#34 Digital Infrastructure with Nicole Starosielski

#34 Digital Infrastructure with Nicole Starosielski

When you send a message to a friend—whether by text, email, or social media—you probably don’t think much about where it’s actually going. We’ve grown so accustomed to our free-floating devices and digital clouds and seemingly wireless connectivity that we might not realize just how wired our digital world truly is. The reality is, every message we send travels through a vast physical system: routers, cell towers, data centers, power grids, and miles of undersea and terrestrial fiber networks. And every part of it depends on human decisions. This means that the future of digital infrastructure depends not just on engineers but on policymakers, biologists, economists, designers, even journalists. But how do we bring all these people together? Nicole Starosielski, professor of Film and Media at UC Berkeley, is working on exactly that. She studies the hidden physical systems that make the internet possible—from undersea cables to global media networks to the environmental costs of connectivity—and is training a new generation of leaders who can navigate this field across all dimensions. Further reading: * "Professor Nicole Starosielski (Film & Media) launches world's first certificate in internet infrastructure at Berkeley [https://artshumanities.berkeley.edu/news/professor-nicole-starosielski-film-media-launches-worlds-first-certificate-internet]" * UC Berkeley's Summer Minor and Certificate in Global Digital Infrastructure (GDI) [https://bcnm.berkeley.edu/digital-infrastructures/] This episode was written and hosted by Pat Joseph and Leah Worthington and produced by Coby McDonald.  Special thanks to Nicole Starosielski, Pat Joseph, and Nat Alcantara. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1074376/support]

#33 Talking to Whales with Gašper Beguš

For decades, researchers believed that whales communicated using a sort of underwater Morse code—simple, repeated patterns of clicks. But recent advances in technology have revealed a much more complex, even human-like language. Now, with artificial intelligence, scientists are getting closer than ever to translating their vocalizations. UC Berkeley’s Gašper Beguš is one such researcher building advanced AI to learn and decipher sperm whale communication. But what happens when we crack the code? What might whales tell us—and what would be the practical, ethical, and legal implications of what we learn?  Further reading: * Berkeley News [https://ls.berkeley.edu/news/uc-berkeley-and-project-ceti-study-shows-sperm-whales-communicate-ways-similar-humans] - “UC Berkeley and Project CETI study shows sperm whales communicate in ways similar to humans” * National Geographic [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/whale-communication-legal-personhood] - “Whales could one day be heard in court—and in their own words” National Geographic [https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/ai-animal-language-whale-calls] - “What are animals saying? AI may help decode their languages” * Legal Paper [https://download.ssrn.com/2025/10/23/5165527.pdf?response-content-disposition=inline&X-Amz-Security-Token=IQoJb3JpZ2luX2VjEMz%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FwEaCXVzLWVhc3QtMSJHMEUCIAnFWG8ZjMxClnFJoU0gkL40qnP36Rp3vVrs37cAtjCFAiEAncdb7IqlJAG54ap1quhwy%2F1Gfxg%2B2F%2FQqTO7RoqA%2Fo8qxQUIlP%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2F%2FARAEGgwzMDg0NzUzMDEyNTciDEbPTyr2S9G9c2qtIyqZBRxkmLekhEv%2FvIyODZIiLTbdqa4bZCuzv%2FwFtyqKbLEmwiT%2BHcnaca0xboedcwBewsEOsKLVZU2rcl7lvAM4bHUhHRHuQ0UjmAcog4pAbJu4xelCobnfeDUsEWNT%2BN424YTS426BvzGgUimDVBw1H4ESI0epHdf72N8v2RSTALeqOGeai%2FyoCe7LkCUoW4V5TyMVkNnRlMLxZOSvU4QvNROi%2F7SzqyyKYBLuHs0l9pQ4TXEA8wKjTDFv%2B%2BpEiOeGG%2F6A5OJCcpEgBdWTt5T%2FmRWH9exVna%2FFJ0B3gH2q5zorWvbnbrrO1ZD5%2B8LqbO3Hnd62ynV40xeVjYuzFLa%2F1I38ltZlemu3acyf8JzrywaKFBhRpktf4QbUMUo0Hx1J1w4B4k2cDi9a%2FBATPYQa5Ie1LAQ5xcUcsO3RhLKyTGcBXbOqEwyjGSrmhaG5aisftNIqAf4nLDJrEdQ5W2srzVNL8Y8D7K3iT8xWvMmLKuZpaGjySkqSFl1Io8mHqroj%2B4mLbUQK%2FAa%2FPldyeP94fJSBT1PzZILsrHYeydS1YW4i6GUdRYJ6ujPZP5lLkiW6%2Fl35LIuQvAR0Dn6pVa51dP8P0bfKfT7Z9YHuhf%2FtNDNRUVOnwixdLruFKVLJh4fhSAbnVwi1426rag3%2FlOUT38B2GR9MG2lJB1t8myoW1eDfuopiBrQ1dT1xhyDfjg1h1a9k%2FYxJN%2F5gNGmV7j%2B0W9ypAiFwsbqK8%2Bf7Y7h8sTf2odDdt20MpfO%2BL0DffydSOrENAfuH5N61egEVlD7yHGfldOeW77q1HUWg%2BIEGs8p%2BUCrn94MGGHH%2FJJptScR%2BafpskmFbx2s%2FrHSzbkp%2Brq0Yd3YOyxMF1WioOAzZK13c371fLZRP%2BFfIMPOFgMsGOrEBjaTpWp%2BFsXnBq%2Fq0FgSJX9xh0T92ptRgV4VQOgEV0vXpAKR6EW7tsgowZvJSLaiW9YK5S3Viojj7cOa4TtShVPtizlAEhTRONKvthOK6%2Byl0oWpMmY7qmARKx5fA4jfeM1vfFsTXq004Pnk79ZatuDkQnbC%2Fe%2FJQO5SMiICt5D8kW6AJ5qavWK5F783pqX%2Fnv65IocbecumPFNl04Y0oZxh%2BYUKK67gzTO0HXQqNXpOK&X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Date=20260108T201955Z&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Expires=300&X-Amz-Credential=ASIAUPUUPRWE6HYNHWHL%2F20260108%2Fus-east-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Signature=a84287dbbadeaa6173753a07a9b2755e47455208c4e232dfe78dfe07f1cf60f4&abstractId=5165527] - “What if We Understood What Animals Are Saying?: The Legal Impact of AI-Assisted Studies of Animal Communication” * NYU More-Than-Human Rights report [https://mothlife.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Listening-to-Our-Animal-Kin_MOTH-Report.pdf] - “Listening to Our Animal Kin: Legal and Ethical Principles for Nonhuman Animal Communication Technologies” This episode was written and hosted by Leah Worthington and Nat Alcantara and produced by Coby McDonald.  Special thanks to Gašper Beguš, Pat Joseph, and Laura Smith. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1074376/support]

#32 Cults with Poulomi Saha

Wild Wild Country. Escaping NXIVM. The Path. Holy Hell. That’s just a few of the vast and growing collection of documentaries, podcasts, docuseries exploring the history and legacy of cults. What explains this explosion of interest? Associate professor of English and resident cult expert Poulomi Saha joins Editor-in-Chief Pat Joseph live onstage to discuss America’s long enthrallment with—and participation in—cults.  Further reading:  * Watch the full [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CjptwMirx8U] live conversation with Poulomi Saha on YouTube * Buy your tickets [https://www.eventbrite.com/e/alone-in-the-algorithm-human-connection-in-the-age-of-ai-tickets-1978652307315?aff=erelexpmlt] for “Alone in the Algorithm: Human Connection in the Age of AI” with Berkeley Professor Jodi Halpern and technologist Jaron Lanier on March 26  This episode was produced by Coby McDonald.  Special thanks to Alex Filippenko, Pat Joseph, and Nat Alcantara. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1074376/support]

#31 Bad Bunny with Petra Rivera-Rideau

No doubt you’ve heard a thing or two about Bad Bunny recently. He’s a rapper, singer, and producer, also known as the “King of Latin Trap”—and reggaeton, of course—who’s soon to become the first solo Latino to headline the Super Bowl. But he’s also Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio, a 31-year-old from Puerto Rico and an outspokenly political artist, using his platform and music to address humanitarian crises, gender-based violence, and political corruption. Our guest today is Petra Rivera-Rideau, an expert in music and racial politics who completed her Ph.D. at UC Berkeley and also holds the distinct honor of having taught the first-ever (as far as we know) course on Bad Bunny. She talks about her latest book, P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance, Bad Bunny’s artistic and political legacy, and the rise of popstar-studies in academia.  Further reading: * Book: P FKN R: How Bad Bunny Became the Global Voice of Puerto Rican Resistance [https://www.dukeupress.edu/p-fkn-r]byPetra Rivera-Rideau * The Bad Bunny Syllabus [https://www.badbunnysyllabus.com/] by Petra Rivera-Rideau and Vanessa Diaz  * Article: “How Bad Bunny Saved the Grammys [https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-lede/how-bad-bunny-saved-the-grammys]” by Brady Brickner-Wood, The New Yorker * Video: “El Apagón [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QdQEljUMCEM&list=RDQdQEljUMCEM&start_radio=1]” by Bad Bunny * Video: “TURiSTA [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7-7TXXnw8I&list=RDH7-7TXXnw8I&start_radio=1]” by Bad Bunny  * Video: “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLSzEYVDads&list=RDgLSzEYVDads&start_radio=1]” by Bad Bunny This episode was written and hosted by Leah Worthington and Nat Alcantara and produced by Coby McDonald.  Special thanks to Petra Rivera-Rideau, Pat Joseph, and Laura Smith. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1074376/support]

#30 Deepfakes with Hany Farid

Some Catholics no doubt took offense, but no one was seriously harmed by the Pope-in-a-puffer-jacket meme. Far more sinister deepfakes are on the rise, however, with scammers now frequently using widely available technology to bilk the unwary, and political campaigns marshaling AI to sow lies about their opponents. Perhaps the greatest threat is not the deepfakes themselves but that their mere existence can cause us to question the veracity of nearly everything we see and hear online and in the media. So, how concerned should we be about the proliferation of fake media? And what, if anything, is being done to staunch the bleeding? UC Berkeley Professor Hany Farid, a pioneer in the field of digital forensics, joins Editor-in-Chief Pat Joseph live onstage to discuss what the growing onslaught of mis- and disinformation portends for our society and what we can do to manage it. Further reading:  * Watch the full [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38qOi2ahojc] live conversation with Hany Farid on YouTube * Find out more [https://alumni.berkeley.edu/get-involved/californialive/] about California Live! events  This episode was produced by Coby McDonald.  Special thanks to Hany Farid, Pat Joseph, and Nat Alcantara. Art by Michiko Toki and original music by Mogli Maureal. Additional music from Blue Dot Sessions. Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/1074376/support]