kill switch

Tea called itself a women’s safety app. Then, 4chan found it. Selfies, IDs, even private messages were left exposed after two massive data breaches. Tens of thousands of women were affected, but hundreds of thousands still want to sign up. We break down what went wrong, and what it says about the tech we trust to keep us safe.  Dexter talks to journalists and 404 Media co-founders Emanuel Maiberg and Sam Cole about what happened, and what this could mean for women (and men!) whose information was exposed.  Read + Watch:  Emanuel’s coverage on the Tea data breach:  Women Dating Safety App 'Tea' Breached, Users' IDs Posted to 4chan A Second Tea Breach Reveals Users’ DMs About Abortions and Cheating Tea User Files Class Action After Women’s Safety App Exposes Data Sam’s coverage on ‘Are We Dating the Same Guy?’ Facebook groups:  Man Who Sued 'Are We Dating the Same Guy?' Groups Files Class Action Lawsuit Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod on IG, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 6 August 2025

This week we want to take a look at a little-known technology kept from public view: electronic tablets in prisons. Dexter talks to Gaby Caplan, a journalist and documentary filmmaker who has been researching how these tablets are used, the connection to the outside world that they promised, and why federal prisons have gone back on that promise. Read + Watch:  Gaby’s piece on WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/electronic-tablets-in-federal-prisons-chat-apps-disabled/ Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 30 July 2025

If you’ve been resistant to using a password manager, or if you want to step up your overall digital security, this episode is for you. Dexter talks to Josh Blackwelder, Deputy Chief Information Security Officer of SentinelOne, about the dangers of having weak passwords (even for accounts you don’t care about), why you definitely should use a password manager, and why you should switch your email account to login by something better than a password: the passkey. We’re here to evangelize the importance of digital security – and keep you from getting hacked. If there’s someone in your life who needs to hear this, share this episode with them. Useful links:  Check to see if your data’s been leaked: https://haveibeenpwned.com/ Check how strong your passwords are: https://bitwarden.com/password-strength/ Set up Google passkey: https://g.co/passkeys Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 23 July 2025

We’re living in a world shaped by algorithms. They’re not just curating our feeds, they’re changing the way we speak.  Dexter talks with Adam Aleksic, aka the Etymology Nerd, about his new book Algospeak: How Social Media Is Transforming the Future of Language. They unpack how algorithmic censorship on social media is reshaping the way we use language online, and how it’s bleeding into real life.  Read + Watch:  Make sure to check out Adam’s book: Algospeak Where to find Adam online: https://www.etymologynerd.com/ https://etymology.substack.com/ Or @etymologynerd on social media. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 16 July 2025

AI music generators are not only the product of scraped (read: stolen) music, they’re also threatening the livelihood of musicians. But there are people who are finding ways to fight back – by using a technique called poison pilling. This week, Dexter talks to two of them: Benn Jordan, a musician and YouTuber who developed a tool called Poisonify, and Jian Liu, the lead developer of HarmonyCloak and Music Shield. These programs add imperceptible noise to a music file rendering it indecipherable to an AI model – and we got to test out how these work with our own theme song. Read + Watch:  Benn’s YouTube video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMYm2d9bmEA Jian Liu and Syed Irfan’s paper on HarmonyCloak – https://mosis.eecs.utk.edu/publications/meerza2024harmonycloak.pdf Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod on IG, or @dexdigi anywhere.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 9 July 2025

Once upon a time streaming delivered a utopian fantasy – anything you wanted to watch or listen to, at your fingertips. Now, we’re saddled with dozens of subscriptions and our digital library is at the whim of big tech companies. Even your Kindle books can be deleted without your consent. Is there another way? Dexter talks to Janus Rose, a journalist and artist, who has a solution to this problem: become a digital packrat. That means keeping all of your favorite digital media locally and setting up your own server. And if you want to try it for yourself, this episode will walk you through how. Resources: Janus’s article on 404 – The Digital Packrat Manifesto Download Plex: https://www.plex.tv/ Download Handbrake (use this to rip DVDs): https://handbrake.fr Download MakeMKV (not mentioned in the show, but see below): https://www.makemkv.com ### YouTube How-To Links ### "3 Ways to Start Your Own Plex Server" (15 minutes):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKDSld-CrHU "Plex Media Server for Mac" (4 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNRcIOf0YYE "How to rip DVDs with MakeMKV and Use Handbrake for Hardware Transcoding" (15 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_xdrscVB0Y Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod on Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

Once upon a time streaming delivered a utopian fantasy – anything you wanted to watch or listen to, at your fingertips. Now, we’re saddled with dozens of subscriptions and our digital library is at the whim of big tech companies. Even your Kindle books can be deleted without your consent. Is there another way? Dexter talks to Janus Rose, a journalist and artist, who has a solution to this problem: become a digital packrat. That means keeping all of your favorite digital media locally and setting up your own server. And if you want to try it for yourself, this episode will walk you through how. Resources: Janus’s article on 404 – The Digital Packrat Manifesto Download Plex: https://www.plex.tv/ Download Handbrake (use this to rip DVDs): https://handbrake.fr Download MakeMKV (not mentioned in the show, but see below): https://www.makemkv.com ### YouTube How-To Links ### "3 Ways to Start Your Own Plex Server" (15 minutes):  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKDSld-CrHU "Plex Media Server for Mac" (4 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNRcIOf0YYE "How to rip DVDs with MakeMKV and Use Handbrake for Hardware Transcoding" (15 minutes): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_xdrscVB0Y Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod on Instagram.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 2 July 2025

Big Tech promised AI would solve our biggest problems. But behind the hype there is a more unsettling reality: labor exploitation, environmental harm, and the looming threat of mass automation. Dexter sits down with journalist Karen Hao to talk about her new book Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman's OpenAI. They dig into how today’s AI companies are operating less like tech innovators and more like empires. Make sure to check out Karen’s book: Empire of AI Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 25 June 2025

When ICE raids sparked massive protests across Los Angeles, something unusual appeared in the sky: Predator drones. Dexter talks to Joseph Cox over at 404 Media to understand how military-grade surveillance aircrafts ended up flying over U.S. citizens and what that means for the future of civil liberties. Read + Watch:  Joseph’s articles on the Predator drones flying over the protests: DHS Flew Predator Drones Over LA Protests, Audio Shows CBP Confirms It Is Flying Predator Drones Above Los Angeles To Support ICE Also: How to Protest Safely: What to Bring, What to Do, and What to Avoid How to Protest Safely in the Age of Surveillance Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 18 June 2025

The Nintendo Switch 2 is out – but why did Nintendo credit someone who died in 1997 in a press release for the console? Dexter talked to Patrick Klepek, of the video game website Remap, and Jeremy Parish, an expert in video game history, to tell the story of Gunpei Yokoi and how his influence led us to the Switch 2. Read + Watch:  Patrick's article on Switch 2 games he's excited to play with his kids – https://www.crossplay.news/p/best-games-for-kids-and-families-june-2025 Jeremy on Bad Dudes and Ronald Reagan – https://youtu.be/ZpZddGOKrIk Did You Know Gaming on Gunpei Yokoi – https://youtu.be/uLznLtgcqXI Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 11 June 2025

Dexter doesn't have a car. But he uses AI… a lot. So, is his environmental impact worse than someone who drives a truck to work every day?  This seemingly simple question led us to a bigger conversation about water, public health, and why we still don't know much about the true environmental cost of artificial intelligence.  To help us understand all this, we talk to researchers Shaolei Ren and Alex de Vries, who’ve been studying the toll AI takes on the planet. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 4 June 2025

For about 24 hours, Grok, Twitter’s AI chatbot, went berserk. You could ask it about puppies, sports, or movies, and it would reply with a bizarre diatribe about white genocide in South Africa. If you’ve already heard of this, you’ve probably seen people dunking on Elon Musk, and, well, that’s understandable. But Max Read, today’s guest, explains why this brief peek into a weird conspiracy theory might have actually been a good thing. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read: Max’s Substack article on the whole thing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 28 May 2025

Almost two million people watched a horrific story of a murder in Colorado: the “grisly” death of a real estate agent who had a secret affair with his stepson. The problem is, there was no crime. Dexter talks to Henry Larson, the reporter who tracked down the guy behind the video, about where the story came from and what it means for the “True Crime” genre. He also asks True Crime podcasters, Lauren Bright Pacheco and Bob Motta, about how this trend is a threat to more than just their livelihoods. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read: Henry’s article, A ‘True Crime’ Documentary Series Has Millions of Views. The Murders Are All AI-GeneratedSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 21 May 2025

About 48 hours after the US National Security Advisor was spotted using a weird cloned version of Signal, someone said they’d hacked it. It took them all of 15 minutes. We now know that TeleMessage is ‘cartoonishly hackable,’ but we still don’t know why top White House officials were using it. And what about the investigation to find out if this Israel-based app is bad on accident, or on purpose? I called up my friends Evan McMorris-Santoro of NOTUS and Joseph Cox of 404 Media to get some more context on how bad this might actually be. Here’s the links promised in the episode: Evan’s daily newsletter in NOTUS Joseph’s article in 404 on the Telemessage hack And here’s Micha Lee’s technical breakdown of Telemessage’s security problems Our guests: Evan McMorris-Santoro: @evanmcs.bsky.social Joseph Cox: @josephcox.bsky.social Got something you’re curious about? Hit up @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. See you on the next one.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 14 May 2025

Have you seen Shrimp Jesus? What about the Hollywood sign burning? It probably feels random, but it’s not. There are real people behind AI Slop, and there’s real money to be made. Dexter talks to Jason Koebler from 404 Media who’s been tracking AI slop since its beginnings, and they compare notes to try to figure out where the money is coming from. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + watch:  Jason’s article, Facebook's Shrimp Jesus, Explained Dexter’s article, Inside the Economy of AI Spammers Getting Rich By Exploiting Disasters and Misery Dexter’s video: people made money doing this. (so did Instagram)See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 7 May 2025

While you were going about your life, we all narrowly avoided a complete disaster. This is the story of how one lone Microsoft engineer saved all of us. Dexter talks to Alex Stamos, Chief Information Security Officer at SentinelOne, about how it all went down and why this story still terrifies him today. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 30 April 2025

Welcome to our first episode of kill switch, where we’re diving right into the deep end – investigating how police departments are implementing AI technology. Can AI facial recognition be a magical solution to the unreliability of witness identification? Or is it just making things worse? Dexter talks to Douglas MacMillan, a reporter from the Washington Post, who has been tracking the spread of the technology, and where it seems to (repeatedly) break down. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read: Doug’s article, Arrested by AI Listen: Post Reports podcast episode, Arrested by AISee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 23 April 2025

Sleepwalkers is now Kill Switch, where we explain the right now of living in the future. Everything from making money on saving fake baby animals to how you could get arrested by a police algorithm. Every Wednesday we talk to people to help us understand how our tech-focused society works …or doesn't work.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 16 April 2025

Were we sleeping when everything changed? Not if you listened to the first season of this podcast, because a whole lot of what we explored is now reality. Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. So we've decided to bring the show back -- with a new host, Dexter Thomas Jr  and a new perspective.  On Kill Switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. Examining the ways we shape and are shaped by our ever-changing technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 9 April 2025

We explore the hidden role of cobalt in the A.I. revolution. The element is a key ingredient of lithium-ion batteries, which power everything from cell phones to laptops to electric vehicles. But the way cobalt is mined is troubling. New Yorker journalist Nicolas Niarchos takes us to the Democratic Republic of Congo, which accounts for more than 70% of the world's cobalt supply. There, he exposes child labor in the supply chain and reveals a new frontier of competition with China.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 27 August 2021

In this special bonus episode, Oz and Karah share their trip to the Consumer Electronics Show. They present excerpts from a conversation with Matt Monahan of The Washington Post about how to best harness the power of AI, while avoiding common pitfalls. Matt is head of product for Arc Publishing, which began life as The Post's internal publishing suite, and is now licensed by hundreds of partner sites. Oz and Karah also discuss their highlights from the CES floor, including a device to track dogs' emotions.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 24 January 2020

In this special episode, Oz and Karah examine our evolving relationship with the technology we create. Karah meets Jason Cohen, CEO of Analytical Flavor Systems, to see if his team can hack her taste preferences, and use AI to create a new flavor of beverage that she will love. Oz and Karah also look ahead to Season 2, previewing stories they are excited to report, including algorithms that promise to optimize end-of-life conversations. And they share highlights from conversations with guests from Season 1 who shaped their thinking about AI: Yuval Noah Harari, Siddhartha Mukherjee, and Regina Barzilay of MIT.   Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 14 January 2020

The rules are changing. At a time when technology promises to allow the lame to walk and the blind to see, we're forced to ask: what makes us uniquely human? In this final episode of Season 1, we speak with the so-called "sage of Silicon Valley," Yuval Noah Harari, about humanity's future. We try out technology that claims to deliver on a miracle, and we meet the source of several new innovations being created by people normally left out of the laboratory.  In this episode: Professor Yuval Noah Harari, Sebastian Thrun of Google X and Kitty Hawk, Bryony Cole of Future of Sex, musician Noe Socha, and Dr. Andy Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh.  Special thanks to The Forward, and Make It All Work.  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 4 July 2019

A.I. is already better than human doctors at diagnosing skin and breast cancer. And as machine learning advances, it's becoming able to decode more complex information, like brain waves and the human genome. A.I. is beginning to revolutionize medicine, and allowing us to see into the future of our bodies...but can we ever know too much about ourselves? What will happen when machine learning lets us open our own black boxes?  In this episode: Physician and author Dr. Siddhartha Mukherjee, Google X founder and Kittyhawk CEO Sebastian Thrun, Regina Barzilay of MIT's J-Clinic and CSAIL, Dr. Andy Schwartz of the University of Pittsburgh, Gill Pratt of the Toyota Research Institute. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 27 June 2019

War has been a driver of breakthrough technology for a long time. The first waves of artificial intelligence and even the internet came out of DARPA, a defense agency whose original mission was to keep the U.S. technologically ahead of the Soviet Union. But what happens when the battlefield is increasingly dominated by autonomous weapons, which don't require humans in the loop to shoot and kill? In this episode: Arati Prabhakar, former head of DARPA; Richard Danzig, former Navy Secretary; Paul Scharre, author of "Army of None"; and Jonathan Wilson, former Navy SEAL. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 20 June 2019

Robots are coming for our jobs, and not just in factories. Artificial intelligence doesn't distinguish between blue collar and white collar work, which means that the economy of the future will look very different. And as it changes, we'll need to make big adjustments. But A.I. is also being used in the fight against world hunger. This episode, we speak with roboticists, inventors, and a fast food regular about how we'll put food on the table. In this episode: Ian Bremmer of Eurasia Group, Kai Fu Lee of Sinovation Ventures, Gill Pratt of the Toyota Research Institute, George Kantor of the Carnegie Mellon Robotics Institue, and Walter Kankowski. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 13 June 2019

We travel to Silicon Valley where Astro Teller welcomes us inside X, Google's secretive innovation laboratory, to explain how one of the most powerful companies on earth is building the future. X is working on everything from creating new antibiotics to restoring internet connectivity after natural disasters. And they're not alone. Tech companies are increasingly involved in building infrastructure, and even playing the role of government. But what kind of power does this give them? And what can we do to rein it in? In this episode: Astro Teller of X, Lina Khan of Columbia Law School, Sal Candido & Pamela Desrochers of Loon, Jack Clark of OpenAI, and Jamie Susskind, author of "Future Politics".  Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 6 June 2019

It's getting harder to tell reality from fiction. Fake news and misinformation are all around us, and they're increasingly used as weapons of war. But what happens when A.I.-doctored videos are added to the mix? We meet the people fighting back against deep fakes, and even using them for good. And we visit Facebook headquarters to learn how Russian agents are trying to manipulate our behavior.  In this episode: Nathaniel Gleicher of Facebook, John Micklethwait of Bloomberg News, Jose Sotelo of Lyrebird, Danielle Citron of Maryland Carey Law, Hany Farid of Dartmouth, and David Kirkpatrick of Techonomy. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 30 May 2019

Ever wondered what it would be like to live in a world where computers know exactly what we're feeling? It may sound far-off but advances in sensor technology and A.I. are making us easier to read than ever. For some, this conjures fears of a Minority Report future. For others, it means revolutions in medicine and end-of-life care. We speak with leading experts in the field of empathetic technology to understand the risks and rewards of giving up our privacy. When our technology can adapt to us, how should we respond?  In this episode: Poppy Crum of Dolby Laboratories, Jaron Lanier of Microsoft, Kai-Fu Lee of Sinovation Ventures, and Lisa Talia Moretti of Methods. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 23 May 2019

If data doesn't make you think of a new world order, it should. AI is enabling wholesale surveillance, and changing the landscape in countries like China, where cameras monitor citizens to decide their social credit score. But how is this already playing out in the US? We speak with experts on both sides of the Pacific, and visit the NYPD to learn how they use AI. Plus, we see where else predictive technology is being used in the American criminal justice system. In this episode: Ian Bremmer of Eurasia Group, Kai Fu Lee of Sinovation Ventures, Mary Haskett and Alex Kilpatrick of Blink Identity, Lisa Talia Moretti of Methods, Glenn Rodriguez of the Center for Community Alternatives, Ben Singleton of the NYPD, and Jason Tashea of Justice Codes. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 16 May 2019

If there's one thing that sets people apart from machines, it's creativity, right? Automation may take over certain jobs, but what happens when algorithms start to learn from our work to create their own? This episode, we speak with people using AI to generate films, poetry, music, and even recipes. And the founder of Google X, Sebastian Thrun, explains what's powering this new wave of AI. In this episode: Ross Goodwin and Oscar Sharp of Sunspring, Janelle Shane of AI Weirdness, Drew Silverstein of Amper, Sebastian Thrun of Kittyhawk, Cristobal Valenzuela of Runway ML. Check out Magenta's AI Music tools here. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 9 May 2019

Welcome to the A.I. revolution that is already transforming our lives, for good and evil. But what exactly are we sleepwalking into? We start by investigating the connections between online dating, terrorism, and screen addiction.In this episode we hear from: Tristan Harris of the Center for Humane Technology, Gillian Brockell of the Washington Post, Yasmin Green of Jigsaw, and Dr. Helen Fisher. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 2 May 2019

This is Sleepwalkers. With secret labs and expert guests, Oz Woloshyn and Karah Preiss explore the thrill of the AI revolution hands-on, to see how we can stay in control of our future. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcribed - Published: 25 April 2019