Two weeks ago, as wildfires burned north of Los Angeles, the crime app Citizen offered $30,000 for information that would lead to the arrest of a suspected arsonist. They had the wrong guy. Why is Citizen offering bounties in the first place? And what does this bounty debacle say about the app’s aspirations for the future? Guest: Joseph Cox, reporter at Motherboard Host Henry Grabar Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
After years of careful planning and public spats, Apple and Epic—the maker of Fortnite—have spent the last three weeks in court, fighting over the future of mobile gaming. What happens if, for once, Apple loses? Guest: Elizabeth Lopatto, deputy editor at the Verge Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Last week, a hacker group called DarkSide shut down the Colonial Pipeline, which supplies 45 percent of the fuel consumed on the East Coast. Gas prices skyrocketed, people started hoarding gas, and DarkSide walked away with over $4 million in Bitcoin. How did they do it? And what makes this hack different from those we’ve seen before? Guest: David Uberti, cybersecurity reporter at the Wall Street Journal Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Serum Institute of India was supposed to supply vaccines not just to India, but to the entire Global South. Now, with cases surging, there aren’t nearly enough vaccines for India’s population, not to mention the many countries that are relying on it. How did such a successful institution come up so short? And what are the costs of that failure? Guest: Samanth Subramanian, senior reporter at Quartz Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The question of Donald Trump’s banned account--to keep it blocked, or reinstate it--is one of the toughest that Facebook has ever faced. But the social network had a plan: punt the decision to its newly minted Oversight Board, a semi-independent “Supreme Court” tasked with making hard decisions about what content stays up, and what comes down. Did that plan just backfire? Guest: Kate Klonick, professor at St. John’s University School of Law Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. V...
There was a time—back when Steve Jobs ran Apple and Mark Zuckerberg was in his early days as Facebook’s CEO— that Apple and Facebook were friends.. Or, at worst, frenemies. But as the companies grew, so did two competing views of how the internet should work. What led to the rift between Mark Zuckerberg and Tim Cook? And will Apple’s new privacy rules undercut Facebook’s vision for the internet? Guest: Mike Isaac, tech reporter at the New York Times Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad c...
Last week, a Tesla Model S crashed into a tree in a neighborhood north of Houston. Both men inside the car were killed. But according to police, neither of them was in the driver’s seat. This is not the first crash in which Tesla’s “autopilot” feature has likely played a role. Should we really be trusting this technology? Guest: Missy Cummings, professor of electrical and computer engineering at Duke University Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Like countless venture-funded start-ups before it, Substack is “disrupting” the media industry. The newsletter service is siphoning off high-profile talent with a promise of independence and bigger paychecks. But the platform’s influence might reach far beyond the media. Will Substack change the way we think about online creators and their audiences? Can it create a new kind of relationship between them? Guest: Charlie Warzel, writer of Galaxy Brain Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad c...
Since the start of the pandemic, usage of apps like BetterHelp and Talkspace has skyrocketed. These apps might make mental health care more accessible, but are the products they sell really the same as therapy? Guest: Molly Fischer, features writer for the Cut at New York Magazine Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
ICYMI is Slate’s new podcast about internet culture. It’s a show for people who have a healthy relationship with the internet, made by people who really, really don’t. It’s hosted by Slate’s Madison Malone Kircher and Rachelle Hampton. Twice a week they’ll explore what’s trending at the top of your feeds, investigate the ghosts of internet past, and help you sound like the smartest person in your group chat. In the episode you’re about to hear, they take you on an all-access tour of Clubhouse, t...
There are at least 17 different “vaccine passport” initiatives underway in the United States. And leaked documents reveal that the Biden administration fears that “a chaotic and ineffective vaccine credential approach could hamper our pandemic response by undercutting health safety measures, slowing economic recovery, and undermining public trust and confidence.” Without coordination, a chaotic and ineffective approach seems likely. So, what can, and what should, the Biden administration do to a...
Back in April 2020, AstraZeneca was hailed as a frontrunner in the race to get an effective vaccine to market. A year later, after a series of trial pauses, communication blunders, and PR problems, the vaccine is on the cusp of FDA approval. By all accounts, the company succeeded in making a safe, effective vaccine. So why has there been so much confusion about its rollout? Guest: Peter Aldhous, science reporter at Buzzfeed News Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megapho...
Facebook’s failure to contain the spread of dangerous misinformation is no secret. For years, the company has pledged publicly to fix the problem. But in the wake of the Capitol riots, it’s clear that there’s more work to be done. So, why isn’t the social media giant using its powerful AI to contain hate and lies? Guest: Karen Hao, senior AI reporter at MIT Technology Review Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Back in 2014, Google released in-depth diversity data for its workforce for the first time. 1.1 percent of its tech team identified as Black. Six years later, after millions of dollars spent and a much-hyped partnership program with historically Black colleges and universities across the country, that number is up to 2.4 percent. How did such a promising effort yield such incremental change? Guest: Nitasha Tiku, tech culture reporter at the Washington Post Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about yo...
The federal Lifeline program was intended to bridge the gap between Americans who could comfortably pay for phone and internet service, and those who couldn’t. But in the midst of the pandemic, Lifeline is falling woefully short. How did a program meant to help connect low-income Americans with phone and internet service ended up making them second-class digital citizens at the worst possible moment? Guest: Tony Romm, senior tech policy reporter at the Washington Post, author of “How the Federal...
Over the last year, the Australian government has been waging a quiet war against Facebook and Google. Through a new law, it plans to force the big tech companies to pay news outlets in exchange for linking to their sites. Will this new law have the intended effect? Or will it set a dangerous precedent that cedes even more power over to the tech giants? Guest: JR Hennessy, editor at Business Insider Australia Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Over the last week, millions of Texans have been forced to live without power or heat. At least 16 have died since Monday. In a state that’s no stranger to extreme weather and high power demand, how did it all go so wrong? Guest: Josh Rhodes, research associate at the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
For most of the last year, Clubhouse—the audio-only social media app—has been dominated by conversations about business, branding, and Elon Musk. But as users picked up the app around the globe, something extraordinary happened. Censors in mainland China overlooked it. And for two weeks in February, it hosted a series of unusual, unfiltered conversations. Han Chinese, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, and Uighurs all flooded to the app to speak freely about authoritarianism, democracy, and propaganda. He...
Last week, in response to protests by farmers outside New Delhi, India, the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi restricted access to the mobile web in areas where the protests were unfolding. The move is the latest in the Indian government’s long history of throttling internet access and censoring speech online. Why is the Modi government increasingly shutting down the internet and stifling digital dissent? And what does the party’s history of internet shutdowns tell us about India’s futu...
The story of how GameStop went from the verge of a bankruptcy to a $15 billion market value isn’t an easy one to wrap your head around. But it helps to go back to the beginning; almost three years ago, in a subreddit called r/wallstreetbets. Guests: Brandon Kochkodin, reporter at Bloomberg Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Most people thought developing the vaccine in record time would be the hard part. That, or shipping millions of doses at subzero temperatures to every corner of the country. But nobody--or, almost nobody--guessed that the biggest barrier between U.S. citizens and vaccination would be … online scheduling. What went wrong with the vaccine websites? And what will it take to get them right? Guests: Raphael Lee, director of USDR’s Health Program Hana Schank, director of Strategy for Public Interest T...
After Facebook and Twitter banned thousands of accounts in the wake of the Capitol riots, fringe groups are flocking to platforms like Signal and Telegram. With the inauguration just days away, and government officials warning of violence, QAnon believers and Stop the Steal protesters are now communicating in encrypted spaces. What, if anything, is being planned? Guest: Will Sommer, politics reporter at the Daily Beast Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
This week, in the wake of violent protests at the Capitol, the social media platforms took unprecedented steps to rein in the president. Facebook banned his account at least through Inauguration Day. Twitter removed tweets and locked his account for 12 hours. Will these measures really make a difference? And how is it that two CEOs came to have so much power over the president’s reach? Guest: Danielle Citron, professor at UVA Law School and vice president of the Cyber Civil Rights Initiative Hos...
Recently, one of the world’s leading AI ethics researchers, Timnit Gebru, left Google. Google says she resigned. Timnit says she was fired. In the days since, Timnit’s departure has turned into a public relations crisis for the search giant, prompting its CEO to issue a public apology. What happened behind the scenes at Google that led to Timnit’s dismissal? Guest: Timnit Gebru, AI ethics researcher, and the co-founder of Black in AI. Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit m...
This week, the FTC and more than 40 state attorneys general brought antitrust lawsuits against Facebook. And they’re not pulling their punches. They are calling for Facebook to spin off Instagram and WhatsApp into independent companies. In other words, breakup. The lawsuits represent some of the most significant antitrust action in the United States in the last 40 years. Will they get results? Guest: Tony Romm, tech policy reporter at the Washington Post Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your...
Ransomware attacks--when hackers break into digital systems, encrypt files, and demand payment to unlock them, isn’t new. But 2020 has seen an explosion in the frequency of these hacks, which are often targeted at schools and hospitals. Who is behind this recent spate of attacks? And is there anything schools and hospitals can do to protect themselves? Guests: Jessica Beyer, teacher at Baltimore County Public Schools Dave Uberti, cyber security reporter at the Wall Street Journal Host Lizzie O’L...
When Joe Biden takes office in two months, the federal government will take on a new stance in its fight to contain the coronavirus. The broad strokes of that strategy have been outlined in debates and on campaign websites, but now the real work begins. Two weeks ago, the president-elect appointed a team of 13 advisers to answer some key questions. How can the new government win the trust of the 73 million Americans who voted for Donald Trump? What would a national mask mandate look like? How wi...
When Barack Obama first won the White House, back in 2008, with Joe Biden as his vice president, the executive branch’s stance towards tech and tech companies was seen as cooperative, progressive, and forward-thinking. This time around, the tech giants can expect a very different relationship. Will Biden be the president to finally rein in big tech? Guest: Cecilia Kang, technology reporter at The New York Times Host Lizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices...
Companies like Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have always argued that their workers are independent contractors, not employees. This distinction has been crucial in their rise from startups to multi-billion-dollar companies. On Tuesday, Californians sided with these companies by approving Prop 22, a ballot measure that enshrines workers’ non-employee status. Why did progressive Californians side with Big Tech? And will the rest of the country follow California’s lead? Guest: Sam Harnett, Tech and Labo...
The 2016 general election changed the way we think about information online and its power to sway results. Four years later, Americans will vote amid a surge of misinformation, collected and distorted to fit political narratives. What can people and platforms do to protect the truth in this most consequential election? Guests: Renee DiResta, Research manager at the Stanford Internet Observatory Justin Hendrix, founder of Tech Policy Press Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adch...
