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Technology is taking on a mythic mantle as we look to our creations to supply us with a sense of belonging and purpose, but this is a category error because tech cannot honestly deliver on these promises. In this podcast Tom Chatfield explores some of the issues bound up with the ways we are thinking about technology.

• Technology is not a bolt-on or optional extra, but has been integral to human existence since before our species evolved
• The delusion of neutrality allows us to abdicate responsibility for design choices and embedded values in our tools
• Technology has affordances that push us toward certain behaviors – email "wants" more emails, cars "want" highways
• The delusion of determinism suggests technology drives history along a predetermined path, diminishing human agency
• We've confused progress with salvation, imbuing tech with religious qualities like transcendence and apocalyptic narratives
• Understanding ourselves as "dependent rational animals" helps us appreciate our fundamental interdependence
• Each new generation must be taught a way into modernity, allowing them to question, change, and remix our culture
• Being a "good ancestor" means considering how our technological choices will impact future generations

"Even if you're the richest person in the world, let alone the poorest, you don't have perhaps as much leverage as you might wish to. Nevertheless, that's what you've got, and it does no good whatsoever to say, therefore I have no power, no control, no insight, nothing to give. You do what you can within the limits of what you can know and bring into being."

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Rosie Spinks Substack - https://rojospinks.substack.com/about

Kenny Primrose Substack - https://positivelymaladjusted.substack.com/

Moby Gratis Music - https://mobygratis.com/

Writer and journalist Rosie Spinks joins us to explore her powerful question: "What do we do now that we're here?" Drawing from her journey from ambitious journalist to burnout victim to advocate for a different way of living, Rosie offers a surprisingly hopeful perspective on navigating a world where traditional markers of success have lost their shine.

After achieving what looked like career success—writing for prestigious publications like The Guardian and The New York Times—Rosie found herself profoundly unhappy. The pandemic provided an unexpected reset, challenging her assumptions about what's guaranteed in life and what truly matters. She describes straddling two worlds: "here" (where we've accepted the limitations of growth and progress) and "there" (the conventional world of consumption and productivity we still partially inhabit).

The conversation takes a particularly powerful turn when Rosie discusses how becoming a mother revealed the transformative power of care. "I had never in my old life, in my twenties, in my ambitious journalist life, thought about anyone but myself. The work of caregiving is repetitive and you're never done, but in that is this extraordinary quality that you unlock within yourself." This insight extends beyond parenting—it's about redirecting our energy toward connection with others and our local communities.

Rather than dwelling in despair, Rosie offers practical suggestions for building what she calls "the village"—trading childcare with other parents, learning neighbors' names, replacing consumption-based leisure with generative activities. These small shifts can rebuild our sense of belonging while preparing us for a future that may demand more resilience and mutual support.

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Ruth Taylor explores how our cultural conditions shape our values and beliefs, revealing how we can build futures where humans and other life forms flourish together on our planet. She illuminates the often invisible narratives that guide our thinking and behavior, showing how these shape everything from our personal happiness to our collective response to global challenges.

• The "values perception gap" - most people prioritize intrinsic values like community and equality, but believe others are more motivated by wealth and status
• Deep narratives like "growth is always good" or "humans are fundamentally selfish" shape our entire approach to social and environmental problems
• Research shows prioritizing intrinsic values leads to greater well-being than pursuing external rewards like wealth and status
• Our society lacks spaces for reflection on values, leaving us vulnerable to constant messaging promoting consumption and competition
• Creating "glimmers" - spaces and experiences that demonstrate alternative ways of living aligned with our deeper human values
• Cultural change requires both individual reflection on our values and structural changes to systems that currently reinforce harmful narratives
• Real change happens at the deepest level, addressing the root cultural conditions rather than just symptoms of problems

Find out more about Ruth's work on her Substack channel Culture Soup, or take her Values 101 course with the Common Cause Foundation.

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