Slate Technology
Technology coverage from across the Slate Podcast network
Episodes
May 1, 2024 • 24 mins
It’s not that we aren’t making progress slowing our carbon and greenhouse gas emissions; it’s just that we still may not be doing enough—fast enough—to avert catastrophe.
Guest: Umair Irfan, correspondent at Vox writing about climate change, Covid-19, and energy policy.
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May 1, 2024 • 44 mins
Rachelle Hampton and Candice Lim walk through the drama surrounding Foxtrot, an upscale cafe and mini market that abruptly closed all of its locations on April 23. Despite its popularity and over $100 million raised, Foxtrot’s sudden shutdown shocked employees and devoted customers who expressed their outrage and sadness on TikTok. Then, they discuss the rumors surrounding Outdoor Voices, the exercise clothing brand that was everyw...
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April 27, 2024 • 44 mins
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice answer a listener's question about “Dr.” Natalya Toryanski, an influencer with almost a quarter of million of followers on TikTok who tune into her satirical videos mimicking a prototypical “bland influencer.” Our listener writes, “I have to believe that at least a major percentage of her content is intentional parody/satire; but then I have moments where I'm not so sure whether she is parod...
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April 26, 2024 • 22 mins
The TikTok ban that has been floating around Washington since the last administration has been signed into law. What does that mean for users, creators and the court battles ahead?
Guest:
Louise Matsakis, reporter covering tech and China.
Dillon White, TikToker under the handle @dadchats
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April 24, 2024 • 39 mins
On today’s episode, Steffi Cao explains Roblox to Rachelle. Cao, a culture writer with bylines at The Atlantic, Fast Company, Forbes, BuzzFeed and more, recently wrote about Roblox’s new attempt to venture outside of kids’ gaming.
This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.
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April 21, 2024 • 23 mins
From the Wayback Machine to the mass-digitization of the history of Aruba, the Internet Archive is a non-profit doing valuable work. But some of its other projects—a pandemic-era lending library and the ongoing digitalization of 78 rpm records—have led to lawsuits now threatening the future of this repository of the past.
Guest: Kate Knibbs, senior writer at Wired.
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April 20, 2024 • 52 mins
This week: Elon Musk wants his colossal, court-blocked pay package, and Tesla’s board wants to give it to him. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers also chat with Alicia Montgomery, current Slate audio VP and veteran of NPR, to discuss what is — and isn’t — behind NPR’s troubles. Also: inflation is high, but does the Fed really need to cut rates? In the Plus segment: Why Biden is going after Chinese steel.
If you enjoy th...
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April 20, 2024 • 47 mins
On today’s episode, Rachelle and Candice answer listener questions about the rapid rise of Donghua Jinlong, a Chinese company that manufactures glycine. Over the past few weeks, paradoxically deadpan and impassioned videos about the high quality of Donghua Jinlong’s products have taken over TikTok. Are teens actually consuming industrial grade chemicals? Or is something even weirder happening?
This podcast is produced by Se’era Spr...
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April 19, 2024 • 23 mins
Tesla’s market cap has dropped. The company had its biggest round of layoffs ever. The Cybertruck doesn’t seem to be taking off. And Elon’s posting through it. Is Tesla in serious trouble?
Guest: Dana Hull, Bloomberg reporter and contributor to the podcast Elon, Inc.
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April 17, 2024 • 35 mins
Candice Lim is joined by We Signed An NDA co-host Ann Maddox, who you may know as Tom Sandoval’s former personal assistant. In March 2023, Maddox was teaching improv to a middle school in Japan when she found out Sandoval and his then-girlfriend Ariana Madix had split. At first, Maddox assumed this was simply routine tabloid fodder, which often plagued her employers as long-time cast members on Vanderpump Rules. But one specific ph...
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April 16, 2024 • 35 mins
Five years ago, tech investor Ben Horowitz of Andreessen Horowitz bet our own Felix Salmon a 100-year-old bottle of wine that 10% of Americans would be using Bitcoin to pay for something by now. Ben lost, of course, but he’s ready to double down with a new digital wager! He and partner Chris Dixon discuss the past and present of crypto, blockchain, and AI.
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April 14, 2024 • 26 mins
How the semi-legalization of marijuana has drawn a road map for legalizing psychedelics—and also provided a list of pitfalls to be avoided.
Guest: Jane C. Hu, science journalist and author of the newsletter The Microdose.
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April 13, 2024 • 54 mins
This week, Slate Money hacks the mainframe! Washington Post tech writer Shira Ovide joins Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers to discuss what’s wrong with America’s internet industry, how YouTube became the media empire no one talks about, and the promise and peril of the AI toothbrush. In the Plus segment: OpenAI is using YouTube to train ChatGPT. Is that legal?
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April 12, 2024 • 26 mins
Why lately our search engines just don’t seem to deliver results.
Guest: Jason Koebler, cofounder of 404 Media and co-host of the 404 Media Podcast.
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April 10, 2024 • 28 mins
Why scam obituaries are edging out earnest ones, with the help of artificial intelligence and an adept Google game.
Guest: Mia Sato, reporter for The Verge.
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April 10, 2024 • 27 mins
How did an attempt to simplify a tedious student-aid form turn into a full-on debacle that has some high school seniors wondering if they will have to delay starting college?
Guest: Danielle Douglas-Gabriel, national higher education reporter for the Washington Post.
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April 7, 2024 • 29 mins
The demand for electricity is surging in the U.S. With increasing amounts of power going towards artificial intelligence, manufacturing and electric vehicles, can the grid keep up?
Guest: Evan Halper, business reporter covering the energy transition for the Washington Post
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April 6, 2024 • 40 mins
This week: Americans are less revved up about EVs. Felix Salmon, Emily Peck, and Elizabeth Spiers discuss if Elon Musk’s mischief has played a role in slowing sales. Also: the crisis in the wine industry, and how a combination investigative publication/hedge fund wants to blow the lid off corporations — while shorting their stock. In the Plus segment: the proxy battle for the future of Disney.
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April 5, 2024 • 27 mins
Donald Trump got a huge financial boost when Truth Social went public last week—or did he?
Guest: Nitish Pahwa, associate writer on business and tech for Slate.
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April 3, 2024 • 37 mins
On today’s Internet Diary, Rachelle is joined by Rebecca Jennings, Vox’s senior correspondent covering social platforms and the creator economy. The two discuss Jennings’ recent pieces on why everyone loves NYT Connections and how self-promotion became the internet’s lingua franca.
This podcast is produced by Se’era Spragley Ricks, Daisy Rosario, Candice Lim and Rachelle Hampton.
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