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
Ep. 038  _ 'Thanks, Larry' _ Topical Interlude [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:34
This week on Night White Skies is a 'Topical Interlude' - A fictional conversation between myself a Larry Page of Google and a look at NYC's Central Park in 2034.
Ep. 037 _ Christopher Hight _ 'Resilience in Sci-Fi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 34:44
This episode is a conversation with architectural designer and theorist Christopher Hight about two science fiction books;'The Drowned World' by J. G. Ballard, and 'Seveneves' by Neal Stephenson. The two books were publi…
Ep. 036 _ Fred Scharmen _ 'Climates & Subjectivity' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 41:23
It's a great article about the work of NASA and others putting humans in space. To put people in space, you have to create environments for them to live. In the early 1970's NASA created big plans for new space colonies…
Ep. 035 _ Sheila Jasanoff _ 'The Ethics of Invention' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:25
Sheila Jasanoff is Pforzheimer Professor of Science and Technology Studies at the Harvard Kennedy School. A pioneer in her field, she has authored more than 120 articles and chapters and is author or editor of more than…
Ep. 034 _ Bradford Bouley _ 'Saintly Anatomy' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:56
Bradford Bouley is assistant professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a fellow at the Harvard Center for Renaissance Studies, Villa I Tatti. His research focuses on the histories of religio…
Ep. 033 _ Molly Wright Steenson _ 'Architectural Intelligence' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 54:46
Molly Wright Steenson is a designer, author, professor, and international speaker whose work focuses on the intersection of architecture, design, and artificial intelligence. She is the author of Architectural Intelligen…
Ep. 032 _ Christopher Schaberg _ 'Worlds World Worlds' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:55
Christopher Schaberg received his Ph.D. from the University of California, Davis, where he specialized in twentieth-century American literature and critical theory. At Loyola, Dr. Schaberg teaches courses on contemporary…
Ep. 031_ Liam Young _ 'Practicing Architect' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:12
Liam Young is an Australian born architect who operates in the spaces between design, fiction and futures. He is founder of the think tank Tomorrows Thoughts Today, a group whose work explores the possibilities of fantas…
Ep. 029 _ Ricardo de Ostos _ 'Creature Conditions' [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:09
Ricardo de Ostos creates speculative fictions that envision architectural projects in shifting environmental and cultural contexts. He lives, works and teaches in London at both, the Architectural Association and The Bar…