BLACK MIRROR REFLECTOINS podcast, Ep8: “The Waldo Moment” with Jason Read
For Episode 8 of the BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast, I am joined by Dr. Jason Read to talk about “The Waldo Moment” (Season 2, Episode 3 of Black Mirror),...
I posted my first blog post in 2006 on the first site domain I had ever purchased. I chose the name “ReadMoreWriteMoreThinkMoreBeMore” for two reasons: (a) it was the first on a list of rules that I gave to my students every semester and, (b) it seemed like an unwieldly and clunky-enough site name that no one would ever try to buy it.
I was wrong about that second part. After almost 15 years of blogging on that site, the domain name was bought out from under me in 2022. I did my level best to try to recover it (even buy it back!), but it was a heavily-trafficked site at that point and I had to eventually come to terms with the fact that this particular digital garden of ideas, that I had tended and nurtured for so long, and which I loved, now belonged to someone else.
It’s taken some time for me to get all of that content transferred to this site, but it’s here now. Because I know I have lost many of the internet’s links that traced back to it, I’ve been working a lot behind the scenes to redirect as much of the old traffic as I can to this new site. I’m also trying to organize that archive to make it more easily searchable, but that’s slow and tedious work.
At any rate, it’s all here now., and I’ve “tagged” all of the old RMWMTMBM posts in a way that most closely approximates their original categorizations, so I hope you can find whatever you might be looking for using the tag cloud below.
For Episode 8 of the BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast, I am joined by Dr. Jason Read to talk about “The Waldo Moment” (Season 2, Episode 3 of Black Mirror),...
For Episode 5 of BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, I am joined by Dr. Michael Norton to talk about one of the most widely-beloved Black Mirror episodes, “San Junipero.” It premiered...
For Episode 6 of BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, I am joined by filmmaker John Cerrito to talk about Season 1, Episode 2 of Black Mirror entitled “The Entire History...
In Episode 4 of BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, I am joined by Dr. Adriel M. Trott to discuss the first episode from the latest Season of Black Mirror, “Striking...
In Episode 3 of BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, I am joined by one of my absolute favorite human beings, Dr. Ammon Allred, who is also quite literally the only person...
In Episode 2 of BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, I am joined by Dr. Chris Gilliard to discuss the first Black Mirror holiday special, first aired in 2014, “White Christmas.” Again, I...
For Episode 22 (our last episode!), I am joined by Dr. James Buchanan “Bru” Wallace to talk about religion, techniques of the self, guilt, the imperative to look up...
For Episode 21, I am joined by Dr. John Torrey to talk about whether or not we each have (and can find) “The One,” dating apps, the freedom...
For Episode 20, I am joined by Dr. Eric Steinhart to talk about navigating compossible worlds and timelines, tech gods (and monsters), mental illness, books that (maybe) shouldn’t be...
For Episode 12, our first episode of 2021, I am joined by Dr. Zandria F. Robinson to talk about whose bodies get sacrificed in the name of scientific...
For Episode 14, I am joined by Dr. Charles W. McKinney, Jr. to talk about dehumanization techniques, the importance of race-conscious thinking, the dangerous logic of eugenics, whether...
For Episode 13, I am joined by Dr. Samir Chopra to talk about intelligent robots, personhood, the complicated machinations of human grieving, and “Be Right Back” (Season 2,...
For Episode 16, I am re-joined by Dr. Shannon Mussett to talk about surveillance technologies, helicopter parenting, the differences between Gen X and Gen Z childhoods, how we might...
For Episode 15, I am re-joined by Dr. Ammon Allred to talk about social media cesspools, climate change, the unwritten rules of hashtags, so-called “cancel culture,” the Capitol insurrection,...
For Episode 17, I am joined by Dr. Charles Mills to talk about punishment, non-ideal theories of justice, why philosophers love science fiction, and “White Bear” (Season 2, Episode...
For Episode 19, I am joined by Dr. Roman V. Yampolskiy to talk about killer robot dogs, poker playing AIs, the control problem, how long we have left...
For Episode 18, I am joined by cultural critic and superstar podcaster Karen Tongson to talk about teenage angst, celebrity, what makes pop music “popular,” and “Rachel, Jack, and...
A wonderful serenity has taken possession of my entire soul, like these sweet mornings of spring which I enjoy with my whole heart. I am alone, and feel the...
For Episode 11– our first Christmas episode!– I am joined by Dr. David Gunkel to talk about the possibility of virtual moral agents, the seriousness of online games,...
For episode 10, I am joined by Dr. John Danaher to talk about social credit systems, the ubiquity of ranking metrics, whether or not its possible to go...
I can’t be sure who’s still regularly checking in on this blog, but those of you who are have surely noticed that I’ve shifted my energies from blogging to...
On Tuesday, this blog– which I very much consider an extension of myself– was finally released from Facebook jail, after having been “inside” for more than a month. I was...
I’m sooooo excited to announce the release of our first episode of BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast! As you may have heard– from my endless self-promoting on FB and...
I’m in the process of recording the first few episodes of a (limited series) podcast entitled Black Mirror Reflections, which will be released next week. I’ve written a lot...
This semester, I’m giving my students the option to submit a video “Conversation with My Past Self” in lieu of taking the Final Exam. I was inspired by this...
HELP SUPPORT LOCAL MEMPHIS MUSICIANS! To mitigate the spread of COVID-19, the Center for Disease Control has urged U.S. citizens to cancel all events of more than 50 people...
I created this infographic for my students. Feel free to steal, share, edit, whatevs. You can also access it at this link.
You may remember the story by Dr. Seuss (né, Theodore Seuss Geisel) from 1950 entitled If I Ran the Zoo, in which the pint-sized protagonist, Gerald McGrew, imagines the amazing creation...
Many people, myself included, are willing to affirm the near-future possibility of artificial general intelligence (AGI), or machines capable of performing all of the cognitive functions normally associated with...
If you haven’t already, please read Part 1 of “Why You Should Care That Artificial Intelligence Can Lie” before continuing, because I’m picking up in this post where I...
ICYMI, I posted the first iteration of “What To Assign If You Want To Teach The Future” last year at the conclusion of my advanced seminar called “Technology and...
I recently finished reading the excellent new book by Jodi Dean (Political Science, Hobart and William Smith College) entitled Comrade: An Essay on Belonging. There are many reasons to recommend Dean’s all-too-brief,...
There has been a push recently to encourage more “forward facing” philosophy, a long overdue and welcome development in our profession. However, for better or worse, what gets called...
For the last several years, I’ve been trying to incorporate new assignments and activities that encourage students to think of the work they do in my courses as having...
Last week, I began my second year on the LGBTQ Advocacy Committee for The Society for Phenomenology and Existential Philosophy (SPEP). This organization and this committee are important to...
I’ve observed a deeply problematic trend on social media of late, one that has been amplified amidst Judge Brett Kavanaugh’s confirmation hearings by the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee and...
[NOTE: This is the another installment in my series of reviews of Black Mirror. These posts DO include spoilers. Stop reading now if you don’t want to know!] When I originally posted my...
[NOTE: This is the another installment in my series of reviews of Black Mirror. These posts DO include spoilers. Stop reading now if you don’t want to know!] “White Bear” (S2E2) is one...
In late December of last year, the fourth season of Black Mirror was released on Netflix, which is why many fans (myself included) had been hoping to see the much-anticipated fifth...
What follows is the conclusion to a three-part series of posts detailing a pedagogical experiment that I tried out for the first time this term, which I call “An Experiment in...
This is another installment in my series of reviews of Black Mirror. These posts DO include spoilers. Stop reading now if you don’t want to know! [Note from Dr. J: What follows is a...
We’re nearing the end of the semester and I’m wrapping up two of the most exciting and intellectually invigorating courses I’ve taught in a long time. One of them...
This is another installment in my series of reviews of Black Mirror. These posts DO include spoilers. Stop reading now if you don’t want to know! [Note from Dr. J: What follows is Part...
Since I posted my list of tech book recommendations a few weeks ago, several people have asked me to explain why I describe myself as a “techno-optimist.” I get this question...
Recently, I took part in an excellent interdisciplinary symposium (hosted by Ted George and Kristi Sweet of the Texas A&M Philosophy Department) focused on “Hermeneutics, the Humanities, and the Future of Interpretation.” All of the presentations...
A few days ago, right-wing blowhard and professional alarmist, Alex Jones (of InfoWars), posted a tweet announcing that “Democrats Plan To Launch Civil War on July 4.” If you lean...
This is a follow-up to my post last May, in which I explained a new pedagogical device I planned to introduce in my classes this semester. I called it “An Experiment...
There’s an old dad-joke that goes something like this: A bear jumps out of the woods, in a rage, and starts chasing two hikers. They both start running for...
This is the last day of the #30DaySong Challenge, and I’m very glad I decided to revive it again. I had forgotten how therapeutic regular blogging could be, especially...
BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast, Ep9: “Shut Up and Dance” with Rick Lee
For Episode 9, I am joined by Dr. Richard A. Lee to talk about aruveillance, trolling, forgiveness/absolution, and “Shut Up and Dance,” (Season 3, Episode 3 of Black Mirror),...