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
Collusion and the Mueller endgame
Emergency Weeds
What’s the best way to help the poor?
WTF, VA?
Do we need private insurance?
House Democrats’ plan to save democracy
Elizabeth Warren and the Two-Income Trap
The end of the shutdown
Investigating ER bills and SNAP fraud
You can't eat your principles for dinner
Taxing the rich
Tucker Carlson vs the free market
Ask Weeds Anything
New year, no government
Classic Weeds: The great white panic
The Weeds Year-End Spectacular
Congress actually did something important
Bernie and Biden and Beto, oh my!
A big, beautiful podcast about the border wall
A Weeds farewell to Paul Ryan
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