Note to Self

Is your phone watching you? Can texting make you smarter? Are your kids real? Note to Self explores these and other essential quandaries facing anyone trying to preserve their humanity in the digital age. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts, including Radiolab, Death, Sex & Money, Snap Judgment, Here’s the Thing with Alec Baldwin, Nancy and many others. © WNYC Studios

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Episodes

This Is Your Brain on Online Shopping

Manoush visits Etsy's Usability Lab to figure out why she might buy six sweaters she never wears.

Aug 05, 2015•26 min•Ep. 163

What Is Our Attention Actually Worth?

Tech entrepreneur Tristan Harris imagines technology without constant notifications - and a funding system that incentivizes techies to build it.

Jul 29, 2015•13 min•Ep. 162

Bored and Brilliant: BOOT CAMP

A summer version of our Bored and Brilliant project, designed to get you rethinking your relationship with your smartphone. Works equally well on vacation, or when you just WISH you were on vacation.

Jul 22, 2015•20 min•Ep. 161

What Do Txts Do To Actual Writing?

"Book of Numbers" author Joshua Cohen answers the question: If we know people are only going to skim, how does that change the way we write?

Jul 15, 2015•13 min•Ep. 160

Would You Go?

There's a not-so-crazy chance that we'll have the opportunity to vacation to space in our lifetimes. That said, commercial space travel is a high-stakes proposition — one that has become even riskier and more expensive in recent months. Plus: It costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, and you pee in a bag.

Jul 08, 2015•29 min•Ep. 159

I'm Introverted. How Do I Find Quiet Space in the Digital Age?

Author and introvert advocate extraordinaire Susan Cain answers a listener's question about finding quiet places in a buzzing world.

Jul 01, 2015•9 min•Ep. 158

What Divorce by Algorithm Means for Marriage

Silicon Valley thinks Gwyneth Paltrow might be onto something, and they're creating the data sets to prove it.

Jun 24, 2015•23 min•Ep. 157

When Your Conspiracy Theory Is True

Daniel Rigmaiden is a criminal. A very hard to capture criminal. It took the use of a secret police weapon that sent beams through the walls of his apartment to track him down. But, despite long odds, he figured out the secret. And his discovery has changed how we understand citizen surveillance. A collaboration with Radiolab.

Jun 19, 2015•29 min•Ep. 156

There's Just Something About Paper

Reading on screens is changing your brain and making it harder to finish a thick book. Here's why it's happening and some ideas for what to do about it.

Jun 10, 2015•17 min•Ep. 155

Judging Your Originality in a Cut and Paste World

Turnitin and programs like it are used to fight plagiarism in a third of high schools and half of colleges nationwide. The system is pretty much air tight... but it also reveals a pretty fundamental truth: It's tough to say anything new about Romeo and Juliet, especially when you're a teenager responding to the same old prompt.

Jun 03, 2015•23 min•Ep. 154

This Is How Much the Internet Knows About You

To introduce Note to Self — we're bringing you an episode that is about exactly that: the self. Meet Crystal Knows, an email-writing service that takes "personalization" up a notch.

May 27, 2015•23 min•Ep. 153

Welcome to Note to Self

New Tech City got a new name! We're now called Note to Self. And we're glad you're here. Listen here for more on our renaming.

May 26, 2015•6 min•Ep. 152

How Eating Disorders Evolved Online: An Update

Easy to find, but also easy to miss, pro-eating disorder websites are all over the internet. But what should we do about them?

May 20, 2015•25 min•Ep. 151

Yes, You’re Distracted. Is it ADHD?

We talk with a father of four diagnosed with adult-onset ADHD, struggling to function as a tech executive in an increasingly distracting world.

May 13, 2015•21 min•Ep. 150

'Am I Trans?': One Teen’s Quest and How Gaming Helped

There's something about video games that makes them a magnet for kids questioning their gender identity. Is it a safe space?

May 06, 2015•21 min•Ep. 149

What Google Is Doing to Solve Its Gender Problem

Three useful tips for any working woman, or anyone who employs women, from Laszlo Bock, Google’s head of Human Resources.

Apr 29, 2015•19 min•Ep. 148

Apple Knows You're Sick of Your Phone

Could smartwatches make us less addicted to our phones? Listen to this techies's argument for using more tech to beat back a tech obsession.

Apr 22, 2015•20 min•Ep. 147

Here’s What Watson Actually Does (And: Cooked Avocado?)

IBM's Watson won Jeopardy. Now, it wants to win your trust in the kitchen — and beyond. This week, we test out the premise of cognitive computing. And cook an avocado.

Apr 15, 2015•20 min•Ep. 146

Growing Up Digital: 3 Truths for the Adults

We spent weeks talking with teachers, parents and ed tech experts all over the country. Here's what we've learned about learning today.

Apr 08, 2015•20 min•Ep. 145

ClassDojo: Do I Want it in My Kid's Class?

Teachers are using apps in class, raising privacy issues for kids and parents. Classroom management app ClassDojo has been thrust to the front of an conversation about student data and privacy stretching far beyond little monster avatars. On this week's episode, we talk with Sam Chaudhary, co-founder of ClassDojo, Jim Steyer, CEO of Common Sense Media, and a community of parents and teachers about the obligations — legal and otherwise — techies have to today's kids.

Apr 01, 2015•26 min•Ep. 144

Is Braille Obsolete?

Touchscreen phones work so well for blind people that Braille may become obsolete. But advocates worry this could render the next generation "functionally illiterate."

Mar 25, 2015•21 min•Ep. 143

A Parent's Guide to All That 'Ed Tech' In Your Kid's Classroom

We take a look at exactly what tech is in the classroom. Which leads to a bigger question: Why is this tech in the classroom ?

Mar 18, 2015•26 min•Ep. 142

Tweens and Tech Guide: Getting Them to Open Up

We're kicking off a series on kids and technology. Sure, it’s just easier to ask, “did you finish your homework?” and assume they’re figuring it out on their own or from other kids. But as one middle school teacher found out, there's an opportunity to go WAY deeper.

Mar 11, 2015•15 min•Ep. 141

There is Actually One Thing You Can Do to Fight the Surveillance Machine

Security technologist Bruce Schneier, author of “Data and Goliath,” says you should stop feeling guilty about skimming the Terms of Service. Get mad instead.

Mar 04, 2015•21 min•Ep. 140

Ethical Questions for Your Inner Couch Potato

Watching TV — especially when it isn’t, strictly speaking, on TV — has gotten complicated. This week we bring you a conversation with the creators of " High Maintenance ." They're staying off broadcast and embracing a smaller but devoted online-only audience, instituting a paywall in exchange for the artistic freedom. So what do they think of sharing passwords on Netflix accounts and fast forwarding through commercials?...

Feb 25, 2015•20 min•Ep. 139

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