Freedom Matters

This week we welcome Rebecca Seal. Rebecca is an author, journalist and occasional TV presenter. Her book, SOLO: How To Work Alone (And Not Lose Your Mind) was mostly written in 2019, before the pandemic, but became a bestseller when it was published in 2020. It has now been translated into multiple languages and is available worldwide. In this episode we dive into philosophical and practical advi...

This week we welcome Dr. Shamsi Iqbal. A Principal Researcher in the Modern Work Transformation Org in Microsoft, Shamsi is on the frontline of research, investigating productivity, attention and the future of work. Most recently her work has focused on redefining productivity in the new future of work, introducing novel ways of being productive through leveraging micromoments, and balancing produ...

This week we welcome Alex Pang, advocate of the 4-day workweek. Alex has spent two decades studying people, technology, and the worlds they make. A Silicon Valley-based futurist and consultant, he is also the best-selling author of Shorter: Work better, smarter and shorter - here's how , Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less , and The Distraction Addiction . A growing number of businesses...

This week, we welcome Chase Warrington. Chase is the Head of Remote at Doist, a pioneer of distributed work that specializes in productivity software. He is responsible for developing and executing Doist’s remote work strategy, co-located events and advocating for the future of work on behalf of the company. He has worked remotely for over 12 years, as one of Doist’s 100 employees in 35 countries....

This week, we are sharing with you an episode from the JOMO(cast) podcast. In this abridged version we hear host Christina Crook discuss with Albert Borgmann his concept of Good Burdens. Born in Germany in 1937, technology philosopher Albert Borgmann has seen technological transitions and upheavals unknown to many. Throughout his long life, he’s studied and written about the impact of technologica...

This week, we welcome back Catherine Price, founder of ScreenLifeBalance.com and author of How to Break Up With Your Phone and The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again. In this light-hearted episode, we explore what exactly 'fun' is and talk about how to make space for more of it in our lives! We cover: Why you may well feel dead inside, and how fun can make you feel alive How technology can get...

This week, we talk with with Anna Lembke, a clinician scholar and leading global expert in addiction. Anna recently appeared in the Netflix Documentary, The Social Dilemma , and in August 2021, released the book Dopamine Nation , exploring how to moderate compulsive overconsumption in a dopamine-overloaded world. Her view is that, for many of us, our technology use is contributing to our pleasure-...

This week, we talk with with Oliver Burkeman. He is the author of " Four Thousand Weeks ", a book about making the most of our radically finite lives in a world of impossible demands, relentless distraction and 'productivity techniques' that mainly just make everyone feel busier. It’s a longer episode than usual because it is packed with wisdom. We discuss: - Oliver’s understanding of ‘productivit...

Do you sometimes feel like you are not in control of your day? Before you realise it, your plans and time have been hijacked by a diversion and you don't know why. If so, you are not alone. This week, we speak with Adam Alter, author of Irresistible and Drunk Tank Pink . He is a social psychologist and expert in the effects of subtle environmental cues on human cognition and decision making. In th...

If habits are meant to be useful, why then do we form bad ones? And just how can we resist the hook of technology, to be indistractable? This week we're in conversation with Nir Eyal. Nir is the author of two bestselling books, Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products and Indistractable: How to Control Your Attention and Choose Your Life. Nir previously taught as a Lecturer in Marketing at the...

Is the internet making us stupid? What is the difference between information and knowledge, and just why is attention so important? This week we're in conversation with Nicholas Carr. Nick is an acclaimed writer whose work focuses on the intersection of technology, economics, and culture. In 2008, he wrote an article for The Atlantic entitled "Is Google Making Us Stupid?"  His subsequent book...

What can an award-winning Hollywood composer teach us about productivity? In this episode, we welcome Jack Wall. Jack is known for his epic scores for dozens of leading video games including Mass Effect , Myst , and most notably, Call of Duty - the largest interactive entertainment property in the world. A multi-time BAFTA and ASCAP award nominee, he writes for the supernatural drama TV series Sha...

What if we didn't just treat work as a series of sprints, but our whole life? What if we applied the same process of reflection that we do at the end of our projects, to our whole life? In this episode, we welcome John Zeratsky, a co-founder and general partner at Character, where he supports technology startups with capital and sprints. He is the bestselling author of Sprint, Make Time , and form...

What if we did something that scared us every single day? How would that reset our perspective on life? What could we achieve? In this episode, we welcome Holly Ransom, an expert in disruption and future leadership. As the founder and CEO of Emergent, she helps individuals and teams formulate the questions to find their strategy for making effective change. Named one of Australia’s 100 Most Influe...

What if laziness doesn't exist? What if it is just a social construct, that is getting in the way of us all living our best lives? In this episode, we welcome Devon Price, the author of the books Laziness Does Not Exist (with Simon & Schuster) and the forthcoming Unmasking Autism: Discovering the New Faces of Neurodiversity (with Penguin Random House, out next year). They are a social psycholo...

How important is place when we think about deep work? Why is inspired rest so important, and how can we find it? In this episode, we welcome Alicia Navarro, a serial tech entrepreneur with a passion for product, brand, design and culture. In 2007, Alicia founded Skimlinks, which she grew to a $50 million a year global business and which in 2020 was acquired by Connexity. In 2018 she stood down fro...

How do objects inspire action? And are smartphones really the right tools to get our tasks done? In this episode, we welcome Kaiwei Tang. Kai is the co-founder and CEO of Light, and his Light Phone is leading a grassroots revolution against our overconnected digital culture. He believes that the right technology tool can empower us to be our best selves and to appreciate our lives more. Light Phon...

"A.I. is everywhere. Jobs are being automated. Algorithms run your life. What are you doing about it?" (excerpt from Futureproof by Kevin Roose) In this episode, we welcome Kevin Roose, an award-winning technology columnist for the New York Times and the New York Times bestselling author of three books: Futureproof , Young Money and The Unlikely Disciple . He has also hosted Rabbit Hole , a New Yo...

What are Good Burdens? Why do we need them? And what is the relationship between laziness, love and technology? In this episode, we welcome Christina Crook, a leading voice in the field of digital well-being. As the author of the award-winning book, The Joy of Missing Out, and the leader of the global #JOMO movement, she interviews other mindful tech leaders as the host of the JOMOcast and leads t...

Is being in nature the antidote to the negatives of technology use? Or does technology have a place to enhance our experience of nature? In this episode, we welcome Jenny Tough, an endurance athlete and adventurer, and Alex Roddie, nature photographer and explorer. Jenny is currently working on a global challenge to run, solo and unsupported, across a mountain range on every continent. Alex is a l...

Many people blame distraction in the workplace on tools like email and Slack. Would our life be improved if we just took those tools away?  Unfortunately the answer is not so simple... In this episode, we speak with Cal Newport, computer science professor at Georgetown University and a New York Times bestselling author of seven books, including Digital Minimalism and Deep Work . His work focu...

As the world switches to hybrid working, many of us are having to learn how to manage our space, time and demands now that we work from home. But authors have been doing it for decades. What is the secret to success? In this episode, we welcome Joanna Rakoff, the author of the international bestselling memoir My Salinger Year and the novel A Fortunate Age, winner of the Goldberg Prize for Fiction,...

The data is inconclusive. Conflicting studies will paint very different stories about the relationship between technology and the mental health of young people. This episode hopes to bring some clarity to the situation. In this episode, we welcome Larissa May, founder of Half the Story , a global not-for-profit, whose mission is to empower youth to engage in technology with intention. Time, Forbes...

Technology is getting a bad rep. In fact, gaming is a super-food, productivity itself is 'toxic', and urban geography is more to blame than iPhones when we consider the challenges of society today. In this episode, we welcome Jocelyn Brewer, a Sydney-based registered psychologist with a special interest in the psychology of technology and staying human in a digital age. In 2013 she created Digital...

Can AI know our children better than we do? What are the signs of mental health problems online? And is it right that technology should be the first to spot them? In this episode, we welcome Doug Kaufman, the founder and CEO of Vertroos Health, which has created Nika. Nika is a tool to help parents identify mental health challenges in their children by decrypting their online activity. Doug, who h...