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Writer imagines future consumed by technology, warns us to "put the brakes on"

Crowds of "Pokémon GO" players gather for some late night monster hunting in this park in Vancouver.
Peter Kudlacz
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FLICKR - HTTP://J.MP/1SPGCL0
Crowds of "Pokémon GO" players gather for some late night monster hunting in this park in Vancouver.

Our conversation with Alexander Weinstein. He's an Associate Professor of English at Siena Heights University. He directs the Martha's Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing, leads fiction workshops across the U.S. and Canada, and counts a Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, the Lamar York, Gale Crump and New Millennium Prizes among his writing awards.

If you wandered past any landmarks or took a stroll through a public park this summer, you may have noticed a lot more foot traffic than usual. But instead of walking and talking together, these large groups of new guests basically just sit around and stare at their smartphones. 

Crowds of "Pokémon GO" players gather for some late night monster hunting in this park in Vancouver.
Credit Peter Kudlacz / FLICKR - HTTP://J.MP/1SPGCL0
/
FLICKR - HTTP://J.MP/1SPGCL0
Crowds of "Pokémon GO" players gather for some late night monster hunting in this park in Vancouver.

Yes, "Pokémon GO" players are everywhere.

For many, the game has become a core part of day-to-day life. 

Alexander Weinstein's new book of short stories takes the idea to the extreme, exploring a future full of dangerously immersive virtual reality games. 

Children of the New World includes stories about ordering up robots to round out your family, reading email on your eyes, living in downloaded memories, and of being controlled by technology and social media - not the other way around. 

Children of the New World is his first short-story collection. 

Weinstein joined us today to talk about the book and some of the questions and ideas he explores with the stories therein.

*This interview was originally broadcast on Sept. 12, 2016(Subscribe to the Stateside podcast oniTunes,Google Play, or with thisRSS link)

 

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