Listen "29. Sabotage Feels Good (patreon teaser)"
Episode Synopsis
We offer the case for a techno-politics of unmaking — quite literally deconstructing capital — to combat the innovation fetishism that masks the social relationships inherent in all technology. We also talk about examples of Luddism in action at Amazon warehouses. There’s some great tangents along the way (the acting roles that Ethan Hawke has been taking lately are surprisingly, righteously Luddish). We wrap up with an exciting reading series of a shockingly prescient essay from the old radical computer industry magazine, Processed World.
Some stuff we reference:
• Is it OK to be a Luddite? by Thomas Pynchon: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/18/reviews/pynchon-luddite.html
• Surviving Amazon by Sam Adler Bell: https://logicmag.io/bodies/surviving-amazon/
• World Processor by Jacob Silverman: https://thebaffler.com/salvos/world-processor
• Sabotage: The Ultimate Video Game by Gidget Digit: http://www.processedworld.com/Issues/issue05/05sabotage.htm
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).
Some stuff we reference:
• Is it OK to be a Luddite? by Thomas Pynchon: https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/97/05/18/reviews/pynchon-luddite.html
• Surviving Amazon by Sam Adler Bell: https://logicmag.io/bodies/surviving-amazon/
• World Processor by Jacob Silverman: https://thebaffler.com/salvos/world-processor
• Sabotage: The Ultimate Video Game by Gidget Digit: http://www.processedworld.com/Issues/issue05/05sabotage.htm
Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! patreon.com/thismachinekills
Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (twitter.com/braunestahl).
More episodes of the podcast This Machine Kills
435. Schoolwork Will Set You Free
09/12/2025
Patreon Preview – 430. Bring the Pain
06/11/2025
ZARZA We are Zarza, the prestigious firm behind major projects in information technology.