The creators of the Netflix hit Black Mirror on predicting the future, Twitter as a massive role-playing game, and nostalgia for meh. As season four of the Emmy-award-winning show approaches, we revisit Manoush’s conversation with show creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones. Chipper optimism and wit from two delightfully dark geniuses. ------- Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky. Follow us on...
Dec 20, 2017•38 min•Ep. 313
The tradeoffs we don’t see when we shop on Amazon. Why the answer isn’t to cancel your Prime. And yes, I bring Alexa’s new camera into my bedroom. ------- Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky. Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself , or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise....
Dec 13, 2017•24 min•Ep. 312
People say mean things to Dylan Marron online. He takes that as an invitation to call them up and make friends. This week, the benefits of talking to our haters, and why it’s good for the country as well as the soul. ------- Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky. Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself , or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Res...
Dec 06, 2017•28 min•Ep. 311
An incomplete list of the objects listening to us: Siri. Alexa. Google Home. With so many recordings, the transcribed life isn’t far off. For better or for worse. This week, one intrepid woman records every minute of her life for three days. She captured a lot of minutia, and one extremely uncomfortable interaction. Our guest co-host on this repeat episode is Rose Eveleth, of the Flash Forward podcast. ------- Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads...
Nov 29, 2017•27 min•Ep. 310
How a single American’s quest for his own digital marketing profile may show us all how our data travels the world. And may even end up in the hands of foreign governments. ------- Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky. Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself , or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise....
Nov 22, 2017•27 min•Ep. 309
From March, the first chapter in our look at Cambridge Analytica. We asked the controversial digital marketing firm what services they provided for Trump. And experimented with our own psychometric profiles. Listen to our latest episode to learn about the new lawsuit that could shine a light on Cambridge Analytica.
Nov 22, 2017•26 min•Ep. 308
More spy terms explained, reasonable/sensible coping strategies for when democracy is under threat, and nyet more puns. This week: how to spot a botnet. How psychometrics sells sneakers - and worldviews. And how to make sure you’re not the useful idiot. ------- Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky. Sign up here. Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself , or on Facebook . Email us any time at...
Nov 15, 2017•17 min•Ep. 307
Russian spy tactics have gotten an upgrade since the Cold War. This week how they work now: bad actors, active measures, advanced persistent threats. Cyberwar has its own vocabulary. So we got ourselves a tutor. Join Manoush and information warfare expert Molly McKew, who puts the fun in fundamental assault on democracy. ------- Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky. Sign up here. Follow us on Twit...
Nov 08, 2017•15 min•Ep. 306
If talking about democracy getting hacked feels like old news, it’s time to take a fresh look. This week, we separate fear from facts with Noah Shachtman and Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast. Good thing they're funny guys, or this could get really dark.
Nov 01, 2017•21 min•Ep. 305
There was a time humans were guided by stars, not satellite. Now you can beam into robots, or turn on GPS. But when we put ourselves on autopilot we may lose our minds. This week, Manoush outsources her body to a telepresence robot. And finds out what GPS has done to her brain. Turn right, turn left, right off a cliff. With Greg Milner , author of Pinpoint: How GPS is Changing Technology, Culture, and Our Minds . We have photos of robot Manoush in this week's newsletter. If you don't already get...
Oct 25, 2017•19 min•Ep. 304
You judge the person playing Candy Crush. Even when it’s you. But that mental fist pump from leveling up has real value. How to stop judging and use games for a strategic reset. With game designer and futurist Jane McGonigal , author of SuperBetter and Reality is Broken.
Oct 18, 2017•28 min•Ep. 303
The Replika app chats with you, learns from you, and reflects you back. It starts to become you. And your AI self gets pretty real. Journalist Mike Murphy used the app to create his mini-me, and wrote about it for Quartz. After months of talking to himself, he had a breakthrough. And some questions about how we define humanness. You can find Mike’s story here....
Oct 11, 2017•22 min•Ep. 302
And other fibs we tell our friends, family and lovers. Psychotherapist Esther Perel is back to call us on our bullsh*t. This is the second of our two-parter on how our phones create such intimacy and such distance. Esther’s new book is The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity . Listen to part one here.
Oct 04, 2017•16 min•Ep. 301
Remember being dumped? Now, technology lets us delay, deflect, and disappear. Renowned pyschotherapist Esther Perel is here to help us fall in love better. Esther is the bestselling author o f Mating in Captivity and the host of the podcast Where Should We Begin? Her new book is The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity ....
Sep 27, 2017•25 min•Ep. 300
Silicon Valley is still a man's world. And Ellen Ullman, who started programming in 1978, thinks it's high time for the rest of us to infiltrate. Ellen's new book, Life in Code , is full of great and awful stories. Her love of the work. The joys of hunting down a bug. But also, the client who would rub her back while she tried to fix his system. The party full of young men drinking beer, where she turned down a job offer from Larry Page. Ellen has watched tech-bro culture take over everything. N...
Sep 20, 2017•18 min•Ep. 299
José Cruz is a college student, research scientist, and phone power-user. He spent 6 hours in one day on his screen. So he wanted to cut back, make more time for research, reading, and mental drift. And he recorded himself doing it. It was not easy. There are some painful moments - but man, is there a payoff. Plus, seventh grade teacher-turned-neuroscientist Mary Helen Immordino-Yang on the link between single-tasking and innovation. The second of our two episodes celebrating the launch of Manou...
Sep 13, 2017•19 min•Ep. 298
We deleted, we unplugged, we took walks. We made choices. We made time. Two years later, we catch up with some of the original Bored and Brilliant participants - some of the 20,000 people who joined our 2015 experiment. Today, that experiment is a book, designed to help us separate from our devices just a bit, and turn them from taskmaster to tool. To make space for boredom, and let the brilliance in. Plus a new conversation with tech-star and NTS friend Tristan Harris , a designer once tasked w...
Sep 05, 2017•18 min•Ep. 297
To encourage you to #GetBored and find brilliance, we made a weird earworm. It's an interview about the history of boredom... sound-designed to help you space out. A brain nap. With historian Peter Toohey, and some very soothing, meditative music.
Sep 04, 2017•8 min•Ep. 296
A surprise bonus, because Manoush's TED talk is online now (!) and she has some behind-the-scenes memories to share from the main stage. To celebrate - and vent (in a good way).
Aug 15, 2017•7 min•Ep. 295
This week, five episodes for five ways we can do better by the planet. First: warm up, strip down. Rethink the air conditioner. With David Biello, science curator for TED.
Aug 02, 2017•10 min•Ep. 294
Giant whale turds. A permanent shade over the sun. One is flashier, but that's the danger of it. This is poopier oceans vs. the climate quick fix. The last episode in our five-part series, with TED science curator David Biello.
Aug 02, 2017•11 min•Ep. 293
We’ve made our plants bigger, juicier, and sturdier. Now can we make them better at sucking CO2? And should we? The last episode in our five-part series, with TED science curator David Biello.
Aug 02, 2017•9 min•Ep. 292
First, stick a giant vacuum cleaner onto a smokestack. Inhale the exhaust. Then what? The last episode in our five-part series, with TED science curator David Biello.
Aug 02, 2017•8 min•Ep. 291
We were going to have to talk about it eventually. No, not Elon Musk (although yes, he does come up). Mars. Planet B. The last episode in our five-part series, with TED science curator David Biello.
Aug 02, 2017•9 min•Ep. 290
It’s 2017, and Manoush still has a Yahoo account. Is her exit strategy an encrypted file in Switzerland? This week, the tech loyalties we keep past their expiration date, and how to move on - technically and emotionally.
Jul 26, 2017•18 min•Ep. 289
We visit the Dark Web, where you can get heroin, fentanyl and oxycontin shipped right to your door. This week, we stress out our IT department with our searches and talk to author Nick Bilton about the Silk Road, online drug markets, and the opioid crisis in America. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate ....
Jul 19, 2017•28 min•Ep. 288
A third of kids are online before they’re even born, thanks to sonogram images posted to Facebook. Is there a downside to all the kid photos we share? This week, we revisit a conversation with Hillary Frank, host of the Longest Shortest Time. And we want to hear what you think - did your parents post photos of you? Do you post photos of your kids? Visit notetoselfradio.org/kidphotos to take our survey. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate ....
Jul 12, 2017•24 min•Ep. 287
Yeah, it’s been a while for us too. So let’s reset. It’s the Bored and Brilliant bootcamp: three quick challenges to make space for brilliance in our accelerating world. Maybe you’ve heard this episode before, but even if you have, a boredom refresher can’t hurt. Take some time to daydream, and see what ideas bubble up as your mind wanders. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate ....
Jul 05, 2017•16 min•Ep. 286
Address books, maps, keys. Your Walkman, your datebook. All wiped out by your phone. Along with eye contact and boredom. This week, as the iPhone turns 10, we assess our most enduring love affair: the relationship between us and our devices. With tech journalist David Pogue and Adam Greenfield, author of Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate ....
Jun 28, 2017•24 min•Ep. 285
Netflix’s Black Mirror is a tweaked reflection of technology’s worst consequences - what show creator Charlie Brooker calls a “sarcastic version of the present.’ This week, Brooker and executive producer Annabel Jones join us for a cheerfully dystopian chat about where their ideas come from, why they haven’t quit TV to launch a startup, and Twitter as the world’s top video game. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate ....
Jun 21, 2017•36 min•Ep. 284
