Techtonic with Mark Hurst | WFMU
A show from WFMU about our shift to a digital future. Mark Hurst interviews creators and thinkers about technology, community, videogames, and whatever else is next.
Cindy Cohn, author, "Privacy's Defender" from Apr 13, 2026
Cindy Cohn, author, "Privacy's Defender"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Cindy Cohn" [0:02:31]
- "Mark's comments" [0:48:48]
Grateful Dead - "Mexicali Blues" [0:54:39]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/162978
Evan Selinger and Albert Fox Cahn, authors, "Move Slow and Upgrade" from Apr 6, 2026
Evan Selinger and Albert Fox Cahn, authors, "Move Slow and Upgrade"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Evan Selinger and Albert Fox Cahn" [0:04:04]
- "Mark's comments" [0:47:18]
The Polecats - "Make a Circuit With Me" [0:55:40]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/162819
Dystopia update: good news edition from Mar 30, 2026
Dystopia update: good news edition
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Dystopia update: good news edition" [0:00:00]
Matthew Elefant (read by Mark Hurst) - "San Francisco Killed New York Food Delivery" [0:42:56]
Sam Rockwell - "Opening monologue (Good Luck Have Fun Don't Die)" [0:54:59]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/162642
Janet Vertesi, founder of the Opt Out Project from Mar 23, 2026
Janet Vertesi, founder of the Opt Out Project
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Janet Vertesi" [0:03:00]
- "Mark's comments" [0:49:26]
Laibach - "Allgorhythm (feat. Wiyaala)" [0:55:26]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/162465
A visit to Repair Cafe El Barrio from Mar 16, 2026
A visit to Repair Cafe El Barrio
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "A visit to Repair Café El Barrio" [0:04:26]
- "Mark's comments" [0:34:57]
MrWeebl - "Badger Badger" [0:56:05]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/162249
Marathon week 2 w/cohost Jesse Jarnow from Mar 9, 2026
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" [0:00:00]
- "Pledge! w/Mark and Jesse Jarnow" - Call 800-989-9368
Marathon week 2 w/cohost Jesse Jarnow
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/161892
Marathon week 1 w/cohost station manager Ken Freedman from Mar 2, 2026
Marathon week 1 w/cohost station manager Ken Freedman
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Pledge! w/Mark and station manager Ken" - Call 800-989-9368
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/161795
Celebrating 400 episodes of Techtonic from Feb 23, 2026
Celebrating 400 episodes of Techtonic
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's comments" [0:00:24]
NightNight - "Total Control" [0:55:00]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/161505
Chris Gilliard on Amazon’s admission that Ring spies on us from Feb 16, 2026
Chris Gilliard on Amazon’s admission that Ring spies on us
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Chris Gilliard" [0:04:01]
- "Mark's comments" [0:45:43]
Beans on Toast - "Alexa" [thanks to Roger!] [0:55:01]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/161231
Peter Dear ("The World As We Know It") and how we interpret AI from Feb 9, 2026
Peter Dear ("The World As We Know It") and how we interpret AI
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Peter Dear" [0:05:28]
- "Mark's comments" [0:25:03]
Andrew Thompson - "We're In Business"
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/160970
AI is spreading where it doesn't belong from Feb 2, 2026
AI is spreading where it doesn't belong
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's comments"
corook - "Scooby" [0:53:57]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/160799
Peter Schmidt on the book "Attensity" by the Friends of Attention from Jan 26, 2026
Peter Schmidt on the book “Attensity” by the Friends of Attention
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Peter Schmidt" [0:02:45]
- "Mark's comments" [0:45:20]
Decisive Pink - "Dopamine" [0:54:21]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/160616
Paul Bradley Carr, author, "The Confessions" from Jan 19, 2026
Music behind DJ:
[Paul Bradley Carr on his novel "The Confessions" and on opening a bookstore]
Music behind DJ:
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
Music behind DJ:
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Paul Bradley Carr" [0:03:49]
- "Mark's comments" [0:48:24]
declu - "Real Friends" - single [0:54:30]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/160355
Lora Kolodny from CNBC on Grok's sexualized images from Jan 12, 2026
Lora Kolodny from CNBC on Grok's sexualized images
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Lora Kolodny" [0:02:39]
- "Mark's comments" [0:34:29]
Lulu Lewis - "Destroy All Data" - Single [0:54:00]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/160035
Ken Freedman and Mark discuss the year ahead from Jan 5, 2026
Ken Freedman and Mark discuss the year ahead
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark and Ken discuss the year ahead"
Far Out Monster Disco Orchestra - "Black Sun (Joe Claussell's Dub Mix)" - Black Sun [0:56:22]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/159930
Tim Wu, author, "The Age of Extraction" from Dec 29, 2025
Tim Wu, author, "The Age of Extraction"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Tim Wu" [0:01:06]
- "Mark's comments" [0:50:46]
KILN - "Uranium Lullaby" - Lemon Borealis [0:54:14]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/159555
The Ghost of Christmas Tech Anxieties - Sara Clemens and Stu Horvath fill in, with guest Adam Allsuch Boardman from Dec 22, 2025
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" [0:00:00]
Adam Allsuch Boardman - "Interview with Sara and Stu Pt. 1" - Techtonic [0:14:10]
A Flock Of Seagulls - "Messages" - A Flock of Seagulls [0:28:54]
Adam Allsuch Boardman - "Interview with Sara and Stu Pt. 2" - Techtonic [0:32:59]
Soul Coughing - "Unmarked Helicopters" - Songs in the Key of X [0:57:15]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/159292
The first annual Creepy Awards from Dec 15, 2025
The first annual Creepy Awards
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "The Creepy Awards"
Karen Souza - "Creep" - Essentials [0:53:53]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/159211
Noah McCormack from The Baffler: "We used to read things in this country" from Dec 8, 2025
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a [0:00:00]
- "Interview with Noah McCormack"
Patrick Cowley - "Robot Children (Do You Love Your)" - Catholic [0:53:43]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/158867
Amateur radio is a superpower: Thomas Witherspoon from Dec 1, 2025
Amateur radio is a superpower: Thomas Witherspoon
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Thomas Witherspoon" [0:02:56]
- "Mark's comments" [0:47:45]
Todd Mazierski - "Amateur radio during Hurricane Melissa" [0:53:31]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/158764
Citizens are being forced to pay for Big Tech data centers, feat. Pat Garofalo from Nov 24, 2025
Citizens are being forced to pay for Big Tech data centers, feat. Pat Garofalo
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Pat Garofalo" [0:06:25]
- "Mark's comments" [0:37:13]
Momus - "The Enshittification of Everything" - Ballyhoo [0:55:48]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/158415
How low can the tech oligarchs go? from Nov 17, 2025
How low can the tech oligarchs go?
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark's comments"
Stereolab - "Space Moment" - Music for the Amorphous Body Study Center [0:53:24]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/158295
Paul Mozur on the spread of data centers from Nov 10, 2025
Paul Mozur on Big Tech data centers outside the US
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark's comments"
Kirk Pearson - "Modem of Home" - n/a [0:04:35]
- "Interview with Paul Mozur" [0:04:46]
Kirk Pearson - "Haptic Workshop" - n/a [0:26:35]
- "Interview with Paul Mozur" [0:27:00]
Kirk Pearson - "Bio Magnification" - n/a [0:51:57]
- "Mark's comments" [0:52:04]
Acidulant - "Taking Orders from Machines" - Acidulant - Planet Jack EP [0:55:26]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/157889
Aram Sinnreich, co-author, "The Secret Life of Data" from Nov 3, 2025
Aram Sinnreich, co-author, "The Secret Life of Data"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Aram Sinnreich" [0:03:41]
- "Mark's comments" [0:45:35]
Les Bibliothécaires (Various) - "High Score" [0:56:00]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/157671
Widening inequality and Big Tech surveillance, feat. Dan Currell from Oct 27, 2025
Widening inequality and Big Tech surveillance, feat. Dan Currell
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Dan Currell" [0:04:54]
- "Mark's comments" [0:32:15]
Joel Chapman - "From the Bedroom to the Bathroom" [via The Dannys] [0:55:48]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/157597
Filmmaker Amanda Hanna-McLeer on the Luddite renaissance from Oct 20, 2025
Filmmaker Amanda Hanna-McLeer on the Luddite renaissance
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Interview with Amanda Hanna-McLeer"
The Microbes - "Computer" [0:54:22]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/157354
The protest against smartphones, with Logan Lane from Oct 13, 2025
The protest against smartphones, with Logan Lane
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "The protest" [0:07:15]
- "Mark's comments" [0:37:04]
Rude Mechanical Orchestra - "We Shall Overcome" [Image from Cat and Girl] [0:55:34]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/157126
AI and surveillance keep spreading from Oct 6, 2025
AI and surveillance keep spreading
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's comments"
The Layoffs - "We're All In Formation" [0:55:06]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/156829
Megan Greenwell, author, "Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream" from Sep 29, 2025
Megan Greenwell, author, "Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark's intro"
Kirk Pearson - "Modem of Home" - n/a [0:03:32]
- "Interview with Megan Greenwell" [0:03:40]
Kirk Pearson - "Haptic Workshop" - n/a [0:27:41]
- "Interview with Megan Greenwell" [0:29:21]
Kirk Pearson - "Bio Magnification" - n/a [0:47:00]
- "Mark's comments" [0:47:08]
KILN - "Ptarmigan" - Lemon Borealis [0:54:45]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/156556
Glenn Adamson, author, "A Century of Tomorrows" from Sep 22, 2025
Glenn Adamson, author, "A Century of Tomorrows: How Imagining the Future Shapes the Present"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Glenn Adamson" [0:05:23]
- "Mark's comments" [0:46:04]
Hot 8 Brass Band - "Remember the Time" [0:55:03]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/156259
Joseph Weizenbaum warned us about AI 50 years ago (feat. Faine Greenwood) from Sep 15, 2025
Joseph Weizenbaum warned us about AI 50 years ago (feat. Faine Greenwood)
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Faine Greenwood" [0:05:42]
- "Mark's comments" [0:41:13]
Posthuman - "The Screens Of Our Lives" [0:54:49]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/155999
Milestones for Big Tech... and Techtonic from Sep 8, 2025
Milestones for Big Tech... and Techtonic
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's comments"
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul - "Thank You" [0:53:38]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/155884
Cory Doctorow, author and journalist from Sep 1, 2025
Cory Doctorow, author and journalist
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Cory Doctorow" [0:02:28]
- "Mark's comments" [0:45:51]
Michael Hearst with Claudia Gonson - "Eyes Without A Face" [0:56:24]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/155658
Webb Keane, author, "Animals, Robots, Gods" from Aug 25, 2025
Webb Keane, author, “Animals, Robots, Gods: Adventures in the Moral Imagination”
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Webb Keane" [0:03:17]
- "Mark's comments" [0:43:18]
Timothy Clover - "Trolley Car Line" [0:55:30]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/155425
If/Then/Else - Sara Clemens and Stu Horvath fill in, with guest Brendan Keogh from Aug 18, 2025
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" [0:00:00]
Brendan Keogh - "Interview with Sara and Stu Pt. 1" - Techtonic [0:02:17]
GLaDOS from Portal (Ellen McLain) - "Still Alive" - Portal 2: Songs to Test By [0:29:40]
Brendan Keogh - "Interview with Sara and Stu Pt. 2" - Techtonic [0:32:22]
The Sound - "New Dark Age" - From the Lions Mouth [0:56:41]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/155264
Adam Becker, author, "More Everything Forever" from Aug 11, 2025
Adam Becker, author, "More Everything Forever"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Adam Becker" [0:03:49]
- "Mark's comments" [0:45:18]
The Flaming Ember - "Robot in a Robot's World" [0:53:47]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/154965
Three emerging dystopias: money, water, and truth from Jul 28, 2025
Three emerging dystopias: money, water, and truth
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Mark's comments"
Kirk Pearson - "Bio Magnification" - n/a [0:21:33]
- "Mark's comments" [0:22:30]
Kirk Pearson - "Bio Magnification" - n/a [0:33:46]
- "Mark's comments" [0:35:33]
Casey & Strick - "Read A Book" - n/a [0:53:02]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/154555
Duncan Moench on "soylent screens" and producerism from Jul 14, 2025
Duncan Moench on "soylent screens" and producerism
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic"
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Duncan Moench" [0:04:36]
- "Mark's comments" [0:46:15]
Posthuman - "The Screens Of Our Lives" [0:55:10]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/153977
Ed Park, author, "An Oral History of Atlantis" from Aug 4, 2025
Ed Park, author, "An Oral History of Atlantis"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" - n/a
- "Interview with Ed Park"
Donovan - "Atlantis" - single [0:53:44]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/154814
Daniel Solove, author, "On Privacy and Technology" from Jul 21, 2025
Daniel Solove, author, "On Privacy and Technology"
Kirk Pearson - "Theme from Techtonic" [0:00:04]
- "Mark's intro"
- "Interview with Daniel Solove" [0:03:11]
- "Mark's comments" [0:44:53]
The Metronomes - "A Circuit Like Me" [0:54:31]
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/154339