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Artwork for Hypercommunication
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Hypercommunication

Caitlin Begg

Exploring a more human everyday amidst technological modernity with host Caitlin Begg (Authentic Social founder and sociologist). New episodes Mondays. Formerly known as "Progression to Analog"!

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  • 21 episodes
  • Avg 34 min
  • English

Episodes 21

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  • S5 · E1
    Monday · 50 min

    The Nerd Reich and the War on Democracy with Gil Durán

    Social media was once sold to us as "fun"—years later, the Big Tech leaders who sold us on it flaunt their authoritarian alignments. Gil Durán and I discuss his new book, "⁠The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy"⁠. We speak about what "technofascism" is and its origins; "The Nerd Reich" and its similarity to the Third Reich; the "religion of technicity"; Gil's permanent ban from X and suppression on Meta platforms which drew headlines; Peter Thiel (ranging from "Zero to One" to his current obsession with the antichrist to his relationship with JD Vance); fringe philosophers' impact on Big Tech leaders & the U.S. government; DOGE and RAGE; Palantir and 9/11; the challenge of imagination in today's world; how professionals can navigate the job market with so many open roles coming from Big Tech; whether it is possible to work in Big Tech and still make a difference; and more. Gil Durán is a San Francisco-based journalist covering tech extremism. ⁠⁠Buy the book⁠⁠ ⁠More about Gil Durán⁠ ⁠The Nerd Reich Newsletter⁠

  • S4 · E9
    July 27 · 55 min

    We Have Too Many Friends Online with Ruby Justice Thelot

    We discuss connection bloat, unfollowing, the 'timeline acquaintance', unread messages, ambient copresence, Instagram Close Friends, cultural obsession with quantification, the realm of the facial hyperreal, AI looksmaxxing apps, online checkpoints, shock of alteration/deletion, digital memory, and more. Ruby Justice Thelot is a designer, artist & cyberethnographer based in new york city. He is a Professor of Design and Media studies at NYU and the author of A Cyberarchaeology of Checkpoints. His recent essay for Mozilla Foundation, Everyone Has Too Many "Friends" Online, can be read here. Ruby's Instagram Ruby's Substack Ruby's YouTube

  • S4 · E8
    July 13 · 57 min

    Psychology of AI with Professor Steve Rathje

    How is AI affecting our relationships? Our problem-solving capabilities? Our confidence? Steve Rathje and I chat about some of his recent research on AI sycophancy to explore these questions and more. A preview: people HATE disagreeable chatbots; humans are influenced by flattery even if we know it is insincere; AI has a bias toward AI-generated text... Steve Rathje is an incoming Assistant Professor of Human Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon. As of July 2026, Steve's important research on psychology of technology and related topics have been cited over 7,000 times. Some of his notable research includes Out-group animosity drives engagement on social media (2021) and Sycophantic AI increases attitude extremity and overconfidence (2025). Steve received his PhD from the University of Cambridge (Trinity College), where he was a Gates Cambridge Scholar. Previously, he studied Psychology and Symbolic Systems at Stanford University. Keep up with Steve on TikTok, Instagram, and at stevenrathje.com. If you missed it, also be sure to tune into Steve's first appearance on Progression to Analog from 2025, "Psychology of Virality".

  • S4 · E7
    June 29 · 37 min

    Cultivating a Learning Lifestyle with Bella Dane

    I speak with content creator Bella Dane about how to cultivate a learning lifestyle... we cover topics like the importance of curiosity, how to rethink your relationship with learning, the role consistency and systems play in our everyday lives, and more. Follow Bella on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and Substack.

  • S4 · E6
    June 1 · 40 min

    Get a hobby with Kerry Hurlbut

    We discuss the science behind analog hobbies, decluttering digital and physical lives, and more. Kerry Hurlbut, DNP, CPNP-PC is the founder of Pointed Positivity, a needlepoint wellness brand. She is also a Pediatric Nurse Practitioner in Philadelphia.

  • S4 · E5
    May 25 · 45 min

    Creator Mental Health with Shira Lazar

    Shira Lazar is the Co-Founder of What's Trending and the Founder of Creators 4 Mental Health. Creators 4 Mental Health brings mental well-being tools to the creator economy through individual support, community connection, and collective advocacy. Shira recently won a Shorty award for Creator Advocate of the Year! We speak about her latest study on creator mental health, important statistics on suicidal ideation in creators, negative wellbeing associated with checking analytics consistently, ways to improve mental health, creator access to mental health care, and more. We also touch on topics like technofeudalism, therapy, the contentification of everyday life, trust in platforms, and more. The important information in this episode is a great way to wrap Mental Health Awareness Month. For more information on Creators 4 Mental Health, go to creators4mentalhealth.com. You can also follow Shira Lazar on Instagram and TikTok.

  • April 13 · 50 min

    Tech, language, “reality”, & vibes with Adam Aleksic (@etymologynerd)

    Adam and I chat about the commodification of identity, language trends for 2026, how language shapes our shared realities, technology's effect on conversation, the analog movement, the return of vibes, Dutch conveyor belts, and more. You can keep up with Adam on: Instagram TikTok YouTube Substack His latest book, Algospeak, is available now... and he is currently writing a second book - working title Reality Drift.

  • S4 · E3
    April 6 · 46 min

    Design Responsibly with Alex Wolf

    From founding BossBabe at 21 and coining the term “millennial pink” to a career in tech philosophy spanning companies like Snap and LVMH... Alex Wolf has spent years at the intersection of community, culture, and technology. In this episode, we discuss all things tech: her four qualifiers of human-friendly technology, tech's effect on everyday life, why it’s important to design responsibly, fashion and tech, why a fully analog life isn’t realistic for many people (with some tips for your balance). Alex's mini-documentary "Attention For Sale" can be viewed here. You can follow Alex on Instagram and on LinkedIn, and visit her website here.

  • S4 · E2
    Nov 18, 2025 · 45 min

    Cyber Celibate with Tiffany Ng

    New York-based technology and culture writer Tiffany Ng and I sit down to speak about all things ⁠Cyber Celibate⁠, Neo-Luddism, whimsy, 'rawdogging vacation', chaining her phone to a wall for a week, ⁠HTML energy⁠, and her MIT Technology Review article "⁠How to break free of Spotify's algorithm⁠". ⁠Cyber Celibate⁠ Tiffany's ⁠Instagram⁠ (@tffanyng) and ⁠TikTok⁠ (@cybercelibate) Some of Tiffany's other interesting articles... WIRED: ⁠The Best Programming Language for the End of the World ⁠ MIT Technology Review: ⁠Recapturing Early-Internet Whimsy with HTML⁠ MIT Technology Review: ⁠Meet the man building a starter kit for civilization⁠ It's Nice That: ⁠Work better this year (or don't, it's your life)

  • S4 · E1
    Nov 10, 2025 · 44 min

    A Human-Centered Economy with Andrew Yang

    To kick off the fourth season of Progression to Analog, Andrew Yang and I discuss his new company Noble Mobile - a mobile carrier which pays you to use your phone less. We also discuss: What motivated Yang to encourage people to spend less time on their phones Online polarization Parents’ screen addiction affecting their children Three types of screen time AI’s impact on the workforce, especially repetitive cognitive work The idea of a human-centered economy What can we do as a society to prepare for the next 10, 20, 30, 40+ years? Forward Party Lesson that Yang learned from 2020 run that he applies to Noble Mobile Yang’s changing motivations over time Tips for a better relationship with your smartphone The Situationist dérive ...and more! Andrew and I first met at his first ⁠Offline Party in September - check out the site for upcoming events. New episodes of Progression to Analog Mondays!

  • S3 · E6
    Oct 14, 2025 · 38 min

    Competencies we should be developing in the AI age with Dr. Kevin J. Jones, Associate Professor at Indiana University Columbus

    I speak with Dr. Kevin J. Jones, Associate Professor of Management and AI Strategist at Indiana University Columbus, about the competencies we should be developing the AI age. Kevin and I met at World Summit AI in Amsterdam in October 2024, while speaking on the panel "Beyond the hype: Navigating the AI ecosystem to ensure best value for business" together. We cover the importance of discernment in the AI age, the "age of accelerated transformation", the impact of AI on the undergraduate experience, the potential negative impact of AI on creativity, systems thinking, design thinking, and more.

  • S3 · E5
    Oct 6, 2025 · 26 min

    Landlines for kids! with Seattle-based Chet Kittleson, founder of Tin Can

    After I posted this viral TikTok about Tin Can (landlines for kids), I reached out to founder Chet Kittleson to learn more about the company. In this episode, we chat all things Tin Can, landlines, and what changes parents have reported in their children as a result of landline use.

  • S3 · E3
    Sep 22, 2025 · 8 min

    Four Principles of Sociotechnical Design

    In this mini episode, I detail my four principles of sociotechnical design. Sociotechnical design works to improve the relationship between people and technology, prioritizing joint optimization. I speak about psychogeography (the effect of place on our emotions and behavior), non-places, hypercommunication, and more. I developed these four principles over the last nine years, and presented them at the 7th Nordic Science and Technology Studies conference at Stockholm University in June (the week before my wedding!). These principles can be used to improve organizations, as well as everyday life more generally.

  • S3 · E1
    Sep 2, 2025 · 38 min

    All Things AI with Dublin-based Jonathan McCrea

    Whipsmart Media and Get Started With AI founder Jonathan McCrea and I speak about the future of AI, how to close the gap in AI knowledge between big businesses and small enterprises, technology and communication, AI transformation and facilitated brainstorns, situated learning, tools like Stanford's STORM, ethical implications of AI, tips on making your way through the overwhelming digital world, and more. Jonathan is also the host of Futureproof with Jonathan McCrea, a weekly science podcast.

  • S3 · E1
    Aug 25, 2025 · 46 min

    Psychology of Virality with Professor Steve Rathje

    Steve Rathje, Incoming Assistant Professor of Human Computer Interaction at Carnegie Mellon University, joins us to kick off season three of Progression to Analog! You may know Steve from his TikTok @stevepsychology (1M+ followers). We discuss the psychology of virality and why info spreads offline and online, the paradox of virality and why people share negative content online even though they claim to not want negative content, smartphone bans, cross-cultural social media trends, and more.

  • S2 · E8
    Jun 3, 2025 · 38 min

    Swipe: Being Online 24/7 with Ieva Jakusa

    I came across Swipe: Being Online 24/7 at McNally Jackson in lower Manhattan a few months ago and was drawn by the unique nature of the book. Swipe presents questions about the smartphone that the users may not have asked themselves, with a unique collection of images, phrases, and stories. The book is divided into five sections: SURVIVAL, SENSE OF SELF, HABITS, RESOURCES, and EXISTENTIAL CRISIS. In this episode of Progression to Analog, I interview Amsterdam-based Ieva Jakusa, one of the authors of Swipe. Swipe was co-authored with Mieke Gerritzen, with Next Nature. We speak about the book, smartphone habits, and the smartphone's influence on everyday life. More about Ieva: Ieva Jakusa is an Amsterdam-based Latvian artist, researcher and and graphic designer, a graduate of Design Academy Eindhoven, and currently completing her MA at the Royal Academy of Arts, The Hague, with a focus on research-driven artistic practices. Her work has been supported by Amsterdams Fonds voor de Kunst, Stimuleringsfonds, and the Latvian State Culture Capital Foundation. She is the author of SWIPE. Your World in the Pocket (BIS Publishers) and I Grew Up in the Blockhouse (Zuzeum) have collaborated with institutions such as Next Nature and Hamburg University City Science Lab. Her work has been exhibited at the Nationaal Archief, Van Abbemuseum, Kim Contemporary Art Centre, and Milan Design Week.

  • S2 · E7
    Jan 29, 2025 · 15 min

    Why can't we have difficult conversations?

    "I think we have a listening problem" -Stephanie from NYC (name changed) I interview six people, explore expert opinions (and share my own) re: why it can be tough to have difficult conversations today.

  • S2 · E6
    Jan 22, 2025 · 7 min

    D̶o̶o̶m̶scrolling is good for you?

    Can scrolling be good for you? Yes, if you take out the doom. I explore different perspectives on scrolling, based on Harvard Medical School research, and a perspective from a UVA Professor on 'hope scrolling'. NYC volunteer opportunities Boston volunteer opportunities LA volunteer opportunities Amsterdam volunteer opportunities London volunteer opportunities

  • S2 · E5
    Jan 15, 2025 · 9 min

    We live in a simulation

    From a ⁠Baudrillardian (versus ⁠Bostrum-esque)⁠ angle of simulation theory, I discuss why we live in a simulation, what that means in terms of everyday life, and how we can deal with it. "THE SIMULACRUM IS NEVER WHAT HIDES THE TRUTH—IT IS TRUTH THAT HIDES THE FACT THAT THERE IS NONE. THE SIMULACRUM IS TRUE." -Jean Baudrillard, Simulacra and Simulation (1981)

  • S2 · E4
    Jan 11, 2025 · 13 min

    One Year of Progression to Analog

    A year ago today, I launched the trailer for Progression to Analog. Twelve months later, I'm reflecting on what a year it was—speaking about Progression to Analog at conferences and universities across the United States and Europe. From Columbia University and keynoting AESC in New York; to re:publica and Tech Open Air in Berlin; to MOME and Brain Bar in Budapest; to World Summit AI in Amsterdam, I shared the core tenants of Progression to Analog and sociotechnical design with thousands live, as well as listeners across 39 countries. I can't wait for what's ahead! Tune in next Wednesday for more.

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