In this episode, Craig and Olivia sit down with science fiction author, activist, and journalist Cory Doctorow to talk about creative freedom, tech monopolies, and how authors and readers alike can divest from Amazon.
Cory shares the motivation behind keeping his audiobooks off Audible—even if it means sacrificing a paycheck—and explains how DRM laws allow Amazon to exert control over books they didn’t even create. The conversation covers everything from how monopoly power has shaped the digital marketplace, to the rise of “enshittification,” a term Cory coined to describe the lifecycle of once-useful tech platforms. They also discuss the importance of decentralized social media, the future of authorship in a platform-dominated world, and why it’s time to stop trying to shop your way out of broken systems and start organizing for real change.
Read the full transcript: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1bC4FqH1ZzxPlbtH-Vs1-u-oJFnu4WRKHVHszr4VAbtI/edit?tab=t.0
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About Cory Doctotow: Cory Doctorow is a bestselling author of both fiction and nonfiction, a longtime advocate for digital rights, and co-editor of the blog Boing Boing. His recent works include The Bezzle, Picks and Shovels, and the upcoming nonfiction book Enshittification. He also runs the daily newsletter Pluralistic.net.
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