Writer Nikil Saval has written a book that uncovers a fascinating history in the most banal place: the office. Whether it’s the “dismal little cell” of Scrooge’s counting-house or the tricked-out, sprawling campuses of Google, Saval says the office holds the promise of respectability, utopian possibility and upward mobility. It can also be a place of soul-crushing tedium and conformity. Saval joins us to explain where the office comes from, why it’s the way it is, and how it could be better. (Rebroadcast)
Nikil Saval is an editor of the magazine n+1. His new and first book is calledCubed: A Secret History of the Workplace [Amazon|Indiebound].