Liz Cultivates | L.M. Fern

We have a new episode up!

David Golumbia retrospective, part 1: "Is Wario cyberlibertarian?" – Literally 2 Cents About Content!

Alex and Liz discuss only some of the works of linguist, philosopher, and academic David Golumbia, including:  The Cultural Logic of Computation (2009) The Politics of Bitcoin: Software as Right-Wing Extremism (2016) Cyberlibertarianism: The Right-Wing Politics of Digital Technology (2024) Technology and Silicon Valley are often associated with left-leaning politics. Still, various causes (SOPA/PIPA discourse, internet publication and copyright discourse, digital innovation) have roots in libertarian or conservative and reactionary narratives. Golumbia’s work shows that it’s difficult (read: impossible) to divorce reactionary values from Silicon Valley and its staunchest supporters. Reading list: The Great White Robot God A declaration of the independence of cyberspace The Language of Science and the Science of Language: Chomsky's Cartesianism  

1. David Golumbia retrospective, part 1: "Is Wario cyberlibertarian?" 01:36:50
2. An insult to dumpsters and fires 01:19:03
3. Book club: Kate Manne's "Unshrinking" 01:25:52
4. Unspoiled paradise of streaming content 01:24:17
5. Our most hated "content" words 01:26:52

This week, Alex and I talked about Kate Manne’s book Unshrinking: How to Face Fatphobia. It’s a heartbreakingly stark look at the state of fatphobia in our society — what it is, what its impacts are, and why we should interrogate our own assumptions about fatness.

This book is a relatively short, easy read. Accessible, even! Manne has an engaging writing style that doesn’t get bogged down in complicated terminology or phrasing — which she could very easily do, as an academic with a Ph.D. in philosophy. She has done her research and combined that with her own stories. Highly recommended.

During our discussion of the text, Alex and I also talked about several other books he has been reading, along with some writings from author Paul Campos. For me, this episode is a soapbox about how it is literally no one’s business how much someone weighs or what their perceived health may be. I told Alex the story about how my doctor recently admonished me about my recent weight gain and, after providing some advice on how to lose weight, all of which was met with me saying “Yep, I’ve tried that,” just kind of sighed and said, “Well, just lose five pounds before I see you next.” (Cue my hopeless laughter.)

On a recent trip to Florida, we had the T.V. on in the hotel room. We don’t watch a lot of T.V. at home, so it’s always somewhat of a treat when we go out of town — but that also comes with the commercials. One particular advertisement really hit me in the gut in a weird way. It was a commercial for Wegovy, the recently popular semaglutide weight-loss drug. In it, a succession of smiling actors parody the song “This is Me” from the musical The Greatest Showman. My friend Soph, who I was traveling with, noted with amusement that the song is supposed to be about rising above the expectations of society to be true to yourself… and they were co-opting it for a weight-loss drug commercial. Life parodies itself.

Anyway, as always, all our referenced texts are in the show notes. Thanks for coming along for this one! I have been enjoying the book club vibes of these episodes. Lots of good things in the works for the podcast. We appreciate you all listening and subscribing!