It’s time to get weird
August 4, 2025
1 hr
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720 of 775
August 4, 2025
It’s time to get weird
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Gray Area Episodes Around August 4, 2025
Episode 720 of 775 — walk the feed in the order it was published.
It’s time to get weird
Summary
The internet was supposed to set us free. But somewhere along the way, it became a tool for surveillance, extraction, and control. What happened? And is there still time to reclaim the weird, untapped potential of the digital world?
This week, Sean is joined by Douglas Rushkoff. He’s a media theorist, author of Survival of the Richest and Team Human, and host of the Team Human podcast. They trace the arc of the internet from its utopian beginnings to its corporate capture, and explore what it would take to build something different. Along the way, they talk about the loss of weirdness, the logic of capitalism, the dangers of scale, and the difference between systems thinking and systems feeling. They also reflect on whether it’s still possible to use technology to foster a more connected and communal life.
Host: Sean Illing (@SeanIlling)
Guest: Douglas Rushkoff, media theorist and host of Team Human
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