The Critical Media Studies podcast discusses the interplay of technology and culture from an academic perspective. In each episode we consider the work of a prominent thinker in the field of critical media studies and discuss the implications of their work in relation to other thinkers and in light of current social contexts.
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#109: Rachel Bitecofer -The Whole World Is Getting Dumber (And The Smartphone Did It.) (00:44:36)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Rachel Bitecofer’s substack article, “The Whole World is Getting Dumber (And the Smartphone Did It.)” We question whether her solution of banning smart phones from the classroom will make much of a difference or if we just have to go “scorched earth” on technology to regain our attention and focus.
#108: Alberto Romero - AI Video Should Be Illegal (00:51:56)
In this episode we discuss Alberto Romero’s Substack article on AI video. While Romero argues that perhaps we should seek legal remedies to the problems of deepfake video, Barry and Mike consider an alternative. They discuss the issues that deepfake video brings to the fore and wonder whether the problems caused by deepfake technologies can be resolved by law or if these technologies should be engaged pharmacologically.
Alberto Romero - The Most Important Skill in the 21st Century (00:45:42)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss “The Most Important Skill in the 21st Century,” Alberto Romero’s polemical defense of boredom in the media entertainment age. They discuss whether it’s possible to be bored today in the way that Romero seems to require.
#106: Bernard Steigler - Elements of Pharmacology, pt. 2 (00:32:35)
This is part two of our discussion of Bernard Steigler's "Elements of Pharmacology". This time, Barry and Michael focus on Stiegler's discussion of the unique challenges posed by new digital 'pharmaka.'
#105: Bernard Steigler - Elements of Pharmacology (00:31:33)
This week on Critical Media Studies, Barry and Michael discuss Bernard Stiegler's "Elements of Pharmacology," a transcription of an interview with the French philosopher from June 2020, just two months prior to Stiegler's passing. This episode focuses on Stiegler's exposition of his key term "the pharmakon" and the defining role it plays in his media theory.
#104: Juan Fontcuberta and the “paper-hankie picture” (00:52:16)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss “The Eye of God”, chapter 2 of Juan Fontcuberta’s book, Pandora’s Camera. They reflect upon the impacts that the shift from analogue to digital photography and consider whether the digital image “kills us just as much as it gives us life
#103: Fontcuberta - Pandora's Camera (00:55:48)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Juan Fontcuberta’s “Pandora’s Camera” (2014). They discuss his take on Barthes and Kracauer’s theories about the relations between photography, philosophy, modernity, and existence.
Andre Bazin - Ontology of the Photographic Image (00:52:38)
In the “Ontology of the Photographic Image,” Andre Bazin makes the provocative claim that the invention of photography is "clearly the most important event in the history of the plastic arts." At the same time, Bazin questions our naïve faith that the photographic image is just as real as the object that it depicts. He goes on to provide an alternative history of painting and photography, highlighting the ways we value mechanical agency over human creativity. In this episode, Barry and Mike discuss Bazin's essay and also consider how the digitization of images has further altered "the history of the plastic arts." We hope you enjoy it!
#101: Heidegger - The Thing, pt. 2 (00:49:54)
This is the second of two discussions of Martin Heideger’s essay “The Thing.” Please see episode #100 for the first installment, which set the table (jug joke) for this discussion. In this episode Barry and Mike focus on Heidegger’s notion of “nearness” and the “thingliness” of the jug/thing.
#100: Heidegger - The Thing, pt. 1 (00:37:54)
In this episode Barry and Mike begin their two-part discussion of Martin Heidegger’s 1949 lecture, “The Thing.” They focus on his concept of distancenessless as a unique problem of modernity and discuss how what he calls nearness might serve as an antidote.
#99: On Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Artificial Intimacy (00:48:20)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss the idea of “frictionless” relationships in the age of artificial intimacy. ErikaHayasaki – “What Would a Real Friendship With A.I. Look Like? Maybe Like Hers?The New York Times Magazine 7/20/2025TED Radio Hour -- How our relationships are changing in the age of “artificial intimacy"Friday, August2, 2024
#98: The Re-enchanted World - Karl Knausgaard (00:42:51)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Karl Ove Knausgaard’s article, “The Reenchanted World: On Finding Mystery in the Digital Age.” They examine Knausgaard’s proposed solution to the problem of the separation of knowledge from experience in an increasingly technological world.
#97: AI in Art. A follow up to the Rob Horning discussion. (00:35:17)
In this episode Barry and Mike continue their discussion of the place of AI in art. They experiment with Suno and discuss the results. You can listen to those results at the links below. Barry's Tomatoes Barry's Tomatoes as Rock and Roll
#96: Rob Horning - No One's Version (00:48:21)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Rob Horning’s Substack essay, “No One’s Version” and whether the world needs an AI generated song about Barry growing tomatoes in the style of “Sympathy for the Devil” with the horns from Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire” and a guitar line to be determined (we think it does).
#95: Jenny Odell - How To Do Nothing, pt. 2 (00:40:33)
In this episode Barry and Mike continue their discussion of Jenny Odell’s book, “How To Do Nothing,” focusing on the importance of attention in producing critical thought. They then connect these ideas to previous discussions on the Taste Economy.
#94: Jenny Odell - How to Do Nothing (00:41:00)
This is the first of two episodes on Jenny Odell’s book (and talk) “How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy.” Barry and Mike discuss the broad outlines of Odell’s project and attempt to connect it to Daisy Alioto’s understanding of the Taste Economy.In/Visible Talks 2018: Jenny Odell - How To Do Nothing
#93: Daisy Alioto - The Taste Economy (00:41:54)
In this episode Barry and Mike continue their discussion onthe “Taste Economy” and the evolution of the internet from 2.0 to 3.0. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lUnYbLoyplohttps://www.nytimes.com/2024/08/11/style/dirt-newsletter-daisy-alioto.html
#92: Kyle Chayka - How to Cultivate Taste in the Age of Algorithms/The New Generation of Online Culture Curators. (00:40:33)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Kyle Chayka’s essays and offer a primer on the new online “Taste Economy.” How to Cultivate Taste in the Age of AlgorithmsThe New Generation of Online Culture Curators
#91: The Episode That is Not on Heidegger or His Letter on Humanism (but sort of is). (01:19:42)
In this episode Barry and Mike talk about Heidegger and what comes after philosophy and how that helps us to think about the role of the contemporary university.
#90: Heidegger - The Question Concerning Technology (00:45:02)
In this episode Barry and Mike take a different approach to Heidegger's The Question Concerning Technology. Rather than a traditional "what does all this mean" approach grounded in historical context, they look at the essay with a specific eye towards understanding what Heidegger can teach us about our current digital media culture and the essay's relevance for our interactions in the age of the internet and near total interconnection.
#89: Harold Innis - Minerva’s Owl (00:58:23)
This episode focuses on Harold Innis’ 1947 presidentialaddress to the Royal Society of Canada, “Minerva’s Owl” and his appendix to theaddress. Barry and Mike discuss how Innis charts the relationships among power,knowledge, and technologies and their relations to the durability of imperialsystems.
#88: Revisiting Deleuze's "Postscript on the Society of Control" (00:50:42)
In this episode Barry and Mike revisit Gilles Deleuze’s essay “Postscript on the Society of Control.” They attempt to reframe the central arguments of the essay in terms of our current digital culture.
#87: Alan Turing - Computer Machinery and Intelligence (01:07:24)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Alan Turing’s 1950 essay, “Computer Machinery and Intelligence” and discuss whether or not Turing’s concept of machine intelligence is a contradiction in terms.
#86: Freddie deBoer - The Indoor Plumbing Test (00:49:20)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss “The Indoor Plumbing Test” by cultural critic Freddie deBoer and ponder the question: Is AI only hype?
#85: Derek Thompson - The Anti-Social Century (01:01:53)
In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Derek Thompson’s Atlantic essay, “The Anti-Social Century.” They discuss how the evolution of media technologies over the last 50 years, culminating in the development of AI have produced our current state of technologically enhanced solitude.The Anti-Social CenturyI'm In Love With Chat GPT
