Podcast Episodes
Back to SearchGoogle Somehow Got Even More Shit
Episode 40
We revisit our Why Google Is Shit Now episode with something of an update: Google got worse! Of course we're talking about the embarrassing rollout of Google's AI-powered answers. Jason explains the …
Published on 1 year, 6 months ago
Your Phone's Location is Exposed
Episode 38
Really excited about this one. We spend the entire episode talking about SS7, the fundamental network and protocol which is both at the heart of the world's telecommunications infrastructure, and cru…
Published on 1 year, 6 months ago
Why the Solar Storm Broke Tractors and GPS
Episode 38
We've got something of a John Deere special episode this week. We start with Jason's piece on how the recent solar storm knocked out GPS for John Deere tractors, having a direct impact on farming acr…
Published on 1 year, 7 months ago
Facebook is the 'Zombie Internet'
Episode 37
Apologies for some audio issues this week, they'll be fixed next time, but for now we have a super packed episode! We start with Jason's months-long deep dive into what Facebook has become with all o…
Published on 1 year, 7 months ago
A Lost Media Mystery
Episode 36
We start this week's episode with a mystery: where did a 17-second music snippet that has puzzled online sleuths for years really come from? Sam breaks it down. After the break, Joseph explains how a…
Published on 1 year, 7 months ago
The Humane Ai Pin Is a Disaster
Episode 35
This is a long one! First Joseph previews his upcoming book, DARK WIRE. Go to the link below and enter "DW20" for 20% off! Also make sure to redeem your preorder behind-the-scenes bonus content. As f…
Published on 1 year, 7 months ago
The 'Com World War'
Episode 34
We start this episode with Joseph's latest fly-on-the-wall investigation into the Com, the nebulous online entity and culture that is linked to some of the most high profile and brazen data breaches …
Published on 1 year, 8 months ago
The Wild World of Fake AI Influencers
Episode 33
We start the episode with an announcement: we've brought on our first 404 Media fellow Jules Roscoe! They did amazing work at Motherboard, and we're stoked to have them on board to cover labor for us…
Published on 1 year, 8 months ago
The Xz Backdoor and the AI Peer-Review Crisis
Episode 32
This is a super fun episode with a lot of labor themes throughout. Jason starts off by describing the totally wild Xz backdoor which, in a way, was an open source labor issue. Then Emanuel takes us t…
Published on 1 year, 8 months ago
The Shaky Science of License Plate Readers
Episode 31
A jam packed episode this week. First, Jason explains how a 'study' that says surveillance company Flock is “instrumental in solving 10 percent of reported crime in the US” is heavily flawed. He got …
Published on 1 year, 8 months ago