Today at @websummit.bsky.social in Lisbon, @rabble.nz sat down with Cory Doctorow to discuss why Big Tech’s power harms society & why “move fast and break things” isn’t always progress. Tomorrow, he joins @jb55.bsky.social and @harrymccracken.com to discuss building a freer, decentralized internet.

This week, @rabble.nz takes the stage twice at @websummit.bsky.social 🇵🇹 He joins @jb55.bsky.social & @harrymccracken.com on Nov 13 to discuss how open, decentralized protocols like Nostr can power a freer internet. Building on Nostr: Open Protocols & New Possibilities websummit.com/sessions/lis...

Behind the scenes at Web Summit 🇵🇹 @rabble.nz having fun on the other side of the mic this morning with @aniatech.bsky.social in Lisbon at @websummit.bsky.social.

Our host, @rabble.nz is speaking at @websummit.bsky.social this week! 🇵🇹 He joins Cory Doctorow on Nov 12 to discuss how “enshittification” took over tech, & how we can build an open, decentralized internet. 🎤 A Post-American, Enshittification-Resistant Internet: websummit.com/sessions/lis...

After decades of political activism, Srđa Popović has witnessed how technology has transformed the way movements emerge and operate. Social media can turn a single viral moment into a fast-spreading, hard-to-oppress movement. Full episode with @rabble.nz, out now.

He helped overthrow Serbia’s dictator in 2000 without violence. Now, political activist Srđa Popović teaches others how to build impactful nonviolent movements. Full episode with @rabble.nz, out now.

Srđa Popović helped overthrow Serbia’s dictator in 2000. Now he trains activists worldwide on how real, nonviolent change happens. In this ep: - Why viral videos alone ≠ movements - Social media’s whataboutisms - How AI could help protect elections Full Ep: youtu.be/HGoivKFp1BU

Pamela Wisniewski, a researcher who studies how teens & parents navigate online life, tells @rabble.nz that when kids see something inappropriate online, the answer isn’t to take away their device. It’s to turn it into a teachable moment around digital safety. Ep w/ @pamwis.bsky.social, out now.

Pamela Wisniewski studies how teens use the internet, & says we’ve failed to create spaces for kids to just be kids online. One idea is to create kids-only spaces with trusted moderators, rather than restrictive age verifications that lock them out of all social media. Ep w/ @rabble.nz out now.

Pamela Wisniewski, researcher at UC Berkeley-affiliated ICSI, says we shouldn’t hand teens the keys to the internet without proper training. How do you think we should teach teens digital literacy and online safety? At home, in school, or both? Ep w @rabble.nz & @pamwis.bsky.social out now.

Our host, @rabble.nz, joined @mmasnick.bsky.social on the Techdirt podcast to talk about the history and future of decentralized social media. Listen to “An Insider’s View Of Decentralized Social Media” on @techdirt.com, or wherever you get your podcasts: www.techdirt.com/2025/10/21/t...

Pamela Wisniewski, leading researcher at UC Berkeley’s ICSI, joins @rabble.nz to discuss how to protect teens online. From age verification to anonymity and mental health, @pamwis.bsky.social says the solution isn’t restriction, it's teaching digital literacy. Ep out now: youtu.be/8Zfvyj40GTM

I recently joined @rabble.nz on @revolution.social Podcast to talk about what it really takes to make the internet safer for teens and why strict bans may not be the best solution. 🎧 Listen here: youtu.be/8Zfvyj40GTM #DigitalSafety #TeensOnline #SafetyByDesign #DigitalCitizenship #TechForGood

Our host, @rabble.nz, reflects on how AI has changed what it means to be a great programmer. It’s no longer about how early you started coding or memorization, it’s about how creatively you can build. Full episode out now.

Last week, journalist @jeffjarvis.bsky.social joined @rabble.nz to talk about the challenges of decentralized platforms like Mastodon. Freedom online sounds great, until you have to run the servers yourself. The solution? Open protocols that share responsibility across communities. Ep out now.

To celebrate the launch of Cory Doctorow’s book, “Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It”, revisit his chat with @rabble.nz on why imagining a better internet is the first step to building it. Full ep wherever you get your podcasts!

@jeffjarvis.bsky.social held the #BlackTwitterSummit, where he saw how a community claimed a platform that wasn’t built for them. That spirit continues with platforms like Blacksky, aiming to give communities the power to shape platforms on their own terms. Ep out now.

Journalist and author @jeffjarvis.bsky.social says Bluesky isn’t yet as open as it should be to ensure true user freedom. That’s why @rabble.nz created the Social Media Bill of Rights, to push platforms toward real decentralization and user freedom. Full episode out now.

This week, @jeffjarvis.bsky.social, author of “The Web We Weave”, joins @rabble.nz to discuss how modern attempts to clamp down on the internet are nothing new. From Section 230 to Substack to AI, he explains why openness, not control, is key to protecting the internet. 👉 youtu.be/WJ8wNo5eN2I

At 2389 Research, @harper.lol’s team builds AI with a people-first mindset. Instead of racing ahead, they ask how innovation will affect work, labor, and community. They aim to make their impact more human than harmful. Ep with @rabble.nz, out now

As CTO for Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, @harper.lol says the goal wasn’t to show off fancy tech. It was to make people feel connected. Instead of modernizing and replacing fieldwork, his team built software that showed volunteers and voters they weren’t alone. Full episode out now.

No matter how advanced it gets, AI will always inherit the biases of its creators. For instance, AI can turn PDFs into structured data in seconds, but if you ask it to remove racist bias, that’s impossible. Full ep w/ @harper.lol, CEO of 2389 Research, and host @rabble.nz out now.

Codegen AI is lowering barriers to entry in tech, letting non-tech people build websites, start businesses, and experiment freely again. 2389 Research CEO @harper.lol says that, like the early internet, AI is allowing anyone with curiosity the chance to become a developer and build apps. Out now.

“Codegen is going to destroy the tech industry as we know it.” @harper.lol, CEO of 2389 Research, says AI code generation will turn junior engineers into factory workers & hurt mid-level devs struggling to keep up. The new tech is helping capitalism move faster. Full ep with @rabble.nz out now.

Harper Reed, CEO of 2389 Research, joins @rabble.nz to talk about how AI shapes the way we build, create, and connect. From AI bias to agent collaboration, @harper.lol asks what responsible tech looks like in an unpredictable world. Full episode out now: youtu.be/pZZXhCTbd5k

"It is called social media, not monetized media." @rabble.nz and @davidbollier.bsky.social say economic systems should come second to social relationships online. The challenge is to build digital spaces that support cooperation instead of consumption. Full episode, out now.

For this week’s podcast, Justin Hendrix spoke with Mallory Knodel from the Social Web Foundation and the Internet Exchange and Burcu Kilic from CIGI. The conversation revolved around a post they wrote for the Internet Exchange titled “Big Tech Redefined the Open Internet to Serve Its Own Interests."

A great conversation on @Revolution.social podcast with host @rabble.nz Henshaw-Plath. We discussed the power of network protocols, the dynamics of commoning in digital spaces, and Big Tech failures to understand their dependence on trust and sharing. Refreshing! www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5nZ...

Fans got Jimmy Kimmel back on air after his suspension for comments he made on Charlie Kirk’s assassination. @davidbollier.bsky.social says the mass cancellation of subscriptions proved we still hold collective power to reclaim sovereignty over the systems shaping our digital lives. Ep out now.

I’m loving the inflatables protest.

When the music industry tried to stop digital sharing, it nearly destroyed itself. David Bollier explains how markets depend on trust and cooperation, yet often destroy the very social ties they need to survive. Full episode with @rabble.nz and @davidbollier.bsky.social, out now.

The commons is humanity’s original system of governance. It’s how people have always worked and shared together. This week, @davidbollier.bsky.social, an advocate for the commons for over 25 years, explains why remembering that could change our future. Full episode, out now.

This week, @davidbollier.bsky.social joins @rabble.nz to talk about how the commons applies to social media. From podcasting to Bitcoin and beyond, he explains why “open” platforms aren't immune to takeover and how communities can build shared value online. Episode out now: youtu.be/Z5nZU5cHhC4

Having millions of followers across platforms, @etymologynerd.bsky.social knows every post runs through an algorithm. As he tells @rabble.nz, creators now write, speak, and edit with the algorithm in mind, because optimization is the only way to be heard. Full episode, out now.

Online slang spreads faster than ever, but not always with its meaning intact. As @etymologynerd.bsky.social explains, algorithms accelerate context collapse, collapsing boundaries between cultures and mixing language faster than ever. Full episode with @rabble.nz, out now.

Our host, @rabble.nz, joined @malwarebytes.com's Lock and Code podcast to talk about what’s still good in social media and what’s being done to preserve it. Listen to Rabble and host @davidalruiz.bsky.social on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w...

AOC and Marjorie Taylor Greene go viral. New York’s Paul Tonko doesn’t. Algorithms boost extremes, distorting our reality. @etymologynerd.bsky.social says it widens America’s perception gap. @rabble.nz says fixing it means rethinking incentives, tech, and governance. Full episode, out now.

Banning phones or forcing age checks might look like safety, but @etymologynerd.bsky.social argues it backfires. They hand more data to Big Tech, block smaller platforms (Bluesky isn’t in MS), & stop kids from gaining algorithmic literacy. Phone bans are book bans. Ep with @rabble.nz, out now.

“Unalive” started as TikTok slang. Now middle schoolers use it in essays. Invented as a word to dodge moderation, it’s spread offline. Proof algorithms can shape real-world culture. @etymologynerd.bsky.social says it’s not brain rot, but creativity & identity. Ep w/ @rabble.nz, out now.

Adam Aleksic, aka @etymologynerd.bsky.social, joins @rabble.nz to discuss how algorithms are reshaping language and culture. From algospeak to the push for algorithmic choice, Adam explains the impact of feeds on how we speak, connect, and share ideas. Watch now: www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpkW...

How do social media algorithms shape language and culture? @etymologynerd.bsky.social talks with @rabble.nz about it and the open alternatives like bluesky. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpkW...

If your mom can’t use it, it won’t work. For @rude1.blacksky.team, founder of Blacksky, that’s the real test of accessibility. If his non-tech-savvy mom can use it, then anyone can. Alternatives to Big Tech can’t just be for experts. They must work for everyone. Full ep with @rabble.nz, out now.

“My life’s mission is to make mutual aid a normal, everyday practice in American culture.” — Rudy Fraser, Blacksky founder. For @rude1.blacksky.team, mutual aid is accountable community care, a value that Blacksky carries online to help people connect. Full episode with @rabble.nz, out now.

On big social platforms, moderation is a black box: if you get deplatformed, there’s little explanation & no one to talk to. Blacksky is different. Community-led moderation means real people, real accountability, and rules shaped by the community. Ep with @rude1.blacksky.team & @rabble.nz out now.

“If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” Big social platforms monetize our data & assume we all want the same. @rude1.blacksky.team, founder of Blacksky, is building a subscription-funded, community-owned network that puts people before advertisers. Ep out now.

Rudy Fraser, founder of Blacksky, joins @rabble.nz to discuss building a community-owned social network. From mutual aid to moderation to infrastructure, Blacksky shows how users can control their feeds and future online. Full episode with @rude1.blacksky.team: www.youtube.com/watch?v=UA1D...

A wide ranging convo between me & @rabble.nz for @revolution.social → past, present and future of Blacksky (the community + company) → mutual aid, susus, people's assemblies, etc → building protocols for people wherever you get your podcasts.

Various countries are rolling out age-verification laws for social media. But @mmasnick.bsky.social says the real effect is a boom in VPN usage. These laws don’t protect kids, they just push people to find alternative routes around the restrictions. Watch the full episode, out now.

Bluesky's AT Protocol helped the platform grow by making decentralization accessible. But as board member @mmasnick.bsky.social notes, the next challenge is building a truly open, permissionless network, without losing what makes it work for everyday people. Full episode out now.

We’re used to living online under a few billionaires. If something’s wrong, we complain, leave, or hope lawmakers act. @mmasnick.bsky.social calls this “learned helplessness.” Bluesky’s idea of letting people choose their own algorithms and moderation aims to give that control back. Ep out now.