Kristina Ten on folklore from a 90s childhood, retaining our critical thinking skills in the AI era, & battling impostor syndrome

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Kristina Ten on folklore from a 90s childhood, retaining our critical thinking skills in the AI era, & battling impostor syndrome

On the latest episode of my podcast It’s a Lot, I spoke to Kristina Ten, author of Tell Me Yours, I’ll Tell You Mine, about everything from fighting impostor syndrome to why she chose to go back to school for an MFA, from what it was like teaching undergrads during COVID to the importance of writing unlikable queer characters.

During the second half of our conversation, we shared some love for Rochester’s awesome indie bookstores, discussed how moving around so much has impacted Kristina and her writing, and our fears about the age of AI and how it’s impacting our brains. Kristina is a delight to talk to! I hope you enjoy listening.

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5 Books About How Social Media Shapes Our Culture & World

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5 Books About How Social Media Shapes Our Culture & World

This fall, I’m teaching a college-level social media course at Nazareth University. The students and I are both learning lots, and it’s been a great experience so far! The midterm project I assigned was pretty unconventional for a social media class: the students had to read a book about social media from a list of five suggested titles and then review it in a traditional paper and an Instagram post or TikTok. My goal was to encourage them to think critically about the platforms we use every day in our professional and personal lives. It was fascinating to read my students’ observations, discuss the books as a class, and see the intersections between them! Today on the blog, I’m sharing a little about each book and what it tells us about the myriad ways that social media shapes our culture and our world. 

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