The video game industry has had a turbulent few years. The pandemic made people play more and caused a small boom, which then subsided, resulting in wave after wave of massive layoffs. Microsoft, one of the major console manufacturers, is shifting its strategy for Xbox as the company shifts its focus to AI. And now, Electronic Arts, once a load-bearing publisher for the industry with brands like The Sims and Madden, is going private via a leveraged buyout in a deal involving Saudi Arabia’s Publi...
Nov 17, 2025•1 hr 5 min
We start with Matthew Gault’s dive into a battle between a small town and the construction of a massive datacenter for America’s nuclear weapon scientists. After the break, Joseph explains why people are 3D-printing whistles in Chicago. In the subscribers-only section, Jason zooms out and tells us what librarians are seeing with AI and tech, and how that is impacting their work and knowledge more broadly. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/rHk580uKwHw 6:03 - Our New FOIA Forum! 11/19, 1PM ET 7:50...
Nov 12, 2025•50 min
If you’ve been to a national park in the U.S. recently, you might have noticed some odd new signs about “beauty” and “grandeur.” Or, some signs you were used to seeing might now be missing completely. An executive order issued earlier this year put the history and educational aspects of the parks system under threat–but a group of librarians stepped in to save it. This week we have a conversation between Sam and two of the leaders of the independent volunteer archiving project Save Our Signs, an...
Nov 10, 2025•46 min
We have something of a Meta Ray-Bans smart glasses bumper episode this week. We start with Joseph and Jason’s piece on a $60 mod that disables the privacy-protecting recording light in the smart glasses. After the break, Emanuel tells us how some people are abusing the glasses to film massage workers, and he explains the difference between a phone and a pair of smartglasses, if you need that spelled out for you. In the subscribers-only section, Jason tells us about the future of advertising: AI-...
Nov 05, 2025•53 min
Joseph speaks to Joshua Aaron, the creator of ICEBlock. Apple recently removed ICEBlock from its App Store after direct pressure from the Department of Justice. Joshua and Joseph talk about how the idea for ICEBlock came about, Apple and Google’s broader crackdown on similar apps, and what this all means for people trying to access information about ICE. ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’ Google Calls ICE Agents a Vulnerable Group, Removes ICE-Spotting App ...
Nov 03, 2025•45 min
We start this week with Jason’s explanation of what Grokipedia is, and how it compares to the very much human-made Wikipedia. After the break, we talk all about the hell of updating Windows PCs and what that means specifically for Windows 10 users. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains what a16z is doing with a ‘speedrun’ to a wholly AI-generated world. Intro 0:00 - Merch drop 2:38 - Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever (use code WIRE20 for 20% off...
Oct 29, 2025•40 min
We start this week with Joseph’s articles about a hacking group that doxed DHS, ICE, FBI, and DOJ officials. The group then sent us the personal data of officials from the NSA and a bunch of other government agencies. After the break, Emanuel revisits Wikipedia’s AI problem. In the subscribers-only section, Sam explains OpenAI’s inevitable path to an AI sex bot. 0:00 - Intro 0:50 - How Artists Are Keeping 'the Lost Art' of Neon Signs Alive 4:42 - Hackers Dox Hundreds of DHS, ICE, FBI, and DOJ Of...
Oct 22, 2025•50 min
We start this week with Jason’s article about an internal Meta message telling workers to increase their output by 5x with AI. That’s five times, not five percent. After the break, Joseph and Sam tell us all about the catastrophic Discord breach. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains what happened when AI came for craft beer (nothing is sacred). YouTube version: https://youtu.be/VJLHVJ-OOj8 Help Us Investigate Book Bans and Educational Censorship Around America Meta Tells Workers Buil...
Oct 15, 2025•47 min
Jason is joined by US PIRG's right to repair campaign director Nathan Proctor, who explains why the imminent end of free support for Windows 10 computers is a ticking timebomb, with millions of computers slated for recycling centers and landfills. Nathan and Jason discuss the state of right to repair legislation all over the United States, the progress that has been made, and the next areas that right to repair experts are going to be focusing on. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphon...
Oct 13, 2025•1 hr 6 min
We start this week with a couple of our articles about Sora 2, OpenAI’s new AI slop app. People are already using tools to remove watermarks from its AI-generated videos. Great! After the break, we talk about Apple and Google removing various ICE-spotting apps from their app stores, with Apple doing it after direct pressure from the U.S. government. In the subscribers-only section, we have a substantial update to a story concerning Flock and a woman who self-administered an abortion. YouTube ver...
Oct 08, 2025•53 min
We start this week with Joseph’s article about landlords and income verification companies demanding login details from potential renters so the companies can log in and scrape their paystubs. That has some potential legal issues for everyone involved! After the break, 18 lawyers tell us why they used AI. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel breaks down the massive drama around Ruby. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/KtvSBb6rtHE Landlords Demand Tenants’ Workplace Logins to Scrape Their Pays...
Oct 01, 2025•49 min
We start this week with some news: we are suing ICE for access to its $2 million contract with a company that sells powerful spyware. Paragon sells tech for remotely breaking into phones and reading messages from encrypted chat apps without a target even clicking a link. After the break, we talk about a couple of stories about AI ‘workslop’ and the engineers who fix peoples’ vibe coding. In the subscribers-only section, we start with a malicious game on Steam stealing cryptocurrency from a cance...
Sep 24, 2025•53 min
We start this week with Joseph’s investigation into Nexar, a popular dashcam company that was catastrophically hacked. Nexar is also uploading user footage to a publicly available map without some drivers’ knowledge. After the break, Sam tells us about her trip to San Diego to cover the sentencing of someone she has covered for years. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about the Charlie Kirk assassination and our reporting around that. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/-51f4patIkw This Com...
Sep 17, 2025•52 min
This week, we talk about how 'Boring History' AI slop is taking over YouTube and making it harder to discover content that humans spend months researching, filming, and editing. Then we talk about how Meta has totally given up on content moderation. In the bonus segment, we discuss the 'AI Darwin Awards,' which is, uhh, celebrating the dumbest uses of AI. YouTube Version: AI Generated Boring History Videos Are Flooding YouTube And Drowning Out Real History Instagram Account Promotes Holocaust De...
Sep 10, 2025•59 min
This is a recording of our live show in Los Angeles in July! In this show we spoke all about ICE's technology and our reporting on it. Facial recognition, Palantir, Flock, and more. And we take questions from the audience. Thank you to everyone who came and we hope you enjoy the discussion! Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Sep 04, 2025•9 min
We start this week with our articles about Trump’s tariffs, and how they’re impacting everything from LEGO to cameras to sex toys. After the break, Emanuel explains how misfired DMCA complaints designed to help adult creators are targeting other sites, including ours. In the subscribers-only section, we do a wrap-up of a bunch of recent ChatGPT stories about suicide and murder. A content warning for suicide and self-harm for that section. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/srdUOWq_hfg Trump Take ...
Sep 03, 2025•46 min
Here's the podcast recorded at our recent second anniversary party in New York! We answered a bunch of reader and listener questions. Thank you to everyone that came and thank you for listening to this podcast too! Thanks again to DeleteMe, use code 404media for 20% off Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Aug 28, 2025•47 min
We start this week with Joseph’s investigation into people selling custom patches for the Flipper Zero, a piece of hacking tech that car thieves can now use to break into a wide range of vehicles. After the break, Jason tells us about the new meta in AI slop: making 80s nostalgia videos. In the subscribers-only section, we all talk about Citizen, and how the app is pushing AI-written crime alerts without human intervention. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nV3qShvuoKw Inside the Underground Tra...
Aug 27, 2025•48 min
We start this week with Emanuel’s big investigation into the Tea app, and especially how it aggressively grew by raiding women safety groups. After the break, we talk about TikTok Shop selling GPS trackers. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains how Grok was exposing some of its AI persona prompts, and the sometimes NSFW nature of them. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/vRFaNoU-cGI You're Invited: 404 Media's Second Anniversary Party and LIVE PODCAST ! How Tea’s Founder Convinced Milli...
Aug 20, 2025•48 min
We start this week with Jason’s article about a CBP official wearing Meta Ray-Bans smart glasses to an immigration raid. A lot of stuff happened after we published that article too. After the break, Sam tells us about the bargain that voice actors are making with AI. In the subscribers-only section, Jason tells us how a DEA official used a cop’s password to AI cameras to then do immigration surveillance. YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxHFsQSVRkE Get your subscriber code and ti...
Aug 13, 2025•56 min
We start this week with Joseph’s story about nearly 100,000 ChatGPT conversations being indexed by Google. There’s some sensitive stuff in there. After the break, Emanuel tells us about Wikipedia’s new way of dealing with AI slop. In the subscribers-only section, Sam explains how we got to where we are with Steam and Itch.io ; that history goes way back. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/mQJvOTHu61I Nearly 100,000 ChatGPT Conversations Were Searchable on Google Wikipedia Editors Adopt ‘Speedy De...
Aug 06, 2025•46 min
We start this week with Emanuel’s and Joseph’s coverage of Tea, a women’s dating safety app that was breached multiple times. After the break, Sam and Emanuel talk about how a new UK law about age verification is impacting peoples’ ability to see footage about current events. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains that LeBron James is not in fact pregnant. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/q17GRPq7K3o Women Dating Safety App 'Tea' Breached, Users' IDs Posted to 4chan A Second Tea Breach...
Jul 30, 2025•56 min
We start this week with Emanuel's wild story about Spotify publishing AI generated tracks that look like they come from artists' official accounts. One problem: those artists died a long time ago. After the break, Joseph tells us about a company that is selling data hacked from computers to debt collectors. In the subscribers-only section, we talk all about the Astronomer CEO and its privacy implications. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/lFYyNOWVJV0 404 Media Live in Los Angeles Spotify Publish...
Jul 23, 2025•45 min
We start this week with a series of articles from Emanuel about a crackdown in the AI industry. After the break, Sam tells us about the ‘Save Our Signs’ campaign which hopes to preserve the history of national parks. In the subscribers-only section, Jason rants about how AI will not save the media industry. YouTube version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-fo7O8B_mk 404 Media Los Angeles event details (free for subscribers; $10 otherwise) a16z-Backed AI Site Civitai Is Mostly Porn, Despite Clai...
Jul 16, 2025•47 min
We’re back! We start this week with Emanuel’s article about Anubis, an open source piece of software that is saving the internet from AI bot scrapers. After the break, Joseph tells us about the new facial recognition app ICE is using and which he revealed. In the subscribers-only section, we do a lightning round runthrough of a bunch of our recent stories about LLMs and how to trick them, or what they don’t understand. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/lqJL1u8UhmE The Open-Source Software Saving...
Jul 09, 2025•40 min
For this week’s podcast, I’m talking to our friend Casey Johnston, a tech journalist turned fitness journalist turned independent journalist. Casey studied physics, which led her to tech journalism; she did some of my favorite coverage of Internet culture as well as Apple’s horrendous butterfly laptop keyboards. We worked together at VICE, where Casey was an editor and where she wrote Ask a Swole Woman, an advice column about weightlifting. After she left VICE, Casey founded She’s a Beast , an i...
Jul 02, 2025•1 hr 4 min
We start this week with Emanuel and Joseph’s coverage of ‘ FuckLAPD.com ’, a website that uses facial recognition to instantly reveal a LAPD officer’s name and salary. The creator has relaunched their similar tool for identifying ICE employees too. After the break, Jason tells us about a massive AI ruling that opens the way for AI companies to scrape everyone’s art. In the subscribers-only section, our regular contributor Matthew describes all the AI slop in the Iran and Israel conflict, and why...
Jun 25, 2025•51 min
This week we start with Joseph’s article about the U.S’s major airlines selling customers’ flight information to Customs and Border Protection and then telling the agency to not reveal where the data came from. After the break, Emanuel tells us how AI scraping bots are breaking open libraries, archives, and museums. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains the casual surveillance relationship between ICE and local cops, according to emails he got. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/Auc7NPD...
Jun 18, 2025•47 min
Much of this episode is about the ongoing anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles. We start with Joseph explaining how he monitored surveillance aircraft flying over the protests, including what turned out to be a Predator drone. After the break, Jason tells us about the burning Waymos. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about the owner of Girls Do Porn, a sex trafficking ring on Pornhub, pleading guilty (a content warning for that one). YouTube version: https://youtu.be/o8Pb9l9FPaA DHS Black Haw...
Jun 11, 2025•52 min
We start this week with Sam's dive into a looming piece of anti-porn legislation, prudish algorithms, and eggs. After the break, Matthew tells us about the open source software that powered Ukraine's drone attack against Russia. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains how even pro-AI subreddits are dealing with people having AI delusions. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/daEt3CptlRU The Egg Yolk Principle: Human Sexuality Will Always Outsmart Prudish Algorithms and Hateful Politicians...
Jun 04, 2025•45 min
