Reimagining the Internet

Aug 21 2024 121 ep. 34 mins 113

Reimagining the Internet Podcast artwork

Reimagining the Internet is a production of the Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure at UMass Amherst, asking scholars, activists, journalists, and artists what is broken on the internet and how to fix it.

Technology Education

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107. How could a PBS of the Internet cultivate a more human web? Laurel Schwulst on a lighter weight Internet (Good Web)

Aug 21 2024 43 mins

For the final episode of our Good Web series, artist, designer, and educator Laurel Schwulst joins Mike to talk through her proposal for a PBS of the Internet. She describes how a PBS-like body that intentionally crafts the spaces, software, and information for a public good could crucial for creating an environment that rewards curisoity […]

106. What You Need to Know About Web Accessibility with Lola Odelola (Good Web)

Aug 07 2024 47 mins

Building a Good Web doesn’t just mean making the current Internet a nicer place, but making an Internet that everyone can use. This week Lola Odelola (Lola’s Lab, formerly of Bocoup) joins the Good Web series to talk about the fundamentals of web accessibility and the fascinating process the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) uses […]

105. Slow and steady: how Are.na became the Good Web for artists, designers, and researchers who love unusual connections.

Jul 24 2024 52 mins

At 13 years old, Are.na boasts a healthy, creative community and stable finances while rejecting many of the hallmarks of popular social media platforms such as a focus on video, endless push notifications, or surveillant advertising. For this week’s edition of our Good Web series, founder Charles Broskoski sits with Mike to walk through what […]

104. MetaFilter turns 25 this month, a shining beacon of the Good Web. Reluctant owner Jessamyn West tells us how rusty tech and vibrant community keeps it vital.

Jul 10 2024 60 mins

Metafilter contains the seeds for everything from Twitter to Reddit to comments sections on blogs, and it’s older than podcasts, the blog boom, Facebook, and well, basically everything online. Owner Jessamyn West sat down for a deep conversation with Mike about how MetaFilter’s reliance on community-focusd governance and person-scale moderation has helped it achieve its

103. How did Vermont’s favorite civic social network turn into a climate disaster response network overnight? Michael Wood-Lewis Tells Us About His Local Good Web

Jun 26 2024 63 mins

Michael Wood-Lewis from Front Porch Forum joins us for this second (maybe third?) appearance to help us kick off our Good Web series, where we’re highlighting the successful people building a better, smaller Internet. Michael was gracious enough to have producer Mike Sugarman up to the FPF offices in Burlington, VT to give us an […]

102. Cory Doctorow Coined “Enshittification.” He Sees 4 Ways to End It.

Jun 12 2024 40 mins

To kick off our Good Web series, Cory Doctorow joined us for a deep dive into his enshittification theory, and how regulation, labor power, competition, and user self-help will make it a thing of the past. We also got him to tell us a little bit about his new novel The Bezzle. Cory first joined […]

101. Reframing Digital Safety with Diana Freed: For Survivors and Youth, The Biggest Threats Come From Everyday Tech

May 29 2024 37 mins

CW/TW: Intimate partner violence, child exploitation Diana Freed has spent the past several years radically reframing the threat model in cybersecurity with groundbreaking research into how domestic abusers utilize everyday technology like smart phones and tracking apps. Diana sits down with us to talk about digital safety for survivors of intimate partner violence and youth, [R

100. A Better Internet for Humans with Ethan Zuckerman and Mike Sugarman

May 15 2024 39 mins

For the 100th episode of Reimagining the Internet, Ethan and Mike sit down for a conversation about a human-scale Internet, the threat of an LLM ouroboros destroying our online commons, and Ethan’s fantasies of swithing to urban planning. We want to give a heartfelt thank you to everyone who has been listening to Reimagining the […]

99. Do You Want to Use Data to Fight for Justice? Catherine D’Ignazio Wrote the Book For You

May 01 2024 41 mins

A fearsome feminist movemnet has sprung up in response to an epidemic of feminicide in South America, achieving change thanks in large part to an innovative data activism campaign. Cathering D'Ignazio of the Data + Feminism Lab at MIT wrote a wonerful book that doesn't just chronicle the movement, but acts as a handbook for using data in fights for justice.

98. UMass’s very own Brian Levine is one of the foremost cybersecurity experts on CSAM. Here’s how he thinks we can make the Internet safer for children.

Feb 28 2024 67 mins

Trigger/content warning: child sexual abuse materials, sexual exploitation of children, and trauma stemming from sexual abuse. Brian Levine has a storied career as a computer scientist working in cybersecurity. Earler, pivotal work in privacy has given way to his current all-hands-on-deck fight against the spread of CSAM (child sexual abuse material) online. Ethan and Brian […