Are we nearing the end of the "Age of Print"? And, if so, what comes next?

The concept of "the Gutenberg Parenthesis" suggests that the era of print – which began in the 15th century, when the printing press was developed by Johan Gutenberg, and extended to the 20th century, when radio and television muscled in – was a unique period for human communication. However, as this week's guest Jeff Jarvis argued in his book The Gutenberg Parenthesis: The Age of Print and Its Lessons for the Age of the Internet(Bloomsbury, 2023), our emphasis on literacy is historically situated in ways we may find difficult to recognize. After, all, there were not always authors, publishers, editors, or newspapers-- all of which are recent inventions, in the grand scheme of things-- and we may in fact be coming to the end of this age.

Printing as a technology brought with it all manner of social, political, religious, and cultural effects that we now take for granted: for example, that we know who the "authorities" are, that grammar is fixed, that spelling must be consistent, or that our information must be curated for us. If the age of printing is coming to an end, and if the web is our "new" technology, then we might not be in the best position to understand its potentials and implications.

Some contours of the closing of this parenthesis are coming into view, to be sure, but the full extent is not entirely clear. What did print allow and what did it deny? What does the end of print mean for the ways in which we find and digest information about our world? What happens to our ability to communicate complex and subtle ideas? Are we headed toward the promised land... or the apocalypse?

Full episode notes available at this link:
https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-153-the-gutenberg-parenthesis-with-jeff-jarvis

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What counts as evidence? What makes it good or bad? How do we know?

In court cases, the prosecution, plaintiff, and defendant present “evidence” that something happened or didn’t happen, that it happened in one way or another, that someone did something or did not do something. Evidence is meant to point to something as-yet undetermined. The same goes with scientific evidence, statistical evidence, and anecdotal evidence. Yet, because evidence points to something unknown, sorting it out is often messy business! How do we judge whether evidence is trustworthy or good? Can we determine shared "rules" of evidence? And what about so-called "self-evident" things or claims? This week, we're diving right into this messy business of evidence.

Full episode notes available at this link:
https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/evidence

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If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!

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When did Jesus start hating immigrants and gays, and loving guns and capitalism?

Many Christians on the political left today no longer recognize the Jesus of the political right in the United States. Despite sharing a text and history, (at least) two dramatically different versions of "Jesus" have emerged in contemporary American Christian discourse, each reflecting a set of moral and political inferences presumably gleaned from the teachings of the historical Jesus, and each set of inferences containing its own problems with respect to verifiability, authenticity, and legitimacy.

This week, we are joined by internationally renowned Catholic scholar Dr. John D. Caputo, author of What Would Jesus Deconstruct? (2007), to re-trace the emergence of these seemingly incompatible iterations of "Jesus," and try to figure out whose Jesus works for whom.

Full episode notes available at this link:
https://hotelbarpodcast.com/podcast/episode-151-whose-jesus-with-john-d-caputo/

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If you enjoy Hotel Bar Sessions podcast, please be sure to subscribe and submit a rating/review! Better yet, you can support this podcast by signing up to be one of our Patrons at patreon.com/hotelbarsessions!

Follow us on Twitter/X @hotelbarpodcast, on Facebook, on TikTok, and subscribe to our YouTube channel!