Media Roots Radio – Trevor Paglen Interview by Media Roots

MEDIA ROOTS- Trevor Paglen’s work deliberately blurs the lines between science, contemporary art, journalism, and other disciplines to construct unfamiliar, yet meticulously researched ways to see and interpret the world around us.

Paglen’s visual work has been exhibited at several art museums worldwide and his writing and art have been published in major publications including The New York Times, Wired, Vanity Fair and Newsweek, as well as served as a focal point for meditation and inspiration.  Paglen holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley, an M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, and a Ph.D. in Geography from UC Berkeley, where he remains an affiliated researcher.

In the 90s, Paglen was a member of a locally revered bay area noise/experimental project called Noise Gate, and co-ran an infamous underground venue in downtown Oakland called the Sandcrawler.  His electronic music background hugely inspired co-host Robbie Martin in his own musical evolution.

Paglen is also the author of several books: Torture Taxi, the first book to comprehensively cover the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program; I Could Tell You But Then You Would Have to be Destroyed by Me, a book looking at the world of black projects through unit patches and memorabilia created for top-secret programs; and Blank Spots on the Map: The Dark Geography of the Pentagon’s Secret World, a book that gives a broader look at secrecy in the United States.

Trevor Paglen on the Colbert Report in 2008 discussing his book on military patches.

Find out more about Trevor on his website http://www.paglen.com/

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