View the full episode transcript.
What do pissed off farmers and broken McFlurry machines have to do with each other? More than you’d think. Both are part of the story behind the modern right-to-repair movement. In this episode, Jason Koebler, tech journalist and co-founder at 404 Media, explains how an unlikely alliance between Midwestern farmers and electronics repair technicians helped win right-to repair-protections across multiple states — and why the farmers’ fight to fix their own tractors is far from over.
Guest:
- Jason Koebler, tech journalist and co-founder of 404 Media
Further Reading/Listening:
- It Is Now Legal to Hack McFlurry Machines (and Medical Devices) to Fix Them — Jason Koebler, 404 Media
- The Walls Are Closing in on John Deere’s Tractor Repair Monopoly — Jason Koebler, 404 Media
- EPA Affirms Farmers’ Right to Repair — Lisa Held, Civil Eats
- The Latest Repair Battlefield Is the Iowa Farmlands—Again — Boone Ashworth, Wired
- How John Deere hijacked copyright law to keep you from tinkering with your tractor — Luke Hogg, Reason Magazine
- Tractor-Hacking Farmers Are Leading a Revolt Against Big Tech’s Repair Monopolies — Jason Koebler, Vice
- Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware — Jason Koebler, Vice
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