In New Celebrity we talk about the faces that rise to the top on TikTok, and how Instagram algorithms encourage the stealing of facial structures. What does it mean to not recognise ourselves in the front-facing camera? We discuss why “aesthetic flattening” has been the vibe of the pandemic. Plus, we talk about why this is the age of the collab, an…

"We make things because we are alive". In this episode we’re all about how now is a time for art with messy edges. Hear about the aesthetics and language of DIY podcasting; the amateurs who make the web work; and glamorising the side hustle. We ask do qualifications matter? Why do we say "that’s on brand for me"? Plus a whole lot on joy, Oscar Wild…

Lockdown has got us curious about online activism, with many people turning to it in times of massive change. We draw on our experiences to ask are petitions effective and safe and should you start one? What does it mean when we need issues to “keep on trending” to be relevant? What’s the reason behind the designs in Instagram slideshows? Plus - ma…

Right now the thrill of a package arriving is one of our small joys, but who, how and why makes that happen? How indie artists are manipulating Disney’s god-like powers for good. Hear about consumerism as a form of entertainment, from satirical reviews to Wish-haul videos. Plus, Harry Styles, TikTok knits, ghost carts, hacking capitalism and more.F…

In our Halloween special Marianela and Ruth gather round a virtual campfire and tell each other tales of the Internet. The things we fell for, and the things it revealed to us. We talk about cute animal stories, ethics in psychology experiments, haunted emails and blessed tumblr posts. The twisted parables that have lost their meaning, ugly fruit, …

How is tech shaped by ritual? And rituals changed by tech? We review ‘The Power of Ritual’, a popular self-help book about the rituals of life, and take our Intersection of Things angle on it. With companies like Headspace, WeCroak and SoulCycle, how is spirituality commodified, and how do we notice it happening? What are the rituals we have gained…

Does the Internet have a gaze? What’s your advice on cultivating a bullshit radar? What has been surprising in the last decade of tech? It’s our 2 year anniversary episode! Marianela and Ruth interview each other with big reflective questions about the internet and how we think about it. Plus we talk about our Internet pet hates and loves; the chan…

What are choices are built into games, and why? Why do they still inspire moral panic about young people playing them? We talk about games being used for political ends, sometimes by design, but best of all when players get subversive with the mechanics. Plus, the power of gamers showing solidarity with the workers and creators, vs the toxic online…

How can machines decide what is beautiful, and what is a beautiful machine? How did teen girls change phone hardware forever? How has Instagram changed our physical spaces? Are 'beautifying' filters racist? Plus, we talk about the many uses of YouTube make-up tutorials: for defiance, play, celebration, and … secret security lessons. And we celebrat…

How do we communicate when disaster strikes and our phones and internet go down? How are communities in New York, Puerto Rico & Oaxaca building their own networks which survive? What does resilience mean, and how can definitions influence what emergency responses look like? Can you get involved and build Internet without corporates involved at all?…

How is our culture informed by war? How has tech changed its myths and stories? We talk about the real-timeness of war footage, and military funding of Hollywood from Top Gun to the Avengers. Plus, can Google’s employee walkouts stop its defense contracts? What are our own roles in conflict? What happens when war looks inward and police are militar…

Rural places are often presented as “left behind”, especially when it comes to technology. But is that really the case? We speak to rural innovator Ashleigh Weeden for her incredible insights about the intersections of the rural and the digital. What is rural data, and can it be a matter of national security? What are the tech innovations that citi…

Who was Henrietta Lacks? Are DNA tests the new astrology? What’s really happening with all the data genealogy companies are gathering? And why are they so popular? A lot of debunked “science” from the 1800s about our faces and our families is being treated as though this time it could be right, rather than racist, because “the tech is better.” We d…

What is fanfiction? Who is making it? What’s the tumblr apocalypse and how has it changed fan community? And what on earth is a "tag-wrangler"? We talk with scholar and writer Milena Popova about all of these questions, and their research on fanfic and consent, the nature of trusting authors, and who owns stories. We also discuss the digital projec…

What is a smart city? What is digital gentrification? Did apps kill the gay bar? And what do bats have in common with this whole conversation? In this episode we take a look at cities and how technology is shaping the spaces we inhabit... and shaping us. First episode of 2019!Find the full footnotes at: www.theintersectionofthings.com/episodes/ep14…

The 'twentygayteen' year in review. We talk about our episodes from the last year, what we thought about differently, what we learnt more about since then. Plus thank a bunch of people who made this possible, including you. Find us: @thingsintersectwww.theintersectionofthings.comRuth Coustick-Deal: @nesientMarianela Ramos Capelo: @undazedandsuch…

How do novels predicting the future influence the tech we’re making right now? Who are the writers creating science fiction novels for the military, and why? Whose future does sci-fi imagine? Why is space always being “colonised” in literature? We interview author of “Nigerians in Space” and “After the Flare” Deji Bryce Olukotun for his insights on…

How did Peppa Pig videos get controversial? Can you control photos of your kids on Facebook? How is technology loved by stalkers being marketed to parents? We also talk about Elf on the Shelf, adult content filters in the UK, how we are all in the business of parenting, and if we can please just avoid falling into moral panic.Full footnotes: https:…

Is the “death of cash” a good thing? What happens when we use algorithms to decide how much things cost? What exactly is the deal with Bitcoin, and how are bros using it to profit from the hurricane in Puerto Rico? In our episode on Money we also chat about the "illusion" that is designer clothes, the theatre of branding, and the brilliant economic…

Who do we put up on our 'rockstar' pedestals? How does genius status and disruption ideology in the tech sector create the conditions for workplace harassment and abuse? "Move fast, and break things" was Facebook's motto - does the attitude include people too? We interview whistleblower, security expert and all-round badass Leigh Honeywell for her …

How is YouTube censoring trans creators? What’s up with gay dating apps and the concept of anonymity? What is ‘homo-nationalism’ and how are the military and spy agencies encouraging it, despite their past? Our #Pride episode is bursting with knowledge as we talk all things being Queer on the Internet. There’s a lot of room for our joy too, when we…

Are libraries still relevant and revolutionary in the digital age? What does it mean to be a ‘radical librarian’? What role can public spaces play in resisting surveillance, or must they be complicit? Plus, the projects making us excited about these local community spaces one again, and a discussion of information-sorting ethics. We interview libra…

What is SESTA, how is it bad for sex workers and for free speech? In “Sex” we interview OpenPrivacy Director Sarah Jamie Lewis about the details on this dangerous law. Plus discussions on the world of internet connected sex toys and ‘deep fakes’. How is the creepy porn technology having impacts on the nature of truth and politics? Footnotes: www.th…

How does pregnancy lead to increased surveillance, especially for poor women? How is data on our bodies being used to police womanhood? In “Health” we look at some fantastic research into both of these issues, as well as getting into big questions like whose responsibility is health anyway, is self-care a con, and can fitness apps be fully anonymou…

How we care for ourselves in a world that is constantly triggering. Is it time to mute ‘BREAKING NEWS’ on your feed and choose when to be angry? Plus we get into the attention economy, building empathy, the history of seat designs and the failures of campaigning NGOs to get truly intersectional!Footnotes: www.theintersectionofthings.com/episodes/ep…

How are American truckers resisting surveillance? Why is homophobia weaponised in both Palestine and New York? And what does building a healthier, safer activist movement look like? In Episode 3 we discuss lessons from the international digital rights community at the Internet Freedom Festival.Footnotes: https://www.theintersectionofthings.com/epis…

How has the Internet has changed the world of work? Why is Uber problematic, what are unions like in the 21st century and we get into the details of who benefits and who doesn't in the "gig economy".Footnotes: https://www.theintersectionofthings.com/episodes/ep2-workFIND US!Intersection of Things: @thingsintersectwww.theintersectionofthings.comRuth…

Introducing: The Intersection of Things. A fortnightly podcast from two friends with an ocean between them, discussing how technology is changing our lives, from an intersectional feminist perspective. FIND US!Ruth Coustick-Deal: @nesientMarianela Ramos Capelo: @undazedIntersection of Things: @thingsintersectwww.theintersectionofthings.com…

What is consent? From #MeToo to check boxes on online forms, we talk about fighting for autonomy over our bodies. We also delve into EU data protection law, smart tvs and sex education. The Internet is a strange place. It’s full of unexpected intersections. We don’t just mean finding yourself at the Wiki page on 'turtles' when you started at 'histo…