This episode of The Dig is brought to you by our supporters on Patreon and by Verso Books,

which has loads of great left-wing titles, perfect for dig listeners like you.

One that you might like is Radical Technologies, The Design of Everyday Life, by Adam Greenfield.

Everywhere we turn, a startling new device promises to transfigure our lives.

But at what cost?

In this urgent and revelatory excavation of our information age, leading technology

thinker Adam Greenfield forces us to reconsider our relationship with the networked objects, services,

and spaces that define us. It is time to reevaluate the Silicon Valley consensus determining

the future. We already depend on the smartphone to navigate every aspect of our existence.

We're told that innovations from augmented reality interfaces and virtual

assistance to autonomous delivery drones and self-driving cars, will make life easier, more convenient,

and more productive. 3D printing promises unprecedented control over the form and distribution

of matter, while the blockchain stands to revolutionize everything from the form and distribution of matter, while the blockchain stands to

revolutionize everything from the recording and exchange of value to the way we organize the mundane

realities of the day-to-day. And all the while, fiendishly complex algorithms are operating

quietly in the background, reshaping the economy, transforming the fundamental terms of our politics, and even redefining what it means to be human.

Having successfully colonized everyday life, these radical technologies are now conditioning the choices available to us in the years to come.

How do they work? What challenges do they present to us as individuals

and societies? Who benefits from their adoption? In answering these questions, Greenfield's timely guide

clarifies the scale and nature of the crisis we now confront and offers ways to reclaim our

stake in the future.

Radical Technologies, the Design of Everyday Life by Adam Greenfield, out now in paperback

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