# TRC #729: Digital Devices in Schools + Books Reviews: Enshittification & Breakneck

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-reality-check-509868/trc-729-digital-devices-in-schools-books-reviews-enshittification-breakneck
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-reality-check-509868/trc-729-digital-devices-in-schools-books-reviews-enshittification-breakneck.md
Podcast: [The Reality Check](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-reality-check-509868)
Published: 2026-03-21T00:03:00+00:00
Episode link: https://therealitycheck.libsyn.com/trc-729-digital-devices-in-schools-books-reviews-enshittification-breakneck
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/therealitycheck/TRC_729.mp3?dest-id=14610
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-reality-check-509868/episodes/trc-729-digital-devices-in-schools-books-reviews-enshittification-breakneck
Duration seconds: 2072

## Resource

What impact do digital devices like laptops, tablets and smart phones, both inside and outside of the classroom, have on childrens' ability to learn? Adam questions the assumption that these devices are always positive, and examines the research on the topic. Darren gives us two book reviews. First up is Enshittification by Cory Doctorow, which examines what seems to make good companies kind of terrible, and then it's Breakneck: China's Quest to Engineer the Future by Dan Wang, which looks at what factors make the US and China different.

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## Transcript

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