Patrick Brodie and Darin Barney eds., "Media Rurality" (Duke UP, 2026)

About this episode

This episode features a discussion on the book 'Media Rurality' which explores the intersection of rural spaces and media technologies.

Media Rurality (Duke UP, 2026), edited by Darin Barney and Patrick Brodie, investigates the centrality of rural places and people within the media systems and technologies that shape daily life in and across rural and urban settings alike. Edited by Darin Barney and Patrick Brodie, from the boglands of Ireland to data centers in the Oregon countryside to the homemade media systems of rural Tanzania, the contributors to this volume show how rural territories are highly mediated, technologized spaces profoundly enmeshed with global capitalism and colonialism. Approaching the study of rurality through a materialist lens that foregrounds infrastructure, this collection shows how rural spaces often bear the environmental brunt of capitalist development while being relegated to the economic and cultural periphery.Contributors: Christopher Ali, Patrick Bresnihan, Patrick Brodie, Darin Barney, Jenna Burrell, Jordan B. Kinder, Burç Köstem, Cindy Lin, Emily Ng, Lisa Parks, Anne Pasek, Esther Peeren, Nicole Starosielski, Ishita Tiwary, Hunter Vaughan, Ayesha Vemuri, Megan Wiessner, Assatu Wisseh. This episode features a conversation with host Sadie Couture, editors Patrick Brodie and Darin…

People in this episode

Host: Sadie Couture

Guests: Patrick Brodie, Darin Barney, Burç Köstem, Megan Wiessner

Topics covered

• media
• rurality
• capitalism
• colonialism
• infrastructure
• technology

Keywords

• rural media
• capitalism
• colonialism
• infrastructure
• technology
• environmental impact

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Duke UP, Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of American History

Books & works: Media Rurality

Places: Ireland, Oregon, Tanzania

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