This episode looks into how platforms lure us in, lock us down, and extract value from everyone and how small, independent websites can push back.
What this episode covers
The 3 stages of Enshittification (Cory Doctorow’s framework applied to web platforms)
Real‑world examples: Facebook, Amazon, Google
How interoperability was intentionally broken and antitrust was weakened
The hidden human labour and exploitation behind “AI magic”
The rise and hangover of vibe coding (Karpathy, YC, GitClear findings)
Why AI‑generated codebases are brittle and hard to maintain
Tim Berners‑Lee, the fight to keep the web in public ownership, and why the web is for everyone
Practical ways web designers and developers can reclaim agency:
Static sites and the “dumb web”
IndieWeb and POSSE (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Elsewhere)
Using AI as a tool, not a master
If you’ve been feeling uneasy about AI hype, social media, and the state of the modern web, this episode might help connect the dots and point to a healthier, more human direction for making websites.
Mentioned in this episode
Cory Doctorow – Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It
Karen Hao – Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI
Yanis Varoufakis – Technofeudalism
Tim Berners‑Lee – This Is for Everyone
Ed Zitron – Better Offline (podcast & newsletter)
Carl Brown – Internet of Bugs (YouTube channel)
IndieWeb & POSSE (Publish on your Own Site, Syndicate Everywhere)
