pop culture

BLACK MIRROR REFLECTOINS podcast, Ep8: “The Waldo Moment” with Jason Read

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, Blog, Blog 2023+, Ethics, Politics, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values, Television, Trump, Women and Gender Issues 0 Comments

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), which first premiered in 2013 and has been, in retrospect, one of the most unfortunately prescient episodes of the series so far. This was my first…

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BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep 12: “Black Museum” with Zandria F. Robinson

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Biotech, Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, Blog, Blog 2023+, Ethics, Philosophy, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, Race and Racism, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values, Television 0 Comments

  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 advancement, the contours of consciousness, suffering as spectacle, ancestral ghosts, and “Black Museum” (Season 4, Episode 6 of Black Mirror), which first aired in 2017. Listen/Download BLACK…

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BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS, Ep. 18: “Rachel, Jack, and Ashley Too” with Karen Tongson

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Black Mirror, Black Mirror Reflections, Blog, Blog 2023+, Music, Philosophy, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values, Women and Gender Issues 0 Comments

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 Ashley Too” (Episode 2, Season 5 of Black Mirror), which first premiered in 2019. Listen/Download BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast episodes  Subscribe to BLACK MIRROR REFLECTIONS podcast I have…

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Learn How We Started Podcasting

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Media, RMWMTMBM Archive 0 Comments

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 charm of existence in this spot, which was created for the bliss of souls like mine. I am so happy, my dear friend, so absorbed in…

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What If You Were Gerald McGrew?: A “Rebuild the Internet” Thought Experiment

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Anonymity, Big Data, Ethics, Internet, Open Source Pedagogy, Philosophy, Privacy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values 0 Comments

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 he could bring about if he were allowed to run the zoo. If I Ran the Zoo is not only a great story about the never-before-seen exotic animals…

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Black Mirror for Experts

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Black Mirror, Film, Film Reviews, Philosophy, Pop Culture/Film, Public Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values, Television 0 Comments

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 season released over the holidays. As 2018 draws to a close, though, no official release date has been announced and we still haven’t seen any Season…

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What To Assign If You Want To Teach The Future: On Philosophy and Technology

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Open Source Pedagogy, Philosophy, Public Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Teaching, Technology, Technology and Human Values 0 Comments

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 was an upper-division undergraduate course entitled “Technology and Human Values” (syllabus here) The other was an intro-level undergrad Ethics course called “Contemporary Moral Issues” (syllabus here),…

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Five Reasons Why I Am A Techno-Optimist

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Digital Humanities, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Posthuman, Public Philosophy, RMWMTMBM Archive, Technology, Technology and Human Values 1 Comment

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 a lot, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to give a quick account (and defense) of my position. But, first, a few preliminary remarks about…

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Why They Run

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Capitalism, Codifying Civility and Collegiality, Democracy, Ethics, Politics, RMWMTMBM Archive 0 Comments

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 their lives, but then one of them stops to put on his running shoes. “What are you doing?!,” the other hiker exclaims, “You can’t outrun a…

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The Fine Line Between Proselytizing and Parody: On “Roseanne”

June 9, 2024 Leigh M. Johnson Democracy, Ethics, Philosophy, Politics, Pop Culture/Film/Literature, Public Philosophy, Race and Racism, Relativism, RMWMTMBM Archive, Television, Women and Gender Issues 0 Comments

Two decades after its season “finale” in 1997, Roseanne made its triumphant return to prime-time television this past Tuesday night.  More than 18 million people tuned in (including President Trump) and, if the hot takes are to believed, most people loved it (including President Trump). Critics have attributed the largely positive reception of Roseanne to its sympathetic…

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