Is ‘Uberveillance’ Coming for Us All?

It’s No Longer Sci-Fi. Trackers Embedded in Our Bodies Are Threatening Our Privacy—and Our Humanity

The smartphone has become a modern Swiss Army knife: driver’s license, e-payment device, camera, radio, television, map, blood pressure monitor, workstation, babysitter, pocket AI, and general gateway to the internet. And now consumers are leaving their smartphones behind to sport lightweight smartwatches with equivalent functionality. With every update, our devices inch closer to us—our bodies, our minds. From the handheld, to the wearable, to the … What next?

Nearly 20 years ago, in 2006—before X, Amazon Web Services, iPhone, Fitbit, Uber, or ChatGPT—M.G. Michael was faced with a similar question. He …

When Screenwriters Won an Uncredited
Victory

How a Pioneering Producer Fooled the Press, Beat the Blacklist, and Made a ‘Robin Hood’ That Resonated with the Moment

In September 1955, 67 TV critics got the opportunity of a lifetime: An all-expenses paid trip to London for a week, courtesy of Johnson & Johnson and Wildroot Cream Oil.

They …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

Government Surveillance Expert Faiza Patel

I Practice Basic Digital Hygiene

Faiza Patel is a senior director of the Brennan Center for Justice’s Liberty and National Security Program. Before sitting down on a panel for the Zócalo event “What Is the …

Writer and Artist Mashinka Firunts Hakopian

The Diva Is Someone Who Writes Their Own Narrative

Mashinka Firunts Hakopian is an Armenian writer, artist, and researcher. Her work is concentrated in media studies, feminist and queer studies, visual culture, contemporary art, and SWANA (Southwest Asia and North …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

ACLU SoCal’s Mohammad Tajsar

I’ve Seen U.S. Marshals Tackle Somebody in Court

Mohammad Tajsar is a senior staff attorney at the ACLU Southern California, focusing on national security policy, electronic surveillance, and individual rights in the digital world. Before sitting down on …

| Zocalo Public Square • Arizona State University • Smithsonian

UCLA’s Ramesh Srinivasan

I’ve Never Been a Typical Engineer

Ramesh Srinivasan has been a professor at UCLA since 2005. He is the founder of the university-wide Digital Cultures Lab, which explores the meaning of technology. Before moderating the Zócalo …