Podcast
Future Knowledge
Hosted by Internet Archive & Authors Alliance · EN
Future Knowledge explores the intersection of technology, culture, and information policy with leading authors, scholars, and experts. From copyright and open access to AI and digital preservation, we discuss the big issues shaping knowledge and creativity in the digital age. This podcast is brought to you by the Internet Archive and Authors Alliance.
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
Vanishing Culture #4: Keeping African Folktales Alive with Helen Nde & Laura Gibbs
1w ago00:27:24Tap to summarizeFolktales are living records of culture, identity, and collective memory. In the fourth episode of our special six-part series on Vanishing Culture, host Vida Vojić speaks with writer and researcher Helen Nde, founder of Mythological Africans, and folklorist Laura Gibbs about the importance of preserving African folklore in the digital age. Together, they explore how stories help communities understand themselves, pass down knowledge across generations, and make sense of a changing world.Read Vanishing Culture for free at the Internet Archive or purchase in print: https://archive.org/details/vanishing-culture-2026
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Vanishing Culture #3: Saving Queer Memory with Brooke Palmieri
2w ago00:23:03Tap to summarizeQueer history has often been overlooked, erased, or excluded from traditional archives. In the third episode of our special six-part series on Vanishing Culture, host Vida Vojić speaks with writer, artist, and archivist Brooke Palmieri about the vital role queer archives play in preserving memory, identity, and community. Drawing on his work with CAMP BOOKS and his research into LGBTQ+ history, Brooke explores why archives matter—not just as collections of records, but as tools for helping people understand where they come from and imagine new futures.Read Vanishing Culture for free at the Internet Archive or purchase in print: https://archive.org/details/vanishing-culture-2026
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Vanishing Culture #2: The Stories Hidden in Cookbooks with Katie Livingston
3w ago00:18:37Tap to summarizeWhy preserve a cookbook? In the second episode of our special six-part series on Vanishing Culture, host Vida Vojić speaks with Katie Livingston, a doctoral researcher at Stanford University who studies domestic culture and women’s literature. Through the lens of family cookbooks, recipe collections, and food traditions, Katie explores why everyday cultural artifacts deserve preservation and what they can teach us about history, identity, and community.Read Vanishing Culture for free at the Internet Archive or purchase in print: https://archive.org/details/vanishing-culture-2026
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Vanishing Culture #1: What We Stand to Lose with Luca Messarra
4w ago00:19:00Tap to summarizeAs more of our cultural heritage moves online, a troubling question is emerging: what happens when the things we create, share, and cherish simply disappear? In the first episode of our special six-part series on Vanishing Culture, host Vida Vojić speaks with author and humanities scholar Luca Messarra, author of the Internet Archive’s Vanishing Culture, about the growing threat of cultural loss in the digital age.Read Vanishing Culture for free at the Internet Archive or purchase in print: https://archive.org/details/vanishing-culture-2026
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Transaction Denied
Jun 1700:34:15Tap to summarizeIn Transaction Denied: How Financial Institutions Silence Dissent and Undermine Democracy, author Rainey Reitman examines the growing phenomenon of financial censorship, in which banks, payment processors, and credit card networks can restrict access to financial services based on speech, identity, or perceived risk. From voting rights organizations and educators to adult content creators and cannabis entrepreneurs, Reitman shares stories of individuals and communities who have found themselves excluded from the financial system, and explores what these cases reveal about power, free expression, and democratic participation in the digital age. Joining Reitman in conversation is author and journalist Annalee Newitz.Grab your copy of Transaction Denied: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/transaction-denied-big-finance-s-power-to-punish-speech-9780807019115/new This conversation was recorded on 6/3/2026.Check out all of the Future Knowledge episodes at https://archive.org/details/future-knowledge
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AI Tools, Not Gods
Jun 300:48:16Tap to summarizeIn AI Tools, Not Gods, policy researcher Caroline De Cock examines how myths about artificial intelligence—framing it as an all-knowing mind or an unstoppable force—have come to shape public policy and public understanding. By unpacking the narratives that dominate conversations about AI, De Cock argues for a clearer, evidence-based approach that recognizes AI for what it is: a set of human-built tools that must be governed with accountability and care. Tech writer Glyn Moody (Walled Culture) speaks with De Cock about cutting through the hype surrounding AI.Grab your copy of AI Tools, Not Gods: https://archive.org/details/ai-tools-not-gods-book This conversation was recorded on 2/10/2026. Watch the full video recording at: https://archive.org/details/ai-tools-not-gods-book-talk Check out all of the Future Knowledge episodes at https://archive.org/details/future-knowledge
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Law and Technology
May 2000:45:09Tap to summarizeIn Law and Technology, legal scholar Ryan Calo explores one of the defining challenges of our time: how societies can govern rapidly evolving technologies before those technologies reshape laws, rights, and institutions. Rather than treating each new innovation as a completely unique problem, Calo argues for a more durable framework for thinking about technology policy that helps lawmakers, courts, and the public respond thoughtfully to developments ranging from facial recognition to generative AI. Legal scholar Danielle Citron joins Calo for a conversation about regulation, accountability, and what it means to build laws that can keep pace with technological change.Grab your copy of Law and Technology: https://www.law-and-technology.com This conversation was recorded on 3/26/2026. Watch the full video recording at: https://archive.org/details/law-and-technology Check out all of the Future Knowledge episodes at https://archive.org/details/future-knowledge
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Preserving the Web in the Age of AI
May 600:49:49Tap to summarizeAs artificial intelligence reshapes how information is created, accessed, and controlled, a quieter crisis is emerging: the potential loss of the web’s historical record.In this episode, tech writer Mike Masnick, Mark Graham of the Internet Archive, and public interest tech and media lawyer Kendra Albert come together for a timely conversation on what it means to preserve the web in the age of AI.As publishers move to block AI scraping, they’re also increasingly restricting access to archiving tools like the Wayback Machine, raising urgent questions about who gets to access the past, and whether it will remain accessible at all. If preserving the web is increasingly treated as a threat, what happens to our collective memory? And what will it take to ensure that knowledge remains accessible in an AI-driven world?This conversation was recorded on 4/28/2026. Watch the full video recording at: https://archive.org/details/preserving-the-web-in-the-age-of-aiCheck out all of the Future Knowledge episodes at https://archive.org/details/future-knowledge
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Vanishing Culture
Apr 2900:37:34Tap to summarizeIn Vanishing Culture, editors Luca Messarra, Chris Freeland and Juliya Ziskina bring together voices exploring what it means to lose access to our shared cultural record in the digital age. From disappearing websites and delisted music to fragile licensing agreements and platform shutdowns, the book traces how corporate control, technological change, and neglect are reshaping what survives... and what vanishes.In this episode, Messarra and Freeland are joined by contributor Katie Livingston to discuss the forces driving cultural loss today, the stakes for libraries and public memory, and what it will take to build a more durable, accessible digital future.Read Vanishing Culture for free at the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/vanishing-culture-2026 Purchase in print from Better World Books or your favorite local bookstore: https://www.betterworldbooks.com/product/detail/vanishing-culture-a-report-on-our-fragile-cultural-record-9798995425014/newThis conversation was recorded on 4/17/2026.Check out all of the Future Knowledge episodes at https://archive.org/details/future-knowledge
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Data Cartels
Apr 2200:39:05Tap to summarizeIn Data Cartels, legal scholar Sarah Lamdan exposes the shadowy industry built around collecting, packaging, and selling our personal data. She reveals how powerful companies hoard information and use aggressive tactics to maintain control—turning data into a commodity that can deepen inequality and restrict the democratic flow of knowledge. Heather Joseph, executive director of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC) speaks with Lamdan about the hidden power structures behind the data economy.Grab your copy of Data Cartels: https://www.sup.org/books/title/?id=33205This conversation was recorded on 11/30/2022. Watch the full video recording at: https://archive.org/details/book-talk-data-cartels Check out all of the Future Knowledge episodes at https://archive.org/details/future-knowledge
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