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PODCAST

Critical Media Studies

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.

society & culture philosophy

All Episodes

01:01:26

Sherry Turkle - Alone Together

Critical Media Studies ·

2024/01/05

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Sherry Turkle’s “Alone Together” and her thesis, that though technology opens new possibilities for communication it simultaneously alienates us from each other, leaving us wanting for emotional connections. We wonder whether Turkle is right and whether authentic relationships are possible.

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54:53

Kazuo Ishiguro - Klara and the Sun pt. 2

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/12/22

In this episode Barry and Mike resume their discussion of Kazuo Ishiguro’s “Klara and the Sun.” They discuss how differences in class and education determine how the various characters relation to Kara as an embodiment of technology.

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59:04

Kazuo Ishiguro - Klara and the Sun pt. 1

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/12/08

Change is good! Barry and Mike shift the focus of their discussions on technology to look more closely at what it means to be human in a technologically dominated world. This episode looks at Kazuo Ishiguro's novel, "Klara and the Sun" and investigates his questions about the spaces between humanity and technology.

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01:03:51

Marshall McLuhan - The Medium is the Massage: An...

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/11/24

In this episode Barry and Mike wrap up their discussion of Marshall McLuhan’s “The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects,” focusing on the question of education and media.

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01:19:26

Marshall McLuhan - The Medium is the Massage: An...

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/11/10

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Marshal McLuhan’s seminal text, The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects. They discuss the form of the book and some of the key opening arguments.

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01:05:37

John Law - Monsters, Machines, and Sociotechnical...

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/10/27

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss the three central issues raised by John Law in the introduction to his 1991 anthology, “Sociology of Monsters”: the problem of epistemology; the problem of the social; the problem of distribution. Law argues that the coming together of Sociology and STS (science, technology, society) offers an opportunity to address these issues in meaningful and ethical ways.

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01:01:55

Denise Lu - Want to Enjoy Music More? Stop Streaming...

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/10/13

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Denise Lu’s recent New York Times editorial, “Want to Enjoy Music More? Stop Streaming It. Build a real music collection. Reintroduce intimacy to the songs you care about.” They attempt to re-frame the article in CMS friendly terms and end up with an extended investigation of the nature of intimacy and the archive.

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41:33

The 50th episode- a look back.

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/09/29

On the occasions of their 50th episode, Barry and Mike get reflective. The discuss the purpose or intent of the show, their favorite episodes, what they’d do over, and the biggest surprises that they’ve encountered so far.

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01:11:18

John Law – Notes on the Theory of the Actor Network:...

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/09/15

In this episode Barry and Mike discussion John Law’s 1992 essay, “Notes on the Theory of the Actor Network: Ordering, Strategy, and Heterogeneity” and in particular Law’s concepts of network composition, punctualisation, and translation.

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01:08:03

Bruno Latour - On Actor-Network Theory: A few...

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/09/01

Barry and Mike discuss Bruno Latour’s essay, “On Actor-Network Theory: A few clarifications.” They work through his key terms in an attempt to better understand the new meanings he ascribes to actors and networks and what this theory allows us to do with media theory.

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01:08:28

Jacques Attali - Noise

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/08/18

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss a chapter from Jacques Attali, book, Noise: The Political Economy of Music. Following on their discussion from the Glenn Gould episode, they interrogate at Attali's take on the impacts of recorded music as an archive and as background noise.

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01:05:25

Glenn Gould - The Prospects of Recording

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/08/04

In thisepisode Barry and Mike talk about Glenn Gould’s essay “The Prospects ofRecording.”They focus on two central arguments from the essay – how technology creates the new, empowered, listener and the significance of background music.

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01:14:54

Andre Bazin's New Media

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/07/21

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Andre Bazin’s collection of essays on new media and how the evolution of television and technological development impact how we see film. Specifically, they discuss how “Industrial Art” challenges traditional ideas about aesthetics.

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01:08:34

Derrida - Signature, Event, Context

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/07/07

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Derrida's 1972 talk turned essay, "Signature, Event, Context." The episode engages his critique of Plato and Austin and turns to the relevance of his findings as they relate to AI. The discussion ends on a thought provoking read of human connection and the authenticity of language. They wonder, is AI a threat, or does it highlight our embarrassment over our inability to generate authentic language in the quest for human connection?

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58:48

Adorno - Opera and the Long-Playing Record

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/06/23

At Mike's insistence, the guys return for a second consecutive Adorno episode. "Opera and the Long-Playing Record" sees Adorno pivot, celebrating the advances and opportunities that the vinyl record affords music beyond archival purposes. Here, rather than denegrating vinyl as being a cheap proxy container for art, Adorno adopts a hopeful position, celebrating its ability to save art from staleness and its ability to create virtual spaces where art can be enjoyed free of distraction.

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55:27

Adorno - The Form of the Phonographic Record

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/06/09

In this episode Barry and Mike work through Adorno's "The Form of the Phonographic Record", extrapolating his arguments against technology and the phonograph and marveling at the surprising about-face at the end of the essay.

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01:03:04

Dina Litovsky - The Problem of AI Photography is Not...

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/05/26

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss an essay by Dina Litovsky, "The Problem of AI Photography is not the Medium, It's the Message." They channel previous discussions on Susan Sontag, Andre Bizan and Jean Baudrillard to talk about the hyper-real, the role of AI in art and photography, and where the boundary between what we consider legitimate and illigitimate may be in contemporary art.

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01:02:31

Baudrillard - The Precession of Simulacra

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/05/12

In this episode Mike and Barry take the Baudrillardian grand tour: we visit Disneyland, Los Angeles, Viet Nam, and pause to consider the philosophical significance of the 1972 Watergate break-in. In other words, we discuss “The Precession of Simulacra” by Jean Baudrillard (from “Simulacra and Simulation,” 1981) , the text that introduced readers to the “hyperreal,” the idea that what we call reality is a media construct, a product of the symbol systems that saturate our lives. We consider how

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52:38

Andre Bazin - Ontology of the Photographic Image

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/04/28

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

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01:07:33

Susan Sontag - In Plato's Cave

Critical Media Studies ·

2023/04/14

In this episode Barry and Mike discuss Susan Sontag’s essay In Plato’s Cave from her book: On Photography. In this essay Sontag argues that photographs are much like the images that the prisoners in Plato’s cave see reflected on the walls: representations of reality, but not reality itself. Sontag argues that, like Plato’s prisoners, we too have difficulty distinguishing the image from the event that they represent. Additionally, she claims that these images, though different than what they

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116 results

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