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markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Mark Hurst
@markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
16 followers 2 following 200 posts
Host of Techtonic on WFMU: https://techtonic.fm .. Projects and bio at https://creativegood.com .. anti-Big Tech, pro-everyone who's trying to make tech better.

[bridged from https://mastodon.social/@markhurst on the fediverse by https://fed.brid.gy/ ]
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markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
On the new Techtonic I speak w/Noah McCormack from The Baffler about his essay "We used to read things in this country."

In the clip below Noah reveals one possible outcome of the AI bubble.

Full episode […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
December 9, 2025 at 3:25 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Amateur radio, aka ham radio, is like a superpower - especially during a disaster.

From the newest Techtonic, my interview with @qrper (K4SWL, or Thomas Witherspoon) and how he survived Hurricane Helene. Fascinating.

Full episode […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
December 2, 2025 at 6:09 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
New Techtonic: Citizens are being forced to pay for Big Tech data centers.

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2025-11-24-citizens-are-being-forced-to-pay-for-big-tech-data-centers-feat-pat-garofalo/
November 25, 2025 at 7:16 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
This seems fine.

By 2028, a projected 6.7% to 12.0% of ALL electricity in the U.S. will go to data centers.

Source: the 2024 United States Data Center Energy Usage Report. https://escholarship.org/uc/item/32d6m0d1
Figure ES-1. Total U.S. data center electricity use from 2014 through 2028. The end of the graph at 2028, shows a projected range of 6.7% to 12.0% of all electricity in the U.S. going to data centers.
November 24, 2025 at 7:08 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Below: my comments on Techtonic about Tesla and its Grok chatbot that, as reported by the CBC, made sexual comments to a 12-year-old boy.

Episode page with links to the story:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2025-11-17-how-low-can-the-tech-oligarchs-go/
November 18, 2025 at 4:04 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Really enjoyed speaking with @paulmozur, global tech correspondent for the NYT, about the water & power draw of data centers worldwide.

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2025-11-10-paul-mozur-on-the-spread-of-data-centers/
November 11, 2025 at 6:37 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
2/ Chris suggests books for further reading:
The warped psychology of El Presidente Trump is captured by Miguel Ángel Asturias in his novel “El Señor Presidente,” inspired by the dictatorship of Manuel Estrada Cabrera who ruled Guatemala for 22 years; Gabriel García Márquez’s “The Autumn of the Patriarch,” Julia Alvarez’s “In the Time of the Butterflies” and Mario Vargas Llosa’s “The Feast of the Goat” and “Conversation in the Cathedral.” These novels offer better insight into where we are headed than most tomes on U.S. politics.
November 10, 2025 at 2:05 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
From my interview with @aram - a bit of good news in the techno-surveillance state.

Full episode: https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2025-11-03-aram-sinnreich-co-author-the-secret-life-of-data
November 4, 2025 at 5:58 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
NEW Techtonic episode: widening inequality, due in part to the use of Big Tech surveillance (and pricing). We discuss how Disney World designs for inequality.

Full ep […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
October 28, 2025 at 7:21 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Insane image. "Model of the distribution of space debris around Earth." Read the key: 2,000 billion objects under 0.1 mm.

(from the European Space Agency, in this report […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
What appears to be a thick cloud of dust surrounds a circle in the center of the image. The key says that there are 2,000 billion objects in orbit that are less than 0.1 mm.
October 22, 2025 at 3:52 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
New Techtonic: Amanda Hanna-McLeer is making a film about the Luddite Club.

Full episode as a podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtonic-with-mark-hurst-wfmu/id1285537944?i=1000732729480

Episode page:
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/157354
October 21, 2025 at 7:46 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Here's what I just saw at No Kings New York, walking through Times Square.
In a large crowd, a person holds up a sign saying, "Rejecting: kings since 1776, racists since 1865, fascists since 1945" No Kings sign: "Imagine being afraid of diversity but not dictatorship"
October 18, 2025 at 6:36 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Excited to share this field recording of the techno-Luddite "SHITPHONE" protest in Manhattan, which I aired on Techtonic.

Full episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtonic-with-mark-hurst-wfmu/id1285537944?i=1000731720285

Thanks to @brianmerchant for tipping me off to the event.
October 14, 2025 at 2:36 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
New https://techtonic.fm episode: AI and surveillance infrastructure keeps spreading. Stories about data centers, chatbots having dumb conversations, and the "Friend" surveillance device.

Podcast […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
October 7, 2025 at 4:37 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
I interviewed Megan Greenwell on the new https://techtonic.fm about her book "Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream."

"Private equity is everybody's problem now," Green writes.

LISTEN TO THE SHOW (click "pop-up player") […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
September 30, 2025 at 5:01 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
@sundogplanets so glad they simplified it
which simplifies to, [complicated equation]
September 23, 2025 at 3:06 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
New techtonic.fm interview with Glenn Adamson, author of “A Century of Tomorrows: How Imagining the Future Shapes the Present.”

Good reminder that the future didn't always look so depressing.

To listen, click "Pop-up player":
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/156259
September 23, 2025 at 3:05 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
How the New York Police Department tracks you, from "The N.Y.P.D. Is Teaching America How to Track Everyone Every Day Forever" - gift link below.

Don't miss the note: "list is not exhaustive."

Gift link […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
How the NYPD tracks people: body cameras, security cameras, handheld cameras, aerial cameras, dashboard cameras, license plate readers, phone taps, social media surveillance, and more. "Note: list is not exhaustive."
September 16, 2025 at 3:56 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Excited to share my interview w/ @faineg on Techtonic - discussing AI chatbots, Joseph Weizenbaum's warning from 50 years ago, and why you can't trust Apple.

Full episode:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtonic-with-mark-hurst-wfmu/id1285537944?i=1000726976744
September 16, 2025 at 2:49 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Hey radio friends - I'll be in Spokane at https://grc2025.com later this week, speaking about Techtonic!

If you're there, come say hi.
Spokane 2025 Grassroots Radio Conference - September 11-14, 2025
September 10, 2025 at 5:11 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
On the horrible Google antitrust ruling.

During the new techtonic.fm episode I read an excerpt by @pluralistic (Cory Doctorow) about the decision. See below.

Listen to the whole show (click pop-up player):
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/155884
September 9, 2025 at 8:31 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Below, an excerpt from my https://techtonic.fm interview with Cory Doctorow - aka @pluralistic - about his upcoming book "Enshittification."

Full interview here (click "pop-up player"):
https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=155658&archive=275677
September 8, 2025 at 3:45 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Excellent one by @rubenbolling
Know your ICE agent: Being able to discern between a federally authorized ICE agent and a criminal kidnapper within seconds of first interaction is absolutely essential. (Diagrams follow showing the same elements in an ICE agent and criminal kidnapper: gaiter mask, no identification, unmarked vehicle, etc.) IF your abductor is an ICE agent, you must obey, comply, and submit. IF your abductor is a criminal kidnapper, you are free to fight for your life. Thank you for your cooperation. ICE: "Don't call us Trump's Secret Police. (It's a secret!)"
July 14, 2025 at 3:37 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
If you use an Apple surveillance phone, TURN OFF the "Raise to Listen" feature, which can send audio recordings of you without your knowledge or consent.

"When you have iMessage open and put the phone up to your ear, it can trigger the audio recording." […]

[Original post on mastodon.social]
in Settings -> Apps -> Messages, "Raise to Listen" is ON BY DEFAULT, allowing the Apple surveillance phone to send out audio recordings of you without your knowledge or consent. You should turn it off.
July 7, 2025 at 5:55 PM
markhurst.mastodon.social.ap.brid.gy
Lots of fun on stage last night. Thanks to everyone who chipped in to help @WFMU make our goal.

You can still pledge - here's the link:
https://pledge.wfmu.org/donate?program=TD&step=landing

Photo by @bourgwick -
Mark Hurst on stage at WFMU, singing into a mic, holding signs that read "SUPPORT WFMU" and "BIG TECH IS SPYING ON YOU." Several band members are also on stage (guitars, saxes, drums, keyboard).
March 17, 2025 at 2:22 PM