The YourShelf Podcast
#2 Reading In The Future with Claire L. Evans
Episode Summary
In episode two, YourShelf's chief curator Juliano Zaffino (Jay) sits down with Claire L Evans, 1/3 of the band YACHT, and writer of Broad Band: The Untold Story of the Women Who Made The Internet. Together they discuss sci-fi, machine learning, and reading in the future.
Episode Notes
To support our work and listen to additional content, see here: https://patreon.com/yourshelf and follow us on social media @_yourshelf_. In the long-awaited second episode of The YourShelf Podcast, Reading In The Future, our chief curator Juliano Zaffino (Jay) sits down with Claire L Evans to discuss books, if a machine can ever be a poet, and what it might mean to read and write in the future. For full show notes, see here: https://podcast.yourshelf.uk/episodes/2. Thanks for listening.
Links
Episode Notes
- Jay quizzes Claire on her bookshelves, the books that made her, and what recent books Claire's excited about. (from 2:18)
- Claire discusses a wide range of themes, from writing science and tech in her books High Frontiers and Broad Band, to her collaborative work with YACHT, in particular their 2016 album I Thought The Future Would Be Cooler, and their 2019 Grammy-nominated album Chain Tripping, written using artificial intelligence and machine learning. (from 9:30)
- Finally, Claire talks about her future plans with YACHT and with her next book. (from 45:39)
- Jay recommends signing up to our Patreon for access to exclusive content, including a 10min bonus episode with more content from the interview, where Jay and Claire L Evans play a game of "Celebs Read Nice Tweets", and Claire answers some "phone-in questions".
- Jay wraps up with all the books that were discussed in the episode and a few other books he recommends. Discussed in the podcast: Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, the work of Samuel Delaney, Barry Lopez, Joanna Russ and Ursula K Le Guin, William Gibson’s Agency, Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation, Buckminster Fuller, Ross Goodwin, and Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens. If you’re looking for more recommendations, look no further. One of the best books I’ve read in the few months since our last podcast episode is Jenny Slate’s Little Weirds, a memoir of sorts that defies all kinds of limitations, a beautiful ode to wildness and wonder. At the end of 2019, I also very much enjoyed Patti Smith’s latest memoir, Year of the Monkey, as well as Sean Hewitt’s poetry pamphlet Lantern, and Maya C. Popa’s poetry collection American Faith.
- Also, Jay announce that The YourShelf Press officially launched last month with the publication of his debut poetry collection All Those Bodies And They’re Moving, described by Florence Welch as “a technological hellscape, full of monsters of our own making... [examining] queer identity and the flesh”. You can order a copy on yourshelf.uk/press.
- Buy and stream YACHT's album Chain Tripping, and if you're in San Francisco go see them play live in March. Also, check out Claire's book Broad Band for a personal, human account of the little-known women who created the internet.
- Thanks for listening and tune in again soon for Episode Three!