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This week... the January 6th hearings have begun. A Republican Senate primary in Arizona is getting competitive, between current Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and opponents such as Jim Lamon and Blake Masters, who admires the Unabomber as a "subversive thinker." And Now: Sean Hannity's Favorite Joke. ("It's an Adam Schiff-show") Main story: tech monopolies, especially Apple, Google, and Amazon, and how they often preference their own products when you turn to them for information, software, or merchandise. On YouTube (27 minutes). Look out for a cameo by three movies from Video Brinquedo!
posted by JHarris on Jun 14, 2022 - 2 comments

After landing a dream job at a powerful tech company called The Circle, a woman wrestles with whether the firm's 24/7/365 connectivity agenda represents a brave new world in which "Knowing is good, but knowing everything is better" or a horrifying breach of individual autonomy and privacy.
posted by carmicha on May 3, 2017 - 5 comments

If you lose something in a cab in New York City: Call 311 or go to the Taxi and Limousine Commission website. It's easy if you know already... but if you don't, welcome to Scamville and the nefarious users of Google AdSense.
posted by psoas on Sep 28, 2016 - 4 comments

Night Vale High School's AP Auto Shop teacher demonstrates some of his inventions at the Museum of Forbidden Technologies. Plus, a visit from an adorable puppy, an update on the Trial of the Century, and a look at the Community Calendar. [more inside]
posted by DevilsAdvocate on Feb 1, 2016 - 4 comments

More than 90% of all automobile accidents are all attributable to human error. For some car industry people, a fully-automated car is a kind of holy grail. However, as automation makes our lives easier and safer, it also creates more complex systems, and fewer humans who understand those systems. Which means when problems do arise—people can be left unable to deal with them. Human factors engineers call this “the automation paradox.”
posted by radioamy on Jul 1, 2015 - 5 comments

This installment addresses an a question that was brought up in earlier episodes, back before Gimlet was an actual business: are they a technology company or a content company? [more inside]
posted by radioamy on Feb 3, 2015 - 9 comments

Episode 4 of John Oliver's satirical news program. Highlights are a video of Mario kissing Link, a disturbingly hilarious internal PR document from GM, John Oliver posting embarrassing pictures of himself to the internet, and an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria. Next week the show is on break.
posted by JHarris on May 19, 2014 - 10 comments