New Books Network

Critical Theory May 12, 2022

The Politics of Immunity

Security and the Policing of Bodies

Mark Neocleous

Hosted by Catriona Gold

Our contemporary political condition is obsessed with immunity. The immunity of bodies and the body politic; personal immunity and herd immunity; how to immunize the social system against breakdown. The …

Systems and Cybernetics April 1, 2022

Metamodernity

Meaning and Hope in a Complex World

Lene Andersen

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay

So what is metamodernity you may ask, and what does it have to do with systems thinking and cybernetics? Well, I recently had a chance to find out for …

Science, Technology, and Society March 16, 2022

The Constitution of Algorithms

Ground-Truthing, Programming, Formulating

Florian Jaton

Hosted by Austin Clyde

The Constitution of Algorithms: Ground-Truthing, Programming, Formulating (MIT Press, 2021) is a laboratory study that investigates how algorithms come into existence. Algorithms--often associated with the terms big data, machine learning, or artificial …

Systems and Cybernetics February 28, 2022

Becoming Gaia

On the Threshold of Planetary Initiation

Sean Kelly

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay

In this episode I had the pleasure of speaking with Sean Kelly, professor of Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness at the California Institute of Integral Studies (CIIS), about his 2021 book …

Systems and Cybernetics February 8, 2022

Patterns of Connection

Essential Essays from Five Decades

Fritjof Capra

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay

Welcome to the first Systems and Cybernetics episode of 2022! After a short break over the holidays to rest and spend time with family (and, of course, read!), it’s time …

Technology January 20, 2022

In AI We Trust

Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms

Helga Nowotny

Hosted by Galina Limorenko

Today I talked to Helga Nowotny about her new book In AI We Trust: Power, Illusion and Control of Predictive Algorithms (Polity, 2021).One of the most persistent concerns about the future is …

Mathematics January 17, 2022

Bits and Bugs

A Scientific and Historical Review of Software Failures in Computational Science

Thomas Huckle and Tobias Neckel

Hosted by Cory Brunson

A true understanding of the pervasive role of software in the world demands an awareness of the volume and variety of real-world software failures and their consequences. No more thorough …

Systems and Cybernetics December 14, 2021

The Web of Meaning

Integrating Science and Traditional Wisdom to Find our Place in the Universe

Jeremy Lent

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay

In this episode of Systems and Cybernetics I had the pleasure of spending an hour with Jeremy Lent, talking with him about his newest book The Web of Meaning: Integrating …

Environmental Studies November 22, 2021

Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations, 5-Volume Set

Gavin Van Horn, Robin Wall Kimmerer, and John Hausdoerffer

Hosted by Brady McCartney

From The Center for Humans and Nature, Kinship: Belonging in a World of Relations is a five-volume collection of essays, interviews, poetry, and stories of solidarity that highlight the interdependence …

Systems and Cybernetics November 19, 2021

Buddhist and Taoist Systems Thinking

The Natural Path to Sustainable Transformation

Josep M. Coll

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay

I recently sat down with Josep M. Coll to discuss his new book Buddhist and Taoist Systems Thinking: The Natural Path to Sustainable Transformation (Routledge, 2021). This book is the latest …

Systems and Cybernetics November 3, 2021

Cybernetics for the Social Sciences

Bernard Scott

Hosted by Tom Scholte

On this episode, I have the great pleasure of finally getting to talk with one of the “unsung heroes” of cybernetics, whose work has finally begun to receive the critical …

Economics October 6, 2021

Discovering Prices

Auction Design in Markets with Complex Constraints

Paul Milgrom

Hosted by Peter Lorentzen

Neoclassical economic theory shows that under the right conditions, prices alone can guide markets to efficient outcomes. But what if it it’s hard to find the right price? In many …

Economics October 5, 2021

Who Gets What -- and Why

The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design

Alvin E. Roth

Hosted by Peter Lorentzen

In Who Gets What — and Why: The New Economics of Matchmaking and Market Design (Mariner Books, 2015), Nobel Memorial Prize Winner Alvin Roth explains his pioneering work in the …

Systems and Cybernetics September 27, 2021

Stafford Beer

The Father of Management Cybernetics

Vanilla Beer and Allenna Leonard

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay

In this episode I am in conversation with artist and author Vanilla Beer about her 2019 book Stafford Beer: The Father of Management Cybernetics. While he got his start in …

Systems and Cybernetics September 17, 2021

Gaian Systems

Lynn Margulis, Neocybernetics, and the End of the Anthropocene

Bruce Clarke

Hosted by Tom Scholte

Often seen as an outlier in science, Gaia has run a long and varied course since its formulation in the 1970s by atmospheric chemist James Lovelock and microbiologist Lynn Margulis …

Systems and Cybernetics September 1, 2021

Systems Thinkers

Magnus Ramage and Karen Shipp

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay

In this episode I spoke with Magnus Ramage, co-author of Systems Thinkers (Springer, 2020). This second edition provides an update to Ramage’s and co-author Karen Shipp’s earlier exploration, and presents an enlightening—often …

Systems and Cybernetics August 17, 2021

Immersive Systemic Knowing

Advancing Systems Thinking Beyond Rational Analysis

Raghav Rajagopalan

Hosted by Tom Scholte

On this episode, we speak with Ragav Rajagopalan about his book, Immersive Systemic Knowing: Advancing Systems Thinking Beyond Rational Analysis, out from Springer in 2020. This fascinating book advances systems …

Mathematics July 30, 2021

What Is a Complex System?

James Ladyman and K. Wiesner

Hosted by Cory Brunson

While i find it pretty easy to recognize when i'm reading articles in complexity science, i've never been satisfied by definitions of complexity and related concepts. I'm not alone! Researchers' …

Systems and Cybernetics July 27, 2021

Systems Approaches to Making Change: A Practical Guide

Martin Reynolds and Sue Holwell

Hosted by Kevin Lindsay

Practitioners from all professional domains are increasingly confronted with incidences of systemic failure, yet poorly equipped with appropriate tools and know-how for understanding such failure, and the making of systemic …

Systems and Cybernetics July 8, 2021

The Interdisciplinary Handbook of Perceptual Control Theory

Living Control Systems IV

Warren Mansell

Hosted by Tom Scholte

Regular listeners to this podcast will be well aware of my strong conviction that the Perceptual Control Theory initially formulated by William T. Powers entails many significant contributions to the …