The Media Squat: Radio with Douglas Rushkoff

Every Monday evening at 6pm EST on WFMU and www.wfmu.org
Also, Monday at 8p PCT on KSPC, 88.7FM in Pomona, CA.
If you want the MediaSquat on your radio station, let us know. Email rushkoff at rushkoff.com.

The Media-Squat, hosted by Douglas Rushkoff, is freeform, bottom-up, open-source radio dedicated to solving some of the problems engendered by our increasingly top-down, closed-source culture.

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Next week:
Oct 12: MediaSquat Classics: Terence McKenna on Marshall McLuhan.

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This participatory radio show - now called The Media Squat – looks at both sides of Life Incorporated: how life has been literally “incorporated” by business and economics, and how can we incorporate LIFE back into our world: local commerce, community, social currency, and other emerging forms of participatory culture.  This is freeform, bottom-up, open source radio looking towards similarly open source, bottom-up solutions to some of the problems engendered by our relentlessly top-down society.

According to Rushkoff, “media can not only expose the artificial nature of the entities currently in control of the social and economic landscape – they can restore human agency, create the right conversations, connect people, and fight fear with fun. So, I want to make a show that initiates the conversations and behaviors that engage people in these processes.”

Each show will initiate a series of discussions, which will themselves comprise part of an expanding wiki of resources, support material, and community-generated content. A piece on “local currency” will branch out to embrace the local currency efforts, discussions, and tools out there. How does a person create a currency for his or her town? And where are the other people interested in doing this? Who has the best solar solutions, the most interesting way of organizing labor, the best free local Wi-Max network? Let’s talk to the CEO’s of GE and BP about their green efforts, and whether they believe their own hype. How about urban planning? Bike lanes? Ads on school buses and Coke machines in the cafeteria? What’s in those textbooks, anyway?

This is a 21st Century, cyberpunk reclamation of all technologies and social contracts as essentially open source, up for discussion, and open to modification. It’s an application of the hacker ethic and net collectivism to everything, done in the spirit of fun and adventure. 

USE THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW TO DISCUSS THE MOST RECENT SHOW, OR TO CONVERSE IN GENERAL.

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TO SUGGEST GUESTS OR TOPICS, GO HERE.

19 Comments to “The Media Squat: Radio with Douglas Rushkoff”

#1 Posted by P2P Foundation » Blog Archive » Douglas Rushkoff initiates new radio show (25.12.08 at 17:14 )

[...] Important announcement: [...]

#2 Posted by matt griffin (04.01.09 at 13:51 )

is there a podcast feed for the shows? I couldn’t find one at WFMU…

#3 Posted by Douglas (04.01.09 at 20:56 )

There’s a podcast on the Life Incorporated Radio page right here. Click on the banner to the right.

#4 Posted by Dave (16.03.09 at 21:45 )

I believe the feed you are looking for is here:

http://www.wfmu.org/archivefeed/mp3/RK.xml

[ actually, go to: http://wfmu.org/podcast/RK.xml ] ed.

It hasn’t updated with tonight’s episode yet though. It seems an mp3 of the show has not yet been produced. See also here: http://www.wfmu.org/recentarchives.php

#5 Posted by javier (17.03.09 at 14:26 )

Hi.
I couldn’t catch the march 16th show. Is it possible to download it somewhere?

#6 Posted by Robert J. Parker (19.03.09 at 03:04 )

In the forums it mentions there was a technical issue, so they didn’t manage to snag the MP3.

Shoot.

I have been really looking forward to this.

#7 Posted by Randolph (24.03.09 at 10:03 )

Please don’t talk over your guests on the radio. We’re also interested in their ideas.

#8 Posted by FONADI (24.03.09 at 12:13 )

Sorry i missed the show last night, called David last night, will be at my computer next week. I have no tv and no radio, just this laptop….

Listening to the stream now. Peace!

#9 Posted by Dave (31.03.09 at 22:41 )

My previous comment has a link to an RSS feed that doesn not actually work as a podcast feed. The following feed works (it has the mp3 enclosures):

http://wfmu.org/podcast/RK.xml

#10 Posted by thecat17 (15.04.09 at 18:45 )

The link to the show with Xeni Jardin is broke. Here’s the direct link:

http://podcast.wfmu.org/kdb/mp3jump.mp3/0:8:24/0/RK/rk090413.mp3

#11 Posted by radicalmom (03.08.09 at 17:05 )

wondering if you will be covering the release of “loosechange 911; and american coup” on september 22nd in nyc?

#12 Posted by Douglas (17.08.09 at 19:49 )

I have to see about getting a screener of Loose Change 911. Could be an interesting show.

#13 Posted by Whimstar (01.09.09 at 23:01 )

Hi, Douglas. I am a devoted listener to the show. Your ideas have generated a lot of thoughts in my mind, and generated many discussion about community between my friends and me.

One quick technical question before I get into my real question: since I’m a west-coast listener, I have to listen on i-tunes. But only the most recent 15 episodes show up. (Even though I have my preferences set to never delete old episodes.) There are some old episodes which I’d like to share with friends, but I can’t find them!

My content-question is about (I don’t even know the name for it), maybe “intentional neighborhoods.” I think you’ve talked about this on the show before (but like I said, I can’t find the old episodes.)

In my mind, these neighborhoods would be a collective of households in proximity to one another. Everyone would have — not a job — but a specialization, like making ethanol, or childcare or cooking, gardening. Even higher-level things like metallurgy or herbology. There could be trained doctors and dentists, even. There would be community spaces for meeting, events, sharing; community library.. shared vehicles, etc.

They say it takes a village to raise a child, and this would be the perfect example of this. In this village, all the people would have lots of “free time” (where they wouldn’t have to go off to a job), and everyone could pitch in to raise children , or care for elders for that matter.

This came up the other day when I was talking to my mother, who is concerned about getting older and “going to live in a home.” My brother has talked a lot about some “family compound” where we all live on the same property and support each other. But I hate the idea of being cloistered up with my family! I don’t want to have the onus of responsibility of taking care of my elderly parents or my brother’s baby. I would much prefer a “community compound” where I could pitch in in some other way, while there are other people to help with the caretaking.

I wonder if you could direct me to some resources about this sort of thing, and/or if you could talk on your show about communities like this that a person could join.

Thanks

#14 Posted by Douglas (02.09.09 at 10:22 )

I think you’re talking about ‘intentional community’ as opposed to a full on commune. I’d do a simple Google search with the words intentional community and whatever state you’re in, and see what comes up. There are lots of them forming these days.

#15 Posted by Janine (03.09.09 at 10:10 )

Hi Whimstar ,
Here is the program we did on intentional communities:

http://rushkoff.com/videoaudio/all-radio/community/

I grew up on the intentional community discussed and this woman, Barbara Lorie, was the woman who founded the community. The interview really doesn’t explain how the community is working and all the great things happening to it. But it might give you some sort of insight into what you are looking for. You can always contact Barbara directly @
BBL {at} embarqmail(.)com

She does talks and host meetings at Blue Heron all the time and can tell you a lot about it.

-Janine

#16 Posted by jeff (21.09.09 at 03:43 )

Hey there, any chance we could air the show out here on KDRT 95.7 fm in Davis, CA?

#17 Posted by Douglas (21.09.09 at 18:46 )

Absolutely, Jeff. I wish I had your email.
We’ve got a couple of “partners” already.

Email me directly at rushkoff at rushkoff dot com and we’ll figure it out. I’d be honored.

#18 Posted by The MediaSquat: Michael Jackson Almost Crashed the Internet | buzz twang (21.09.09 at 22:30 )

[...] segment that I wrote and produced for The Media Squat with Douglas Rushkoff on WFMU 91.1 FM on Michael Jackson as media star and hacker. Hopefully, they’ll be a weekly [...]

#19 Posted by Volker (05.10.09 at 15:58 )

Hello Douglas,

Hope you are well.

I do listen to the Media squat every week via podcast here in Dublin/Ireland. And I do not only think that the open format is brilliant. The content never fails to be thought-provoking and does always provide positive impulses.

I was wondering if your whole speech that you gave at the ‘Change you want to see’ gallery can be posted?

Thank you.

All the best

Volker