Plutopia News Network

Plutopians Jon and Scoop converse with Bruce Sterling, renowned for his cyberpunk novels. The discussion delves into Sterling’s interests beyond cyberpunk, including industrial design, steampunk, Frida Kahlo, and space exploration. Sterling shares insights on the evolution of the Viridian Design Movement and its impact on addressing climate change, albeit with limited success. He reflects on his e...

David Miles, a British immunologist, joins the Plutopia podcast to discuss vaccines and vaccine hesitancy, sharing insights from his book, How Vaccines Work . The conversation covers the history of vaccine development, from artisanal methods in the 1930s to modern techniques. Miles addresses the current skepticism towards vaccines, explaining that while no vaccine works perfectly for everyone, the...

Investigative journalist James Ball is no stranger to bullshit. In his 2017 book, Post Truth: How Bullshit Conquered the World, he explains how the political left and right tend to exist in an ecosystem of bullshit. James is also author of The Other Pandemic: How Q-Anon Contaminated the World, which explores the pervasive nature of misinformation and conspiracy theories (aka “bullshit”...

On this episode of the Plutopia Podcast, Jon and Scoop discuss current politics, the charm of vintage sci-fi movies, and the importance of reducing social media usage. They reflect on the shift in political conventions from dynamic debates to predictable events and lament the loss of genuine political discourse. The conversation also touches on the influence of the Heritage Foundation, the cultura...

Nate Wilcox has many opinions and he is not afraid to use them all. Nate joins the Plutopia podcast this time as we discuss politics, politicians, and other dangerous predators. Nate is a former political consultant turned MMA blogger (noting the similarity of politics to mixed martial arts). He’s publisher of “The MMA Draw Newsletter” and “Let It Roll” podcast (the l...

Ian Forrester, a member of the BBC’s R&D Advisory Team, focuses on open innovation and disruptive opportunities, working with startups and early adopters. With a history at the BBC World Service, Ian’s role evolved from traditional news development to anticipating future broadcasting and Internet challenges. His team addresses core issues relevant to public service broadcasters, emphasizing t...

In this episode of the Plutopia Podcast, the hosts revisit an interview with the late Stanton Friedman, a prominent nuclear physicist and UFO investigator who lectured extensively on his research into UFOs. Friedman argued that governments conceal information about UFOs to maintain nationalistic divisions and prevent public unification as earthlings. He emphasized the significant evidence supporti...

In this episode of the Plutopia Podcast, Jon and Scoop discuss the origin of the name “Plutopia” as well as the organization, and its connection to digital convergence. We also discuss the importance of democratic principles. Jon delves into the history of the Plutopia News Network, while Scoop shares his passion for analog technology. They touch on political issues, including conserva...

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, hosts Scoop Sweeney, Wendy Grossman, and Jon Lebkowsky have an open discussion without a guest, considering what’s buzzing at the moment. The conversation touches on various topics, including being a dilettante versus a specialist, the misuse of AI in solving policy problems, and the influence of technology on participatory medicine. They also discuss...

Contemporary media artist Patrick Lichty returns for another conversation with Plutopians Scoop and Jon. In this conversation, we discuss the current state of digital art. Pat is a Contemporary Media Artist, educator, professional writer/researcher, expert in Augmented/Virtual Reality/Drones, public speaker, and curator. He is a Herb Alpert/CalArts fellow, a TED Global exhibitor, and his writing o...

In this episode of the Plutopia Podcast, hosts Jon and Scoop engage in a wide-ranging discussion covering various topics, including the ongoing ransomware attack at Ascension Seton hospitals, solar flares, science fiction, billionaire bunkers, and QAnon conspiracy theories. They also touch on the upcoming debates between Joe Biden and Donald Trump, speculating on Trump’s debate tactics. The...

ACLU Senior Policy Analyst Jay Stanley joins the Plutopia podcast this time. Jay works with the ACLU Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project, where he researches, writes, and speaks about technology-related privacy and civil liberties issues. The ACLU is very involved in legislative advocacy. We have a team here in Washington of lobbyists who work with Capitol Hill and federal agencies to try to s...

Madeline Bocaro describes herself as a passionate fan of rock music. In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, she explains her passion for all things rock and roll. We also explore her ultimate biography of Yoko Ono, In Your Mind: The Infinite Universe of Yoko Ono. I just saw a picture of her in a magazine in 1967. It was a picture of her in front of a frame of one of her films. And I just thought...

In this episode of the Plutopia podcast, hosts Jon Lebkowsky, Wendy Grossman, and Scoop Sweeney discuss with guest Mike Nelson, a senior fellow at Carnegie Asia, the evolution and impact of the internet and encryption policies. Mike shares his journey from being Al Gore’s science advisor, contributing to legislation that allowed public internet access, to his current focus on technology policy at...

This time on the Plutopia podcast, our evil alien overlords, Jon and Scoop, talk about their favorite science fiction films and TV series.

Filmmaker Friedrich Moser is on a crusade for truth. His new film “How to Build a Truth Engine” features investigators from the fields of technology, journalism, folklore and neuroscience who show that if you can hack the information feed, you can hack somebody’s mind. Friedrich Moser: Anything that happened in the world would become the cornerstone of a new conspiracy story, lik...

In her new book, Rebel Health: A Field Guide to the Patient-Led Revolution in Medical Care. , Susannah Fox focuses on the health care needs of patients and caregivers. She points out the need for better communication and networking for anyone who has difficulty navigating the American healthcare system. Susannah Fox: With all of the technology that we have now, at the base of it, it’s really...

On the March 21st Plutopia Livestream, woke Plutopians discussed the financial woes of that orange-haired politician, the Biden impeachment hearings, RFK Junior, student loans, the University of Austin, South by Southwest and much more. “I think it was a sock puppet…”

David Gans has a long history of making music, writing about music, and broadcasting music. He recently added a new entry to his musical résumé, teaching “Psychedelia and Groove: The Music and Culture of the Grateful Dead,” a continuing studies course at Stanford University. But what I proposed was a class that was going to be very, very loosely structured. And I said, “Here are...

Jen Persson is director of the UK Civil Liberties Group, Defend Digital Me. She campaigns for a safe, fair, and transparent collection of children’s data in education and elsewhere. What happens when you start collecting school records is that they’re about children, but those records age as the people do, and now we have a record of about a third of the UK population who have been in...

This time on the Plutopia Podcast, Jake Dunagan joins us as we explore the future of governance and democracy. This podcast is from the Plutopia Live webcast on 2/22/2024. Jake is Director of the Governance Futures Lab at the Institute for the Future. More information here: https://www.iftf.org/people/jake-dunagan/ Jake Dunagan: As much as it is anathema to my values, the MAGA wing has shaped the...

This time on the Plutopia podcast, we investigate Texans’ love affair with high school football. Football culture… Capture the energy of high school football in Texas, and you could power a planet. A view of Texas from space on any Friday night in-season could be blinding – those Friday night lights at football stadiums across the state. We talked about the game and the culture o...

Moira Meltzer-Cohen has provided legal services for persons arrested in the course of justice struggles, including Indigenous communities and social movement groups. Moira Meltzer-Cohen: I mean, it doesn’t just contribute to greenhouse gases, right? I think that might be sort of the thing that everyone is most aware of. But the pollution, the environmental degradation, the mutagenic potentia...

Dr Richard Bartle is Honorary Professor of Computer Game Design at the University of Essex, UK. He co-created the first virtual world, MUD or multi-user dungeon, a progenitor of the Massively-Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game industry. His 1996 Player Types model has seen widespread adoption by MMO developers and the games industry in general. He’s the author of Designing Virtual Worlds a...

Renshin Bunce is a Soto Zen Buddhist Priest who received Dharma transmission in 2013. She worked as a hospice chaplain from 2010 until she retired in 2022. Her latest book is Remembering Myogen Steve Stücky. Renshin Bunce: The impetus for the book was, I am, as you said, a Zen teacher. And Steve Stücky died ten years ago. At the time of his death he was one of the Abbots at San Francisco Zen Cente...