Techs on Texts

Jed Sundwall

Techs on Texts is a podcast featuring conversations with technologists about the literature that has influenced them. Hosted and produced by Jed Sundwall. Learn more at https://techsontexts.net

  1. 8시간 전

    Episode #25: Kate Chapman on Wool by Hugh Howey

    Kate Chapman, geographer and technologist, joins us to discuss Hugh Howey's Wool. We discuss failures of governance, the perils of IT supremacy, the difficult ethics of constrained environments, and competitive goating. Kate shares her background building digital public infrastructure (Common Space, Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Open Supply Hub) and currently providing fractional CTO work and AI enablement. We discuss how Wool serves as a cautionary tale about bad governance, the intersection of information control and governance, and what happens when humans can't push boundaries or explore frontiers. Show notes: Wool by Hugh Howey - Originally published as five novellas, later compiled as the Wool Omnibus "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson - Short story about the dangers of blindly following tradition How to Lie with Maps by Mark Monmonier - Classic book on cartographic manipulation Nonviolent Communication - Framework for conflict resolution Terrible, Thanks for Asking (now Thanks for Asking) - Kate's favorite podcast The Gervais Principle, Or The Office According to “The Office” - Fantastic analysis of how The Office portrays social dynamics Slavoj Žižek's red ink joke: "In an old joke from the defunct German Democratic Republic, a German worker gets a job in Siberia; aware of how all mail will be read by censors, he tells his friends: “Let’s establish a code: if a letter you will get from me is written in ordinary blue ink, it is true; if it is written in red ink, it is false.” After a month, his friends get the first letter, written in blue ink: “Everything is wonderful here: stores are full, food is abundant, apartments are large and properly heated, movie theaters show films from the West, there are many beautiful girls ready for an affair — the only thing unavailable is red ink.”" If you enjoyed this, please share it. Produced by Jed Sundwall. Write to jed at techsontexts.net with feedback and suggestions for books or guests. Intro music by Secret School. Outro music is "3/10th of the Population" by WE™. Please donate to Radiant Earth.

    1시간 28분
  2. 2025. 12. 31.

    Episode #23: Cyd Harrell on “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” by Jorge Luis Borges

    Cyd Harrell, devout civic technologist, joins us to discuss Jorge Luis Borges's "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius." We talk about tungsten cubes, techno cults, and our guesses about the "horrifying or banal" truth revealed by the story. Show notes:Buy Cyd's book! A Civic Technologist's Practice Guide (Bookshop.org, Amazon)"Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" on Wikipedia"Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius" PDFDiscussion of Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius on Very Bad WizardsJulius PringlesKarl the fogRosicrucianismCrisis Text Line and Loris.ai ControversyPicigin: an amateur sport from Split, Croatia played in shoals or other shallow water, usually consisting of cooperating players keeping a small ball from falling in the water."Pets" by Porno for PyrosReality-based communityGreat Data Products blog post - blog post based on the talk I gave in October in which I warn against open data dogmas.The duodecimal systemA painting called Pan Arbol referencing the duodecimal system by Borges's friend Xul Solar, who is mentioned in Andrew Hurley's translation of the story as a translator of Tlön's language.When Republicans Became ‘Red’ and Democrats Became ‘Blue’ If you enjoyed this, please share it. Produced by Jed Sundwall. Write to jed at techsontexts.net with feedback and suggestions for books or guests. Intro music by Secret School. Outro music is "3/10th of the Population" by WE™. Please donate to Radiant Earth.

    1시간 27분
  3. 2025. 09. 30.

    Episode #20: Mark Chambers on Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

    Mark Chambers – my friend from high school (and former Chief Sustainability Officer of DC and NYC among other things) – joins us to discuss Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. We talk about the collision between money and science, the illusion of control, dignity, public service, how many humans there should be, why it may or may not be ok to grill, and positive visions for the future. Show notes: Jevons paradox – how technological efficiency can paradoxically increase resource consumptionWhat Michael Crichton Reveals About Big Tech and A.I. - Cal Newport's New Yorker piece about Jurassic ParkThe Weathering Podcast – exploring Earth systems, climate, and chaos. I don't talk about it in the podcast, but I should because it's relevant and so great. I love it.Colossal Biosciences Dire Wolf Project (Wikipedia article) – the real-world de-extinction effortThe 13th Warrior – A movie Mark loves that I still need to watchMark Coatney on A Wizard of Earthsea – our previous conversation about power and its pitfallsNine Inch Nails wins Country Music Award for "Old Town Road"Internet PowerThe Ministry of the Future (Wikipedia article) by Kim Stanley RobinsonNext month (hopefully): The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle with George Dyson. Bonus announcements: CNG Conference 2026 announced for 6-9 October 2026New work podcast: Great Data Products If you enjoyed this, please share it. Produced by Jed Sundwall. Write to jed at techsontexts.net with feedback and suggestions for books or guests. Intro music by Secret School. Outro music is "3/10th of the Population" by WE™. Please donate to Radiant Earth.

    1시간 37분

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Techs on Texts is a podcast featuring conversations with technologists about the literature that has influenced them. Hosted and produced by Jed Sundwall. Learn more at https://techsontexts.net