Show Notes
In this episode, we look at Facebook’s development from dorm-room prank to being one of the world’s most powerful and dangerous companies. Find out more at https://callingbullshitpodcast.com/. January 6th, 2021. For the first time in U.S. history, an armed mob at the U.S. Capitol attempted to disrupt the peaceful transition of power from one presidential administration to the next. In the aftermath, it became clear that Facebook had played an outsized role in inciting the event. How did Facebook go from a place for people to share silly cat videos, to a space for bad actors to make the world considerably worse? In this episode we look at Facebook, starting all the way back to when it began as a dorm-room prank and trace its development into one of the world’s most powerful and dangerous companies. Guests: Sinan Aral - MIT Professor & Author Lucie Greene - Strategist & Author Rosemarie Ryan - CEO of co:collective Kamran Asghar - Fonder & CEO of Crossmedia We’d love to hear what you think about the show. Maybe you’re inspired to take action, maybe you disagree with today’s bullshit rating. Either way, we want to hear about it. Leave us a message at 212-505-2305. You might even be featured on an upcoming episode. Find out more at https://callingbullshitpodcast.com/ Show Notes: In October of 2021, The Atlantic scoured thousands of internal documents from Facebook to explore the company’s impact on our democracy and how employees feel about their contributions. What can the humanities do to instill a moral or ethical compass within Big Tech, or more specifically, Mark Zuckerberg? Not much, according to Wired. Lobbying by Big Tech is at an all-time high, with companies such as Meta and Amazon spending big to curb strict regulations and ensure their power holds steady. Background Reading: Read Sinan Aral’s book: The Hype Machine Learn more about Light Years and read Lucie Greene’s book here. Learn more about co:collective and Rosemarie Ryan here. Read about CrossMedia and Kamran Asghar here. If you love the show, rate and review us on Apple Podcasts. Find out more at https://callingbullshitpodcast.com/. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
More from Calling Bullsh!t
We all like to think that if we saw wrongdoing, we’d do the right thing - that when confronted with a problem that goes against our ethics or morals, we’d speak up or take action. But what if calling bullshit meant damaging or ending your career, your family relationships, or even compromising your personal safety? Show Notes: Learn about Mary Inman’s incredible work at Constantine Cannon here. Read about Kyle Welch and Stephen Stubben’s research on whistleblowing. Check out Dana Gold’s Newsweek article about keeping whistleblowers safe. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
The notoriously tight-lipped global consulting firm McKinsey claims to be values-driven and purpose-led. But do their deeds back up their words? Or does their value of “serving the client first” mean every other value comes second? Can we really trust any company to be purpose-led when they operate in almost total secrecy? Show Notes: Buy a copy of When McKinsey Comes to Town: The Hidden Influence of the World’s Most Powerful Consulting Firm by Mike Forsythe and Walt Bogdanich. Learn more about Erik Edstrom and his work here. Connect with Rizwan Naveed and read about his current role at Google. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Web3 combines the ideals of the original internet with the most exciting aspects of new technology. And the reason this tech currently embodies Web3 is that the architecture of this technology - the very fabric of it - is open source, anti-authority, and decentralized. It could be a version of the internet where everyone has custody over their data. But it could also be a place where fraud runs rampant, where people hack each other’s data, and a place that promises something that will never exist. Show Notes: Buy a copy of Glen Weyl’s book Radical Markets: Uprooting Capitalism and Democracy for a Just Society here. Read Molly White’s blog ‘Web 3 is Going Just Great’. Vlad Ginzburg created blockparty.co to allow creators and brands to create unique, connected NFTs. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Little known fact: only 3% of artists on Spotify make more than one thousand dollars. And the people who work on albums who aren’t top-billed artists, like backup singers and songwriters, make even less. In fact, most artists make fractions of a penny per stream. So where does all that cash go? Show Notes Read Blake Morgan’s article about his meeting with Spotify execs: Spotify’s Fatal Flaw Exposed: How My Closed-Door Meeting with Execs Ended in a Shouting Match Learn more about Kaydence and her impactful work with the 100 Percenters here. David Turner writes a weekly blog called Penny Fractions ‘as a way to think through various record industry topics’. This episode uses the following tracks from FMA under a Creative Commons Attribution License: "What Dreams Become" by Audiobinger, "Moonlove Funk" by Cullah, "Ugly Truth" by HoliznaCC0, "Leave The Country (Instrumental)" by Anthem of Rain. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Farming is a notoriously difficult profession, high risk, and often low reward. In India, agriculture supports roughly two-thirds of the population. And the majority of families who grow and sell crops do so on a small scale at great personal financial risk. But one company is working to change this system from the inside: India’s largest agri-tech enterprise, Samunnati. For this positive case study, we speak with Samunnati Founder and CEO Anil Kumar about how they are creating better markets for smallholder farmers across every state in India. Show Notes Learn more about how farmer collectives help entail competitive and holistic engagement beyond finance. Read about Anil Kumar’s journey from bank clerk to founder and CEO of Samunnati. Samunnati recently partnered with GROWiT to promote protective farming techniques to benefit the planet. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.