On automation and "The AI Con" with Dr. Alex Hanna

On automation and "The AI Con" with Dr. Alex Hanna

Almost every institution is pushing AI, but what does that word actually refer too? Dr. Alex Hanna joins us to discuss her and Emily M. Bender's book, "The AI Con," and the many forms of automation that fall under the marketing term "artificial intelligence." We explore their many social consequences, and what can be done about them. The Distributed AI Research Institute (DAIR) https://dair-institute.org/ [https://dair-institute.org/] Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 https://dair-institute.org/maiht3k/ [https://dair-institute.org/maiht3k/] The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want by Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna https://thecon.ai/ [https://thecon.ai/] Luddite Lab https://labor.dair-institute.org/ [https://labor.dair-institute.org/] Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass by Mary Gray and Siddharth Suri https://marylgray.org/bio/on-demand/ [https://marylgray.org/bio/on-demand/] Data Workers Inquiry Project https://data-workers.org/ [https://data-workers.org/] The first signs of burnout are coming from the people who embrace AI the most by Connie Loizos https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/09/the-first-signs-of-burnout-are-coming-from-the-people-who-embrace-ai-the-most/ [https://techcrunch.com/2026/02/09/the-first-signs-of-burnout-are-coming-from-the-people-who-embrace-ai-the-most/] What Does AI Do? University management and technologies of crisis by Daniel Green https://www.aaup.org/issue/spring-2026/what-does-ai-do [https://www.aaup.org/issue/spring-2026/what-does-ai-do] Masheika Allgood of AllAI Consulting, LLC https://www.allai-us.com/about [https://www.allai-us.com/about] The AI Resist List https://airesistlist.org/ [https://airesistlist.org/]

On imagining the impossible with Dr. Arthur Scarritt

Listen along as we chat with Michelle’s first academic mentor, Dr. Arthur Scarritt, about his research and publications, modern sociopolitical dynamics, and imagining the impossible. "Koch Brothers Exposed" documentary link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N8y2SVerW8 [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2N8y2SVerW8] Link to Scarritt et al.'s 2025 "Why Conservatives Embrace Social Democracy": https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15365042251318674 [https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/15365042251318674]

On community-engaged research and racial capitalism with Dr. Yasi Shaker

In this episode, Wynn, Winona, and Michelle speak with Dr. Yasi Shaker about their community-engaged dissertation research on practical processes that combat racial capitalism. See also: what brings us hope among the current catastrophe, healing injustices in our socioecological communities, and turning sociological concepts into tattoos. Find Dr. Shaker's work here: https://yasishaker.com/ [https://yasishaker.com/] https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iIao3JMAAAAJ&hl=en [https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=iIao3JMAAAAJ&hl=en] https://mobilemooncoop.org/ [https://mobilemooncoop.org/] https://www.undertheumbrellabookstore.com/product/oracle-deck-garden-comrades-yasi-shaker/12650 [https://www.undertheumbrellabookstore.com/product/oracle-deck-garden-comrades-yasi-shaker/12650]

On Activism & Shared Humanity with Judi Hill

In this episode, we chat with Akron NAACP chapter President Judi Hill about her education and activist work in and around Akron, OH as well as our shared humanity. Akron NAACP: https://www.naacpakron.org/ [https://www.naacpakron.org/]

Ep. 3: On Male Supremacist Online Spaces with Dr. Rina James

Wynn, Winona, and Michelle talk with Rina James, who since this episode completed their PhD in Sociology at University of Arizona! Rina explores gender, digital culture, and far-right politics, as their dissertation maps user trajectories across male supremacist communities on Reddit, identifying individual, community, and platform-level factors that drive differential participation and radicalization in far-right extremist movements.