Ep. 365: What Technology Wants (and How to Push Back)

Ep. 365: What Technology Wants (and How to Push Back)

Why do we end up entangled with tools that don’t have our best interests in mind? How can we fix this situation? In this episode, Cal dives deep into the difference between additive and extractive technologies, telling a story that weaves old technology with old versions of modern tools, testimony from recent trials to ideas from leading technology critics – all in the service of improving your relationship with tools. He then answers listener questions and discusses the books he read in July, 2025.

Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here’s the link: https://bit.ly/3U3sTvo

Video from today’s episode: youtube.com/calnewportmedia

Deep Dive: What Technology Wants (and How to Push Back) [:54]
- Do project trackers work? [34:54]
- Is there a downside scenario to engineering wonder? [39:14]
- What types of people should I surround myself with? [43:00]
- Can you explain your different audiences? [45:02]

CALL: Shifting from medical work to a PhD [50:41]
JULY BOOKS: The 5 Books that Cal Read in July, 2025 [57:33]

L.A. Story (Bill Plunkett)
Disney’s Land (Richard Snow)
Ingenious (Richard Munson)
Original Sin (Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson)
Wool (Hugh Howey)

Links:
Buy Cal’s latest book, “Slow Productivity” at www.calnewport.com/slow
Get a signed copy of Cal’s “Slow Productivity” at https://peoplesbooktakoma.com/event/cal-newport/
Cal’s monthly book directory: bramses.notion.site/059db2641def4a88988b4d2cee4657ba?
https://substack.com/@priscillaharvey1/note/c-133662492
https://www.yahoo.com/news/zuckerberg-tells-court-facebook-no-171222971.html
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/story/mark-zuckerberg-is-so-over-facebook-friends?srsltid=AfmBOoo4dysXG_2rXWDJaKnSdG6CfbCqf0O_8op_R1phpz5GQPx2F4XA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7jar4KgKxs
https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/28/enshittification/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ai-fC-2Bpo
https://www.emarketer.com/content/openai-hires-its-first-cmo-kate-rouch-foreshadowing-ads
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfUpEWAKPf8&t=2350s

Thanks to our Sponsors:
https://www.expressvpn.com/deep
https://www.oracle.com/deepquestions
https://www.indeed.com/deep
https://www.calderalab.com/deep

Thanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.


Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Jaksot(399)

Ep. 302: Re-Enchanting Work

Ep. 302: Re-Enchanting Work

We talk a lot on this show about how to organize and execute your work, but not enough about where to do it. In this episode, Cal explores the theory and practice of “adventure working,” in which you ...

27 Touko 20241h 22min

Ep. 301: Reclaiming Time and Focus (w/ Jordan Harbinger)

Ep. 301: Reclaiming Time and Focus (w/ Jordan Harbinger)

In this episode, the proverbial tables are turned, with Cal being interviewed by Jordan Harbinger about time, focus, and the quest for a slower notion of productivity. (This interview originally aired...

20 Touko 20241h 35min

Ep. 300: Hidden Technology Traps

Ep. 300: Hidden Technology Traps

There has been a lot of attention paid recently to the impact of technology like social media on the mental health of young people. But this is not the only technology trap lurking for this generation...

13 Touko 20241h 22min

Ep. 299: Our Love/Hate Relationship with Personal Productivity

Ep. 299: Our Love/Hate Relationship with Personal Productivity

Cal has been writing professionally about issues related to personal productivity for two decades. In today’s episode, he provides a short history of what he’s observed during this period about out co...

6 Touko 20242h 18min

Ep. 298: Rethinking Attention

Ep. 298: Rethinking Attention

We think of information as something neutral; a spotlight that helps illuminate the reality of the outside world. Accordingly, more information is better than less. In this episode, Cal pushes back on...

29 Huhti 20241h 19min

Ep. 297: The Deep Life Hardware

Ep. 297: The Deep Life Hardware

Why do you struggle with your grand attempts to escape distraction and aimlessness to make your life deeper? In this episode, Cal draws on an unexpected metaphor – Charles Babbage, Ada Lovelace, and t...

22 Huhti 20241h 26min

Ep. 296: Jane Austen’s To-Do List (LIVE)

Ep. 296: Jane Austen’s To-Do List (LIVE)

In the first ever live episode of Deep Questions, recorded at People’s Book in Takoma Park, MD, Cal extracts a modern productivity lesson from the tale of Jane Austen’s frustrated ambitions, before ta...

15 Huhti 20241h 21min

Ep. 295: Artists Revolt Against Social Media

Ep. 295: Artists Revolt Against Social Media

In this episode Cal takes a closer look at a growing trend of artists quitting social media and instead reverting to old-fashioned websites. Are these acts of principled sacrifice or a sustainable way...

8 Huhti 20241h 23min

Suosittua kategoriassa Koulutus

rss-murhan-anatomia
psykopodiaa-podcast
voi-hyvin-meditaatiot-2
rss-valo-minussa-2
rss-narsisti
adhd-podi
psykologia
salainen-paivakirja
rss-liian-kuuma-peruna
rss-niinku-asia-on
rahapuhetta
aamukahvilla
aloita-meditaatio
rss-duodecim-lehti
rss-vapaudu-voimaasi
kesken
koulu-podcast-2
rss-psykalab
rss-koira-haudattuna
rss-hereilla