. Darrell Bock is well known in the Biblical scholarship world—he is a past President of the Evangelical Theological Society, New Testament Professor at Dallas Theological Seminary , and pastors know his commentaries on Luke & Acts. But today we interview him about a pretty different topic: the future of the church in a post-pandemic...

Do you wear a FitBit? Fitness trackers are producing more data than ever. But how useful are all these charts and graphs? We dig into the spreadsheets of the Quantified Self to see what kind of person we can find in the numbers. Meanwhile, as Big Tech companies hoover up data about our resting heart rates, body-fat percentages, and sleep habits, is our own privacy being threatened? Finally, we ask...

Why you have to trust in order to know. Learn more about "Lateral reading" sourcing and more with this video series that Chris recommends: https://thecrashcourse.com/courses/navigatingdigitalinfo Skip the argument with our new Short Circuit format! Adam or Chris grabs the mic for a more personal reflection on technology & faith. These shorter entries are a bonus to our full-length episodes. En...

From disinformation to polarization, we hardly know what to believe anymore. And knowing who to believe isn't any easier. Chris and Adam talk thru the marks of conspiracy theories, and how moderation of social platforms may need to get more personal, not less. And how does our Christian faith impact this all? Doubting Thomas and how Paul talks about mystery cults— all packed in to this one TALK BA...

This week Adam sits down to talk about finding Upgrades in an expected place: The Book of Genesis. Skip the argument with our new Short Circuit format! Adam or Chris grabs the mic for a more personal reflection on technology & faith. These shorter entries are a bonus to our full-length episodes. Enjoy! TALK BACK Follow Device & Virtue on Instagram and Twitter . Follow Chris and Adam on Twi...

Can we live more genuine, compassionate, and focused lives online? Well-known Christian author Andy Crouch joins his daughter Amy Crouch for a fascinating conversation on living My TechWise Life: Growing Up and Making Choices in a World of Devices Amy’s book is a follow up to the The TechWise Family by Andy Crouch : and the family Amy grew up in! Now a junior at Cornell University, she writes her...

The COVID-19 vaccine might be the technology of the year. But what is it about some new technologies that fuels fear? And where is faith? And are Chris & Adam going to get the vaccine? “If I get the COVID vaccine, am I failing to trust God?” Some Christians will be asking themselves this question. The vaccine has arrived faster than anyone could believe, and more effective than most doctors da...

Chris takes 5 minutes to talk LED lights for Christmas and what makes them special. Introducing our new Short Circuit format! Skip the argument. Adam or Chris grab the mic for themselves to make any point they want about technology & faith. These short sidebars are in addition to our full length episodes. Enjoy! TALK BACK Follow Device & Virtue on Instagram and Twitter . Follow Chris and A...

Is social media manipulating the world? People are talking about this new scary documentary on Netflix, so Adam and Chris did movie night and are ready to talk it out. (We recommend you watch it first, but you don't have to!) Watch the trailer on YouTube right here. Adam & Chris talk through the The “Psychology Dilemma” — Does social media cause psychological harm? The “Disinformation Dilemma”...

So the founder of GrubHub—the original guy who started the app from his Chicago apartment—just gave us a call. Here’s what he thinks about the ethics of what he made—in this interview with Device & Virtue . Order some takeout, and listen while you wait. When Mike Evans started GrubHub in 2002, he was doing more than helping you find your next meal. He was seeking to change the game for small b...

Food delivery didn’t start with pizza. It’s as least as old as the Bible. But ordering food is now easier than ever. Food delivery apps are transforming how we find food and consume it like never before. Transforming not just the making and eating, but also space and time. Food has a story and a history. And even a theology. How will food delivery apps shape them all? For Christians, whose faith f...