Silicon Valley has a solution for everything, but who do its ideas really serve? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its thought leaders, and the worldview it spreads. They challenge the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. But if tech won't save us, what will? This podcast isn't simply about tearing tech down; it also presents radical ideas for tech designed for human flourishing instead of surveillance, acquisitions, or to boost stock prices. A better world is possible, and so is better technology.

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How Brainrot AI is Upending the Internet w/ Jason Koebler

May 01, 2025 0:53:38 10.23 MB ( 28.46 MB less) Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Jason Koebler to discuss the economy behind AI slop generation, how people are building businesses on AI-generated images, and the wider consequences of their proliferation on social media. Jason Koebler is a cofounder of 404 Media and cohost of the 404 Media Podcast.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Jason wrote about how Brainrot AI is monetized on Instagram and the wider effects of AI slop on how we perceive reality.He also wrote about how whether the tech industry’s bet on Donald Trump is working out with Emanuel Maiberg.Support the show

How Masayoshi Son Shaped the Tech Industry w/ Laleh Khalili

April 24, 2025 0:52:17 37.72 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Laleh Khalili to discuss Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son, the structural factors that allowed him to build an empire, and the many ways he’s shaped the modern tech industry.Laleh Khalili is Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and the author of Sinews of War and Trade and her forthcoming book Extractive Capitalism.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Laleh wrote a review of a new book about Masa.She also mentioned The Box by Marc Levinson and The Next Shift by Gabriel Winant.Support the show

Digital Sovereignty in a Time of Rising Fascism

April 17, 2025 0:41:12 29.74 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is doing a solo episode this week to bring together some important issues that have been on his mind lately. This is a recording of a talk Paris gave in Auckland, New Zealand on how Silicon Valley’s alliance with Donald Trump forces us to reassess the politics of the internet and challenge our collective dependence on US tech as it embraces the project of American empire.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Paris co-wrote a white paper on digital sovereignty and has written about the need to challenge US tech in response to Silicon Valley’s alliance with Trump.Paris also mentioned the EuroStack and British Digital Cooperative report.Dark Times Academy offers courses on a wide range of topics.Support the show

Can Europe End Its Dependence on US Tech? w/ Aline Blankertz

April 10, 2025 0:47:53 34.56 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Aline Blankertz to discuss whether Europe is going to finally make a serious push to end its dependence on US tech and how different European interests are trying to take advantage of those debates.Aline Blankertz is an economist working on digital policy. She currently works with Rebalance Now and was previously at Wikimedia Germany.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Aline published some thoughts on the push for tech sovereignty in Europe.Paris co-wrote a white paper on digital sovereignty last year and more recently argued the US needs to feel the consequences for its actions.If you want to apply to be the show’s producer, find more information here.Support the show

The Dirty Alliance Between Tech and the Oil Industry w/ JS Tan

April 03, 2025 0:53:06 38.32 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by JS Tan to discuss his experience seeing first hand how Microsoft deployed its cloud and machine learning services to help Chevron extract more oil and gas, and the state of tech worker organizing around climate change. JS Tan is a PhD student at MIT, researching cloud computing in the US and China. He’s a a member of Collective Action in Tech and writes the Value Added newsletter.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Read JS Tan’s “Oil Is the New Data” piece in Logic Magazine.Support the show

DOGE Is Gutting the US Digital Service w/ Kate Green and Milo

March 27, 2025 0:52:43 38.04 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Kate Green and Milo to discuss how Elon Musk’s DOGE is dismantling the US Digital Service and the consequences that has on really improving service delivery in government.Kate Green and Milo are former US Digital Service engineers.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Find out more about We The Builders and read perspectives of federal workers.USDS workers have resigned en masse from DOGE, and Musk’s agency has fired many of those who haven’t left.The General Services Administration has also cut the 18F technology team, and has been doing mass layoffs at the Technology Transformation Service. Support the show

Preview: Breaking Down Canada’s Election on Campaign Cops

March 26, 2025 0:36:19 26.19 MB Downloads: 0

Don’t worry; your regularly scheduled Tech Won’t Save Us is coming soon! But if you’re looking to try something a little different and get a critical take on the ongoing Canadian election, check out Campaign Cops, a special five-week series hosted by Paris Marx and Rachel Gilmore.The first episode is here for you to try out, but if you want to keep listening, find future episodes on Rachel’s YouTube channel or her podcast feed on places like Apple or Spotify.Support the show

Canada’s Tech Leaders Want Their Own DOGE w/ Jen St. Denis

March 20, 2025 0:51:41 37.3 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Jen St. Denis to discuss how Silicon Valley thinking is creeping into Canadian politics as Donald Trump continues to threaten the country with tariffs and annexation. Jen St. Denis is a reporter with The Tyee.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Jen wrote about the Canadian tech leaders who want their own DOGE and a BC-based Twitter/X account pushing white supremacism.A recent poll found 51% of Canadians now see the United States as an enemy or potential threat.Support the show

AI Hype Enters Its Geopolitics Era w/ Timnit Gebru

March 13, 2025 0:55:19 39.91 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Timnit Gebru to discuss where the AI industry stands in 2025 as AI increasingly becomes a geopolitical football even as the big promises made by AI companies fail to materialize.Timnit Gebru is the founder and executive director of the Distributed AI Research Institute.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Timnit wrote about the TESCREAL bundle of ideologies with Émile Torres.The Data Workers’ Inquiry allowed data workers to share their experiences in their workplaces.Support the show

The UK’s Misguided Embrace of AI Hype w/ James Meadway

March 06, 2025 0:45:22 32.74 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by James Meadway to discuss how the UK Labour Party is embracing AI regardless of the cost and the consequences of allowing US companies to dominate the digital economy in so many other countries.James Meadway is an economist and the host of Macrodose.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:James wrote about the UK Labour Party’s obsession with growth.Last year, Google warned the UK government it would get left behind on AI if it didn’t weaken copyright rules and build more data centers.Support the show

Protesting Tesla Can Hurt Elon Musk w/ Ed Niedermeyer

February 27, 2025 0:53:44 38.77 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Ed Niedermeyer to discuss the trouble with Tesla’s business model and how that makes Elon Musk’s power vulnerable to protest and boycott.Ed Niedermeyer is the author Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors and a co-host of the Autonocast.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Find a Tesla Takedown protest in your area.Support the show

How DOGE is Remaking the US Government w/ Makena Kelly

February 20, 2025 0:53:00 38.24 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Makena Kelly to discuss how Elon Musk’s DOGE is reshaping the US government and the consequences that has for government employees and the wider public.Makena Kelly is a senior writer at WIRED and writes the weekly Politics Lab newsletter.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Makena wrote about how DOGE is replacing government IT roles and also the COBOL Cowboys back in 2020.Support the show

Patreon Preview: The Harms of Generative AI w/ Alex Hanna

February 17, 2025 0:05:52 4.3 MB Downloads: 0

Our Data Vampires series may be over, but Paris interviewed a bunch of experts on data centers and AI whose insights shouldn’t go to waste. We’re releasing those interviews as bonus episodes for Patreon supporters. Here’s a preview of this week’s premium episode with Alex Hanna, the Director of Research at the Distributed AI Institute. For the full interview, support the show on Patreon.Support the show

The Tech Oligarchy’s Campaign Against the Media w/ Eoin Higgins

February 13, 2025 0:53:24 38.53 MB Downloads: 0

Paris Marx is joined by Eoin Higgins to discuss how tech billionaires set out to change the media ecosystem and made it profitable for influential voices to shift to the political right. Eoin Higgins is a journalist and the author of Owned: How Tech Billionaires on the Right Bought the Loudest Voices on the Left.Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Support the show on Patreon.The podcast is made in partnership with The Nation. Production is by Eric Wickham.Also mentioned in this episode:Read an excerpt of Eoin’s book on LitHub.Last year, Peter Thiel bragged to Ann Coulter about killing Gawker.Rick Perlstein wrote about the time he met Marc Andreessen.Support the show

Patreon Preview: Sam Altman’s Self-Serving AGI Future w/ Julia Black

February 10, 2025 0:06:12 4.54 MB Downloads: 0

Our Data Vampires series may be over, but Paris interviewed a bunch of experts on data centers and AI whose insights shouldn’t go to waste. We’re releasing those interviews as bonus episodes for Patreon supporters. Here’s a preview of this week’s premium episode with Julia Black, a reporter on The Information’s Weekend Team. For the full interview, support the show on Patreon.Support the show