#AcademicRunPlaylist - 1/1/25

Happy New Year! I'm wrapping up the first day of the year by watching the Hakone Ekiden, an annual college relay race between Tokyo and Hakone (I ran this route solo last year 😁), and earlier I listened to some books for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was "Data Feminism" by Catherine D'Ignazio and Lauren Klein, who synthesize a wide variety of work in computer science, ethics, philosophy, and sociology to build a compelling case for the inherent political nature of data, the myth of objectivity and neutrality, and the need to intentionally build and design just analyses and systems. They cover a number of now classic studies in this space, so those familiar with them already can probably speed through those sections. Overall, this is an essential book for anyone dealing directly or indirectly with data, algorithms, or formal processes in general. Highly recommend https://data-feminism.mitpress.mit.edu/

Last was "You Don't Own Me" by Orly Lobel. If you want to learn about intellectual property law in the US in the most accessible way possible, it's hard to recommend this book strongly enough. Orly explores the fascinating details of the Mattel v. MGA case (essentially Barbie vs. Bratz) here, with a plethora of details that illustrate issues in patenting, copyright, trade secrets, and employment law. Highly recommend https://www.orlylobel.com/you-don-t-own-me-subpage