Episode 30 - Captive Audience (Ann Warren Griffith)
From TBD - To Be Determined by Bill Williamson, Dan Kamm
February 21, 2025 · 40 min · Episode 30
About this episode
The episode explores the pervasive nature of advertising in a capitalist society and its implications on consumer behavior.
Theme : Paying your debt to Capitalism Episode Connections Authors, stories . Ann Warren Griffith, “Zeritsky’s Law.” Henry Cuttner, “Nothing But Ginger Bread Left.” Arthur C. Clarke, “The Ultimate Melody.” Fritz Leiber, “The Girl With the Hungry Eyes.” Frederic Pohl, The Space Merchants . Neal Stephenson, Snow Crash . George Orwell, 1984 . Films . Blade Runner . Music . Rush, “Subdivisions.” TV episodes, series . Commercials. The Super Bowl. Ideas . What if advertising were everywhere? Well … even MORE everywhere. What if it were a crime to ignore or block advertising? Do we live in a Capitalist surveillance society? We are conditioned to consume. What did we miss? The Truman Show for its ad placement. They Live for its subliminal messages about consumption. Whoa - Hmmm - WTF . Bill wishes this was a WTF story, but alas. Dan says Hmmm. Previous episode : Alexander Malec, “10:01 AM” Next episode : Chris Neville, “The Forest of Zyl” Music Credit : "Ouroboros" Kevin MacLeod ( Incompetech.com ). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License Link : Creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
People in this episode
Hosts: Bill Williamson, Dan Kamm
Guest: Ann Warren Griffith
Topics covered
- Capitalism
- Advertising
- Consumerism
- Surveillance society
- Media influence
- Cultural critique
Keywords
- capitalism
- advertising
- consumerism
- surveillance
- media
- cultural critique
- subliminal messages
- Truman Show
- Blade Runner
Mentioned in this episode
Books & works: Zeritsky’s Law, Nothing But Ginger Bread Left, The Ultimate Melody, The Girl With the Hungry Eyes, The Space Merchants, Snow Crash, 1984, Blade Runner, Subdivisions, The Truman Show
More episodes of TBD - To Be Determined
- Episode 33 - The Wreck of the Ship John B (Frank Robinson) · May 20, 2026 · 47 min
- Episode 32 - Wanders and Travelers (Arkady Strugotsky) · January 2, 2026 · 41 min
- Episode 31 - The Forest of Zyl (Chis Neville) · March 19, 2025 · 32 min
- Episode 29 - 10:01 AM (Alexander Malac) · January 3, 2025 · 46 min
- Episode 28 - Chicago (Thomas F. Monteleone) · November 30, 2024 · 39 min
- Episode 27 - For a Breath I Tarry (Roger Zelazny) · May 21, 2024 · 56 min
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