Author: Josh Lepawsky

Repair by Josh LepawskyDec 15, 20253:57 pm

On Planned Obsolescence

Some months ago I was contacted by a journalist. Despite the interview, the story seems to have never run. Here’s what I was asked and how I responded. Journalist: Are products really designed to die […]

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyMay 2, 202510:18 am

An image of the cover of Technocracy Digest magazine from May 1940. The title and iconography are shown in bright red. The centre image is a black and white photo of a sawmill. At the bottom left corner of the cover is a depiction of a map in red showing the Technate of America. In the opposite corner is a similar icon shown in red that simply states "Facts".

Network, Patchwork, Technate: geographical imaginations of the ‘tech right’

Is it possible to design a structure of government which will be stable and predictable? Hopefully, of course, stably and predictably benign? History affords no evidence of it. But history affords no evidence of semiconductors, […]

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyMar 31, 20253:07 pm

Precaution, PFAS, and Pattern Collapse

In 1854 in the Soho district of London England a cholera outbreak was killing people. You probably know this story. Its usually told with a physician named John Snow in the role of hero who […]

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyJan 28, 202510:01 am

Chemicals and Coalitions

Chemicals are an issue over which a powerful coalition disagree.

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyJan 4, 20259:55 am

Is Net Positive Water a Thing?

Semiconductors are the foundational building blocks of all computing devices–whether that’s an AI model, a car, a phone, or a cheap greeting card that lights up and sings a song. And making semiconductors needs lots […]

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyDec 12, 20249:01 am

What is a sacrifice zone?

The idea of “sacrifice zones” has been around since the 1970s. Former US President Richard Nixon may or may not have written a secret order permitting such zones in the US.

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyDec 6, 20248:18 am

Sorting Out In Berlin

While in Berlin, Germany for HKW’s Participatory Planet project, myself and other participants visited an ALBA sorting facility on the east side of the city. The site sorts ~140,000 tonnes per year of waste metals, […]

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyDec 1, 20241:17 am

Protected: Workshop: Participatory Planet

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyNov 21, 20244:40 pm

For a library system of electronics

More electronic devices are manufactured than are purchased. Supply exceeds demand. That’s a problem for brands because a surplus of goods can lead to falling prices for them. To stop that from happening brands create […]

Discard Studies by Josh LepawskyOct 22, 20249:13 am

What is insignificant impact?

US geopolitical worries, largely focused on rivalry with China, have given permission for the federal government to offer an overt industrial policy for semiconductor manufacturing. The US has embarked on a massively state funded program […]