Spark

All podcast episodes

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226: Falling in love with artificial intelligence. Context-aware computing and common ground. Soldiers and robots. The beauty of glitch art.

Julie Carpernter on soldiers and their field robots. Phillip Stearns on glitch art. Brian Christian on falling in love with artificial intelligence. Hossein Rahnama and Saul Greenberg on context-aware computing and common ground.

Download 226: Falling in love with artificial intelligence. Context-aware computing and common ground. Soldiers and robots. The beauty of glitch art.
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

225: Autonomous cars and the future of cities. Always-on video communication. Ambient sound in the workplace.

Danny Robinson and Saul Greenberg on always-on video systems in the workplace. Julian Treasure on ambient sound in the workplace. Ryan Chin and James Pisz on autonomous cars and the future of cities.

Download 225: Autonomous cars and the future of cities. Always-on video communication. Ambient sound in the workplace.
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Autonomous Cars and the Future of Cities

Ryan Chin, managing director of the City Science Initiative at the MIT Media Lab, on the potential benefits of autonomous cars and the impact they may have on urban centres.

Download Autonomous Cars and the Future of Cities
[mp3 file: runs 00:14:44]

224: Nourishing online community. Designing workplace culture. The NSA, surveillance, and you. Serendipity and global connection.

Wendy Powley and Caterina Fake on nourishing online community. Dan Misener on The NSA, surveillance and encryption. Teresa Brazen on designing workplace culture. Ethan Zuckerman on his book Rewire.

Download 224: Nourishing online community. Designing workplace culture. The NSA, surveillance, and you. Serendipity and global connection.
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Always-on videoconferencing

Perch is a Vancouver-based company that recently released an iOS app for "always-on video communication." Nora Young interviewed CEO Danny Robinson about Perch, using Perch.

Download Always-on videoconferencing
[mp3 file: runs 00:12:13]

223: Flipping the Classroom. The Digital Skills Divide. Inequality and Digital Engagement. Inequality and Digital Engagement. Laptop Distractibility. Redefining Intelligence.

Carolyn Durley on the flipped classroom. Anabel Quan-Haase on the digital divide. Laura Robinson on inequality and digital engagement. Faria Sana and Dan Misener on laptop distractibility. Scott Barry Kaufman on his book Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined.

Download 223: Flipping the Classroom. The Digital Skills Divide. Inequality and Digital Engagement. Inequality and Digital Engagement. Laptop Distractibility. Redefining Intelligence.
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Inequality and Digital Engagement

Laura Robinson is an assistant professor of sociology at Santa Clara University. Her recent research suggests "peer learning" can help bridge some gaps in digital facility between those with internet access at home, and those who don't have it.

Download Inequality and Digital Engagement
[mp3 file: runs 00:18:08]

Falling in love with artificial intelligence

Nora interviews Brian Christian, author of The Most Human Human, about the plausibility of falling in love with a piece of software.

Download Falling in love with artificial intelligence
[mp3 file: runs 00:23:54]

The Digital Divide

From social networking to writing essays, Anabel Quan-Haase's research looks at how socioeconomic inequalities influence the digital skills we develop. Host Nora Young speaks to her about the nuances of the digital skills divide in Canada.

Download The Digital Divide
[mp3 file: runs 00:18:42]

Spark's Summer Plans

Thanks for downloading season six of Spark! We're on production hiatus until mid-August, when you’ll start getting full interviews that we’ll feature on season seven. Thanks for listening, stay subscribed, and have a great summer!

Download Spark's Summer Plans
[mp3 file: runs 00:00:28]

Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection

Ethan Zuckerman is director of the Center for Civic Media at MIT, and the author of Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection.

Download Rewire: Digital Cosmopolitans in the Age of Connection
[mp3 file: runs 00:29:11]

Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined

Scott Barry Kaufman is a cognitive psychologist at New York University. His new book is called Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. In it, he critiques the idea of intelligence (or even multiple intelligences) as a fixed 'thing'.

Download Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined
[mp3 file: runs 00:20:35]

222: Achieving work-life balance on vacation. Tech lessons from Hutterites and the Amish. Conflict minerals in our tech devices.

Kenny Wollmann and Kevin Kelly on tech lessons from Hutterites and the Amish. Paul Dewar and Tessa Wernink on conflict minerals in our tech devices. Linda Duxbury on achieving work-life balance on vacation.

Download 222: Achieving work-life balance on vacation. Tech lessons from Hutterites and the Amish. Conflict minerals in our tech devices.
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

221: The Future of Work. Workplace Science. Rethinking Recruiting and the Resume. The Automated Workforce. Live/work Homestead Design. The Information Economy.

Vivienne Ming on rethinking recruiting. Christopher Kennedy on going beyond the traditional resume. Martin Ford on the automated workforce and our future. Jaron Lanier on building an information economy. Ben Falk on holistic live/work design.

Download 221: The Future of Work. Workplace Science. Rethinking Recruiting and the Resume. The Automated Workforce. Live/work Homestead Design. The Information Economy.
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

The Modern-day Homestead

Ben Falk on modern-day homesteading – planning self-sustaining plots of land to both live and work on.

Download The Modern-day Homestead
[mp3 file: runs 00:17:46]

The Automated Workforce

Nora Young interviews Martin Ford, author of The Lights in the Tunnel: Automation, Accelerating Technology and the Economy of the Future.

Download The Automated Workforce
[mp3 file: runs 00:22:46]

220: Aphorism, Fragment and Tweet. Internet Linguistics. Visual Effects and Perception. Tom Green Versus the Web. Service Design.

Simon Reader on aphorism and tweeting. David Crystal on internet linguistics. Jesse Wente and Mohan Matthen on visual effects. Denis Grignon on Tom Green. Lavrans Lovlie on service design.

Download 220: Aphorism, Fragment and Tweet. Internet Linguistics. Visual Effects and Perception. Tom Green Versus the Web. Service Design.
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

219: Data Harvesting and Social Games, The Battle for Cyberspace, Cooking and Science, Employees Eating Together, Molecules and Wine

Florence Chee on data harvesting and social games. Ron Deibert on Black Code: Inside the Battle for Cyberspace. Joel Spolsky on Eating Together. Francois Chartier on Molecules and Wine. Kenji Lopez-Alt on Cooking and Science.

Download 219: Data Harvesting and Social Games, The Battle for Cyberspace, Cooking and Science, Employees Eating Together, Molecules and Wine
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Black Code

Nora Young interviews Ron Deibert, director of the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs at the University of Toronto, and author of Black Code: Inside the Battle for Cyberspace.

Download Black Code
[mp3 file: runs 00:22:25]

Internet Linguistics

Academic, linguist, broadcaster, author (over 120 books!), David Crystal also developed the field of internet linguistics to understand how people use language online. Nora Young speaks to him about why texting and tweeting have been good for language.

Download Internet Linguistics
[mp3 file: runs 00:19:20]

218: Big Data, Small Data, Datification, Corellation versus Causation, Stock Market Trading, Health Informatics, Open Knowledge

Rick Smolan on The Human Face of Big Data. Viktor Mayer-Schonberger on datification. Carolyn McGregor on neonatal data. Danielle Bochove on big data and the stock market. Rufus Pollock in favour of small data.

Download 218: Big Data, Small Data, Datification, Corellation versus Causation, Stock Market Trading, Health Informatics, Open Knowledge
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

217: Estrangement Online, Unexpected Friend Suggestions, Communication Tech and Identity, 3D Scanning and Printing, Piracy and Copyright Law

Becca Bland on estrangement online. Michelle Parise on unexpected friend suggestions. Caro Rolando on communication tech and identity. Dan Misener on 3D scanning. Paul Banwatt on 3D scanning, printing and the law. Matt Mason on 3D piracy.

Download 217: Estrangement Online, Unexpected Friend Suggestions, Communication Tech and Identity, 3D Scanning and Printing, Piracy and Copyright Law
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

216: Texting, Over-the-top Messaging, Race and Online Dating, Preserving Virtual Worlds, Emulation and Preservation of Video Games

Dan Misener on texting and over-the-top messaging. Kaj Hasselriis and Christian Grov on racism and online dating. Patrick Moran on the history of video games. Jason Scott on video game emulation. Jerome McDonough on preserving virtual worlds.

Download 216: Texting, Over-the-top Messaging, Race and Online Dating, Preserving Virtual Worlds, Emulation and Preservation of Video Games
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Viktor Mayer-Schönberger on Big Data

Nora Young interviews Viktor Mayer-Schönberger about his new book, Big Data: A Revolution That Will Transform How We Live, Work, and Think.

Download Viktor Mayer-Schönberger on Big Data
[mp3 file: runs 00:25:16]

215: Limits of Crowdsourcing, E-Library Letdown, The Story of Noise, What Modern Noise Annoys You?

Zeynep Tufekci on the limits of crowdsourcing. Peter Rukavina, Jane Pyper, Carolyn Wood, and David O'Brien on the challenges of e-book lending. Michelle Parise on what noise annoys listeners most. Mike Goldsmith on his book Discord: The Story of Noise.

Download 215: Limits of Crowdsourcing, E-Library Letdown, The Story of Noise, What Modern Noise Annoys You?
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Mike Goldsmith on the History of Noise

Mike Goldsmith, in his book "Discord: The Story of Noise", paints an historical picture of how and why external noise annoys us so MUCH. Mike argues that noise has been tied to technology and also to class because it’s tied up with ideas about progress.

Download Mike Goldsmith on the History of Noise
[mp3 file: runs 00:16:55]

Rick Smolan on The Human Face of Big Data

Rick Smolan says that Big Data is like "watching the world come alive and develop a nervous system. It's unlike anything we've ever seen before." Nora Young interviews Rick about his book, The Human Face of Big Data

Download Rick Smolan on The Human Face of Big Data
[mp3 file: runs 00:26:56]

214: Listen, Touch, Command

Veronica Simmonds on sound online. Martin Howard, Bill Buxton, Stan Liebowitz, Philip Steadman and Jared Spool on the QWERTY keyboard. Jonty Sharples and Dan Vogel on gestural computing.

Download 214: Listen, Touch, Command
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Jay Frank on Twitter #music

Earlier today, Twitter launched its new #music service, which aims to help you find and listen to music, based on artists you follow, and what other Twitter users are listening to. Music writer and record company CEO Jay Frank weighs in.

Download Jay Frank on Twitter #music
[mp3 file: runs 00:08:05]

213: Longevity, Integration, Disposal

Cliff Hacking on e-waste disposal in Canada. David Fleming on real estate and virtual staging. Julia Pagel on the Integrative Thinking technique in schools. Phil Gyford, Jason Scott, and Meg Ambrose on data longevity and web ephemerality.

Download 213: Longevity, Integration, Disposal
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Panel: e-books, public libraries, and artificial scarcity

Peter Rukavina, Jane Pyper, Carolyn Wood, and David O'Brien discuss e-book lending in public libraries.

Download Panel: e-books, public libraries, and artificial scarcity
[mp3 file: runs 00:39:02]

212: Get it, Keep it, Fix it

Brian Lam on getting good gadgets. Gina Trapani and Anil Dash on keeping your tech gadgets. Ian Urbina on what happens to our unwanted gadgets. Kyle Wiens on learning to fix your tech.

Download 212: Get it, Keep it, Fix it
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

211: Smart Elevators, Design Fiction, Internet Centrism

Riding in smart, responsive elevators. Getting skeptical about the internet as a single, abstract force. And designing technologies that don't even exist yet!

Download 211: Smart Elevators, Design Fiction, Internet Centrism
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

210: Surveillance, Sharing, Colour

David Murakami Wood on surveillance and tech. Roz Kavander on colour forecasting. Alice Marwick, Gary Flake, Stephanie Nolen, and Maciej Ceglowski on social sharing and the divide between public and private online.

Download 210: Surveillance, Sharing, Colour
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

Brian Lam on The Wirecutter

A feature interview with Brian Lam about his website The Wirecutter, why he left Gizmodo, and what's wrong with tech writing in 2013.

Download Brian Lam on The Wirecutter
[mp3 file: runs 00:15:04]

209: Distraction, Willpower, Creative Coding

Elah Feder on outsourcing willpower. Francesca Gino on decision making and getting sidetracked. Diana Kimball and Seb Lee-Delisle on creative coding. Jeff Atwood on creating civil discourse online.

Download 209: Distraction, Willpower, Creative Coding
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]

208: Collaboration, Crowdwork, Wearable Computing

Kate Hartman on wearable computing. JP Davidson on crowdworking. Rachel Botsman, Will Johnston, Lili Carvalho, and April Rinne on collaborative consumption.

Download 208: Collaboration, Crowdwork, Wearable Computing
[mp3 file: runs 00:53:59]