Kevin Rothrock has been reporting on Russian culture and politics since the mid-aughts, and as the English-language editor of Meduza, he’s a crucial figure in helping the English-speaking West understand the day-to-day in Putin’s Russia during the war in Ukraine, and on the front lines too. This week on Reimagining, Kevin Rothrock tells us how… Continue reading 94. How does Meduza’s Kevin Rothrock publish some of the best reporting about Russia? From far, far away.
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93. Reddit is powered by community moderators. We asked former senior mod Kethryvis if that can last.
When we call Christine Moelleberndt “queen of the moderators” we mean it. She just finished a 7-year stint at Reddit as a moderator of its moderators where she went by the user name kethryvis, and she’s been doing work like that since her days overseeing the community around the ’90s web comic User Friendly. This… Continue reading 93. Reddit is powered by community moderators. We asked former senior mod Kethryvis if that can last.
Our Revised and Expanded Field Guide to Social Media is Coming Soon to MIT Press
In 2021, we published An Illustrated Field Guide to Social Media with the Knight First Amendment Institute. It was the culmination of a months-long exploration of alternative social media “logics” meant to encourage fresh thinking about the possibilities for social media. In the two years since, we’ve been heartened to see the book used in… Continue reading Our Revised and Expanded Field Guide to Social Media is Coming Soon to MIT Press
92. Where’d all the music blogs go? with Emilie Friedlander
Emilie Friedlander got her start covering Western Mass music while living in France, and made a career as a music editor at the biggest online magazines like Pitchfork and VICE. This week on Reimagining, Mike asks her: where did all the music writing go? Emilie Frielander is cohost of The Culture Journalist with Andrea Domanick.… Continue reading 92. Where’d all the music blogs go? with Emilie Friedlander
91. Global Voices has spent 19 years platforming bloggers in 52 languages. Georgia Popplewell, where does it go from here?
Georgia Popplewell has dedicated two decades to publishing local bloggers writing in 52 languages. What’s Global Voices fate in this strange era of the Internet? The long-time managing director of Global Voices joins the show to talk to her co-founder Ethan about the blogosphere of yore and why we’ll never stop needing global, local perspectives.… Continue reading 91. Global Voices has spent 19 years platforming bloggers in 52 languages. Georgia Popplewell, where does it go from here?
The Facebook Studies series on Reimagining the Internet
Facebook, after a very protracted saga that began with the Social Science One initiative, partnered with academics to allow them to research political data about the 2020 American presidential election on the platform. The first four studies from that research were published in Science and Nature this summer. We brought on three guests to talk… Continue reading The Facebook Studies series on Reimagining the Internet
Prospect (UK): How we’ve enshittified the tech economy
Ethan revisits enshitification.
90. Are American politics more polarized than ever? Brendan Nyhan thinks social media just helps us see it more.
Brendan Nyhan spends a lot of time researching America’s political polarization and the strength of its democracy with the organization he founded, Bright Line Watch. In part 2 of our interview with him, he tells us how questions about the state of America’s democracy really need to be put in the context that we didn’t… Continue reading 90. Are American politics more polarized than ever? Brendan Nyhan thinks social media just helps us see it more.
89. Facebook scores your politics with a number. Brendan Nyhan figured out what they do with it. (Part 1 of 2)
Does Facebook make people’s politics more extreme? Do algorithms force us into bubbles? Does social media threaten American democracy? Political scientist Brendan Nyhan used his permission to research political data on Facebook as an opportunity to tackle these questions head on. In part one of our interview with Brendan, he tells us about his contribution… Continue reading 89. Facebook scores your politics with a number. Brendan Nyhan figured out what they do with it. (Part 1 of 2)
88. Does Facebook change your politics? Talia Stroud is leading studies to find out.
Our first ever guest Talia Stroud is one of the principal investigators on a slate of social science research investigating Facebook’s impacts on the 2020 elections, and we’re thrilled to welcome her back to tell us about what her team is finding when they look at the funny things algorithms do, the pervasiveness of polarized… Continue reading 88. Does Facebook change your politics? Talia Stroud is leading studies to find out.