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As we hunker down for the last period of lockdown novelty has never felt more absent from our lives. Aleks Krotoski explores its importance and asks if the digital world can actually provide it.

Producer Peter McManus

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30 minutes

Last on

Mon 15 Mar 2021 16:30

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Max Hawkins

Max Hawkins

Max Hawkins is a nomadic artist and software engineer.  For 2 years he lived his life rigidly following the output of the randomising computer algorithms he’d designed. They determined where he went, what he did, even down to what he ate. Making novelty a way of life.  


Dr Sandi Mann

Dr Sandi Mann

Dr Sandi Mann is a Chartered Psychologist, Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and author of various self-help psychology books Including the Science of Boredom: Why Boredom is good. She is also a lecturer at the University of central Lancashire

Iona Lee

Iona Lee

Iona Lee is a poet and illustrator from Edinburgh. In the before-times, she would perform her work at festivals and gigs all over the UK and Europe. Iona is the author of two pamphlets, one of which was shortlisted for a Saltire Award.

Dr James Danckert

Dr James Danckert

James Danckert is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at the University of Waterloo. He researches boredom, attention, and the consequences of stroke on human behaviour. He is the co-author of the book Out of My Skull: The Psychology of Boredom.

Tim Hwang

Tim Hwang

Tim Hwang is the publisher of the Trade Journal Cooperative, a quarterly niche trade journal subscription service. He is also the author of "Subprime Attention Crisis," a recent book about the fragility of online programmatic advertising. He tweets regularlyΒ @timhwang.

Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is the editor of , a twice-weekly newsletter that dives into digital obscurites in search of the end of the long tail. Previously, he founded the popular news Tumblr ShortFormBlog, and is a contributor to Vice’s Motherboard, among other publications. He’s never seen a side project he didn’t like.

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  • Mon 15 Mar 2021 16:30

Podcast