Tech Empire addresses challenges posed by the information society. Hosted by Michael Kwet at Yale University, it takes a global perspective on 21st century politics. This show challenges the tech-driven status quo being created by state and corporate power, and explores how we can create a world where technology makes life better for everyone. From big data surveillance to information equality, from #BlackLivesMatter to #FeesMustFall in South Africa, Tech Empire strikes at the heart of power in the digital age.

Tech Empire with Michael Kwet and Tshi Malatji

This episode welcomes Robert Pollin and Jason Hickel to discuss the climate crisis and degrowth. The show is divided into four main parts. First, it lays out key concepts and information about the climate crisis. We then discuss solutions, including a global Green New Deal and a post-growth, redistributive solutions for society. Next, we explore the concept of “degrowth”, as understood within the context of colonialism and global inequality. This section includes a conversation between Pollin and Hickel about planetary boundaries and the growing degrowth current within the environmental movement. Finally, we discuss the Biden administration and European policy, as well as workers’ movements and international activism from below.

Robert Pollin is Co-Director and Distinguished Professor of Economics of the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. His most recent book is called Climate Crisis and the Global Green New Deal: The Political Economy of Saving the Planet, co-authored with Noam Chomsky.

Jason Hickel is a Visiting Senior Fellow at the International Inequalities Institute at the London School of Economics, and Senior Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London. His most recent book is called Less is More: How Degrowth Will Save the World. You can follow Jason on Twitter at @jasonhickel.

Michael Kwet is a Visiting Fellow of the Information Society Project at Yale Law School and received his PhD in Sociology from Rhodes University in South Africa. You can follow Michael on Twitter at @michael_kwet.

Robert Pollin at UMass-Amherst: https://www.umass.edu/economics/pollin 

Jason Hickel at Twitter:  https://twitter.com/jasonhickel 

Michael Kwet at Twitter: https://twitter.com/Michael_Kwet 

Tech Empire at Twitter: https://twitter.com/techempirecast

The Climate Crisis and Degrowth with Robert Pollin & Jason Hickel

This episode welcomes Jack Poulson to discuss Project Maven and the relationship between tech and the US military. Last month, Jack released a report at his organization, Tech Inquiry, revealing the extensive relationship between tech corporations and the US military via Project Maven. We discuss the kinds of technologies in the project, including drone surveillance, automated military tanks, location surveillance, and social media surveillance. We also discuss what we can infer about how the project, and some of these technologies, might work together. 

Jack Poulson is the Executive Director of Tech Inquiry and former Google AI Research Scientist and Assistant Professor of Mathematics at Stanford. You can follow him on Twitter at @_jack_poulson.

Tech Militarism and Project Maven with Jack Poulson

This episode welcomes Joe Fassler to discuss lab-grown meat. Last month, Joe released an in-depth article, “Lab-grown meat is supposed to be inevitable. The science tells a different story.”, at the non-profit news outlet, The Counter. His article challenges the popular idea that meat can be grown at an affordable scale to replace the industrial slaughter of animals for consumption. Joe explains how lab-grown meat works, and he breaks down the science and economic constraints showing that lab-grown meat will almost certainly never reach mass production.

Joe Fassler is a reporter and Deputy Editor at The Counter. You can follow him on Twitter at @Joe_Fassler. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast and the host, Michael Kwet, at @Michael_Kwet.

Lab-Grown Meat: Reasons to be Skeptical with Joe Fassler

This episode welcomes journalist Mark Sullivan to discuss the question, "what is going on with this thing called the metaverse?" Mark has written a number of articles about the topic at the news media outlet, Fast Company. He is going to explain to us what the metaverse is, and how it might look in the future. We cover questions about how companies will make money, advertising, hype, how this could be a privacy and misinformation hellscape, and the little-discussed prospect of digital colonialism.

Mark Sullivan is a reporter at Fast Company. You can follow him on Twitter at @TheSullivan. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast and the host, Michael Kwet, at @Michael_Kwet.

Facebook & the Metaverse: Myths and Reality with Mark Sullivan

This episode welcomes journalist Louise Matsakis to discuss Amazon’s e-commerce operations in the Global South. Louise published several articles on the topic at various outlets, including several at articles at Rest of World. We discuss worker rights and how Amazon operates in Mexico, Japan, Pakistan, and India.

Louise Matsakis is a freelance journalist. You can follow her on Twitter at @lmatsakis. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast and the host, Michael Kwet, at @Michael_Kwet.

Amazon in the Global South with Louise Matsakis

This episode welcomes Tauriq Jenkins, Nadine Dirks, and Leslie London to discuss Amazon’s construction of a new headquarters on sacred indigenous land in Cape Town, South Africa. Our chat covers the cultural and environmental implications of the new construction site and activist resistance against it.

Tauriq Jenkins is Chair at AIXARRA Restorative Justice Forum, Centre for African Studies at the University of Cape Town and member of the Goringhaicona Khoi Khoin Indigenous Traditional Council (GKKITC). Nadine Dirks is a member of the Lisebeek Action Campaign. Leslie London is a Professor heading the School of Public and Family Medicine at the University of Cape Town and chairperson of the Observatory Civic Association.

You can follow Tauriq on Twitter at @TauriqJenkins. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast and the host, Michael Kwet, at @Michael_Kwet.

Amazon’s Colonial Headquarters in South Africa with Tauriq Jenkins, Leslie London & Nadine Dirks

This episode welcomes Jillian York to discuss how to fix social media. Our chat covers everything from the France Haugen documents to the structure of social media, Global North intellectual circuits, reformism and antitrust, social media decentralization, digital colonialism, and more.

Jillian York is an American free-expression activist and author. She serves as Director of International Freedom of Expression at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) and is a founding member of Deep Lab. Jillian is the author of the recently-released book, Silicon Values: The Future of Free Speech Under Surveillance Capitalism, out now on Verso Books.

You can follow Jillian York on Twitter at @jilliancyork. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast. Michael Kwet is at @Michael_Kwet and Tshiamo Malatji is at @tshimalatji.

Can Social Media Be Fixed? with Jillian York

This episode welcomes Fatima Hassan to discuss vaccine apartheid and the global movement to end it. We dig into the issue of global inequality, vaccine patents, the TRIPS wavier at the WTO, the Omicron travel bans, and the role of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, as well as resistance campaigns against Big Pharma to ensure fast and equitable vaccination across the world.

Fatima Hassan is a South African human rights lawyer, social activist, and founder of the Health Justice Initiative. You can follow her on Twitter at @_HassanF. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast. Michael Kwet is at @Michael_Kwet, and Tshi Malatji is at @tshimalatji.

Vaccine Apartheid with Fatima Hassan

Today we welcome James Muldoon to the show to talk about what is wrong with platform capitalism, and how we might redesign the platform economy with ideas about platform socialism. We cover the problems with progressive capitalism and antitrust, and proposed socialist solutions to the digital economy, including projects that are already in existence.

You can follow James on Twitter at @_James_Muldoon_. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast. Michael Kwet is at @Michael_Kwet, and Tshi Malatji is at @tshimalatji.

Platform Socialism: An alternative to Big Tech with James Muldoon

Today we welcome Zoe Baker to discuss anarchism. In this episode, we outline what anarchism is, how it emerged, and its distinction against Marxism. We also discuss the global reach of anarchism, anarchist anti-imperialism, as well as anarchist takes on technology, ecology, anarcho-syndicalism and unions, and the problems of nationalizing private property.

Zoe Baker is a trans anarchist historian who recently completed her PhD detailing the history of anarchism from the 19th century through the Spanish Civil War. Zoe is currently writing a book on anarchism for AK Press.

Tech Empire is part of the Yale Podcast Network, and can be found on Soundcloud, iTunes, and YouTube, with additional outlets coming soon. You can follow Zoe on Twitter at @anarchopac. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast, Michael Kwet at @Michael_Kwet, and Tshi Malatji at @tshimalatji.

What is anarchism? with Zoe Baker

Today we welcome Billy Perrigo to discuss the exploitation of African workers performing content moderation for Facebook. Billy is a staff writer at TIME covering social media companies, with a focus on content moderation and responsible AI.

In this episode, we cover Billy's article at TIME, "Inside Facebook's African Sweatshop", which exposes how Facebook outsources content moderation on the cheap to a company called Sama in Kenya. Billy explains how he discovered the story, Facebook's relationship to Sama, the low pay and exploitative working conditions faced by content moderators at Sama, how the company is alleged to repress worker resistance, and more.

Tech Empire is part of the Yale Podcast Network, and can be found on Soundcloud, iTunes, and YouTube, with additional outlets coming soon. You can follow Billy on Twitter at @billy_perrigo. Follow Tech Empire at @TechEmpireCast, Michael Kwet at @Michael_Kwet, and Tshi Malatji at @tshimalatji.

Facebook's African Sweatshop with Billy Perrigo

This episode discusses the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica election fiasco, and what we can do about it. How should Big Tech companies be regulated? In a world of big data, how can we protect people's sensitive information?  Professor Jack Balkin, founder and director of Yale's Information Society Project, joins us to answer these questions and discuss his proposal to regulate companies as "Information Fiduciaries". Also joining us is Kamel Ajii, a PhD student at Paris 2 University (France) and the founder of 21 Mirrors, a digital technology ratings agency.

Facebook, Cambridge Analytica and Information Fiduciaries with Jack Balkin and Kamel Ajii

This episode welcomes Frank Pasquale to discuss The Black Box Society. We explore Frank’s academic journey, and how black box technologies – technologies which the public cannot evaluate or understand – are reshaping society. We cover, among other topics, Big Data profiling, technology in the schools, copyright in the digital era, democratic participation in a complex information society and the regulation of Big Tech corporations.

Frank Pasquale is Professor of Law at the University of Maryland.  He is an affiliate fellow at Yale’s Information Society Project (ISP) and Vermont Law School’s New Economy Law Center (NELC). Pasquale is an expert on the law of artificial intelligence, algorithms, and machine learning. He has been recognized as one of the ten most cited scholars in health law in the United States.

The Black Box Society, E-Education and Big Tech Regulation with Frank Pasquale

This episode welcomes Mishi Choudhary to discuss the state of Digital India.  We describe Mishi's path to become founder of the Software Freedom Law Center, India (SFLC.in) -- one of the country's most influential digital rights organizations.  Topics discussed include Free Software and the Internet Freedom movement, government and commercial surveillance, the Supreme Court ruling on privacy as a fundamental right, data fiduciaries, the controversial Aadhaar biometric identity system, the role of US, Chinese and local tech corporations, and models for tech rights and development.

Mishi Choudhary is Legal Director of the Software Freedom Law Center in New York and the founder of the Software Freedom Law Center, India.  Her clients have included Debian, the Apache Software Foundation, and OpenSSL.  SFLC.in provides free legal advice and works with lawyers, policy analysts, technologists, and students to promote innovation and open access in the digital age.  In 2015, Choudhary became the only lawyer in the world to simultaneously appear on briefs in the US and Indian Supreme Courts in the same term.  In 2018, Choudhary launched Mishi Choudhary & Associates LLP, her own law and policy practice operating in Delhi and Bangalore, India.

Digital India: Privacy, Tech Industry and Aadhaar Biometrics with Mishi Choudhary

This episode welcomes Iyad el-Baghdadi and Belabbes Benkredda to discuss the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Today’s show is the first of 2 parts. We explore the use of Twitter and social media in the Middle East, the Arab Spring uprisings, the influence of the Obama administration during the Arab Spring, and the role of Putin and China in the Middle East and world affairs.  Part 2 will air next week and cover additional topics.

Iyad el-Baghdadi is among the most influential human rights activists who rose to prominence during the Arab Spring protests. He is one of the top voices in the online Arab world, and has been published at The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Foreign Policy. He also runs a podcast called The Arab Tyrant Manual, and is a fellow at the Norwegian think tank Civita. Iyad is a stateless Palestinian who was born in Kuwait and raised in the United Arab Emirates, he is now a political refugee in Norway.

Belabbes Benkredda is an Algerian-German social innovator, and the founder of The Munathara Initiative, an Arab online and television debate forum that promotes the voices of youth, women and marginalized communities in the Arab public. He was a recipient of the 2013 Democracy Award of the National Democratic Institute, and in 2016 became a World Fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Belabbes is currently a senior research scholar at Yale Law School.

Arab Spring, pt 1: Twitter, Revolution & Global Politics with Iyad el-Baghdadi & Belabbes Benkredda

This episode welcomes Iyad el-Baghdadi and Belabbes Benkredda to discuss the Arab Spring and its aftermath. Today’s show is the second of 2 parts. We explore the murder of Jamal Kashoggi, whom our guests knew personally; government repression, the situation in Palestine, Iyad el-Baghdadi's life journey, and the US role in the Middle East.
Iyad el-Baghdadi is among the most influential human rights activists who rose to prominence during the Arab Spring protests. He is one of the top voices in the online Arab world, and has been published at The New York Times, The Washington Post, and Foreign Policy. He also runs a podcast called The Arab Tyrant Manual, and is a fellow at the Norwegian think tank Civita. Iyad is a stateless Palestinian who was born in Kuwait and raised in the United Arab Emirates, he is now a political refugee in Norway.
Belabbes Benkredda is an Algerian-German social innovator, and the founder of The Munathara Initiative, an Arab online and television debate forum that promotes the voices of youth, women and marginalized communities in the Arab public. He was a recipient of the 2013 Democracy Award of the National Democratic Institute, and in 2016 became a World Fellow at Yale’s Jackson Institute for Global Affairs. Belabbes is currently a senior research scholar at Yale Law School.

Arab Spring, pt 2: Jamal Khashoggi and Government Repression w/Iyad el-Baghdadi & Belabbes Benkredda

This episode welcomes Jennifer Valentino-DeVries to discuss how smartphone apps are tracking your precise physical location. The data collected is being used for targeted advertising, retail analytics, and financial investments. Your location information can reveal sensitive information, such as who you sleep with, your religious affiliation, or your daily habits.


Jennifer Valentino-DeVries is a technology reporter for The New York Times. She is the lead author of a recent article, “Your Apps Know Where You Were Last Night, and They’re Not Keeping It Secret.” Jennifer has previously worked for The Wall Street Journal, the nonprofit investigative newsroom ProPublica, at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, at the Houston Chronicle and at the Associated Press in Thailand. You can follow her on Twitter at @jenvalentino.

Your Phone Is Tracking Your Location with The NY Times' Jennifer Valentino-DeVries

This episode welcomes Ifeoma Ajunwa to discuss how emerging technologies are changing the 21st century workplace. Job applications are now screened through automated systems, workers are being asked to use wearables like Fitbit for worker wellness programs, and employers are spying on worker smartphones. We discuss new tech in the workplace, where the law stands on these issues, and what be can done to protect worker rights.


Ifeoma Ajunwa is Professor of Employment and Labor Law at Cornell University's Industrial and Labor Relations School, and a faculty associate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University. She is a 2018 recipient of the Derek Bell Award from the Association of American Law Schools, and the author of the forthcoming book, The Quantified Worker, with Cambridge University Press. Ifeoma has published several law review articles examining emerging technologies in the workplace. You can follow her on Twitter at @iajunwa.

The Quantified Worker and Worker Surveillance with Ifeoma Ajunwa

This episode welcomes Veena Dubal to discuss Uber and workers in the transportation industry. The show is divided into three parts. First, it explains how “e-hailing services” like Uber and Lyft work, with a focus on how they impact workers. Next, we discuss Proposition 22 in California, a ballot proposal to exempt “gig workers” from classification as employees. Finally, we discuss alternative models of how ride hailing should work in the internet era.
 
Veena Dubal is a Professor of Law at the University of California, Hastings in San Francisco. She has been cited by the California Supreme Court, and her scholarship has been published in top-tier law review and peer-reviewed journals, including the California Law Review and the Berkeley Journal of Empirical and Labor Law. Professor Dubal is currently writing a book manuscript – Driving Freedom, Navigating Neoliberalism – on how five decades of shifting technologies and emergent regulatory regimes changed the everyday lives and work experiences of ride-hail drivers in San Francisco. She has been published in numerous media outlets, including The Guardian, Slate, and the Los Angeles Times. You can follow her at @veenadubal.

Tech Empire with Michael Kwet and Tshi Malatji

YaleUniversity