tech-industry commentator
A former Silicon Valley commentator and entrepreneur, Andrew Keen is the author of The Cult of the Amateur: How Today's Internet Is Killing Our Culture, Digital Vertigo: How Today's Online Social Revolution Is Dividing, Diminishing, and Disorienting Us and The Internet Is Not the Answer. His latest book, How to Fix the Future, is due out in 2017.
The gig economy grows up We are fast becoming a nation of freelancers, temps and on-call hired help. In 2015 nearly 16% of workers had freelance jobs, a 10% jump from a decade ago. In fact, all of the net employment growth between 2005 and 2015 came from what's now referred to as the sharing or gig economy. Nearly a third of American workers have some kind of non-traditional gig, and by 2025 freelancers could make up half the workforce. This seismic shift away from 9-to-5 employment offers freedom and flexibility, but it comes with a steep price: few benefits, low wages, and little protection for the older workers who are increasingly drawn to the hustle. As the gig economy grows, will labor policy and protections keep up? We talk about the winners and losers in a world where more people are their own boss.
The "Everything Store" and the Changing Economy As another holiday season reaches a frenzied climax, more American shopping takes place on line than ever before. Amazon, the major force in e-commerce, is leaving Best Buy, Target and even WalMart far behind -- not just now but for the foreseeable future. Massive investment is finally paying off for consumers who want stuff now, although relentless cost cutting creates a "dark side" for many workers. But the big story may be Jeff Bezos' vision of a new economy with Amazon the dominant player.
American Inequality: A Children's Story The widening gap between America’s haves and have-nots is usually expressed with hard data on the declining wages and incomes of working adults. Sociologist Robert Putnam takes a different approach — using personal stories to show how poor children lose the opportunity to achieve the American Dream. Family and community life that used to help poor kids prepare for the future are on the decline. Is the Internet making things better or worse? Is inequality becoming an issue in next year’s presidential campaign — for both political parties?
How Much Are 140 Characters Really Worth? Shares in Twitter were initially priced at $26 during yesterday's stock-market launch. They immediately jumped by 73% to $45 and today they're down in the low $40's — with market capitalization of about $25 billion. That's bigger than half the firms in Standard & Poor's 500 — even though the digital social network has never turned a profit. So where does the value come from for shareholders, for users and for a culture that lives in the present and has an ever-declining attention span? Advertising will be Twitter's means to make money. Could it make even more, with a board including minorities and women?
The Internet and Education Almost every American student in K through 12 now has access to a computer. But public school districts are desperately short of money. What do they do in the Internet Age? They lay off librarians. Sara Scribner is one of several librarians who’ve received pink-slips in Pasadena. She says the real losers are students who need what she calls " Internet literacy ." We hear from Scribner and others on whether the Internet is turning our kids into experts or idiots.
Is the Internet Making School Kids Experts or Idiots? Almost every American student in K through 12 now has access to a computer. But public school districts are desperately short of money. What do they do in the Internet Age? They lay off librarians. Internet-savvy kids can do research on Google, but who's teaching them how to cull through that mass of information to separate fact from fiction? Boosters of the digitized culture say the Age of Gatekeepers is over, that the idea of authority is being overwhelmed by the prospect of freedom. Critics say that will leave kids to fend for themselves in world full of misinformation and propaganda. We hear both sides.
Is Today's Internet Killing Our Culture? Internet 2.0, the participatory websites that depend on content generated by users, is under attack. Once hailed for democratizing culture by providing more information from more sources without either filters or fees, critics now contend that web blogs, Google and Wikipedia are replacing expert gatekeepers with the "wisdom of crowds," often ignorant and wrong. Will traditional standards devolve into cultural anarchy where nobody knows what's true or false or will history's biggest communications explosion liberate culture from the heavy hand of self-interested elites?
Experts, Amateurs and the Backlash against Internet 2.0 Internet 2.0 is defined by a new generation of participatory websites, which depend on content generated by users. It's been hailed for its democratization of culture by providing more information from more sources without either filters or fees. But it's been around long enough to have generated an intellectual backlash, best represented by a new book called The Cult of the Amateur . The contention is that web-blogs, Google and Wikipedia are replacing expert gatekeepers with the "wisdom of the crowd," and are often ignorant and wrong. Will the demise of traditional standards lead to cultural anarchy where nobody knows what's true or false, or will history's biggest communications explosion liberate culture from the heavy hand of a narrow-minded elite? Blogs discussed in this segment: AskANinja BoingBoing Digg
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
