Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Job. And I go by the name, Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle.

We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other.

So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever

you get your podcast.

Welcome to Tech Stuff, a production from IHeart Radio.

Hey there, and welcome to Tech Stuff.

I'm your host, Jonathan Strickland.

I'm an executive producer with IHeart Podcasts.

And how the tech are you?

It's time for the tech news for the week ending December 6th, 2024.

And my apologies, but we have some heavy stories, both at the beginning and the end of this one,

because of the way news unfolded this week. One of the top stories this week was that the

United Healthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, died after being attacked by a gun-wielding assailant in New York City and what was clearly a premeditated act of violence.

Now, this is not a true crime podcast, so I'm not going to dwell on the extraordinary facts about this case, the ones that have been shared with us so far.

You can read up all about that if you would like.

Rather, what I wanted to talk about is how the reaction online to this act of violence has been pretty brutal,

and not just among your typical internet trolls.

Over on Reddit, moderators had to shut down a thread

in which doctors were criticizing Brian Thompson and the insurance industry as a whole

for practices that prioritize profits and shareholder return over human life. The participants in a

thread in the subreddit R slash medicine took United Healthcare to

task for allegedly denying coverage to patients all in an effort to squeeze out more value

...