Here in the UK we have an estimated adult literacy rate of 99%, which the US is at 86%. Amongst UN member states, the average is 86.7%. Adult literacy has been one of the great triumphs of the 20th century, but it has also become a productive n

The Fall of the House of Apple: has the Silicon Valley giant become deeply uncool?

22 days ago 26m 10s

it’s time to talk about Apple. Apple that big, sleek, glossy company with a current market cap of some $3.3 trillion dollars. The same Apple with whose products you are, quite plausibly, listening to this podcast. Indeed, they’re the reason a p

The Uncertainty Paradox

Apr 2nd, 2024 34m 37s

The impact that technology has on psychology is a new field of research, and one where the multi-decade studies required to give definitive answers are still many years away. One of the other fields being covered is the area of certainty. Is th

A Brief History of (predominantly Artificial) Intelligence

Feb 28th, 2024 34m 52s

Today, we're speaking to Kester Brewin, an author who works for the delightfully named Institute for the Future of Work here in London. He’s just about to release a new book called God-like: a 500 year history of Artificial Intelligence in myth

The Age of Enshittification

Feb 20th, 2024 29m 36s

'Enshittification' is a word coined by the Canadian writer and technologist Cory Doctorow to describe, to filch Wikipedia’s definition, “the pattern of decreasing quality of online platforms that function as two-sided markets”. This is the tens

The Kids Aren't Alright

Feb 14th, 2024 38m 28s

I don’t want to be too pearl clutching in all this, but there are some kids who never touch grass, figuratively or literally. I see these groups of teenagers in London who seem to be chatting but seem also to have their headphones in, like they

The Work from Home Revolution

Jan 19th, 2024 36m 42s

Look, let’s get real: if you’re a bricklayer or a pilot or a veterinary nurse or a paediatric orthodontist or the pest control guy who delicately places pieces of cheese in mouse traps, there hasn’t been a work from home revolution. The revolut

The Hedge Bet on Humanity

Jan 8th, 2024 16m 1s

This is an atypical episode of The Ned Ludd Radio Hour to kick things off in 2024. Rather than an interview, or a missive from Ned, this is just an audio version of a blog called 'The Hedge Bet on Humanity'. Do listen and enjoy; next week we'll

The Media's Annus Horribilis

Dec 18th, 2023 38m 31s

My guest for today’s discussion, which looks back on 2023, which has been labelled by some (including everyone’s favourite Substacker Matt Yglesias) as the media’s “annus horribilis” is Ian Silvera. Ian is a former political journalist here in

Won't Somebody Please Think of the Workers?!

Dec 11th, 2023 31m 17s

Jathan Sadowski, my guest today, is an academic and our conversation is going to sound a bit academic. He’s a senior fellow at the Emerging Technologies Research Lab at Monash University in Melbourne. He has also authored a book called, worryin

The Lost Art of Making Stuff

Nov 27th, 2023 26m 20s

My guest today made a chicken sandwich. It took him 6 months and cost him $1500.Now, this wouldn’t usually be cause for inviting someone onto a podcast to talk about globalisation, but Andy George is no ordinary maker of chicken sandwiches. He

The Infinite Scroll Doom Loop

Nov 20th, 2023 25m 49s

This morning, upon waking – it’s currently 7:50am as I type, but not as I read – I lay in bed for the first half hour and scrolled through Instagram Reels. This isn’t something I do very often but it’s a pursuit that people around me – ahem – d

The Wikipedia Dilemma

Nov 13th, 2023 42m 19s

Today, I want to talk about Wikipedia – not because I think it’s under any real threat from Elon Musk or other external forces. Instead, I want to talk about it because I think it’s something of subtly profound importance in the internet age.In

Our Smartphone Addiction

Nov 6th, 2023 36m 53s

I’m a smartphone addict. I admit it. I’ve just checked my screentime on my Apple iPhone SE and it’s 1 hour and 28 minutes per day on average, a figure that should be shocking except that I know, from those around me, that it’s not very much by

The Right to Work

Oct 30th, 2023 38m 54s

This is The Ned Ludd Radio Hour – your weekly dose of tech scepticism, cynicism and absurdism. Hosted by me, Nick Hilton. This is a podcast for people who love tech and people who hate it (just not for those who don't care). Each week the new N

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Introducing... The Ned Ludd Radio Hour

Oct 24th, 2023 3m 32s

Once a week, and with the help of guests from across the world of technology and power, I’ll relay a message from the new NED LUDD, a shadowy figure of global technological importance. And then I’ll look at the biggest issues facing society and

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