Why Does It Feel Like Everything is Getting Worse? With Cory Doctorow

Intelligence Squared

Arts, News, Society & Culture, News Commentary

4.2 • 1.1K Ratings

🗓️ 17 October 2025

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

How can we reverse the enshittification of digital platforms? With Cory Doctorow Why does every online platform seem to start out great - then slowly turn to garbage? Why do our digital public squares now feel more like corporate malls... or burning trash heaps? ‘Enshittification’ has been word of the year in the UK, USA and Australia. It's been printed in the pages of the FT and declaimed from podiums at the EU. As a word, it captures the feeling of a world that is ever worsening. Cory Doctorow, the tech and ethics writer who coined the term, argues that enshittification is not a technical glitch, but a technique that every platform - from X to TikTok, Amazon to Apple, has adopted on purpose to maximise profit at the expense of user experience. In this episode, Doctorow joins Carl Miller to break down what this relentless downward spiral means for democracy, privacy, creativity, and trust, and what can be done to reverse it. Doctorow offers a roadmap for reclaiming a better digital future. From breaking monopolies and restoring interoperability to empowering tech workers and enforcing real regulation, this is a conversation about what's broken, and how we can fix it. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Just Between Us, the podcast with all of the answers, some of the time.
0:04.9	A bit of a different thing going on this week. Be eating a sheep's testicle. I think I'd be fine doing those things. Oh, right. Okay. I think I'd be gagging slightly, but I think the thought... You'd get it down you. I love Alan Carr so much. And as I ask, I mean, I can't stop sweating. He was so wind-swept and everything, but he was just so lovely.
0:24.2	My sister... And as I ask, I mean, I can't stop sweating. He was so wind-swept and everything, but he was just so lovely.
0:23.9	My sister pretended to be me and ruined my marriage.
0:28.0	Oh my God.
0:29.9	Welcome to Intelligence Squared where Great Minds meet.
0:33.1	I'm head of programming, Connor Boyle.
0:35.1	In this episode, we're joined by author and journalist Corey Doctorau
0:38.6	to discuss the concept of inshidification.
0:42.1	According to Dr.au, inshidification captures that feeling of a world that is ever worsening.
0:47.5	And he believes this feeling isn't just an accident, but built in to the design of digital platforms.
0:53.0	He spoke to journalist, researcher, and host of the award-winning podcast Kill List, Carl Miller.
0:59.0	Let's join Carl Now with more.
1:01.6	Corey, very welcome to you.
1:03.4	Thank you very much. Pleasure to be here.
1:05.6	All right, well, I don't think there's any other book I've ever seen that needs to start with a word, a single word, as much as this one.
1:14.2	So the word and shittification itself, Corey, I mean, this is your coinage, isn't it?
1:19.8	Yeah, yeah.
1:20.8	I coined it in 2022.
1:23.5	People who've gone through Twitter have found other people used it before me, but in other words, it's been independently coined more than once.
1:31.3	But it was something about my coinage that actually made the difference.
1:34.3	And I have some theories about that.
	...

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