Hey everybody. We got a very special bonus episode for you, the Al Franken podcast fans.

And this really is a great one, you know, for a change because it's not actually the Al Franken podcast, but it features me. So let me explain.

This is an episode of a podcast, What the Hack, hosted by Adam Levin, Bo Friedlander, and Travis Taylor.

And what the hack is a podcast that tells you how to protect your privacy. I believe what the hack is a play on what the heck.

I haven't asked Adam Bo or Travis, but that is my best guess.

Anyway, I've known Adam for a while, and he knows that I was the founder and first chairman of the privacy technology and the law subcommittee of the

Senate Judiciary Committee. Now, when we Democrats lost the majority in 2014, I became the

ranking member, and Jeff Flake from Arizona became the chair. And at a certain point during

this time, I realized that digital home assistance

like Siri and Alexa could pose a threat to folks' privacy. And I suggested to Jeff that we do a

hearing with Siri and Alexa, the devices have the devices testifying. We'd write it and hold a mock

hearing in our subcommittee that was scripted to show the possible dangers to your privacy

posed by them. And of course, Senator Flake said, no, we don't do that. And so, of course.

So I wrote a version of the hearing with Bo, Bo Freelander, and record it for the show.

And in it, I play Bernie Sanders, Chuck Grassley, Mitch McConnell, Sherrod Brown, Susan Collins, and myself.

And Alexa is played by Lorraine Newman, my cohort from the first five years of a little show called Saturday Night Live.

And Siri is played by Susan Bennett, who is actually the real voice of Siri.

It's ridiculous. Only Grassley was on judiciary. It's entirely unfair to all portrayed, but I'm pretty damn sure you'll like it. Oh,

and the rest of their show, their podcast is also about the potential threat of these devices to your

privacy. So a short bonus episode for a change. Earlier today, the Judiciary Subcommittee on Privacy Technology and the Law,

chaired by Bernie Sanders, held a hearing on the threats to Americans' privacy,

posed by personal digital assistance. The subcommittee on privacy technology and the law will come to order.

...