What if the tech revolution was never about freedom—but control? In his latest novel Picks and Shovels, Cory Doctorow takes us back to 1980s San Francisco, where the foundations of today’s tech industry were laid amid ambition, idealism, and exploitation. Through the eyes of a forensic accountant-turned-antihero, Doctorow explores the messy birth of Silicon Valley—and the seeds of the crises we face today.

Cory comes to The Conduit to also reflect on the themes of his forthcoming book Enshittification, which considers how digital platforms evolve, why they often seem to get worse over time, and what this tells us about power, markets, and the future of the internet.

In conversation with Riley Quinn—writer, broadcaster, and host of the podcast Trashfuture—we’ll delve into the promises, pitfalls, and possibilities of the digital age. This is a conversation for anyone who’s ever wondered how the internet lost its way—and how we might fix it.

Speakers:

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently Radicalized and Walkaway, science fiction for adults; How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism, nonfiction about monopoly and conspiracy; In Real Life, a graphic novel; and the picture book Poesy the Monster Slayer. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professor of Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group.

Riley Quinn is a writer and broadcaster best known as a host of the Trashfuture podcast, which explores politics, technology, and the future of capitalism. His written work has appeared in publications including Jacobin, Novara Media, and The New Socialist. Originally from Ontario, Canada, he relocated to the United Kingdom in the early 2010s after completing his studies at the University of Toronto. He is also the author of the Lost Boys trilogy, a series of novels set in a mythic woodland landscape.