When our phones are just phones with Kai Tang and Joe Hollier of Light

Most of us are dependent on our smartphones. In fact, Americans spend an average of three hours a day on these devices — devices that only came into existence relatively recently. 

Designers Kai Tang and Joe Hollier have long believed that it’s not normal for humans to be so attached to their phones. So they launched their own company in 2014 to create an alternative...called the Light Phone.

This week on How I Built This Lab, Kai and Joe talk about their work to build a simpler mobile phone - without apps or tracking of personal data - which has been adopted by users across generations. Plus, the duo discuss the impact of society’s growing reliance on tech and their hopes for a less-connected future.

This episode was produced by Casey Herman with editing by John Isabella, research by Kerry Thompson, and music by Ramtin Arablouei. Our audio engineer was Neal Rauch. 

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