S1E109 - Cory Doctorow - The Intersection of Storytelling and Technology
Michael Krasny interviewed best-selling author Cory Doctorow (with over 150 million book sales globally), initially exploring his personal and national backgrounds. They discussed why Doctorow sees himself as more closely tied to science fiction as a genre, despite the range of his writings. They delved into how he became so knowledgeable about technology and why he dropped out of four different colleges. The interview also touched on his surname and the likely lack of blood kinship to acclaimed American author E.L. Doctorow. They explored the source of his prolific drive and the challenges he faces managing physical pain. Krasny asked about didacticism in his fiction, and they discussed his early novel "Little Brother," the origin of the name of his co-edited blog Boing Boing, the best sci-fi writers, and Daniel Pinkwater, a writer Doctorow greatly admires. Listener questions followed, covering topics such as copyright laws, the effect of AI and blockchains, emerging technologies, Doctorow's definition of a monopoly, Apple users, and Apple surveillance. The interview concluded with a discussion of immigration and the need for labor-intensive workers.
Biography
Cory Doctorow (craphound.com) is a science fiction author, activist, and journalist. His latest novels are THE BEZZLE (a followup to RED TEAM BLUES) and THE LOST CAUSE, a solarpunk science fiction novel of hope amidst the climate emergency. His most recent nonfiction book is THE INTERNET CON: HOW TO SEIZE THE MEANS OF COMPUTATION, a Big Tech disassembly manual. He is the author of the international young adult LITTLE BROTHER series. He is also the author of CHOKEPOINT CAPITALISM (with Rebecca Giblin), about creative labor markets and monopoly; HOW TO DESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about conspiracies and monopolies; and of RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults, a YA graphic novel called IN REAL LIFE; and other young adult novels like PIRATE CINEMA. His first picture book was POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER (Aug 2020). His next novel is THE BEZZLE (February 2024). He maintains a daily blog at Pluralistic.net. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. In 2022, he earned the Sir Arthur Clarke Imagination in Service to Society Awardee for lifetime achievement. In 2024, the Media Ecology Association awarded him the Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity. York University (Canada) made him an Honourary Doctor of Laws; and the Open University (UK) made him an Honorary Doctor of Computer Science.
Conversation recorded on December 6, 2024.