Literate Machine explores media through the lens of culture, history, and politics, examining the ways capitalism, power, and ideology shape and are shaped by the stories we love.
Written and performed by Eric Rosenfield, Literate Machine is available as blog entries, newsletter, podcast, and YouTube channel.
Literate Machine is available on Apple Podcasts and finer podcast apps everywhere.
What if they were already giving us the tools we need to beat them?
Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield where you can get early, ad-free episodes, exclusive author's notes, and more for only $1/mo
Video version: https://youtu.be/QaDtAOWgKdQ
Text version: https://literatemachine.com/2026/10/08/the-technofeudal-roadmap-to-socialism/
Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/10/08/the-technofeudal-roadmap-to-socialism/#bibliography
22 Sept 2026
50k Subscriber Q&A
I hit 50k subs! Here's some questions and answers!
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Support this channel at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield for early, ad-free episodes, exclusive author's notes, bonus essays, and more for only $1/mo.
Bibliography:
Video about the problems with DeleteMe and Incogni: https://youtu.be/iX3JT6q3AxA
Video about the problems with VPNs: https://youtu.be/mIwfNw5UaHA?si=oi065lcla5vGw_0Y
How Meta used a VPN to spy on people: https://twinsilos.substack.com/p/zuckerbergs-120m-spy-app-how-meta
How the advantage of centrism on "electability" has disappeared: https://www.ms.now/opinion/study-moderate-progressive-turn-out-abdul-el-sayed-mike-rogers
Megastudy about how undocumented immigrants don't increase crime rates: https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-026-02542-0
How immigrants increase economic activity: https://govfacts.org/immigration/the-economic-case-for-immigration-what-the-data-shows-about-americas-workforce/
Police don't solve crimes: https://theconversation.com/police-solve-just-2-of-all-major-crimes-143878
Prisons increase recidivism back making the transition back to society difficult: https://www.annualreviews.org/content/journals/10.1146/annurev.soc.29.010202.095931
Trump wants to skip FDA inspections for meat: https://newrepublic.com/post/214909/trump-beef-fda-inspections-america-sick
7 Sept 2026
The Medievalization of Work and the Cooperative Cure
With the economy getting more technofeudal, work is getting more medieval. What if this could play into the hands of creating a more cooperative economy that's better for everyone and not just the rich?
Text version: https://literatemachine.com/2026/09/07/the-medievalization-of-work-and-the-cooperative-cure/
Bibliography: https://literatemachine.com/2026/09/07/the-medievalization-of-work-and-the-cooperative-cure/#bibliography
Audio version on your favorite podcast app.
Support this project at https://patreon.com/ericrosenfield for early, ad-free videos, exclusive authors notes, and bonus material for only $1/mo.
Apologies for the sound quality: I normally don't do hand-held and the mic is usually farther from my mouth, so I forgot to turn the gain down before recording and as a result there's more distortion/clipping in the sound than I would like. I used a bunch of filters and even overdubbed some bits to mitigate the problem, but it's not perfect.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
23,229,150
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
10 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
13 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 40 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
23
Social presence
0
YouTube
93
Engagement
51
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