We ❤️ Robots: Blade Runner, West World and Why We Feel Bad for Wall-E

U.S. Prisons and the Loss of Institutional Trust

Today's episode is about crime and punishment: Why are 20% of all prisoners incarcerated in the United States, if only 5% of the world's population live there? Henry E. James (University College London) is writing his PhD thesis about the loss of institutional trust in America. In this episode, we talk about how people lost their belief in the government's ability to do the right things, about mass incarceration and the "broken windows" theory. 00:00 - 08:16 Introduction: The loss of institutional trust in the last few decades 08:17 - 19:22 The punitive turn & why so many people are incarcerated in the U.S. 19:23 - 34:28 "Broken windows": Does a stronger police presence help reduce crime? 34:29 - 37:30 American prisons vs European prisons 37:31 - 48:46 College programs as a way of reintegrating prisoners 48:47 - 50:17 Henry's future projects Follow Henry's projects here: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/social-historical-sciences/americas/research/research-students/henry-e-james

We ❤️ Robots: Blade Runner, West World and Why We Feel Bad for Wall-E

Are robots the better people? In his PhD project, Jiacheng Mo (Heidelberg University) analyzes artificial minds in anglophone literature. Today, we talk about whether robots dream of electric sheep (pun intended), empathy tests and the (non-)human mind. 00:00 – 02:22 Introduction 02:23 – 10:50 Why we have empathy with robots 10:51 – 20:07 Frankenstein, Blade Runner and other literary artificial minds 20:08 – 32:40 What’s the difference between (literary) humans and robots? 32:41 – 36:41Why we need stories in our lives 36:42 – 39:23 Jiacheng’s future projects Follow Jiacheng's projects here: instagram.com/frankmjecheng

When AI Revives the Dead: Grief, Capitalism and True Crime (Interview with Dr. Jenny Kidd & Dr. Bethan Jones (Cardiff University))

What if you could chat with someone who's no longer alive? It sounds dystopian, but several websites already offer their customers to create so-called deathbots - AI avatars of deceased people. I talked to Dr. Jenny Kidd and Dr. Bethan Jones (Cardiff University) about the ethics of digital afterlives, how AI could change our ways of grieving and our attitudes towards death in general, and how true crime victims are exploited with AI deathbots. 00:00 - 04:15: Introduction 04:16 - 16:16: MyHeritage's Deep Nostalgia tool & the ethics of bringing old family photos to life with AI 16:17 - 19:09: Is "The Substance" becoming a reality thanks to AI? 19:10 - 26:09: How to influence your own commemoration with a pre-mortem avatar 26:10 - 32:27: How authentic are these avatars? 32:28 - 36:26: Grief & capitalism 36:27 - 40:54: AI & the exploitation of true crime victims 40:55 - 44:09: Deathbots giving testimony in court 44:10 - 48:47: Will AI change how we grieve? 48:48 - 55:26: Reviving serial killers and holocaust victims with AI 55:27 - 01:01:28: Jenny's and Bethan's current & future projects You can follow Bethan on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:7cwwdtps5lzr7gwsbfbxyuzs and on her website: https://bethanvjones.wordpress.com/ And you can follow Jenny on her website: https://profiles.cardiff.ac.uk/staff/kiddjc2 and on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenny-kidd-92999638a/?originalSubdomain=uk

Haunted by the Soviet Past: Trauma in Contemporary Russian Literature (Interview with Lara Righi (University of Verona))

In this episode, we’re looking at the other side of the Iron Curtain: we’re talking about Soviet trauma in the form of undead creatures that haunt contemporary Russian literature, about Soviet Westerns, and the question whether the USSR was a colonial empire. Lara Righi, PhD candidate at the University of Verona, talks with us about post-memory, the relationship between Russia and Belarus, and Great Patriotic War aka World War II. 00:00 – 10:17: Introduction 10:18 – 24:18: Gothic themes in contemporary Russian literature 24:19 – 29:54: Sasha Filipenko and Marija Stepanova 29:55 – 41:11: The USSR – a colonial empire? 41:12 – 54:12: Filipenko’s A Former Son 54:13 – 1:06:25: Soviet Westerns 01:06:26 – 01:09:21: Lara’s future projects

The US turns 250 - What Can We Expect? (Interview with Dr. Alexander "Xan" Karn (Colgate University))

It's time to party! 🎉 Next year, the US turns 250 years old. The celebration of the so-called "Semiquincentennial" has been in the planning phase for 9 years at this point - but we don't know what to expect, because what started under the Obama administration has slowly morphed into a MAGA project. Historian Dr. Alexander "Xan" Karn talks with us about how anniversaries shape our memory of historic events, about American patriotism and the distortion of history by "memory trolls." If you want to learn more about Xan's research & future projects, you can follow him on Mastodon (@xankarn@mastodon.online) or on his website xankarn.net. 00:00 - 06:21: Introduction: The 250th birthday of the Army in 2025 and the No Kings protests 06:21 - 13:58: What is the Semiquincentennial and why should we care? 13:59 - 21:15: The Hollywood-ification of history and liberal kitsch 21:16 - 30:10: The MAGA version of history 30:11 - 35:44: Behind-the-scenes drama in the planning process 35:45 - 40:45: What is a memory troll? 40:46 - 01:01:03: Is non-traditional patriotism possible in a politically divided country? 01:01:04 - 01:04:49: Past birthdays of the United States and why this one is different 01:04:50 - 01:07:38: Hamilton - a MAGA musical? 01:07:39 - 01:10:21: Xan's future projects