In the Vox podcast In a Nutshell, hosts Jara Majerus and Antonia Leise take a deep dive into the university's most interesting, strange, and exciting research. Every two weeks, they invite Radboud researchers to talk about their favourite topics – explained in bite-sized episodes. In today's episode, Jara is having a look at Big Tech – and vice versa.

What makes scrolling on our phones dangerous? What does our scrolling have to do with digital surveillance? And who is surveilling whom, and for what reason?

In this episode, Jara explores the unsettling world of digital surveillance. Together with this week’s guest, Guilel Treiber, she uncovers who the surveillers of the digital world are and peeks behind the curtains of their sleek self-staging to see their hidden desires. Yes, this episode will probably make you feel a strong urge to throw your phone away. But luckily, Guilel has some ideas on how to rise against digital surveillance without having to live off the grid.

Guilel is an assistant professor of ethics and political philosophy at the Faculty of Philosophy, Theology, and Religious Studies. One of his specializations is the societal stakes of digitalization.

If you want to delve deeper into the rabbit hole of digital surveillance, follow Guilel’s suggestions and listen to the podcasts Black Box by The Guardian and The Coming Storm by the BBC. Or read the books suggested by Guilel (best in conjunction): Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Brave New World by Aldous Huxley.