This episode is now available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Stitcher and Amazon Music.
In the digital age, when we are bombarded by media and competing narratives from all directions, awareness is key. Are we passive or active in what stories we consume? How well-versed are we in the digital lexicon, and what does this mean for our position in society? How does today’s media foster relationships, and between whom?
In this GLF Live, Douglas Rushkoff, a leading thinker and explorer of the media ecosystem, gave insights on what our media consumption means, and how this can shape our own narratives, even without our knowing. This formed part of the Storytelling Track of the GLF Bonn 2020 digital conference.
Listen back to the conversation as a podcast, or re-watch it on YouTube:
Powered by RedCircle

Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master.
Christian Lous Lange
The way we communicate with others and with ourselves ultimately determines the quality of our lives.
Anthony Robbins
Named one of the “world’s ten most influential intellectuals” by MIT, Douglas Rushkoff is an author and documentarian who studies human autonomy in a digital age. His twenty books include the just-published Team Human, based on his podcast, as well as the bestsellers Present Shock, Throwing Rocks and the Google Bus, Program or Be Programmed, Life Inc, and Media Virus. He also made the PBS Frontline documentaries Generation Like, The Persuaders, and Merchants of Cool. His book Coercion won the Marshall McLuhan Award, and the Media Ecology Association honored him with the first Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity.Rushkoff’s work explores how different technological environments change our relationship to narrative, money, power, and one another. He coined such concepts as “viral media,” “screenagers,” and “social currency,” and has been a leading voice for applying digital media toward social and economic justice. He a research fellow of the Institute for the Future, and founder of the Laboratory for Digital Humanism at CUNY/Queens, where he is a Professor of Media Theory and Digital Economics. He is a columnist for Medium, and his novels and comics, Ecstasy Club, A.D.D, and Aleister & Adolf, are all being developed for the screen.
Finally…
…thank you for reading this story. Our mission is to make them freely accessible to everyone, no matter where they are.
We believe that lasting and impactful change starts with changing the way people think. That’s why we amplify the diverse voices the world needs to hear – from local restoration leaders to Indigenous communities and women who lead the way.
By supporting us, not only are you supporting the world’s largest knowledge-led platform devoted to sustainable and inclusive landscapes, but you’re also becoming a vital part of a global community that’s working tirelessly to create a healthier world for us all.
Every donation counts – no matter the amount. Thank you for being a part of our mission.
Want to get the latest climate and environmental stories in your inbox? Sign up here to stay in the loop.
Every week, we’ll send you our top feature story. Discover green innovations, social justice issues, environmental history and more.
Tune into our live monthly podcast with the world’s unsung environmental heroes. Sign up to find out when the next episode drops.
Once a month, get informed with our 5-minute round-up of the latest environmental headlines from around the world.
You've been successfully added to our newsletter list. Stay tuned for the latest climate stories and updates.
Carbon bombs could push carbon emissions to exceed the global climate budget – twice. Can we defuse them in time?
Dates are an integral part of Middle Eastern and North African culture. Here’s how they can adapt to survive the climate crisis.