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Think Again - a Big Think Podcast

207. Lisa Brennan-Jobs (writer) – on growing up without, with, and in spite of her dad

Think Again - a Big Think Podcast

Big Think / Panoply

Arts, Society & Culture

4.6594 Ratings

🗓️ 10 August 2019

⏱️ 45 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The first computer I ever had was the first Apple Macintosh, back in the mid 80’s. I can still remember the sense of friendly reassurance from that smiling little icon that popped up on the screen when you turned it on—a cute, tiny computer smiling back at you. This device, it suggested, knew you. Understood you. Was someone you could trust. Since then, we’ve come a long way, baby. The cold, black, addictive rectangle in my pocket—a gleaming window into all the hopes and terrors of the known world—is a far cry from the early, friendly promises of that smiling machine on which I could magically paint things at the touch of a button. My guest today, in a very different way, grew up in the long shadow of that same cultural trajectory. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was her dad. But like our relationship with the machines he helped unleash on the world, hers with him was deeply complicated. In her beautiful memoir Small Fry, Lisa Brennan-Jobs writes about his indifference, his attention, and her struggle to find herself in and outside of his shadow. Surprise conversation starters in this episode: None, due to tight taping time.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Huh. Have you ever wondered what a sandwich sounds like?

0:04.3

Not much to it, is there?

0:06.2

Unless, of course, it's a Walker's sandwich.

0:10.9

Mmm, that is good.

0:12.9

Now that's what Asani should sound like.

0:15.8

Go all crisp in with walkers.

0:19.0

Delicious.

0:20.1

Hi there, I'm Jason Gatz, and you're listening to Think Again, a Big Think podcast.

0:29.4

The first computer I ever had was the Apple Macintosh back in the mid-80s.

0:33.8

I can still remember the sense of friendly reassurance from that smiling little icon that popped up on the screen when you turned it on, a cute, tiny computer smiling back at you.

0:43.3

This device, it suggested, knew you, understood you, was someone you could trust.

0:47.3

Since then, we've come a long way, baby. The cold black, addictive rectangle in my pocket, a gleaming window into all the hopes and

0:54.8

terrors of the known world, is a far cry from the early, friendly promises of that smiling

0:59.6

machine on which I could magically paint things at the touch of a button.

1:03.1

My guest today, in a very different way, grew up in the long shadow of that same cultural

1:07.4

trajectory.

1:08.6

Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was her dad. But like our relationship

1:12.6

with the machines, he helped unleash on the world. Hers with him was deeply complicated.

1:16.6

In Lisa Brennan Jobs' beautiful memoir, Small Fry, she writes about his indifference, his attention,

1:23.6

and her struggle to find herself in and outside of his shadow.

1:27.9

Welcome to think again, Lisa.

1:29.2

Thank you so much for having me.

...

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