Sean Illing speaks with Matthew Jones, historian of science and technology, and co-author (with data scientist Chris Wiggins) of the new book How Data Happened. They discuss the surprisingly long history of data from the 18th century to today, in service of explaining how we wound up in a world where our personal information is mined by giant corporations for profit. They talk about how the allure of measurement and precision spread from astronomy to the social sciences, why advertising became so bound to the operation of the internet, and how we can imagine a more democratic future for us and our data, given the unprecedented power of today's tech companies.
Host: Sean Illing (@seanilling), host, The Gray Area
Guest: Matthew L. Jones (@nescioquid), author; James R. Barker Professor of Contemporary Civilization, Columbia University
References:
Enjoyed this episode? Rate The Gray Area ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear the next episode of The Gray Area. Subscribe in your favorite podcast app.
Help keep this show and all of Vox's journalism free by making a gift to Vox today: bit.ly/givepodcasts
This episode was made by:
Editorial Director, Vox Talk: A.M. Hall
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Bad for the Jews?
Biden reloaded
School’s out for Covid
The Covid resurgence
Contagious enthusiasm
Land of the Giants: The Netflix Effect
The war on bad statues
The Veepstakes
Talking about talking
The legal doctrine that protects brutal policing
Fixing the police
America gives up on Covid-19
After George Floyd
Defund the police?
The global class war
Tweeting through it
Joe Biden ain't black
The stimulus failure
Actual enumeration
The psychology of opening up
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
Tiny Desk Concerts - Video
60 Minutes
Left, Right & Center
The Axe Files with David Axelrod
Kickass News