Ruha Benjamin

We often treat imagination like a luxury, but Ruha Benjamin argues it’s a battlefield. In this episode, Sylvia, Kofi, and Laura glimpse into Imagination: A Manifesto to discuss how we can deprogram ourselves from "dominant imaginaries" and start worldbuilding for the collective good. From dismantling oppressive systems to the "quiet acts of rebellion," they explore Benjamin's ideas of how to dream a better world into reality. Footnote from Kofi: During the discussion on Benjamin's Imagination: A Manifesto , Kofi Adisa misstated the names of Vauhini Vara and Nik Usher, the latter being referred to as 'Nik Turner.'

In this episode, acclaimed sociologist and Princeton professor Ruha Benjamin joins De Dépendance Podcast for a compelling conversation on the occasion of her new book, Imagination: A Manifesto . Interviewed by historian Marianne Klerk , Benjamin explores how emerging technologies—especially algorithms and AI—shape inequality, and why we must treat imagination as a powerful site of struggle and possibility. If we hope to dismantle systems shaped by white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism, she argues, we must first learn to imagine the world anew. Benjamin lays out a poetic yet pragmatic vision for worldbuilding—one that invites listeners to reflect on how their everyday choices help maintain or transform the status quo. She is joined by Sennay Ghebreab , Professor of Socially Intelligent AI at the University of Amsterdam and director of the Civic AI Lab, whose work investigates how artificial intelligence can be designed in service of equity and social justice. Together, they delve into the politics of technology, the urgency of critical imagination, and the practical steps toward building fairer futures.

The show provides a detailed overview of the life and work of Ruha Benjamin , a Princeton professor and influential scholar focused on the intersection of race, justice, and technology . The hosts primarily unpack the concept of the “New Jim Code,” which describes how seemingly objective technological systems, such as facial recognition, predictive policing, and biased hiring algorithms, reproduce and amplify existing social inequalities and racial discrimination. Beyond critique, the sources highlight Benjamin’s commitment to abolitionist futures and actionable change, citing her founding of the Ida B. Wells JUST Data Lab and her teaching philosophy, which encourages students to design systems that prioritize equity. The hosts affirm her growing significance in the tech and justice landscape, emphasizing her recent MacArthur Fellowship and the clear trajectory of her four major books, including the foundational Race After Technology . Ultimately, the explanations underscore her central message that technology is not destiny and must be intentionally built to reflect democratic and just values.

En el episodio de hoy, hablaremos de: El libro Race After Technology de Ruha Benjamin, que desmonta la ilusión de la neutralidad tecnológica. La obra explica cómo la IA y los algoritmos reflejan y amplifican las desigualdades raciales y sociales existentes, introduciendo el concepto de “racismo codificado” . Se utilizan casos como el sesgo en el reconocimiento facial y en sistemas judiciales. Benjamin hace un llamado a la acción para diseñar innovaciones con una visión ética y equitativa. Usando la IA para hacerte más humano.

This week’s guest is Dr. Ruha Benjamin , Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University and Founding Director of the IDA B. WELLS Just Data Lab . Benjamin was recently named a 2024 MacArthur Fellow , and she’s written and edited multiple books, including 2019’s Race After Technology and 2022’s Viral Justice . Last week she joined Justin Hendrix to discuss her latest book, Imagination: A Manifesto , published this year by WW Norton & Company.

In this kickoff episode for the Justice for All season of The Inclusion Solution LIVE podcast, host Mary-Frances Winters, founder and CEO of The Winters Group, Inc., sits down with Dr. Ruha Benjamin, Alexander Stewart 1886 Professor of African American Studies at Princeton University, founding director of the Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab, and award-winning author of the new book Imagination: A Manifesto. Listen in as they discuss the hard questions that we all need to ask in order to achieve justice in our technology-driven world, from who’s benefitting from so-called advances to who is being left behind and why. Inviting deeper reflection, Dr. Benjamin also previews her keynote for the Racial Justice at Work Summit: Justice for All.

In conversation with Shantrelle Lewis Ruha Benjamin is the author of Race After Technology: Abolitionist Tools for the New Jim Code, a ''galvanizing'' and ''inventive and wide-ranging'' (The Nation) look at how new technologies reinforce social inequities; and Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want, a pragmatic yet poetic vision of the ways in which our minor everyday choices can add up to larger societal growth. Also the author of many scholarly publications, she is a professor of African American studies at Princeton University, where she is the founding director of the Ida B. Wells Just Data Lab. Benjamin's writing has been featured in The New York Times, The Guardian, CNN, The Root, and Vox, among numerous other media outlets. A revelatory call to action, Imagination calls for readers to consider the arena of the mind as a very real space for struggle, interconnectedness, and societal change. Shantrelle P. Lewis is a multi-hyphen creative and scholar who accesses multiple disciplines to help elucidate African Diasporic history, aesthetics, culture and spirituality. After premiering at BlackStar Film Festival, her critically acclaimed directorial debut, In Our Mothers' Gardens, was released on Netflix via Ava Duvernay's Array. Her book, Dandy Lion: The Black Dandy and Street Style, was published by Aperture in 2017. Her work has been featured in The New York Times, LA Times, Variety, Hollywood Reporter, NPR, BBC, Washington Post, Slate, The New Yorker and the Philadelphia Inquirer. She co-founded Shoppe Black with her husband and fellow Howard alum, Tony Oluwatoyin Lawson. As an initiated Lukumi Sango Priest, hoodooist and New Orleans native, Shantrelle can be found waxing poetic about all things African spirituality online and in person at the Beaucoup Hoodoo Shop, the annual Beaucoup Hoodoo Fest this October and within her community, ATRS Book Club. Because you love Author Events, please make a donation to keep our podcasts free for everyone. THANK YOU! The views expressed by the authors and moderators are strictly their own and do not represent the opinions of the Free Library of Philadelphia or its employees. (recorded 2/7/2024)

"My writing is always trying to open that up and to say — you can start here; you can start now." Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin reminds us that our imaginations already know what a better world looks like. From education to challenging our systems of oppression and more, this insightful work shows a new place for us all to start from. Benjamin joins us to talk about the split between imagination and technology, changing our narratives to tell new stories, the importance of community and more with Miwa Messer, host of Poured Over. This episode of Poured Over was hosted by Executive Producer Miwa Messer and mixed by Harry Liang. New episodes land Tuesdays and Thursdays (with occasional Saturdays) here and on your favorite podcast app. Featured Books (Episode): Imagination: A Manifesto by Ruha Benjamin Race After Technology by Ruha Benjamin

How can we “act selfishly for our own humanity”? How might we recalibrate institutions so they reflect how our individual futures are intertwined? Explore these questions and more in a timely discussion with sociologist Ruha Benjamin . She takes on racism in education, healthcare, the arts and beyond in this riveting conversation. Currently, Dr. Benjamin is an associate professor of African American Studies at Princeton University. Her book, Viral Justice , offers an inspiring vision of change.

According to Ruha Benjamin, we’re living inside someone else’s imagination. An imagination that limits our ability to build a more just, liberated world. So, how do we take back our agency and begin to seed something different? Baratunde talks with Princeton professor and founding director of the Just Data Lab , Ruha Benjamin to find out. SHOW ACTIONS Internally Reflect - Bear witness and create a ripple This one is inspired from Ruha’s book Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want which says: “…bear witness to the weight of individual and communal protective acts and consider how all of us can be involved in sheltering one another from the rain and sun by cultivating relationships, skills, accountability, and healing.” Think about when you witnessed someone near you perform an act of justice or kindness or protection for another. Was it a big or small act? Did it require courage? How did witnessing that make you feel about the world? Is it something you could repeat and further the impact? Become More Informed - Learn about racial justice Ruha recommends Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto by Tricia Hersey and The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness by Michelle Alexander both of which you can find on our Bookshop page . Publicly Participate - Invest in your community using your time & skills Check out ways to invest and get to know your community using your existing skills and experience. If you’re 60+ check out Thirdact.org and Cogenerate.org . If you’re 25-59 check out Volunteermatch.org and Catchafire.org . If you're 16-24 check out Civicsunplugged.org and Youthclimatelobby.org . SHOW NOTES Walk through Breonna’s Garden and check out Lady Phoenix’s IG for more. Find How To Citizen on Instagram or visit howtocitizen.com to join our mailing list and find ways to citizen besides listening to this podcast! Please show your support for the show by reviewing and rating. It makes a huge difference with the algorithmic overlords and helps others like you find the show! How To Citizen is hosted by Baratunde Thurston. He’s also host and executive producer of the PBS series, America Outdoors as well as a founding partner and writer at Puck . You can find him all over the internet . CREDITS How To Citizen with Baratunde is a production of iHeartRadio Podcasts and Rowhome Productions. Our Executive Producers are Baratunde Thurston and Elizabeth Stewart. Allie Graham is our Lead Producer and Danya AbdelHameid is our Associate Producer. Alex Lewis is our Managing Producer. John Myers is our Executive Editor and Mix Engineer. Original Music by Andrew Eapen and Blue Dot Sessions. Our Audience Engagement Fellows are Jasmine Lewis and Gabby Rodriguez. Special thanks to Joelle Smith from iHeartRadio. See omnystudio.com

Podcast : The Chauncey DeVega Show (LS 46 · TOP 1% what is this? ) Episode : Ep. 378: Ruha Benjamin on the Digital Divide and the "New Jim Code"/Did You Know That People are "Racist" Against Black Robots? Pub date : 2023-01-31 Get Podcast Transcript → powered by Listen411 - fast audio-to-text and summarization There are two guests on this special January 2023 fundraising episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. ***Your generosity and support help to sustain the podcast and to keep it free, not behind a paywall and available to all listeners.*** Ruha Benjamin is a sociologist and a Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of several books including Race After Technology and Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want. She explains how technology is not socially or politically neutral and actually does the work of power and maintaining inequality along the color line through what she has termed "the new Jim Code". Benjamin also highlights the ways that technologies such as search engines, algorithms, "big data", the surveillance society and other digital tools have disproportionately negative impacts on black and brown and other marginalized communities. She also encourages us to take back our agency by finding ways to use these new technologies to do the work of creating a more humane and just society. Christoph Bartneck is an associate professor in the department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Canterbury where his research focuses on human-computer interaction, science and technology Studies, and visual design. He explains how racism and other forms of animus influence how human beings treat "black" and "brown" robots much worse than "white" robots. Bartneck also reflects on the human-machine interface and how algorithms and other technologies inevitably reflect the biases of their designers, engineers, and programmers. He also shares his thoughts on artificial intelligence, "the Singularity", and the exaggerated and fantastical claims that are made by many futurists and technologists. On this episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega honors two people who recently passed away and who meant, albeit in very different ways, a great deal to him. Professional wrestling star and ROH World Tag Team Champion " Jay Briscoe " ( Jamin Dale Pugh ) was killed in a car accident on Tuesday Jan 17 in Laurel, Delaware. Chauncey's cat nephew Stoli passed away last week on Monday Jan 23. Episode 378 of The Chauncey DeVega Show is dedicated to both of their memories. Chauncey reflects on grieving, emotional ups and down, and how he is being weathered and assaulted by dark and other unjust forces during these last two weeks – and how he will overcome them and get his bounce back. As part of that effort C

There are two guests on this special January 2023 fundraising episode of The Chauncey DeVega Show. ***Your generosity and support help to sustain the podcast and to keep it free, not behind a paywall and available to all listeners.*** Ruha Benjamin is a sociologist and a Professor in the Department of African American Studies at Princeton University. She is the author of several books including Race After Technology and Viral Justice: How We Grow the World We Want. She explains how technology is not socially or politically neutral and actually does the work of power and maintaining inequality along the color line through what she has termed "the new Jim Code". Benjamin also highlights the ways that technologies such as search engines, algorithms, "big data", the surveillance society and other digital tools have disproportionately negative impacts on black and brown and other marginalized communities. She also encourages us to take back our agency by finding ways to use these new technologies to do the work of creating a more humane and just society. Christoph Bartneck is an associate professor in the department of Computer Science and Software Engineering at the University of Canterbury where his research focuses on human-computer interaction, science and technology Studies, and visual design. He explains how racism and other forms of animus influence how human beings treat "black" and "brown" robots much worse than "white" robots. Bartneck also reflects on the human-machine interface and how algorithms and other technologies inevitably reflect the biases of their designers, engineers, and programmers. He also shares his thoughts on artificial intelligence, "the Singularity", and the exaggerated and fantastical claims that are made by many futurists and technologists. On this episode of the podcast, Chauncey DeVega honors two people who recently passed away and who meant, albeit in very different ways, a great deal to him. Professional wrestling star and ROH World Tag Team Champion " Jay Briscoe " ( Jamin Dale Pugh ) was killed in a car accident on Tuesday Jan 17 in Laurel, Delaware. Chauncey's cat nephew Stoli passed away last week on Monday Jan 23. Episode 378 of The Chauncey DeVega Show is dedicated to both of their memories. Chauncey reflects on grieving, emotional ups and down, and how he is being weathered and assaulted by dark and other unjust forces during these last two weeks – and how he will overcome them and get his bounce back. As part of that effort Chauncey shares an