What really happens when we Google something? When we post to Facebook or Instagram, how much are we sharing alongside that snap of our family holiday, or our latte art? More broadly, how are these companies’ attempt to privatise our public square impacting democracy – and even the nature of information itself?

Today’s guest, Siva Vaidhyanathan, has written extensively about the shortcomings of the platform companies that are such a major part of modern life. He’s the Robertson Professor of Media Studies, and director of the Center for Media and Citizenship, at the University of Virginia.

His books include Antisocial Media: How Facebook Disconnects Us and Undermines Democracy (Oxford University Press, 2018), The Googlization of Everything -- and Why We Should Worry (University of California Press, 2011), The Anarchist in the Library: How the Clash Between Freedom and Control Is Hacking the Real World and Crashing the System (Basic Books, 2004), along with several books about intellectual property. He is currently writing about Elon Musk.

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