#plannedobsolescence

New episode out now.

This week on Dystopedia we unpack The Thing About Machines, Rod Serling’s 1960 Twilight Zone story of Bartlett Finchley, a pompous critic whose home appliances turn against him.

On the surface it looks like camp horror, but beneath it lies a reflection of postwar anxieties about automation, consumer churn, and the rise of planned obsolescence. Finchley’s downfall also feels strangely modern as we place more trust in AI and live with the consequences of machines we do not fully understand.

We like to think of machines as tools that serve us, but what happens when they start to shape us instead.

The Twilight Zone episode The Thing About Machines captured that fear back in 1960 with Bartlett Finchley, a man convinced his appliances were out to get him. On the surface it plays as camp horror, but underneath it asks the real question of whether we control our machines or if they already control us.

This week we explore how planned obsolescence, consumer churn, and blind faith in technology have always been with us. From postwar America’s booming middle class to today’s uneasy reliance on AI, the theme is the same. Once you hand over control, it can be very hard to take it back.

This Thursday on Dystopedia we are diving into The Thing About Machines, Rod Serling’s 1960 Twilight Zone tale of Bartlett Finchley, a pompous food critic whose home appliances turn against him.

At first glance it feels like a campy story about a grumpy man and his rebellious gadgets. Look closer and you will see a reflection of the anxieties of the time: the rise of automation, the fear of becoming too dependent on technology, and the creeping culture of consumerism built on planned obsolescence.

We also connect Finchley’s paranoia with our own uneasy relationship with AI today. From self-driving cars to the black box problem, the episode feels strangely prophetic. What does it mean when we give so much control to machines we do not fully understand?