Empathy at Scale
What Next | Daily News and Analysis
Slate Podcasts
4.3 • 2.4K Ratings
🗓️ 27 February 2019
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
On today’s show, host April Glaser looks at the continuing battle between Tesla CEO Elon Musk and the Securities and Exchange Commision. Earlier this week, the SEC asked a judge to hold Musk in contempt for tweets he’s made about Tesla’s performance. The SEC says Musk violated a settlement he reached with the commission last year, which required him to have his tweets reviewed before sending them.
Then, Will Oremus speaks with journalist Casey Newton about an investigation he published this week on the tech site The Verge. The article is headlined, “The Trauma Floor: The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America.” Newton talked to current and former employees of a moderation facility in Arizona that contracts with Facebook, about the working conditions there. And, in particular, the psychological toll of scrutinizing hundreds of Facebook posts each day that feature extreme violence, hate speech, and conspiracy theories.
5:57 - Interview with Casey Newton 23:23 - Don’t Close My Tabs
Stories discussed on the show:
CNN: SEC Asks Judge to Hold Musk in Contempt
The Verge: The Trauma Floor: The secret lives of Facebook moderators in America
Wired: The Laborers Who Keep Dick Pics and Beheadings Out of Your Facebook Feed
Don’t Close My Tabs:
April: Mercury News: Facebook, Google Bikes Lead to Tensions with Neighbors
Will: Vox: How a coat on Amazon took over a neighborhood — and then the internet
Podcast production by Max Jacobs
You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The following podcast contains explicit language. |
| 0:04.1 | Welcome to If Then, the show about how technology is changing our lives and our future. |
| 0:08.6 | I'm April Glazer. |
| 0:09.8 | And I'm Will Oremas. |
| 0:14.7 | Hey, everyone. Welcome to If Then. We're coming to you from Slate and Future Tense, a partnership between Slate, Arizona State University, and New America. |
| 0:26.0 | We are recording this on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 26th. On today's show, we'll look at the continuing battle between Tesla's CEO Elon Musk and the Security and Exchange Commission. |
| 0:36.0 | Earlier this week, the SEC asked a judge to hold |
| 0:38.6 | Musk in contempt for tweets he's made about Tesla's performance. The SEC says Musk violated a |
| 0:45.1 | settlement he reached with the commission last year, which required him to have his tweets reviewed |
| 0:49.3 | before sending them. Then Will is going to speak with journalist Casey Newton about an investigation he |
| 0:55.2 | published this week on the tech site The Verge. The article is headlined the trauma floor, |
| 0:59.7 | the secret lives of Facebook moderators in America. Newton talked to current and former |
| 1:04.3 | employees of a moderation facility in Arizona that contracts with Facebook about the working |
| 1:08.6 | conditions there. And in particular, the psychological |
| 1:11.2 | toll of scrutinizing hundreds of Facebook posts each day that feature extreme violence, hate speech, |
| 1:17.1 | sometimes murder, and conspiracy theories. And as always, we'll end with Don't Close My Tabs, |
| 1:21.9 | some of the best things we saw on the web this week. That's all coming up on if then. |
| 1:27.0 | The spotlight is once again on Elon Musk, who finds himself in hot water once again, |
| 1:33.3 | with the Security and Exchange Commission over his tweets this week. |
| 1:37.2 | The SEC filed a motion on Monday to ask a judge to hold the Tesla CEO in contempt for |
| 1:42.9 | violating a settlement from last September. |
| 1:45.4 | Musk had agreed not to make any statements about Tesla's financial status that would move the |
... |
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