In this episode of The Good Robot, Eleanor Drage sits down with David Griffiths, founding director of the nonprofit Then Try This. Inspired by a childhood spent coding pixels next to his mother’s traditional floor loom, Dave unpacks the deep historical links between textiles and programming, arguing that technology is never neutral and that true innovation relies on grassroots, participatory design.

They explore brilliant local projects like Sonic Kayaks, which use underwater soundscapes to map marine data for visually impaired paddlers, and Nurgle, an accessible game tracking public health trends using specialized audio cues. Finally, they reveal the hidden, feminist histories of computing, showing how modern microchips directly owe their legacy to the complex creativity of Navajo weavers. Tune in to discover why the future of tech belongs to frugal, community-led innovations rather than just the next iteration of GPT.

Reading List:

• Then Try This
• Indigenous Circuits: Navajo Women and the Racialization of Early Electronic Manufacture
• Queer In AI: A Case Study in Community-Led Participatory AI
• Sensing Bodies: Engaging Postcolonial Histories through More-than-Human Interactions

Edited by: Meibel Dabodabo

Join host Eleanor Drage and guest Tara Merk as they explore how community-owned data centers can revolutionize digital ownership. Discover innovative models that challenge big tech's dominance, promoting sustainability and local empowerment. Learn from Germany's success in renewable energy and cooperative governance. This episode reimagines internet ownership, focusing on community needs for a fairer, greener future.

Reading list:

• Tara Merk’s LinkedIn
• Community Data Centers
• The making of critical data center studies
• Data infrastructure studies on an unequal planet
• Getting into fights with data centers: Or, a modest proposal for reframing the climate politics of ICT
• Data Center Opposition Report

Edited by: Meibel Dabodabo

Can cloud infrastructure be owned and governed by the people, and not just Big Tech? Friederike von Franqué, policy advisor at Wikimedia Germany, reveals how feminist principles and decentralized infrastructure are transforming the internet from a corporate service into a public commons.

In this episode, we explore Friederike’s work with Wikimedia Germany. From the energy-intensive data centers of Frankfurt to Stockholm’s municipally owned fibre infrastructure, we examine the struggle to build technology that prioritizes the common good over corporate profit. Friederike explains why hyperscalers are not always the solution, and why we need environmental accountability and community-driven design.

This conversation pulls back the curtain on the hidden data systems powering our lives, offering a provocative roadmap for a more equitable and sustainable digital future.

Reading List:

• Friederike von Franque website
• "Enough of the Billionaires and Their Big Tech. 'Frugal Tech' Will Build Us All a Better World": An article by Eleanor Drage.
• Wikimedia Foundation / Wikimedia Germany
• “Wikipedia Is Running On Its Own Metal: The Power and Limits of Self-Hosted Infrastructure”by Wikimedia Europe
• Data centres are reshaping the global investment landscape by UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

Edited by: Meibel Dabodabo