Coming soon: Peak social media

Coming soon: Peak social media

Author: Financial Times June 23, 2023 Duration: 0:57

Social media platforms have defined our experience of the internet for nearly two decades. But as host Elaine Moore, deputy editor of the FT’s Lex column, outlines in this new six-part season of Tech Tonic, there are signs of trouble. User growth at some of the biggest platforms is slowing down, privacy changes are making it harder to make money and data scandals and disinformation mean platforms have lost some of the trust of their users. Meanwhile, younger users call Instagram cringeworthy and say Facebook is for boomers, TikTok has been threatened with bans and new apps such as Clubhouse fall out of fashion as quickly as they arrive. So what does the future hold for social media? New episodes land every Tuesday, starting June 27.


Presented by Elaine Moore. Produced by Edwin Lane and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Original music by Metaphor Music. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.


We’re keen to hear more from our listeners about this show, so we're running a survey that you can find at ft.com/tectonicsurvey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete and we'd appreciate your feedback. It will take you around five minutes to complete and you'll be in with a chance to win a pair of Bose QuietComfort Earbuds!*


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From the Financial Times, FT Tech Tonic steps beyond the breathless headlines and gadget launches to explore how technology is fundamentally reshaping our lives, economies, and social structures. This isn't just a series about the latest app; it's a deep, considered examination of the forces driving the digital age and their often unintended consequences. Each episode grapples with the complex interplay between innovation and its real-world impact, drawing on the FT's global reporting expertise to provide clarity and context. You'll hear conversations that dissect the power dynamics in Silicon Valley, investigate the ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence, and explore how entrepreneurship is being redefined across different cultures. The podcast digs into the substance behind the hype, asking whether emerging technologies truly deliver on their promise to improve society or if they introduce new perils we are only beginning to understand. By weaving together threads from technology, business, and culture, the discussions offer a nuanced perspective that challenges simplistic narratives. Tune in for thoughtful analysis that connects the dots between boardroom strategies, algorithmic biases, and the everyday experiences that define our increasingly connected world.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

FT Tech Tonic
Podcast Episodes
Untold: Toxic Legacy, Ep. 1 [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 42:06
Laura Hughes receives a tip that horses are dropping dead in Wales. As she investigates, she finds decades of academic studies researching the problem. She learns these aren’t isolated incidents. Something is spreading a…
Defying death: The future of forever [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:14
Gene and stem cell therapies have been touted as the next phase in the longevity movement, with promises to rejuvenate the body at the cellular level and reverse the effects of ageing. But, as the prospect of life extens…
Defying death: The longevity lab [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 32:28
Singapore has become a model for longevity-focused healthcare. With an ageing population and citizens willing to spend money on anti-ageing treatments, the government and private companies are spending big on new ways to…
Defying death: The origins of ageing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 35:49
How much do we really know about ageing? For decades, scientists have been trying to understand the biology of the ageing process - what happens to our bodies as we get older? And is it possible to slow that process down…
Coming soon: Defying death [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:30
Investors are spending billions of dollars on novel ways to extend human life through inventive treatments, therapies, and even manipulating our genes. And increasingly, it seems as though anti-ageing efforts have moved…
Introducing Untold: Toxic Legacy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 2:16
Introducing Toxic Legacy, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Laura Hughes uncovers a lead poisoning epidemic across the UK. You might be living with lead and not know it: the toxin is often invisible t…
Mission to Mars: Bad science fiction [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 31:17
For decades, science fiction writers have envisaged colonising Mars, even building cities on the red planet. Advocates for Mars exploration, such as Elon Musk, want to make that vision a reality. But can humans really li…
Mission to Mars: The new space race [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:53
US President Donald Trump wants to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”. But more than 50 years on from the moon landings, America’s space agency, Nasa, is in disarray. Meanwhile, China is forging ahead with…
Mission to Mars: Elon Musk's 'Starship' enterprise [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 29:34
Elon Musk wants humans to settle on Mars, and his rocket company SpaceX is spending billions of dollars on developing the spacecraft to take us there. The ‘Starship’ is being designed to take astronauts back to the moon,…
Coming soon: Mission to Mars [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:40
US President Donald Trump has pledged to “plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars”, China could send its first crewed mission to Mars within a decade, and Elon Musk wants people to actually settle on Mars, transfo…