Baratunde Thurston, a Data & Society advisor, weaves together threads of race, technology, democracy, and climate through his work as an Emmy-nominated host, producer, writer, and public speaker. He is the host and executive producer of the PBS television series America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston, creator and host of How To Citizen with Baratunde, which Apple named one of its favorite podcasts of 2020, and a founding partner of the new media startup Puck. His comedic memoir, How To Be Black, is a New York Times best-seller. In 2019, he delivered what MSNBC’s Brian Williams called “one of the greatest TED talks of all time.” Thurston serves on the boards of Civics Unplugged and the Brooklyn Public Library and lives in Los Angeles, California.
Baratunde Thurston

All Work
Publisher
Title
Date
-
blog post
Electronic Frontier FoundationD&S advisor Baratunde Thurston discusses EFF's work to encrypt the web and switch every site to https://. Read on Electronic Frontier FoundationJanuary 2017 -
blog post
PointsD&S advisor Baratunde Thurston details his exploration of The Glass Room exhibit. "I want to see The Glass Room everywhere there is an Apple Store…And anyone founding or working for a tech company should have to prove th... Read on PointsDecember 2016 -
op-ed
VoxD&S advisor Baratunde Thurston jumps into the debate of the place of empathy in a post-Trump election. Read on VoxNovember 2016 -
codenewbie.orgD&S advisor Baratunde Thurston participates in this episode CodeNewbie podcast, Comedy and Code - Part I. Read on codenewbie.orgOctober 2016
-
blog post
MediumD&S advisor Baratunde Thurston details his frustrations with Trump supporters. I want to live in the world where the second chances Donald Trump has received thousands of times are redistributed to others who deserve and w... Read on MediumOctober 2016 -
Longform
Fast CompanyExcerpt: "With all due respect to the boldface AI worriers, do we need to invent a boogeyman from the future when we’ve got the present to worry about? Is tomorrow’s machine enslavement so much more terrifying than today’s vast... Read on Fast CompanyJune 2015 -
op-ed
Fast Company"I just spoke with Yves-Alexandre de Montjoye, a senior PhD student in computational privacy at the MIT Media Lab, and I’ve got some bad news about data and privacy. Then I’ve got worse news. But fear not, because after that I... Read on Fast CompanyMay 2015 -
op-ed
Fast CompanyAfter his Facebook account was hacked, D&S advisor Baratunde Thurston saw the other side of allowing social media giants to access other websites, apps, and services. After sharing his take-aways from the experience you mig... Read on Fast CompanyApril 2015 -
Longform
Fast Company"As consumers we've been told that we're in charge, so we enjoy the ritual, even though it's exhausting. We even decide when we'll opt out. But what happens when companies walk away from us first?" In this article, D&S a... Read on Fast CompanyJanuary 2014 -
Longform
Fast CompanyStop whatever you are binge watching and check out the British television show Black Mirror, in this article D&S advisor Baratunde Thurston explains why. Read on Fast CompanyNovember 2013