Episodes 28
Avg. Duration 1h 20m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 5.0 (7)
Since Feb 2024
Latest Episode May 2026

Outreach Signals

Features Guests

Publishing Details

Schedule
Monthly
Format
Episodic
Consistency
98%
Hosting
feeds.simplecast.com

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

Techs on Texts is a podcast featuring conversations with technologists about the literature that has influenced them. Hosted and produced by Jed Sundwall. Learn more at https://techsontexts.net

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

Episode #28: George Dyson on The Tale of the Big Computer

May 31, 2026 1h 9m

George Dyson – historian, boat maker, and volunteer Staff Historian at Radiant Earth – returns for his fourth appearance to discuss The Tale of the Big Computer, written by Hannes Alfvén in 1966…

Episode #27: Justin Kiggins on Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Apr 30, 2026 1h 12m

Justin Kiggins, neuroscientist, artisinal oboe reed maker, and builder at the intersection of AI and biology, joins us to discuss Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance. We explore…

Episode #26: JB Flinders on Sneakers

Apr 01, 2026 1h 24m

JB Flinders – omnitechnologist, fellow Ute, and co-host of the Andy and Ammon's Excellent Odyssey podcast: joins us to discuss the 1993 film Sneakers. We discuss data as the primary seat of power,…

Episode #25: Kate Chapman on Wool by Hugh Howey

Feb 28, 2026 1h 28m

Kate Chapman, geographer and technologist, joins us to discuss Hugh Howey's Wool. We discuss failures of governance, the perils of IT supremacy, the difficult ethics of constrained environments, and…

Episode #24: Kevin Bullock on Pluribus by Vince Gilligan

Jan 31, 2026 1h 26m

Kevin Bullock joins us to discuss the sublime first season of Vince Gilligan's Pluribus. Yes, TV is a "text," especially when Vince Gilligan is making it. We talk about individual morality, the…

Episode #23: Cyd Harrell on “Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius” by Jorge Luis Borges

Dec 31, 2025 1h 27m

Cyd Harrell, devout civic technologist, joins us to discuss Jorge Luis Borges's "Tlön, Uqbar, Orbis Tertius." We talk about tungsten cubes, techno cults, and our guesses about the "horrifying or…

Episode #22: Marta Regn on “Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom” by Ted Chiang

Nov 29, 2025 1h 23m

"Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom" on Wikipedia - note the fan art book coverRead "Anxiety Is the Dizziness of Freedom" on MediumOr buy Exhalation: Stories, the collection containing this storyThe…

Episode #21: George Dyson on The Black Cloud by Fred Hoyle

Oct 31, 2025 53m

George Dyson – historian, boat maker, and volunteer Staff Historian at Radiant Earth – returns to discuss Fred Hoyle's The Black Cloud. We discuss the cultural conflicts that arise between scientists…

Episode #20: Mark Chambers on Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

Sep 30, 2025 1h 36m

Mark Chambers – my friend from high school (and former Chief Sustainability Officer of DC and NYC among other things) – joins us to discuss Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park. We talk about the…

Episode #19: Matt Price on Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Aug 30, 2025 1h 32m

Matt Price – technology historian and dedicated educator – joins us to discuss Susanna Clarke's Piranesi. We talk about egos, ego death, cults, academia, Christianity, Buddhism, and psychedelics. No…

Episode #18: Noah Iliinsky on China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh

Jul 26, 2025 1h 13m

Noah Iliinsky – most-esteemed information visualization expert, speaker and author – joins us to discuss Maureen F. McHugh's China Mountain Zhang. We talk about what matters, heavy furniture,…

Episode #17: Daniel X. O'Neil on The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot

Jun 23, 2025 1h 14m

Daniel X. O'Neil, the worldwide entertainment juggernaut of the 21st century, joins us to discuss T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land. You will learn almost nothing about The Waste Land from this discussion,…

Episode #16: Alex Merose on Convenience Store Woman

May 30, 2025 1h 7m

Alex Merose extols the virtues of lazy action and calls on us to embrace Duchamp into our hearts through discussion of Sayaka Murata's Convenience Store Woman and Maurizio Lazzarato's essay "Marcel…

Episode #15: Johnny Rodgers on A Pattern Language

Apr 30, 2025 1h 25m

Johnny Rodgers, my friend from Tumblr (among other things), joins us to discuss Christopher Alexander's A Pattern Language. We explore how Alexander's design philosophy has endured and influenced not…

Episode #14: George Dyson on Childhood's End

Apr 01, 2025 1h 25m

I had the pleasure of recording this on-site with George in his Bellingham workshop (a former tavern). I experimented with having Claude write shownotes for this episode, and it proposed this as a…

Episode #13: Keith Garrett on The Truth of Fact, The Truth of Feeling

Mar 01, 2025 1h 25m

Keith Garrett, coy technologist, father, and former marine, comes on to discuss Ted Chiang's masterful "The Truth of Fact, the Truth of Feeling." We talk about the benefits of forgetfulness, the…

Episode #12: Gina Trapani on Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow

Jan 24, 2025 1h 21m

Gina Trapani, exemplary human and champion of good things on the web, comes on to talk about Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin. We talk about creating universes, friendship,…

Episode #11: Nathaniel Raymond on Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation

Dec 21, 2024 1h 11m

Nathaniel Raymond, Executive Director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health, joins me to talk about Francis Ford Coppola's masterful 1974 film, The Conversation.…

Episode #10: Mark Coatney on A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin

Nov 26, 2024 1h 31m

Mark Coatney, long-suffering digital media pioneer (Time! Newsweek! Tumblr! Al Jazeera!), gets me to finally read a novel by Ursula K. Le Guin and I loved it. Topics include our changing world, what…

Episode #9: Esther Dyson on Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and Spike Jonze’s Her

Oct 30, 2024 1h 20m

Esther Dyson, whose bio defies summarization (and who happens to be sister of previous guest George Dyson), discusses Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro and Spike Jonze's Her. We discuss the substance…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Techs on Texts have?

Techs on Texts has published 28 episodes since February 2024, covering topics in Arts, Books.

Is Techs on Texts still active?

Techs on Texts is currently highly active with new episodes monthly. Average episode length is 1h 20m.

How do I contact Techs on Texts for sponsorship or guest appearances?

Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Techs on Texts, including email and social media links.

Similar Podcasts