Douglas Rushkoff has long been one of my public-intellectual heroes – a short list that also includes Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein and Bob McChesney. You might know one of his 20 books about media culture (Program or Be Programmed, Life Inc., Throwing Rocks at the Google Bus) or his Frontline documentaries (Generation Like, The Persuaders). MIT called him one of the world’s 10 most influential thinkers.
I was totally elated when Rushkoff invited me to talk on the Team Human podcast recently. His mission jibes perfectly with Slow Media! Blaed Spence, a warrior-shaman and co-founder of Wired magazine, gave her own spin on life beyond screens, too. The podcast starts with a saucy monologue by Rushkoff, a sassy conversation with Spence (at 12‘30), and then my talk at (39‘0).
There’s an odd moment where I told the audience they don’t need to buy stuff or use social media to justify their existence, that they’re okay the way they are. For some reason, everyone chuckled. My sentiment was sincere, no joke!
Ep. 123 Live from Portland with Blaed Spence and Jennifer Rauch “Beyond the Screen”