Have apps helped tackle the pandemic?
Tech Life
BBC
4.3 • 227 Ratings
🗓️ 9 July 2021
⏱️ 24 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Did exposure and contact tracing apps live up to the hopes for them? Plus, how ransomware-as-a-service is becoming a serious cyber threat. And new laws in the US could give people access to the information and parts they need to repair, rather than replace, their devices. Presented by Rory Cellan-Jones, with BBC tech reporters Chris Vallance and Cody Godwin. Produced by Jat Gill.
(Image: Hands of people at a picnic with their phones and face masks, Credit: Getty Images).
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | On Radio 4, the more you listen, the more you see. |
| 0:04.7 | Hello, I'm Brian Cox. |
| 0:05.6 | And I'm Robin Ince, and this is The Infinite Monkey Cage. |
| 0:08.3 | In this series, we're going to have a planet off. |
| 0:10.8 | I feel like Jupiter wins. |
| 0:12.8 | And after all of that, we're just going to chill out a bit. |
| 0:15.9 | We're talking about your bog standard. |
| 0:17.8 | Ice, not the fancy one. |
| 0:20.1 | Science with funny bits. |
| 0:21.9 | The new series of The Infinite Monkey Cage. |
| 0:24.1 | Listen on Radio 4 and BBC Sounds. |
| 0:28.1 | Thanks for downloading this TechTent podcast from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:32.4 | Find out more about us at BBCworldservice.com slash techtent. |
| 0:40.3 | Hello and welcome to TechTent, your essential weekly guide to all the hottest news and |
| 0:44.8 | trends from the technology world. I'm Rory Kathleen Jones, and this week, when the pandemic struck, |
| 0:50.2 | countries around the world thought smartphone contact tracing apps could be the answer to curbing the spread of the virus. |
| 0:56.7 | We'll find out what the evidence is now about whether the technology worked. |
| 1:01.2 | Another giant ransomware attack affects hundreds of businesses. |
| 1:05.3 | We hear how the gang behind it markets its malicious software as a professional service. |
| 1:10.4 | And are you frustrated when your old |
| 1:12.4 | gadgets can only be fixed at great expense by the companies that made them? We'll hear about the |
| 1:17.6 | right to repair. Joining me this week is BBC tech reporter Chris Valence on his first expedition |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from BBC, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of BBC and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.