On this episode I speak with Chris Stedman. Chris is a writer, speaker, and community organizer living in Minneapolis. His new book, out tomorrow from Broadleaf Books, is called "IRL: Finding Realness, Meaning, and Belonging in Our Digital Lives." The IRL in the title refers to the internet shorthand for “in real life,” in contrast to our online lives. But Chris thinks this designation is a mistake.

Much of the time, Chris says, we don’t think of our time on the internet as “real” and therefore don’t approach it with the same critical analysis that we might a different kind of engagement. How much thought do you put into an activity you don’t think is real? Chris argues that while our lives online are different than other relational spaces, it is no less real. As such he invites us to think deeply and critically about how we engage with the internet, how it is shaping us, and what it’s telling us about what is real and what is important.

::LINKS::
Visit Chris Stedman's website | https://chrisstedmanwriter.com

Buy the book | https://bookshop.org/books/irl-finding-realness-meaning-and-belonging-in-our-digital-lives/9781506463513

Follow Chris on Twitter | http://www.twitter.com/ChrisDStedman

Read “The Problem of Free Speech in an Age of Disinformation” | https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/magazine/free-speech.html