The Internet Was Never Inevitable

In this episode, Samuel Arbesman speaks with Lori Emerson, a professor of Media Studies at University of Colorado Boulder and the founding director of the Media Archaeology Lab, where Arbesman serves as an advisor. Emerson’s work sits at the crossroads of media, technology, and history—a perspective embodied by the Lab’s hands-on approach to preserving older technologies and keeping them alive through use, not just observation.

The conversation also explores Emerson’s recent book, Other Networks: A Radical Technology Sourcebook, which treats the idea of the “network” as something far older and stranger than the modern internet. Drawing on examples ranging from pagers and flag signaling to pneumatic tubes—and even the memex envisioned by Vannevar Bush—the book radically expands how we think about connectivity across technological history.

Together, Arbesman and Emerson discuss how she approaches her research, the practice of media archaeology, and how engaging directly with obsolete or forgotten technologies can stretch our collective imagination about what technology has been—and what it might yet become. Their conversation ranges from the deep logic of networks to Emerson’s enthusiasm for radio, and the vital role artists play in pushing new technologies into unexpected territory.