he monetized the web. now he has a plan to fix it
kill switch
Kaleidoscope
4.7 • 635 Ratings
🗓️ 25 March 2026
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Ethan Zuckerman helped design the amateur web as we know it. In the 90s, he worked at Tripod, providing free web space for anyone to build their own site. His invention, pop-up ads, helped make that possible. The industry ran with it, and the Internet was never the same.
Since then, Ethan’s been on a mission to fix the Internet and bring it back to what he hoped it would be – he even sued Facebook over it. Dexter talks to Ethan about how to make advertising less surveillant, a “free-trade coffee” model of the web, and why ad blockers might hint at a way to make Facebook a better place.
Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.
Links:
- Ethan Zuckerman and Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci’s proposal on Forgetful Adveritising: https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/center/isp/documents/zuckerman.pdf
- Ethan’s op-ed in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/05/opinion/facebook-court-internet-meta.html
- Ethan and Isaac Brickman’s proposal for middleware: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/JMYZ3GJKPE7UTCN8ZR3K/full
- kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is an IHeart podcast. |
| 0:02.5 | Guaranteed Human. |
| 0:05.8 | Hey there, this is Josh from Stuff You Should Know with a message that could change your life. |
| 0:11.7 | The Stuff You Should Know Think Spring podcast playlist is available now. |
| 0:16.2 | Whether spring has sprung in your neck of the woods yet or not, the stuff you should |
| 0:20.3 | know, think spring playlist will make you want to get your overalls on, |
| 0:23.8 | get outside, and get your hands in the dirt. |
| 0:26.3 | You can get the stuff you should know think spring playlist on the IHeartRadio app, |
| 0:30.4 | Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. |
| 0:34.4 | Let's go! |
| 0:35.0 | Our IHeart Radio Music Awards are coming back. |
| 0:38.7 | Thursday, March 26th, live on Fox. |
| 0:41.9 | Watch as we honor the biggest stars from all genres of music |
| 0:45.0 | that you loved listening to all year long |
| 0:47.4 | on your favorite IHeart Radio station and the IHart Radio app. |
| 0:50.1 | Hosted by Ludacris. |
| 0:51.8 | Icon Award recipient John Mellencamp. |
| 0:53.9 | Innovator Award recipient. Mileycamp. Innovator award recipient. |
| 0:55.3 | Myelie Cyrus. |
| 0:56.5 | With performances by Alex Warren, Kalani, Lainey Wilson, Ludacris, RAY, TLC, |
| 1:02.2 | Salt and Pepper, and Invoke. |
| 1:03.7 | What a man, what a man, what I'm on a movie. |
... |
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