Tech Won't Save Us

What Drives Architects to Design Saudi Megaprojects? w/ Kate Wagner

Paris Marx is joined by Kate Wagner to discuss the goals behind Saudi Arabia’s architectural megaprojects, the incentives for major architects to work on projects for despotic regimes, and how architecture’s relationship to tech is driven by profits and PR. Kate Wagner is an architecture critic and journalist. She’s also the creator of McMansion Hell. Follow Kate on Twitter at <a href="https://twitter.com/mcmansionhell">@mcmansionhell</a>. Tech Won’t Save Us offers a critical perspective on tech, its worldview, and wider society with the goal of inspiring people to demand better tech and a better world. Follow the podcast (<a href="https://twitter.com/techwontsaveus">@techwontsaveus</a>) and host Paris Marx (<a href="https://twitter.com/parismarx">@parismarx</a>) on Twitter, and support the show on <a href="https://www.patreon.com/techwontsaveus">Patreon</a>. The podcast is produced by <a href="https://twitter.com/ES_Wickham">Eric Wickham</a> and part of the <a href="http://harbingermedianetwork.com/">Harbinger Media Network</a>. Also mentioned in this episode:Kate wrote about <a href="https://thebaffler.com/latest/line-in-the-sand-wagner">Saudi Arabia’s big architecture projects</a>, <a href="https://www.archpaper.com/2020/06/opinion-no-pr-chitecture-wont-save-us-from-the-pandemic/">the problem with PR-chitecture</a>, <a href="https://newrepublic.com/article/156859/ethical-failures-modern-architecture">the ethical failings of modern architecture</a>, and <a href="https://www.thenation.com/article/society/oceanix-city-architecture-megastructure/">why utopian architectural projects suck</a>.In 2020, <a href="https://www.dezeen.com/2020/01/17/bjarke-ingels-jair-bolsonaro-brazil-president/">Bjarke Ingels met with Jair Bolsonaro</a> about a tourism plan for Brazil.Workers in the architecture industry have <a href="https://www.curbed.com/2022/09/bernheimer-architecture-union-workers.html">begun to unionize</a>.<a href="https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus" rel="payment">Support the show</a>

Silicon Valley wants to shape our future, but why should we let it? Every Thursday, Paris Marx is joined by a new guest to critically examine the tech industry, its big promises, and the people behind them. Tech Won’t Save Us challenges the notion that tech alone can drive our world forward by showing that separating tech from politics has consequences for us all, especially the most vulnerable. It’s not your usual tech podcast.