Blake Collier and Matt Ruff talk to Cory Doctorow about the state of technology and how it influences everything from economics to the environment. We also touch on how pop culture like fiction shapes the development of VR and AR tech as well as tackling the issues of closed tech systems like Apple. This conversation dives deep on some philosophical and technical ideas, but remains deeply profound for anyone who wants to think on the impact of technology on the world.

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist, journalist and blogger — the co-editor of Boing Boing and the author of Radicalized and Walkaway, science fiction for adults, a YA graphic novel called In Real Life, the nonfiction business book Information Doesn’t Want to be Free, and young adult novels like Homeland, Pirate Cinema and Little Brother. His next book is Poesy the Monster Slayer, a picture book for young readers. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of South Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group. Born in Toronto, Canada, he now lives in Los Angeles.