Mark Hurst

"The clam chowder in a New England diner and the clam chowder in a Florida diner come out of the same Sysco can."

On regional collapse in restaurants - h/t @pluralistic@mamot.fr

https://www.worseonpurpose.com/p/your-dinner-got-worse-on-purpose

I spoke with astronomer Samantha Lawler - @sundogplanets@mastodon.social - about how Elon Musk has proposed to burn up in the sky one truck-sized satellite *per hour*. Unclear what that will do to the atmosphere, but it's not good.

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-04-20-starlink-and-kessler-syndrome-feat-astronomer-samantha-lawler/

"Every step we take towards deGoogling, no matter how small, is a step in the right direction."

New from me: The first step toward getting off Google, feat. @cyberlyra@hachyderm.io

https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/the-first-step-toward-getting-off-google/

Excited to share my Techtonic interview with @cyberlyra@hachyderm.io - aka Janet Vertesi - founder of the #optout project and #techreclaimers .

Janet explains WHY and HOW to get off of Big Tech, and onto community-minded alternatives.

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-03-23-janet-vertesi-founder-of-the-opt-out-project/

It was weirdly reassuring to meet another former UX advocate who has declared war on Big Tech.

New from me, a conversation with @gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green :
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/a-conversation-with-gerry-mcgovern/

Happy to see Sarah Wynn-Williams suing Facebook/Meta after it prevented her from talking about her memoir "Careless People."

Gift link:
https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/meta-tried-to-silence-her-now-shes-suing-b228997c?st=skqqc9&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

New from me: bad news about space junk, featuring @sundogplanets@mastodon.social - plus a fun piece about "our mom-and-pop data center" -
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/space-junk-and-our-mom-and-pop-data-center/

Great conversation w/ @gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green on Techtonic this week - pointing out the physical nature of the digital economy, and the hypocrisy of "greenwashing."

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-06-22-gerry-mcgovern-author-99th-day-a-warning-about-technology/

More Techtonic:
https://techtonic.fm

In the same way that some people seek out old-model cars and trucks, built before vehicles were filled with sensors and spy devices benefiting the manufacturer, people will look for old-model computers, built when a laptop actually did what you told it to do - and didn't feed your data to Big Tech.

New Techtonic: American public schools are issuing Big Tech devices, bringing (more) surveillance and addiction into kids' lives.

A conversation with @nicksmyth@zirk.us , ethics & tech professor at Fordham, about edtech being forced onto students and families:

https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-06-29-nicholas-smyth-on-big-tech-devices-in-schools/

"77% of air traffic control is understaffed, with NYC ATC staffed at 54% of the correct level."

This data point from @pluralistic@mamot.fr today, on the dangers of understaffing, makes me think of the LaGuardia crash.

https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/22/nobodys-home/

RE: @alice@lgbtqia.space

poison your data

Our culture is so dominated by developers & investors in software that any possibly tiny improvement to coding efficiency suddenly becomes The Thing That Everyone Must Use, Just Be Quiet And Use It, It's Inevitable.

Can we get thru to them - not everything in the world revolves around programming-!

"Abandon Amazon" is part of my Techtonic signoff every week.

Here's a brilliant mini-memoir by Hallie Bateman about how she did just that.

https://halmail.substack.com/p/my-breakup-with-amazon

I hope you'll join me for my Gel conference, Fri-Sat, Oct 2-3 in upstate New York: a community gathering for people resisting AI's intrusions by imagining a more creative, human future.

(Gel will be in Accord, NY, under 2 hours' drive from NYC.)

https://gelconference.com

New from me: "There is good news afoot, and it points toward the time when our team – [Appalachian musician] Murphy Campbell and family-owned restaurants and everyone fighting against Big Tech – will eventually win."

https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/good-news-in-the-fight-against-big-tech/

Excited to share this Techtonic episode featuring my visit to Repair Cafe El Barrio: volunteers repairing items, and guests who are ecstatic with the results.

This is how we'll beat the billionaires: building community.

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-03-16-a-visit-to-repair-cafe-el-barrio/

RE: @RadioCORAX@social.anoxinon.de

I'm happy that Techtonic is aired weekly in Halle, Germany - thanks to Radio CORAX!

More info: https://techtonic.fm

Pay $2,195 to "make paintings of celebrities blink at you."

And look like a complete dork in the process.

Why would anyone buy these surveillance glasses?

via @jasonkoebler@mastodon.social -

https://www.404media.co/snaps-ai-ar-specs-lol/

I'm organizing a community gathering in a few months for anyone who is tired of AI's intrusions and hopeful about new ways of creating, resisting, and living: we'll spotlight those people and projects.

It's called Gel. Hope you'll be with us!
https://gelconference.com

San Francisco Killed New York Food Delivery.

Here's my dramatic reading:
https://exquisite.tube/w/rVdrgWPAwfo7UoWJDNPv9H

RE: @internetarchive@mastodon.archive.org

To celebrate World Amateur Radio Day, I'd recommend my interview with Thomas Witherspoon (K4SWL) - @qrper@mastodon.radio - about why amateur radio is a superpower:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2025-12-01-amateur-radio-is-a-superpower-thomas-witherspoon/

"Why aren’t we seeing.. calls for Bill Gates to be removed from the Gates Foundation?"

Important piece by @timschwab@mastodon.social , who has been warning about Gates for years:
https://timschwab.substack.com/p/the-epstein-files-should-end-bill

New from me, a hopeful essay: my experience visiting the Repair Cafe El Barrio in East Harlem, NYC.

This is how we'll win over the oligarchs: by getting together and helping each other.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/finding-hope-at-the-repair-cafe/

gonna use this on every AI chat session now. (inspired by @fka_tabs@mstdn.social )

"an air conditioner written in python" somehow works -

New on Techtonic: Predatory edtech and addictive devices from Google & others have infiltrated public schools. A conversation with tech & ethics professor Nicholas Smyth.

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-06-29-nicholas-smyth-on-big-tech-devices-in-schools/

RE: @mlupica@c.im

This is the way.

“Zuck claims that users appreciate his platforms because they’re *valuable*. It’s like the intrinsic value of a slot machine, or a cigarette, or a crack pipe. Addicts the world over are so thankful for the *value* they experience every day.”

New from me:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/zuck-in-the-dock/

I'm celebrating 400 episodes of Techtonic - with handpicked excerpts of past interviews, featuring @jasonkoebler@mastodon.social @writearthur@mastodon.social @byrontau@journa.host & more.

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-02-23-celebrating-400-episodes-of-techtonic/

RE: @WFMU@c.im

Starting in 7 minutes. Livestream: https://wfmu.org

“The oligarchs are now floating the hype that their AI, used in the illegal war, is ‘precise’ and can ‘prioritize targets.’ I invite them to look at the photos of the schoolgirls’ coffins - then tell me again about ‘precision.’”

New from me - AI and the illegal war:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/ai-and-the-illegal-war/

Excited to share my Techtonic interview w/ @FoxCahn@mas.to & Evan Selinger about their book "Move Slow and Upgrade."

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-04-06-evan-selinger-and-albert-fox-cahn-authors-move-slow-and-upgrade/

In the excerpt below, Evan describes how the tech oligarchs see themselves as world-historical geniuses:

Why use AI to simulate customer research?

Why not actually talk to actual people?

New from me: The forgotten superpower of listening to customers.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/the-forgotten-superpower-of-listening-to-customers/

From the new Techtonic, with Jesse Jarnow - aka @bourgwick@heads.social - as we talk about how to properly dispose of surveillance phones.

Please pledge to @WFMU@c.im to support my (volunteer) show:
https://pledge.wfmu.org/donate?program=TD&step=landing

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-03-09-marathon-week-2-w-cohost-jesse-jarnow/

From my newest Techtonic, with @WFMU@c.im station manager Ken Freedman. This after I played the clip of Sam Altman talking about "training human beings."

Please pledge to WFMU to support my (volunteer) show:
https://pledge.wfmu.org/donate/TD

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-03-02-marathon-week-1-w-cohost-station-manager-ken-freedman/

Impeach now.

*Good* news from our tech dystopia, on the latest Techtonic:

Facebook lost two trials, & shut down the metaverse, & their "pervert glasses" are being shunned.

PLUS I made a special audio segment on SF ruining NYC food delivery.

Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-03-30-dystopia-update-good-news-edition/

RE: @tante@tldr.nettime.org

This is quite good.

Remember when teams tried to make the customer experience *better*?

That was a different time.

"MTA to blast 75-decibel ads in subways in latest disruption for NYC commuters — and agency barely makes money off them"
https://nypost.com/2026/02/25/us-news/mta-to-blast-75-decibel-ads-in-subways-as-critics-blast-fahrenheit-451-style-spin/

RE: @markhurst@mastodon.social

With the news of AI being jammed into nuclear weapons systems, this unfortunately is looking even more relevant:

IN NEW YORK TONIGHT, Tuesday: I'll be at Book Club Bar (197 East 3rd St) interviewing author Judson Merrill about his novel "Paranoid Storytelling."

Starts at 8pm. See you then!

https://bookclubbar.com/events/5477820260630

RE: @kepano@mastodon.social

Just posted to Good Reports in my Creative Good Forum.

Mastodon question: any idea why my notifications are stuck at 40? I've viewed them, scrolled through them, etc. - have logged out and logged back in - yet the number will not change or disappear.