Podcast Episodes

Why Trump Keeps Pardoning Crypto Criminals

President Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, the former CEO of Binance who had been convicted for violating anti-money laundering laws, after months of Zhao boosting Trump’s own crypto company. The crypt…

Published on 17 hours ago

Inside the Goonerverse

One legacy of the internet is the millions of subcultures that it helps flourish. Another is pornography—and lots of it. At a “gooner meet-up,” the two collide. 

Guest: Daniel Kolitz, author of “The …

Published on 2 days, 18 hours ago

Did The Trump Administration Censor Speech?

For years, conservatives claimed that the Biden administration was pressuring tech companies to censor conservative speech with no solid evidence. 

In Trump 2.0, the administration is explicitly bra…

Published on 1 week ago

The AWS Outage is Only the Beginning

This week’s AWS outage illustrates just how fragile and vulnerable our interconnected world really is—and how far we’ve fallen from the vision of a decentralized internet. 

Guest: Samanth Subramanian…

Published on 1 week, 2 days ago

Why Bands Are Leaving Spotify

Paying a fraction of a penny per stream and diminishing the value of music were bad enough for Xiu Xiu, but when Spotify owner Daniel Ek announced an investment in a German defense contractor, they d…

Published on 2 weeks ago

Inside the MAGA Content Mill

As Trump throws out journalists and outlets that report anything negative about him, he’s limiting access to a group of right-wing influencers who work to further his agenda.

Guest: Makena Kelly, tec…

Published on 2 weeks, 2 days ago

A.I. for Cops

At this very moment, police departments can gather more data than they have time to actually go through — audio and video from crime scenes, cell phone and search data, vast digital dragnets. This is…

Published on 3 weeks ago

The People Suing ICE

Though ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services denied their Freedom of Information Act requests, these journalists aren’t giving up without a figh…

Published on 3 weeks, 2 days ago

Saudi Arabia Gets into EA’s Games

How one of the largest video game companies was bought for $55 billion by a group that includes Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund and Jared Kushner.

Guest: Jason Schreier, Bloomberg reporter

Want …

Published on 4 weeks ago

Who Owns TikTok Now?

TikTok exploded to popularity not by giving users what they asked for—but by figuring out what users really were interested in, and serving that. 

What happens to this algorithm if Bytedance cedes c…

Published on 4 weeks, 2 days ago