Kevin Roose (2022) | Caught in a web

Kevin Roose (2022) | Caught in a web

Author: Festival of Dangerous Ideas December 13, 2022 Duration: 32:03

In a world where the internet saturates everything, where does the internet stop and our human selves begin? As we're nudged and pushed by an endless stream of alerts, notifications and recommendations, our attention and money are pulled in directions that seem to only serve the interests of the platforms. 

As we're inevitably drifting towards automation, NY Times tech columnist and host of the Rabbit Hole podcast Kevin Roose, offers us a digital wellness check up in how we can fight back to preserve our humanity.

This session was presented in partnership with UNSW Sydney.

Kevin Roose is an award-winning technology columnist for The New York Times and the best-selling author of three books, FutureproofYoung Money, and The Unlikely Disciple. His column, The Shift, examines the intersection of tech, business, culture, and the combined effect they have on society. He is the host of Rabbit Hole, a New York Times-produced narrative audio series about what the internet is doing to us, and a regular guest on The Daily, as well as other leading TV and radio shows. He frequently writes and speaks on topics including automation and A.I., social media, disinformation and cybersecurity, and digital wellness. 


For more than a decade, the Festival of Dangerous Ideas has curated a space where provocative thinking isn't just welcomed, it's the entire point. This podcast is a direct line to that stage, offering an archive of talks that deliberately unsettle comfortable opinions and interrogate the stubborn problems we often agree to ignore. Each episode captures a live conversation from Australia's original disruptive ideas festival, presenting arguments that can be exhilarating, uncomfortable, and vitally important. You’ll hear from a compelling roster of festival alumni-including leading experts, intellectual troublemakers, and visionary authors-who share perspectives that conventional discourse frequently sidelines. The discussions here aren't theoretical exercises; they grapple with the pressing and difficult issues shaping our society and culture right now. Tuning in means granting yourself access to a decade-long tradition of intellectual courage, where the core assumption is that some truths are only reached by first entertaining a dangerous idea. It’s a chance to listen as boundaries are pushed, not for shock value, but for clarity. The result is a consistently challenging and refreshing audio experience that complicates simple narratives and expands what feels possible to talk about.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Festival of Dangerous Ideas
Podcast Episodes
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Elizabeth Pisani (2014) | Corruption Makes the World Go Round [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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A.C. Grayling (2015) | Bad Education [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Chris Berg (2015) | Nanny State [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Erwin James (2013) | A Killer Can Be a Good Neighbour [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

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Satyajit Das (2016) | The Bill Is Due [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:45
Today the human race faces existential challenges. Our prosperity has been built on unsustainable economic and environmental practices — but our social and political processes seem incapable of fixing anything. Why are w…
Lionel Shriver (2016) | Break A Rule A Day [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:19
When you're on a bicycle at a red light with no car or pedestrian in sight, do you still wait for the green? Do you obey every single law? Surely fearful compliance with every niggling regulation defies the much-vaunted…