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Even in a crazy year for crypto, Sam Bankman-Fried’s story is undeniably the most bananas. And even in the context of the implosion of FTX, getting arrested has got to make this week his worst yet. What charges does SBF face? Guest: Stacy-Marie Ishmael , managing editor on crypto for Bloomberg News Host: Lizzie O’Leary Sponsored by Saks.com. Check out the Holiday Gift Guide on saks.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Self-driving cars and robotaxis are starting to appear on the streets of San Francisco. While we have a whole regulatory system in place for drivers, who’s making sure these new cars are safe? Guest: David Zipper , Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Taubman Center for State and Local Government Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow B...
Artificial intelligence is growing in leaps and bounds, and everywhere from Big Tech companies like Google to small teams like OpenAI are developing more and more convincing chatbots. Is the world ready for convincing, talking computers? Guest: Alex Kantrowitz , host of the Big Technology podcast. Host: Emily Peck If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear P...
The Biden administration’s Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are both staffed with accomplished progressives who are proving more aggressive than their predecessors in either the Trump or Obama eras. But can Big Tech be tamed? Guest: Leah Nylen , reporter for Bloomberg News Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prud...
Dating back to the Arab Spring, Twitter’s potential for real-time organizing has been a selling point. But trying to find information on China’s “Zero COVID” protests reveals just how vulnerable the now-understaffed platform is to manipulation. Guest: Joseph Menn , cybersecurity reporter for the Washington Post . Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like ...
The option to “buy now and pay later” over installments exploded over the past two years, thanks to people being flush with stimulus cash and shopping online during the pandemic. But is this new, underregulated industry a useful line of credit or another path into debt? Guest: Paulina Cachero , personal finance reporter for Bloomberg . Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus ...
After decades as America’s booming industry, tens of thousands of tech workers have been laid off in November alone. Is the venture-capital, low-interest-rate wind leaving the sails temporary or is this the end of the hunt for “the next big thing?” Guest: Timothy B. Lee , reporter for Full Stack Economics covering labor markets, technology, and housing. Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Sla...
At this year’s annual UN conference on climate change, they are discussing “climate reparations,” wherein the rich countries that grew their wealth burning fossil fuels pay money to poorer and more vulnerable countries. It sounds sensible, but is the UN capable of administering something like this? And how much money are we talking here? Guest: Vijay Vaitheeswaran , global energy and climate innovation editor at The Economist. Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing ...
The (once) third-largest cryptocurrency exchange, FTX, collapsed in stunning fashion this week, highlighting why consumers really do want regulation, and why old financial institutions remain wary of crypto. Guest: Felix Salmon , host of Slate Money, chief financial correspondent for Axios. Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prud...
The second largest investor in Twitter, after Elon Musk, is the Saudis, which raises questions about what kinds of “free speech” Musk is really committed to. But it also raises questions around national security in the U.S. Guest: Chris Murphy , U.S. Senator from Connecticut Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll ...
It’s been a rough autumn for parents of little kids, as non-COVID respiratory diseases are taking advantage of the first fall since 2019 where schools and daycares are full again, and America’s strained pediatric health care system is once again put to the test. Guest: Katherine Wu , science writer for The Atlantic . Host: Lizzie O’Leary. Podcast production by Madeline Ducharme. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on an...
One week in as head honcho of Twitter and Elon Musk is in a tight spot: how do you balance the desires of advertisers with your ostensible zeal for free speech? How do you make something for which you’ve already overpaid turn a profit? How do you convince Stephen King to pony up for a blue check? Guest: Alex Kirshner , contributing writer at Slate. Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate po...
There are some 400 million surveillance cameras installed in China, one for every three to four civilians. Built with the help of American tech companies, the surveillance state was pitched to the public as a way to make society safer and more efficient. But after severe lockdowns during COVID, the public has been objecting out of the eye of the camera lens. Protests are being written on bathroom walls. Guest: Josh Chin , deputy bureau chief, China, for the Wall Street Journal Host: Lizzie O’Lea...
Twitter has been a lot of things—where you posted your lunch, where you met your people, where you were subjected to a harassment campaign. Now, as Elon Musk prepares to take the reins, where is it headed? Guest: Will Oremus , technology reporter for the Washington Post . Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be ...
Alzheimer’s treatment hasn’t changed much in the past two decades, and the way researchers have been thinking about and approaching the disease may be to blame. Guest: Damian Garde , reporter for Stat covering the biotech industry . Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on What N...
One company’s software is helping set prices for apartments across the country. But when does an algorithm telling landlords how much to charge—by drawing on property data—cross the line from “handy tool” to “illegal price-fixing”? Guest: Heather Vogell , reporter with ProPublica Host: Lizzie O'Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and yo...
The idea of composting a human body may seem unsettling—or even gross—and it runs counter to the normal American funeral rites of embalming and internment, which preserve the body. But advocates say it’s a greener and more peaceful way to return our bodies to the Earth. Guest: Eleanor Cummins , science journalist Host: Lizzie O’Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like ...
Following their victory in Staten Island, the Amazon Labor Union is still facing an uphill battle. Both the company and the union are closely watching the organizing vote at a warehouse outside of Albany, NY. Guest: Noam Scheiber , labor reporter for the New York Times. Host: Lizzie O'Leary If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be su...
Churches are using accountability apps to keep tabs on their members' behavior. But if your pastor wants to monitor your phone, can you truly consent? Guest: Dhruv Mehrotra Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Twenty-six words defined the internet as we know it today. What happens if they’re deleted? Guest: Jeff Kosseff Host: Lizzie O'Leary The Twenty-Six Words That Created the Internet Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Longtermism, the idea that positively influencing the future is a key moral priority of our time, is hot in Silicon Valley. But does it miss the bigger picture? Guests: William MacAskill , Robert Wright Host: Lizzie O'Leary Thanks Avast.com ! Learn more about Avast One at Avast.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
With disaster relief funds from Hurricane Harvey, Houston's Harris County instituted a mandatory buyout program for residents in flood-prone areas. But some residents didn't want to leave. Guest: Amal Ahmed , Dolores Mendoza Host: Mary C. Curtis Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
Nuclear technology has become more important than ever, thanks to a global energy crisis and climate change. But it also has a complicated history. Guest: Joshua Keating Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Conservative lawmakers in Florida and Texas are taking aim at content moderation on social media, with implications that go far beyond just the platforms. Guest: Mark Joseph Stern Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Victims of a new and high tech kind of human trafficking are forced to scam people all around the world. Guest: Cezary Podkul Host: Lizzie O'Leary Human Trafficking’s Newest Abuse: Forcing Victims Into Cyberscamming Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information....
A small parish in Louisiana tried to get affordable, fast internet. An incumbent ISP stopped them. Guest: Issie Lapowsky , Wanda Manning Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
An inside look at the rise of YouTube into a social media behemoth. Guests: Mark Bergen and Claire Stapleton Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Technology is transforming the creative economy and ideas about what "art" even is. Guest: Drew Harwell Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
LYMErix, the first vaccine against Lyme, was pulled from the market amid poor sales and pressure from the public. Now, over 20 years later, a new vaccine is in late-stage trials. Guest: Cassandra Willyard Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
A father took a photo of his son for their doctor. He wound up being investigated by the police. Guest: Kashmir Hill Host: Lizzie O'Leary Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
