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PODCAST

kill switch

Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New host Dexter Thomas answers questions big and small – like who’s behind Shrimp Jesus, and could you get arrested by a computer? kill switch also brings the DIY back to tech – “How to Now” on everything from how to run your own LLM to tips to keep your data safe. Because the more

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All Episodes

33:26

‘my internet bed is broken’ is just the start

kill switch ·

2025/11/05

A few weeks ago on Monday, October 20, a major outage in Amazon Web Services took down a bunch of the Internet. How did an error in one data center in Virginia affect everything from Snapchat and Reddit to ‘smartbeds’ to government services? Dexter talks to Dr. Corinne Cath, a cultural anthropologist and technology researcher, about how the “cloud,” and therefore the Internet, became mostly controlled by 3 big tech companies – Amazon, Microsoft, and Google – why

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29:26

workslop: how AI is making you hate your coworkers

kill switch ·

2025/10/29

Corporate America has bet on AI to make work faster and cheaper. Companies like Meta and Microsoft are laying off employees, hoping it will save them money. But a new study has found that there’s a growing wave of “workslop” and AI is actually making more work for the people left in these organizations. It’s also costing companies millions. Dexter talks with one of the authors of the study, Kate Niederhoffer, to give us an inside look into the details of the study, what

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34:54

maybe ICEBlock was 'activism theater,' but is banning...

kill switch ·

2025/10/22

ICEBlock was an app created to help people report ICE sightings. Then, Apple pulled it from the App Store. But in between those events, there was a semi-public fight over whether the app was actually helpful to immigrants. Dexter talks with security researcher and journalist Micah Lee about why he criticized ICEBlock (calling it “activism theater”), why he still supports the app’s developer in fighting censorship, and what all this means for your ability to use your phone how you

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28:55

your onlyfans girlfriend might be a guy (or a robot)

kill switch ·

2025/10/15

If you’re chatting to a popular OnlyFans model: no, you’re not. That job was outsourced long ago. Teams of “chatters”, often in the Philippines, are paid to flirt, role-play, and get fans to spend as much money as possible. But now, AI bots are moving in, trained on those same human conversations to mimic intimacy at scale. Dexter talks with reporter Michael Beltran about how AI is moving in on the role of chatters, the global race to cut costs, and what the future of digital

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31:38

will blind gamers ever play Zelda like I do? (part 2)

kill switch ·

2025/10/10

As a blind video gamer, the options for the kinds of games you can play are limited. Not only are accessibility features not a standard practice in game development, the tools available right now only go so far. Exploration – a fundamental part of the fun in gaming, especially in an open world game – is often not really possible for blind players in today’s games. Researchers at Columbia University are working to change that. Dexter talks to Brian Smith and Vishnu Nair, who are

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37:13

playing video games while blind (part 1)

kill switch ·

2025/10/08

Ross Minor plays a lot of videogames. He is also completely blind. Despite losing his sight at 8 years old, he’s now working in the industry, making video games accessible for blind players like him. Dexter talks to Ross about his journey in video games, from figuring out how to play Pokémon through sound cues alone to experiencing the biggest game with real accessibility features, The Last of Us 2. If you’re a developer and want to incorporate blind accessibility in your game,

en-US

39:38

television for the dopamine generation (but kids...

kill switch ·

2025/10/01

It’s like “TV on TikTok,” but kids aren’t watching these. Instead, middle-aged women are on the cutting edge here: Vertical dramas are like full-length movies, just distilled down into catchy 60-90 second episodes and watched on your phone. Dexter talks to Teig Sadhana, the star of “My Boss is my Secret Sperm Donor” and other classics, and Jen Cooper, superfan and industry consultant, about why this new format is taking off, who’s watching, and if this might

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35:39

AI beats to study to

kill switch ·

2025/09/24

Lo-Fi beats once stood as the chill soundtrack of the internet, a cozy genre rooted in human touch and imperfections. But in recent years, AI-generated mixes have flooded platforms like YouTube, pumping out endless streams of eerily similar tracks that mimic the vibe, without the soul. What happens when the scene gets overtaken by AI? Dexter talks to Kieran Press-Reynolds, a writer at Pitchfork, about how AI is reshaping the genre, what that means for artists, and whether there is still room for the

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39:01

the glassholes are back

kill switch ·

2025/09/17

Wearable tech is having a moment – after the implosion of Google Glass back in 2013, which faced backlash and ridicule, we’re now readily embracing wearables from rings to AI pendants to new smart glasses in the form of Meta Ray-Bans. What’s behind the new fervor of wearables today, and have we moved on from the privacy and surveillance questions that plagued Google Glass? Dexter talks to Victoria Song, a senior reviewer at The Verge whose job it is to test out each new iteration

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34:07

should you use a chatbot for therapy?

kill switch ·

2025/09/10

Every day there’s a new story about how people are using AI chatbots for therapy – even ChatGPT, which was never designed for that purpose. But, as bad or weird as it sounds, could these chatbots fill a need for people who can’t afford mental health care? Dexter talks to journalist Ella Chakarian, who’s tested a bunch of these AI “therapists,” as well as a real, human therapist, Dr. Stephen Schueller, from the University of California Irvine, about the promises,

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33:03

a software update bricked my car

kill switch ·

2025/09/03

The Fisker Ocean was supposed to be the "world's most sustainable vehicle." With a range of 400 miles, a strong emphasis on software and a price tag of $50,000, the car raised billions in funding and hoped to rival Tesla. But after a disastrous roll out, the company went bankrupt and glitchy software left customers with a 2.5 ton paperweight. Dexter talks to Aarian Marshall, a reporter for WIRED, about what exactly went wrong, why Fisker Ocean owners refuse to give up on the car, and what this all

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45:21

vtubers and why "it’s not silly to be an anime girl...

kill switch ·

2025/08/13

VTubers, or Virtual Youtubers, are growing at a rapid rate in the United States. Just last month, 1200+ fans paid up to $180 each to attend Fantastic Reality, a live VTuber mini-festival in a packed theatre in Los Angeles. But what exactly is VTubing? Can you ever truly build a connection with someone you don’t actually see? Dexter talks to Kou Mariya, a 6,669-year-old blonde vampire anime girl and one of the headliners of Fantastic Reality. She explains what attracts people to VTubing and the

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43:52

why are women still signing up for tea?

kill switch ·

2025/08/06

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

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35:44

tech review: tablets in prisons

kill switch ·

2025/07/30

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

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34:14

how to: make better passwords

kill switch ·

2025/07/23

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

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32:48

the algorithm made me say it

kill switch ·

2025/07/16

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

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34:41

how to poison AI music scrapers

kill switch ·

2025/07/09

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

en-US

31:47

how to break up with netflix (and spotify, and…)

kill switch ·

2025/07/02

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

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41:25

boomers, doomers, and the new empire

kill switch ·

2025/06/25

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

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27:12

why are predator drones flying over LA?

kill switch ·

2025/06/18

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

en-US

44 results

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