Doomscroll w/ Joshua Citarella

Mike Pepi is the author of “Against Platforms”, a bold critique of the hidden costs of digital life – and a manifesto for a better future. He is also one of my best friends and someone I have been in conversation with for over a decade.In this episode, we discuss our shared history in working to develop a new institutionalist critique of emerging technologies and platforms. The vast expansion of platforms during the 2010’s, which now encompass nearly all aspects of social life, represented a blindspot for the political left. To understand how this happened, we need to retrace the history of the 60’s counter-culture and the embrace of libertarian philosophies amongst the New Left.Since 2011, Mike Pepi, Brad Troemel, myself and other artists and writers have been engaged in an on-going dialogue that explores the ideological roots and design of platform technologies. Mike writes:“We have been taught that digital technologies are neutral tools, transparent, easily understood, and here to serve us. The reality, is that they are laden with assumptions and collateral consequences – ideology, in other words. And it is this hidden ideology that must be dismantled if we are to harness technology for the fullest expression of our humanity.”Get the book:https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/761644/against-platforms-by-mike-pepi/If you’re all caught up on last week’s episode of Doomscroll, there is a subscribers only episode that can tide you over until next week. Below you can watch part 2 of my conversation with Dasha Nekrasova:We’re already moving full speed ahead, shooting and editing new episodes. You can expect to hear a lot from us in the coming weeks and months. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Daniel Keller, an artist whose work and research has inspired me for over a decade. We discuss tech monopolies and their cozy relationship to state power, the artificial intelligence race, the chips war, network states and geopolitical competition between the US and China. These are the defining conflicts of the 21st century. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Jack Wagner, a writer & director, host of the Otherworld podcast and one of my all time favorite posters. We discuss his experience of creative life on the internet and explore the many esoteric belief systems that have grown out of social media. We see a trend of increasing irrationality in a complex world. At the end we pay homage to one of the greatest memes ever made. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Caleb Cain or Faraday Speaks as he is known online. In 2019, Caleb Cain posted a video on YouTube called “My Descent into the Alt-Right Pipeline”. In the video, he described his first person experience of online radicalization. It quickly went viral. Soon after, Cain was profiled in The New York Times in a piece titled “The Making of a YouTube Radical”. In 2020, he was featured again by the New York Times in the popular Rabbit Hole podcast. Today, he joins us to tell his side of the story. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Amber A'Lee Frost, a writer, organizer, co-host of the Chapo Trap House podcast and the author of Dirtbag (2023). We discuss today's dysfunctional left, elite overproduction, online political subcultures and the emergence of “youth” as a counter-cultural and consumer demographic. Is the New Right support for labor real? What does it mean for American workers? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is musician Matty Healy of The 1975. He joins me to discuss internet culture and the strange aesthetics of our time. We explore the inspirations behind his work, including the writing of cultural theorist Mark Fisher. Matty describes the "slow cancellation of the future" by comparing distinct styles of pop music across various decades. Fisher links these cultural moments to larger economic shifts that are often felt but rarely seen. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Yung Chomsky is the producer of the TrueAnon podcast, creator of the mobile app Phomo, and a natural athlete with 16 years of experience. We discuss his personal journey of learning to lift online while exploring exercise subcultures via forums and message boards. We sort the facts from fictions and discuss the tenuous connections between weight lifting and far right politics. This is the lifting episode. We’re all gonna make it. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is comedian Peter James Fowler. He joins me to discuss his political meme account that he ran at age 11. I’ve spent the last few years interviewing young people who make radical posts online. Peter shares his journey from growing up in evangelical Christianity, to new atheism, and from Trump to Bernie. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is artist and geographer Trevor Paglen. His groundbreaking work links new technological developments to larger political issues that are often secret or unseen. We discuss the emerging paradigm of "psyops capitalism", the history of the CIA's MK Ultra psychological operations and how magic shapes our perception of reality. These technologies culminate to form a new economic order of private surveillance, manipulation and financial extraction. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is ‪JJ McCullough a YouTuber who was previously a TV political commentator and columnist at the Washington Post. We discuss generational shifts from the political left to right, explore the state of alternative media and debate the origins of right-wing populism. While we disagree on some core issues, we always grant each other the space to fully argue an idea. My analysis and understanding is strengthened through our on-going dialogues. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Jreg or Greg Guevara as he is known offline. Jreg is a popular YouTube creator who explores online radical politics. He joins me to discuss our shared fascination with incredibly niche ideologies that only exist online. We explore social atomization as a political project and agree that taking the friend pill is the best advice you can find. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Catherine Liu, professor of film and media studies at UC Irvine. She is the author of 'Virtue Hoarders: the Case Against the Professional Managerial Class'. We discuss the origin of trauma studies, self branding on social media and the ideology of the professional class. Liu has an unwavering commitment to historical materialism and a fierce critique of elitist academies. She explores the intense moralism of our times as it relates to the Freudian super-ego. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

My guest is Brace Belden, an organizer, an infamous shitposter and co-host of the TrueAnon podcast. I’ve spent the last few years interviewing young people who make radical posts online and later find their way into real world politics. Irony and humor play a huge role in this process. For the first episode, I wanted to talk to one of my favorite posters who has also lived his politics in the real world. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Max Read joins me to discuss "the Zynternet", a newly emergent online youth subculture. We explore the For-You-Pagification of social media, the revenge of the normies and the future of online subcultures.This kind of independent research and trend-casting is supported entirely by listeners and readers like you. If you enjoy this work, find these insights useful (or at least mildly entertaining) please consider becoming a monthly paid subscriber or get a discount for the full year:In the intro to this podcast we discuss tech’s recent pivot toward the Trumpian right and it’s national conservative agenda, alongside some new regulatory proposals that will shape our big platforms under the next administration.The majority of this episode is spent exploring a new and somewhat distasteful subculture of young men on today’s internet. We track some of the larger cultural and economic developments that have led up to this, including the legalization of online sports betting, TikTok’s impact on American platforms and the late adoption curve of social media.Max writes:Over the last ten years or so, a broad community of fratty, horndog, boorishly provocative 20- and sometimes (embarrassingly) 30-somethings--mostly but by no means entirely male--has emerged to form a newly prominent online subculture. This network is adjacent to the “sports internet” of 40something dads and the “hustle internet” of Miami crypto b******t and the “reactionary internet” of trad influencers, but is its own distinct community with its own distinct cultural referents--college sports, gambling, light domestic beers, Zyn nicotine pouches--and influential personalities and media outlets, among them Dave Portnoy, Pat McAfee, Antonio Brown, and Call Her Daddy, in addition to dozens of minor podcasters and hey-fellow-kids content creators who nearly all work for sports-betting concerns.Max is one of my favorite writers on Substack. I highly recommend checking out this important piece and following his newsletter: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Alex Hochuli is a co-host of the Aufhebunga Bunga podcast and a co-author of "The End of the End of History: Politics in the 21st Century". He joins me to discuss universalisms, organization and the difficult way forward.Follow:https://x.com/bungacasthttps://x.com/Alex__1789Joshua Citarella's Newsletter is a reader-supported publication. To support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber: This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Otherworld presents Deep Research. This week, we’re covering “Tartaria”. Tartaria is a conspiracy theory that suggests the existence of a vast, advanced civilization that supposedly existed in ancient times but has been intentionally erased from historical records. Proponents of this theory often claim that Tartaria was a highly developed and technologically advanced empire with a global influence, surpassing the conventional understanding of history. They argue that evidence of Tartaria's existence is hidden or manipulated by a secretive global elite. The conspiracy theory often incorporates a variety of historical events, architectural anomalies, and symbols to support its narrative.Research links:https://www.reddit.com/r/Tartaria/comments/wggxfa/itsmorganfr_on_tiktok_explaining_tartaria/https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp78-02771r000200090002-6https://www.youtube.com/@jonlevichannelhttps://www.youtube.com/@MindUnveiledhttps://www.reddit.com/r/tartarianarchitecture/https://www.reddit.com/r/Tartaria/https://www.tiktok.com/@watch_the_rabbit_hole/video/7197053113310661890?lang=enhttps://www.tiktok.com/@auntytateana2/video/7161746777069145350?lang=enhttps://youtu.be/4N-GDmlDMts?si=LH4ot7FLSsgzdd3Yhttps://www.tiktok.com/@zacharydenman/video/7193705054363258117?lang=enhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2021-04-27/inside-architecture-s-wildest-conspiracy-theoryhttps://youtu.be/dtU_M0Sjd9Y?si=LOds3f6Nj-KXktMQ&t=332Follow:https://www.instagram.com/otherworldpod/?hl=enhttps://www.patreon.com/Otherworld This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

I sat down with Catherine Liu, author of Virtue Hoarders (2021) and professor of Film & Media Studies at UC Irvine, for her new series at Montez Press Radio. Catherine writes, “This series, Workers of the Culture Industry Unite! (LOL) tries to address the problems of artists' work in the age of finance capitalism… At a time when the corporations and institutions that support artists are suffering from endless crises of legitimacy, how can we have better conversations about what artistic and aesthetic freedom really look like.”Follow:https://www.instagram.com/montezpressradio This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Ruby Thelot is a designer, cyber-ethnographer and artist. He is a professor of Design and Media Theory at NYU. We discuss his new book: A Cyber Archeology of Checkpoints (2024) a poignant tribute to a vanished online community.Get the book: www.irrelevantpress.com/store/pre-sal…s-ruby-thelotFollow: www.instagram.com/being_on_line/?hl=enx.com/being_on_line?lang=en This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Towards a Philosophy of Photography by Vilem Flusser (1984)https://dis.art/obama-baroquehttps://www.nytimes.com/video/opinion/100000007785730/facebook-news-feed-zuckerberg.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liLGhXv76dg This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe

Get the book: https://darkforest.metalabel.com/dfa2Yancey and I visit Montez Press Radio in downtown NYC to discuss The Dark Forest Anthology of the Internet.Follow:https://www.instagram.com/montezpressradiohttps://www.instagram.com/ystricklerhttps://twitter.com/ystricklerhttps://www.instagram.com/metalabel__https://twitter.com/metalabel_ This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit joshuacitarella.substack.com/subscribe