Podcast / Tech Won’t Save Us / Aug 21, 2025

Why Countries Must Fight for Digital Sovereignty

On Tech Won’t Save Us, Cecilia Rikap warns against overdependence on US tech companies.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Why Countries Must Fight For Digital Sovereignty | Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

Paris Marx is joined by Cecilia Rikap to discuss how countries’ dependence on US tech companies is harming them and why they need to get serious about digital sovereignty.

Cecilia Rikap is Associate Professor in Economics at University College London and Head of Research at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Donald Trump speaks during the “Winning the AI Race” summit on July 23, 2025 in Washington, DC.

(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)

Paris Marx is joined by Cecilia Rikap to discuss how countries’ dependence on US tech companies is harming them and why they need to get serious about digital sovereignty.

Cecilia Rikap is an associate professor in economics at University College London and head of research at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose.

Subscribe to The Nation to support all of our podcasts: thenation.com/podcastsubscribe.

The Nation Podcasts
The Nation Podcasts

Here's where to find podcasts from The Nation. Political talk without the boring parts, featuring the writers, activists and artists who shape the news, from a progressive perspective.

Tim Cook’s Real Legacy at Apple w/ Brian Merchant / Tech Won’t Save Us
byThe Nation Magazine

Paris Marx is joined by Brian Merchant to discuss Apple’s announcement that Tim Cook is stepping down as CEO, including his history and legacy, and what may be next for the company.

Brian Merchant is the author of The One Device and Blood in the Machine and writes a newsletter of the same name.

Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Subscribe to The Nation to Support all of our podcasts

Your support makes stories like this possible

From illegal war on Iran to an inhumane fuel blockade of Cuba, from AI weapons to crypto corruption, this is a time of staggering chaos, cruelty, and violence. 

Unlike other publications that parrot the views of authoritarians, billionaires, and corporations, The Nation publishes stories that hold the powerful to account and center the communities too often denied a voice in the national media—stories like the one you’ve just read.

Each day, our journalism cuts through lies and distortions, contextualizes the developments reshaping politics around the globe, and advances progressive ideas that oxygenate our movements and instigate change in the halls of power. 

This independent journalism is only possible with the support of our readers. If you want to see more urgent coverage like this, please donate to The Nation today.

Paris Marx

Paris Marx is a tech critic and host of the Tech Won’t Save Us podcast. He writes the Disconnect newsletter and is the author of Road to Nowhere: What Silicon Valley Gets Wrong about the Future of Transportation.

More from The Nation

Washington Wizards' John Wall, left, and NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum, pose for photos after Tatum announced that the Wizards had won the first pick in the NBA basketball draft lottery in Chicago, Sunday, May 10, 2026.

The NBA Lottery, Those Nova Knicks, and Movies We Love to Hate The NBA Lottery, Those Nova Knicks, and Movies We Love to Hate

Arya Shirazi joins the show to talk NBA lottery and movies.

Dave Zirin

House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) speaks at a press conference with other members of the Congressional Black Caucus on the Supreme Court decision in “Louisiana v. Callais,” at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on April 29, 2026.

Democrats After the Voting Rights Act—Plus, Jewish Anti-Zionism Democrats After the Voting Rights Act—Plus, Jewish Anti-Zionism

On this episode of Start Making Sense, Harold Meyerson argues Democrats remain likely to win the House in November, and Adam Hochschild talks about the Bund in prewar Europe.

Jon Wiener

Jeff Bezos at the Vanity Fair Oscar party.

Journalism in the Age of Oligarchy—With David Sirota Journalism in the Age of Oligarchy—With David Sirota

Danny and Derek speak with David Sirota, founder and EIC of The Lever, about journalism, independent media, and the consolidation of presidential power. 

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman arrives at court at the Ronald V. Dellums Federal Building on April 30, 2026, in Oakland, California.

Down With the AI Overlords—With Sarah Myers West Down With the AI Overlords—With Sarah Myers West

Tech expert Sarah Myers West discusses how AI is concentrating power among a handful of oligarchs—and how its future could be made more democratic.

Peter Thiel speaks at the Cambridge Union on May 8, 2024, in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire.

What Jeffrey Epstein Taught Peter Thiel and Steve Bannon What Jeffrey Epstein Taught Peter Thiel and Steve Bannon

Branko Marcetic on the fake populism of a sordid elite.

Jeet Heer

An armed Iranian police officer stands guard on an armored vehicle, monitoring the area during a state-run religious rally in downtown Tehran.

Iran Talks Near a Deal, Israel Ignores Ceasefires, Cuba Sanctions Expand Iran Talks Near a Deal, Israel Ignores Ceasefires, Cuba Sanctions Expand

Producer Jake regrettably had his pet rat confiscated after an ill-fated cruise.

Daniel Bessner and Derek Davison

x