Techidemic

All PEN World Voices Festival tickets are non-refundable. Please confirm the time and location of your event before finalizing your purchase.

Once, the internet and social media platforms promised connection and community. Today, that promise has been replaced by toxicity, tribalism, racism, and misogyny.

In this riveting discussion, Tochi Onyebuchi, Cory Doctorow, and Alia Dastagir will examine how life online has devolved. In Racebook: A Personal History of the Internet, Onyebuchi reflects on three decades online, exploring the relationship between race and the internet. Dastagir’s To Those Who Have Confused You to Be a Person investigates the online abuse women face, the mental health toll that it takes, and how women resist. Doctorow’s Enshittification reveals how tech giants have intentionally degraded online public squares and raises solutions to save these diseased platforms.

Together with moderator and award-winning tech journalist Sarah Jeong, they’ll unpack what the internet has become and consider whether a better future online is still possible.

The 2026 PEN World Voices Festival is a celebration of world literature and free expression. The 2026 edition will be the 21st World Voices Festival. Over four days, over 140 writers from over 40 countries will be featured in 40+ engaging talks, panels, readings, and activations in New York City and greater Los Angeles.

Visit for more information about the entire festival, as well as PEN America.

This venue is ADA compliant. The space is accessible via elevator.

ASL interpretation is available for this event by request only. Please reach out to our Box Office team at [email protected] by April 16th to request.

Please ask a Box Office Attendant or festival representative upon arrival for directions to accessible seating if preferred.

For further information on accessibility in this space, or to make a request, please contact [email protected]

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