Codebreaker, by Marketplace and Tech Insider

Latest Episodes:

Going Viral Dec 16, 2015

Show notes

How people-rating app Peeple drew rage and put its co-founders in danger, how a 16-year-old embraced identity through virality, and the funny video that threatened to put its makers into crushing debt. Listen, decode, and decide: Is going viral evil?

The Decisive Machine Dec 09, 2015

Show notes

A guy who thinks machines can prevent crime, another who thinks machines could destroy humanity and a machine-learning algorithm outsmarted by squirrels. Listen, decode and decide: Is the decisive machine evil?

The Software Update Dec 02, 2015

Show notes

A software update that almost brought down the International Space Station with astronauts inside, updating software inside your body, and the days when even geeks dreaded installing new programs. Listen, decode, and decide: Is the software update evil?

The Dark Web Nov 25, 2015

Show notes

A couple is forced onto the dark web to buy life-saving medicine; Ben buys a drug scale; and a researcher who says the dark web might make the illegal drug trade safer. Listen, decode, and decide: Is the dark web evil?

Internet Porn Nov 18, 2015

Show notes

A man whose job is scrubbing porn from the web; adult film star Stoya’s battle against free, pirated porn; and the dirty history of tagging. Listen, decode and decide: Is internet porn evil?

Email Nov 11, 2015

Show notes

A woman answers a mysterious email and finds herself on a plane, spam buries our inbox, and a band falls apart over the send button. Listen, decode, and decide: Is email evil?

Announcing Codebreaker Season One Nov 04, 2015

Show notes

Produced by Marketplace in partnership with Tech Insider, Codebreaker is a podcast that dares to ask — and answer — the fundamental questions about technology that consume us every day. In season one, we’re starting with three deceptively simple words: Is it evil? In each episode, host Ben Johnson applies this question to a different technology. Codebreaker launches November 11, 2015.