# Humans, Machines & Democracy — Baratunde Thurston

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-of-storytelling-fost-115518/humans-machines-democracy-baratunde-thurston
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-of-storytelling-fost-115518/humans-machines-democracy-baratunde-thurston.md
Podcast: [Future of StoryTelling (FoST)](https://stenobird.com/podcast/future-of-storytelling-fost-115518)
Published: 2026-07-30T10:00:08+00:00
Episode link: https://futureofstorytelling.org/fost-originals/podcasts/
Audio file: https://audio1.redcircle.com/episodes/3ce57cb5-7d26-40a9-88ab-f203426dd1fc/stream.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/future-of-storytelling-fost-115518/episodes/humans-machines-democracy-baratunde-thurston
Duration seconds: 1859

## Resource

In a world increasingly dominated by technology, how do we ensure storytelling remains authentic and impactful? Today's guest, Baratunde Thurston, has spent decades grappling with our relationship to technology and each other, through his work as the Director of Digital at The Onion to his Webby Award-winning project, Life With Machines. Baratunde comes from a rich background in comedy, activism, and media — he shares insights on the evolving art of storytelling in the age of AI, and how we can learn to live well with these technologies rather than simply endure them. To learn more, visit our website at fost.org . -- © 2026 Future of StoryTelling, Corp. Produced by Future of StoryTelling, Corp. 124 West 13th Street New York, NY 10011 Founder and CEO, Charles Melcher Director, Carolyn Merriman Assistant Producer, Tsuki Carlson in collaboration with Charts & Leisure Founder, Jason Oberholtzer Producer, Michael Simonelli Editor, Garrett Crowe Mix and Music, Michael Simonelli With special thanks to Baratunde Thurston, Madison Brown, Lor Simpson, David Gray, Bonnie Eldon, and Megan Worman.

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## Transcript

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