Episode 20 - Abolishing Tech with Edward Ongweso Jr.
Hello and welcome to our 20th episode of Diversity Hire.
Today's guest is tech writer and Vice/Motherboard staffer Edward Ongweso Jr. We talked to Edward about living a post-Prop 22 world, his winding path to the media which includes stops in labor organizing, politics, and other random gigs, the ways in which hollowness of diversity in the media overlaps with the tech industry, how to center tech reporting on workers, and much more.
Kevin and Arjun also talked about what they did the day Biden won. Thanks for listening!
Arjun and Kevin on Biden’s America (0:00)
Post-election chat with Edward Ongweso Jr. (5:30)
Edward leads us through his career timeline (8:04)
Edward explains why he has such a peripatetic career (10:11)
How does Edward feel about the passing of Proposition 22 (re: “Proposition 22 Passes, But Uber and Lyft Are Only Delaying the Inevitable,” and “Proposition 22's Victory Shows How Uber and Lyft Break Democracy,” Vice, 2020) (13:05)
The vexed nature of the Biden team and anti-trust regulations (17:12)
How Edward’s background benefits his singular labor-focused voice in the tech reporting industry (22:16)
Now that the ubiquity of tech clouds ethics, is the fight against giant tech corporations hopeless? (re: “Why We Should 'Abolish Silicon Valley',” and “What If Technology Belonged to the People?,” Vice, 2020) (25:07)
By seeing the misery and suffering at the backbone of convenience, we may be able to alieve our unethical addiction to tech (29:19)
Edward’s experience in reporting on exploited Uber drivers (re: “The Lockout: Why Uber Drivers in NYC Are Sleeping in Their Cars,” Vice, 2020) (31:33)
Tech reporting’s obsession with founders instead of the workers (35:30)
The disconnect of diversity when regarding tech workers; 2nd generation Desi diversity hires in high places exploiting their workforce of immigrant South Asians (39:50)
The disgusting nature of tech wokeness (re: “Police and Big Tech Are Partners in Crime. We Need to Abolish Them Both,” Vice, 2020) (42:37)
Will tech continue to foster the oppression of Black Americans under Biden? (45:38)
What does it feel like, after years spent in politics and organizing, to be terminally online? (48:20)
Does Edward like media people? (49:50)
Arjun’s Feelings About Facts Corner (53:57)
The Diversity Tribunal: Tech Edition (57:29)