8 Oct 2026 04:19
Episode 243: A Sheen of Fakery (with special guest Gabe Bullard, author of "Against Convenience")
Journalist Gabe Bullard joins us to talk about his new book, Against Convenience: Embracing Friction in an Age of Endless Ease. We dig into what we trade away for ease: the Starbucks app, robotaxis, New Release Tuesdays, memories apps, and AI's "sheen of fakery" — plus Wendell Berry's rules for adopting a new tool and Gabe's chat with our friend Caroline Weaver. We’re missing Tim today because his hotel wi-fi is not working.
For this episode, we recorded video, available to Patreon subscribers! If you’re a patron, head over to see our faces and visual examples of many of the things we discuss. And if you’re not a patron, join us at any level and you can see this and other supplemental content at any time!
Show Notes and Links
Against Convenience: Embracing Friction in an Age of Endless Ease by Gabe Bullard
The Membership — Tim's Wendell Berry podcast
“Why I Am Not Going to Buy a Computer” by Wendell Berry
“Feminism, the Body, and the Machine” by Wendell Berry
Dieter Rams' ten principles for good design
Don Hertzfeldt interview in Slate
The Influencing Machine by Brooke Gladstone
Can Gen Z's Nostalgia Save Chain Restaurants? (New York Times)
