The Innovation Delusion and the Value of Maintenance with Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel

The Buzz with ACT-IAC

"Innovation" is one of those words that has, unfortunately, been used so frequently as to almost be without meaning. What began as an economic term to describe productivity gains from technology, has morphed into a catch-all for anything new or different, regardless of whether it improves our lives or not.
The pursuit of this nebulous idea of innovation as an ultimate goal has crowded out much of the important, less exciting work that keeps our world functioning. We idolize "innovators" and "disruptors", but undervalue the simple, daily tasks of maintenance necessary for the upkeep of both our physical and digital infrastructure.
This week on The Buzz, we're joined by Andrew Russell and Lee Vinsel, authors of the book, "The Innovation Delusion" and co-founders of The Maintainers, a global research network studying the concepts of maintenance, infrastructure, repair, and the myriad forms of labor and expertise that sustain our human-built world.
More from The Maintainers at https://themaintainers.org/
Referenced in this episode:

• The Buzz interviews Daniel Greene, author of "The Promise of Access"
• The Innovation Delusion
• Shop Class as Soulcraft
• How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy
• Pressed for Time: The Acceleration of Life in Digital Capitalism

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Intro/Outro Music: See a Brighter Day/Gloria Tells
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound
(Episodes 1-159: Intro/Outro Music: Focal Point/Young Community
Courtesy of Epidemic Sound)