Ep. 008 _ Gretchen Bakke

Ep. 008 _ Gretchen Bakke

Author: Sean Lally October 17, 2016 Duration: 1:02:22

Gretchen Bakke is the author of 'The Grid: The Fraying Wires Between Americans and Our Energy Future'. Gretchen Bakke holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in Cultural Anthropology. Her work focuses on the chaos and creativity that emerges during social, cultural, and technological transitions. For the past decade she has been researching and writing about the changing culture of electricity in the United States. In addition to her work on electric power systems she has done research in the Soviet Union, the former Yugoslavia, and in Cuba. She is a former fellow in Wesleyan University's Science in Society Program, a former Fulbright fellow, and is currently an assistant professor of anthropology at McGill University. Born in Portland, Oregon, Bakke lives in Montreal.


In a world where the very ground we stand on and the bodies we inhabit are becoming malleable territories for design, Night White Skies offers a necessary space for conversation. Host Sean Lally guides these discussions, which venture far beyond traditional architectural discourse to ask what kind of future we are actually building. This podcast thrives on the friction and insight generated by bringing together an unexpected mix of voices-from philosophers and scientists to policy makers and science fiction authors. You’ll hear how a cultural anthropologist’s research on ritual intersects with a material scientist’s work on smart environments, or how a novelist’s vision of tomorrow clarifies the ethical dilemmas faced by urban planners today. Each episode is a deep, meandering exploration, avoiding easy answers in favor of nuanced, often surprising connections. The aim is to piece together a broader, more complex picture of the transformations currently unfolding around and within us. By engaging with such a diverse range of thinkers, the Night White Skies podcast doesn't just report on change; it actively participates in the difficult, essential work of imagining what comes next.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 108

Night White Skies
Podcast Episodes
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Duration: 1:13:18
This week is a conversation with the architect Filip Tejchman about the recent book by Michael Pollan 'How to Change Your Mind, What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depre…
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Duration: 52:00
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Ep. 045 _ Bryan Norwood _'Phenomenology' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:57
Today is a conversation with Bryan Norwood who recently guest edited Log 42 (winter/spring 2018) entitled "Disorienting Phenomenology." Bryan Norwood is completing his PhD at Harvard University in the History and Theory…
Ep. 043 _ Graham Harman _ 'OOO' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:30
This week is a conversation with philosopher Graham Harman. We talk about his introduction of Object Oriented Ontology (or OOO) and it's potential influence on the discipline of architecture. (photo credit: SciArc)
Ep. 042 _ Mario Carpo _ 'No One Likes a Quitter' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:28
Mario Carpo is the Reyner Banham Professor of Architectural History and Theory at the Bartlett, UCL, London & author of the article "Post-Digital "Quitters": Why the Shift Toward Collage Is Worrying". His latest monograp…
Ep. 041 _ Jason Kelly Johnson and Nataly Gattegno  _ 'Live Models' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 47:06
I'm happy to say that today's guests are two friends - architects Jason Kelly Johnson and Nataly Gattegno of Future Cities Lab. Future Cities Lab is an experimental art and Design studio in Francisco, CA. Since 2005, fou…
Ep. 040 _ Chris D. Thomas _ 'Speciation' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:26
This week I'm talking with Chris Thomas, professor of conservation biology at the University of York in the UK and author of the recent book 'Inheritors of the Earth, How Nature is Thriving in an Age of Extinction'. His…
Ep. 039 _ Kathryn Harkup _ 'Frankenstein' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 37:16
This week is a conversation with chemist and author Kathryn Harkup about her book 'Making the Monster, The Science behind Mary Shelley's Frankenstein'. Kathryn completed a doctorate on her favorite chemicals, phosphines,…