Bowker interviewed on CENHS ‘Cultures of Energy’ Podcast

March 20, 2017

Informatics Professor Geoffrey Bowker, director of UCI’s Vales in Design Laboratory, was a guest on the spring break edition (episode 61) of  the“Cultures of Energy” podcast from the Center for Energy and Environmental Research in the Human Sciences (CENHS). Part of Rice University’s Energy and Environment Initiative, CENHS is the only research center in the world specifically designed to foster and incubate research on the energy/environment nexus across the arts, humanities and social sciences. The podcast hosts — Rice University Anthology Professors Dominic Boyer and Cymene Howe — spoke with Bowker about a number of topics, including infrastructure studies, data ethics, algorithms, AI, IoT, biodiversity and the impact of cybernetics on social theory. During the podcast, Bowker even discussed how he gained access to energy titan Schlumberger’s archives for his 1994 book, Science on the Run. He also spoke to Cymene about their graphic novel project, Unda, which they are working on with Laura Watts, and how media like comic books can offer scholars new opportunities to reach wider audiences.

Listen to the full “Cultures of Energy” podcast featuring Bowker’s interview online.