The brilliant Fareed Zakaria (bestselling author, Washington Post columnist, and host of CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS") stopped by our offices for a wide-ranging Convo about politics and other global forces are affected by technology. If you are at all interested (or even a little bit anxious) about where the world is going, before to check this interview out. Fareed is an amazingly fair, decent, and articulate dude. PCMag.com is your ultimate destination for tech reviews and news. Subscribe to our...
Aug 22, 2017•55 min
You may know Baratunde for his NYT-bestselling book "How to Be Black," for his work as director of digital for The Onion, his time as a digital producer for "The Daily Show," his column over at "Fast Company," or many many many appearances on various talkshows and podcasts. He stopped by our offices to talk about the promise and perils of the Internet. This was a super fun and super informative. Check it out! PCMag.com is your ultimate destination for tech reviews and news. Subscribe to our vide...
Aug 22, 2017•47 min
Former NASA astronaut Scott Parazynski (with five missions under his belt) has done A LOT. He's climbed to the summit of Mount Everest (the first person to make it there and into space), competed as an Olympic-level luger, and started his own machine-body interface company (just to name a few--seriously, this guy will make you feel bad about your life decisions). He stopped by PCMag's offices to talk about the future of humans in space and his new memoir The Sky Below. PCMag.com is your ultimate...
Aug 08, 2017•17 min
Bill Nye, America's science guy stopped by our offices to talk about how nerds created the modern world, keep it running, and will probably be the ones to save it from itself. Check out this wide-ranging conversation about the environment, space, and the future! PCMag.com is your ultimate destination for tech reviews and news. Subscribe to our videos here: https://goo.gl/JfBShr Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCMag Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PCMag Gawk at our photos ...
Jul 21, 2017•30 min•Season 1Ep. 27
PCMag's own Jeff Wilson stopped by the Convo to talk about his fantastic digital cover story "How I learned to Stop Hating and Love eSports" about the multi-billion dollar global phenomenon that is competitive video gaming. PCMag.com is your ultimate destination for tech reviews and news. Subscribe to our videos here: https://goo.gl/JfBShr Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCMag Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PCMag Gawk at our photos on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com...
Jul 11, 2017•22 min•Season 1Ep. 26
We had a great Convo with functional apparel designer Dani Ryan about her work with Harvard University's Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering. Her team has partnered with DARPA to create a soft-robotic exosuit designed to augment human motion and (more importantly to the military) help soldiers carry heavy loads over long distances. However, this same technology might soon be used to help stroke patients and others regain the ability to walk. PCMag.com is your ultimate destinatio...
Jun 30, 2017•23 min•Season 1Ep. 25
Actress Jessica Pimentel ("Maria Ruiz" on Netflix' Orange Is the new Black) stopped by PCMag's offices to talk about the phenomenon that is OITNB, her secret techy past, and her heavy metal extracurricular (also, we spend some time hating on Apple). PCMag.com is your ultimate destination for tech reviews and news. Subscribe to our videos here: https://goo.gl/JfBShr Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PCMag Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/PCMag Gawk at our photos on Instagram:...
Jun 22, 2017•29 min•Season 1Ep. 24
Ani Liu is a recent graduate from MIT's real-life magic factory better known as "The Media Lab." There, she has created some very cool, weird, fascinating projects that combine elements from VR, brain-machine interfaces, genetics, and botany. She came in to talk about the the intersection between science, culture, and emerging technologies. This was a fascinating and fun interview. Check it out! PCMag.com is your ultimate destination for tech reviews and news. Subscribe to our videos here: https...
Jun 20, 2017•24 min•Season 1Ep. 23
Year Million is a new series on NatGeo which uses elements of science fiction and actual science to attempt to predict how technology will affect our species one hundred, one thousand, and even one million years in the future. Using modern technological trends, the series makes the argument that in the distant future, humans inevitably become immortal interplanetary cyborgs (seriously--there is actual science behind all of it). The series is a dramatization of the super future, but splices in co...
Jun 15, 2017•25 min•Season 1Ep. 22
If you don't know him, Paul is the longtime cameraman for Bear Grylls, but he has stepped in front of the camera for a new show on Animal Planet, "Expedition Mungo." In his new series, Paul travels around the world (often into remote and dangerous locales) to search for and film legendary creatures which he's heard about during his travels. He claims that he actually managed to film one of these creatures later in the season (but wouldn't tell us which one). Anyways, he was a super cool guy fill...
Jun 05, 2017•32 min•Season 1Ep. 21
Writer, essayist, and author of multiple bestselling books (Sex, Drugs, and Cocoa Puffs; But What if We're Wrong?; Fargo Rock City) stopped by PCMag's offices to have a couple of beers, talk about his latest book, and discuss everything from tech's inevitable influence on culture, art, and politics to the downside of digital democratization to which Metallica album is best (he says Master of Puppets). Don't miss this sprawling super-sized Convo! PCMag.com is your ultimate destination for tech re...
May 22, 2017•53 min•Season 1Ep. 20
The Big Bang Theory's Mayim Bialik doesn't just play a scientist on TV, she has an actual PhD in neuroscience which she earned after her stint on the hit 90s show, Blossom. She stopped by our studios to talk about her new book Girling Up, which makes science accessible to tween and teen girls; her varied career; how she goes to battle with trolls online; how she has worked to overcome anxiety; and her love of top-shelf Scotch. She was super awesome and has all the smarts! Check this one out! PCM...
May 16, 2017•23 min•Season 1Ep. 19
CNN commentator, former Obama administration "Green Jobs" advisor, and founder of Dream Corps, Van Jones stopped by the offices to talk about his #YesWeCode initiative to make the tech industry more diverse. This was an AMAZING interview that veered off into some big topics (as it always does) including the root of global populist movements on the left and right, how technology has exasperated our extreme partisanship, and the time he completely geeked out when meeting Prince for the first time....
Apr 21, 2017•42 min•Season 1Ep. 18
Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has partnered with Facebook and the CUNY school of journalism to spearhead the "News Integrity Initiate" to help news consumers make informed judgments about the news they read and share. In other words, Craig wants to help save the world from Fake News! In this episode of The Convo, we jump into the problems journalism faces and how technology can be used to fix them. And of course, we talk about the history, present, and future of everyone's favorite listing si...
Apr 17, 2017•33 min•Season 1Ep. 17
We talked to Dr. Amy Hasinoff, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver and author of the book Sexting Panic about America's favorite pastime: SEXTING! The polls show that not only are a clear majority of young people (sexually active teens and young adults) sending out pictures of their bits and pieces, but all demographics--right on up to seniors--are partaking. Why? It's really fun! But it's also not without some risk. We talk about the steps people can take to protect thei...
Apr 07, 2017•25 min•Season 1Ep. 16
We spoke with ExtremeTech editor-in-chief Jamie Lendino about his new book: _Breakout: How Atari 8-Bit Computers Defined a Generation_, which details the rise, impact, and fall of Atari 8-bit computers. Atari computers weren't the first home PCs nor were they necessarily the best of the time, but they were without-a-doubt one of the most important. PCMag.com is your ultimate destination for tech reviews and news. Subscribe to our videos here: https://goo.gl/JfBShr Like us on Facebook: https://ww...
Mar 31, 2017•22 min•Season 1Ep. 15
Skynet Is Actually Real (But Hopefully Won't Try to Destroy Us) In this episode of The Convo, we speak with Dr. Colin Parris, VP of General Electric's software research division. We talk about the cutting edge of AI, the invisible force that literally keeps civilization running. New "digital twin" technologies show how advanced AI is even developing what could be described as "an imagination." We talk about how society should prepare for a new world in which machines take on more and more respon...
Mar 24, 2017•33 min•Season 1Ep. 14
We talked with Kor Adana, one of the writers on the show _Mr. Robot_, who helps give the show some technological realism. Kor's real life actually somewhat mirrors the show's fictional protagonist, Elliot. He was a teenage hacker who got in trouble with the law and became a white hat for hire before becoming a writer.
Mar 06, 2017•23 min•Season 1Ep. 13
We had a fascinating conversation with tech/economy/politics writer, James Pethokoukis about how robots and algorithms are (probably) going to replace the need for a human workforce (at some point). We dig into the weeds about what possible solutions civilization should consider when confronting this sea change: a universal basic income (UBI); negative income tax; or shortening the work week to four days. (And, yeah, we also talked about his time as a Jeopardy champion and got to try and answer ...
Feb 24, 2017•32 min•Season 1Ep. 12
This was a fascinating talk about human evolution, past and FUTURE. Enriquez details, among other things how humans actually have four genomes; why the obesity problem has spread to wild birds;why autism may be a symptom of the IT economy; why blue eyes are going extinct in the US; and, you know, how we might live forever.
Feb 21, 2017•31 min•Season 1Ep. 11
The Creative Machines Lab's goal is to create robots that are self-aware, self-replicating, and creative. We speak with the program's director, Dr. Hod Lipson about his work creating robots that can learn on their own, evolve over time without any human intervention, and even create works of art (pretty good ones too). We also talk about his book _Driverless_, about the robotic technology (driverless cars) that will reshape the world in the decade to come. Check out Dr. Lipson's book right here!...
Feb 21, 2017•32 min•Season 1Ep. 11
We talked to adult video entrepreneur and all-around badass Joanna Angel about how content makers can survive in the digital age.
Feb 15, 2017•24 min•Season 1Ep. 9
MIT Media Lab researcher Dr. Kate Darling stopped by the studio with her dino-bot (Mr. Spaghetti) to talk about the ethics of how new robot friends, what rights robots have, and what are the ethics surrounding sex bots. Plus, watch as Mr. Spaghetti takes his first steps ever!
Feb 14, 2017•24 min•Season 1Ep. 8
We spoke with Stanford Law professor Henry T. Greely about his new book The End of Sex , which predicts the end of procreational sex and the rise of designer babies in as early as 20 years.
Feb 13, 2017•24 min•Season 1Ep. 6
We spoke with NASA deputy administrator Dava Newman about how humans will get to Mars.
Feb 13, 2017•22 min•Season 1Ep. 7
Richard Garriott (AKA "Lord British:"), the video game pioneer behind the Ultima series reflects on the industry he helped create and his many non-game adventures including his time as a private space tourist who spent two weeks orbiting the Earth. We delved into how drugs were an important part of the early technology industry; how online games help keep society from disintegrating; and why space is gross (but still worth it).
Feb 03, 2017•41 min•Season 1Ep. 1
The world's favorite astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson stopped by for a super-sized Convo to talk about science, politics, education, his Twitter beef with the rapper B.O.B., if there will be another season of Cosmos, the multiverse (and "the metaverse"), and A LOT more. Check this one out!
Feb 03, 2017•50 min•Season 1Ep. 2
We talked with theoretical physicist Sean Carroll about his fascinating non-fiction book The Big Picture, the meaning of life, and how the universe works at its most fundamental level. You know, the little things.
Feb 03, 2017•24 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Former astronaut Mike Massimino dropped by our studios to talk about his new memoir, Spaceman , as well as what it's like to actually travel to space and work there (including all the gross and painful stuff you don't hear about).
Feb 03, 2017•32 min•Season 1Ep. 4
We talked with author (The Moral Arc, among others) and founder of The Skeptics Society, Michael Shermer about immortality, UFOs, and how technology has made us the most moral society in history.
Feb 03, 2017•28 min•Season 1Ep. 5
