Digital feeds, malnourished students

Digital feeds, malnourished students

From Phantom Power by SpectreVision Radio

June 12, 2026 · 45 min

About this episode

Mack Hagood discusses his essay on the struggles faced by students and professors in the context of technology's impact on education.

Today we’re doing one of our occasional episodes where host Mack Hagood talks about a new essay he’s written for our newsletter “Feed Logic and the Failure to Thrive” Mack writes that students and professors are struggling, both academically and spiritually. He tries to diagnose the issue he felt in his classrooms this year and the role technology may play in it. For new listeners, Mack is a writer and researcher who studies sound, technology, and culture. He is the author of Hush: Media and Sonic Self-Control, a book on noise-canceling headphones, white noise, tinnitus, and the ways people use sound to manage modern life. He is currently writing a new book for Penguin Press, and he also hosts this podcast Phantom Power, where he interviews artists, scholars, musicians, and sound designers about the invisible power of sound in everyday life. Besides all that, Mack is a university professor and that’s what his most recent essay is about. Click here to read the newsletter for free. Cited Media: Film:Mary Bronstein - If I Had Legs I'd Kick You (2025) Books:Ben Lerner - Transcription (2026)Mack Hagood - Hush: Media and Sonic Self-Control (2019)Hartmut Rosa - Resonance: A Sociology of…

People in this episode

Host: Mack Hagood

Topics covered

  • education
  • technology
  • student engagement
  • academic struggles
  • cultural commentary

Keywords

  • students
  • professors
  • technology
  • academic struggles
  • sound culture

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: Feed Logic and the Failure to Thrive, Hush: Media and Sonic Self-Control, Transcription, Resonance: A Sociology of Our Relationship to the World, If I Had Legs I'd Kick You

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