Ganges

Escaping Screens: A Tech-Free Travel Quest, Part II

A stranded American tourist shares the story of a six-month screen-free quest through India and Nepal just as the coronavirus explodes. Part II.

Escaping Screens: A Tech-Free Travel Quest, Part I

An American tourist stranded in India shares his story: six months traveling without a screen, only to pick one up again just in time for the global meltdown.

EM Forster

The Prescience of E. M. Forster

Compared to 1984 or Brave New World, E. M. Forster’s 1909 futuristic novella The Machine Stops was, in some ways, the most eerily accurate prediction of our current technological milieu.

Gail Dines

Podcast #30: Gail Dines on Porn Culture

Activist, author, and sociologist Gail Dines discusses the impact of pornography—particularly in its virulent and violent Internet form—on culture.

Jonathan Taplin

Podcast #28: Jonathan Taplin on Internet Aggregators

Jonathan Taplin, former music and film professional, tells first-hand what the new rentier economy of Internet aggregators like Google and Facebook has done to the creative arts, journalism, and democracy.

Robert Lustig

Podcast #27: Robert Lustig on Biochemistry and Health

Author and endocrinologist Robert Lustig explains the neurochemical difference between happiness and pleasure and how it’s been exploited to make so many of us fat, addicted, and depressed. Then, he reminds us how to reclaim our health.

Diners on smartphones

Curbing Our Tech Obsession: What, Why, & How

Young people are obsessively checking their phones more every year. Here are some reasons why, and strategies to regain control.