Is your phone watching you? Can texting make you smarter? Are your kids real? Note to Self explores these and other essential quandaries facing anyone trying to preserve their humanity in the digital age.
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Right from wrong. We teach our kids what this means in the classroom and at home. But whatabout online? The next generation of tech users could be a part of much more civilized digitaluniverse, but only if they learn how now. Manoush talks to Richard Culatta (CEO of theInternational Society for Technology in Education) about the five steps to creating good digitalcitizens, and how to turn the current online “culture shift” into something positive, respectful, andmore accessible to all.
Sign up for Manoush’s newsletter StableG.com/newsletter and find her other podcasts atZigZagPod.com and IRLPodcast.com
Computer scientist and cult-blogger, Cal Newport, wants you to take 30 dates off from all your personal tech. A month off, he claims, is the only way to truly adopt Digital Minimalism, his method for finding tech-life balance and the name of his latest book. Manoush loves a digital detox as much as the next overloaded person, but she explains to Cal why she has issues with his particular prescriptions.
Manoush writes a newsletter that comes out every other Thursday. Sign up at StableG.com/newsletter and find her other podcasts at ZigZagPod.com and IRLPodcast.com
In 2018, Andria Zafirakou was named Global Teacher of the Year and given $1m in prize money. Why?
The tech show about being human returns with an all new season. Host Manoush Zomorodi kicks things off with the latest on the battle between kids and parents over their screens: do we know how kids are impacted by tech? Does it make them less empathetic? Are they being constantly bullied online? Even if we can help kids figure out their digital habits, are we adults totally screwed? Researcher Elizabeth Englander joins Manoush to share new findings and give the most pragmatic advice about how kids and adults can build better relationships with their tech and each other.
Note to Self helps you navigate the digital age by making sense of its most undervalued component: humans! With all new episodes coming every Tuesday, host Manoush Zomorodi investigates the very personal role technology plays in our lives and how we can live better with it. Because you are so much more than an algorithm.
This week we’re discussing government censorship in China, #metoo and cryptocurrency.
Endless Thread is hosted by Ben Brock Johnson and Amory Sivertson, and is made by WBUR.
Long-distance friends Giorgia Lupi and Stefanie Posavec spent a year tracking the little things in life. Thanks yous, coffees, complaints, street sounds. And each week, they turned their small-scale data collections into whimsical hand-drawn postcards.
On a minute level, they may not say much. But look at them together and they tell an intimate story. This week, Giorgia and Stefanie talk us through three weeks of data, and all the big lessons in our most mundane moments.
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For the next several weeks you'll hear the “Best of” Note to Self in your podcast feed. Our favorite episodes. Manoush will be working on some other projects, but Note to Self will be back before you know it with some changes and surprises.
Look at more postcards by Giorgia and Stefanie here.
With former Google designer Tristan Harris, who explains how far Silicon Valley will go to capture and control your eyeballs. And Snapchat artist CyreneQ, who makes her living drawing on her phone all day. For real.
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For the next several weeks you'll hear the “Best of” Note to Self in your podcast feed. Our favorite episodes. Manoush will be working on some other projects, but Note to Self will be back before you know it with some changes and surprises.
We asked you guys to send us photos. Then we gave them to Andreas Weigend, veteran of Xerox Parc, former chief scientist at Amazon, to see what he could deduce. A lot, it turns out.
A little Google image search, a little metadata, and we can find where you are. Maybe who you are. What color phone you’re using to take the shot, and how many SIM cards you have.
Reading photos is more than a digital parlor trick. It’s the future of commerce, marketing, policing, lending, and basically everything else.
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For the next several weeks you'll hear the “Best of” Note to Self in your podcast feed. Our favorite episodes. Manoush will be working on some other projects, but Note to Self will be back before you know it with some changes and surprises. Keep in touch with her on Twitter, Instagram, and on her website.
Generic usernames, no photos, no tweets. This week, we investigate the dozens of mysterious accounts following Manoush on Twitter. Plus, what makes a good bot – and a bad one.
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For the next several weeks you'll hear the “Best of” Note to Self in your podcast feed. Our favorite episodes. Manoush will be working on some other projects, but Note to Self will be back before you know it with some changes and surprises. Keep in touch with her on Twitter, Instagram, and on her website.
This week, the Supreme Court cases that defined privacy for the digital age. Because the founding fathers didn’t write the Bill of Rights with the internet in mind.
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For the next several weeks you'll hear the “Best of” Note to Self in your podcast feed. Our favorite episodes. Manoush will be working on some other projects, but she’ll be back before you know it with some changes and surprises. Keep in touch with her on Twitter, Instagram, and on her website.
We visit the Dark Web, where you can get heroin, fentanyl and oxycontin shipped right to your door. This week, the link between online drug markets and America’s opioid crisis.
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For the next several weeks you'll hear the “Best of” Note to Self in your podcast feed. Our favorite episodes. Manoush will be working on some other projects, but she’ll be back before you know it with some changes and surprises. Keep in touch with her on Twitter, Instagram, and on her website.
Today, listener stories and tips: we wrap up our No Filter series of conversations about how women live online.
From YouTube megastar Lele Pons to iconic artist Barbara Kruger, we heard a joyous mix of vulnerable confessions, utter defiance, and (for once) a mostly positive vision of what being a woman on the web can look like. To wrap it up, stories from you. About how you’re reconciling the IRL you with the online you. Plus, The Cut’s editor-in-chief Stella Bugbee is back with her greatest hope for the next generation of women in the workplace.
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Some podcast news: For the next several weeks you'll hear the “Best of” Note to Self in your podcast feed. Our favorite episodes. Manoush will be working on some other projects, but she’ll be back before you know it with some changes and surprises. Keep in touch with her on Twitter, Instagram, and on her website.
The woman behind some of your favorite gifs takes us to the future. See what being a woman on the web may look like.
We couldn’t close out No Filter, our series on women owning it online, without profiling Jasmyn Lawson, former culture editor at Giphy. That's the search engine that houses all those looped videos we use to express emotion - and ourselves - online. But when Jasmyn started working there, she couldn’t find many gifs that looked like her. "Just having Beyonce and Rihanna and Nicki Minaj is not enough to say you're representing black women." So she made her own.
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Some podcast news: For the next several weeks you'll hear the “Best of” Note to Self in your podcast feed. Our favorite episodes. Manoush will be working on some other projects, but she’ll be back before you know it with some changes and surprises. Keep in touch with her on Twitter, Instagram, and on her website.
The iconic artist talks to Manoush about our curated selfies, owning a font, and why we all need likes. Plus, The Cut’s editor in chief Stella Bugbee.
If you missed the other episodes of No Filter earlier this week, go back! Instagram megastar Lele Pons, Transparent actor Trace Lysette, painter Amy Sherald, who made Michelle Obama’s official portrait, and anchor Christiane Amanpour.
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We want to hear from YOU. How do you portray yourself online? Let us know in a quick message. We have a new way to talk to us, right in your browser. Give it a try.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love hearing from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
The CNN anchor talks to Manoush about sex, wearing a “uniform,” and staying profesh on air and online.
Plus, Call Your Girlfriend co-host and Cut contributor Ann Friedman, who almost fell out of her ergonomic chair when she found out she’d be in the same episode as Christiane.
Every day this week, a new episode of our series, No Filter: Women Owning It Online, with New York Magazine’s The Cut. Five conversations with badass women. And trust us, you don’t have to be a woman for this series to be a must-listen.
We’ve heard from Instagram megastar Lele Pons, Transparent actor Trace Lysette, and painter Amy Sherald, who made Michelle Obama’s official portrait. Tomorrow, we close the week with iconic artist Barbara Kruger.
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We want to hear from YOU. How do you portray yourself online? Let us know in a quick message. We have a new way to talk to us, right in your browser. Give it a try.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love hearing from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Christiane’s new show is Sex & Love Around the World. And Ann’s podcast is, of course, Call Your Girlfriend, with Aminatou Sou.
Her portrait of Michelle Obama went viral. Painter Amy Sherald dismisses the haters. “Some people want their poetry to rhyme.”
Plus, Allison P. Davis, Senior Culture Writer at The Cut, on how picking Amy was like Michelle Obama choosing her own Instagram filter.
This is day three of our weeklong series, No Filter: Women Owning It Online, with New York Magazine’s The Cut. Five conversations with badass women. Some old, some young. ALL have bent the internet to their will. And trust us, you don’t have to be a woman for this series to be a must-listen.
Monday we talked to Instagram megastar Lele Pons. Yesterday, Transparent star Trace Lysette. Coming up, CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour, and iconic artist Barbara Kruger, who blew all of our minds.
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We want to hear from YOU. How do you portray yourself online? Let us know in a quick message. We have a new way to talk to us, right in your browser. Give it a try.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love hearing from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
The Transparent star talks to Manoush about the political nude selfie, her #metoo moment, and constructing her self online and IRL. Plus, how her life as a young trans woman prepared her to confront Jeffrey Tambor and live her truth. With Noreen Malone, features editor at The Cut.
Every day this week, a new episode of our series, No Filter: Women Owning It Online, with New York Magazine’s The Cut. Five conversations with badass women. Some old, some young. ALL have bent the internet to their will. And trust us, you don’t have to be a woman for this series to be a must-listen.
Yesterday, Instagram megastar Lele Pons. Coming up, painter Amy Sherald, who created that stunning portrait of Michelle Obama. CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour. Iconic artist Barbara Kruger, who blew all of our minds.
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How do YOU portray yourself online? Send us a quick message - we have a new way to talk to us, right in your browser. Give it a try.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love hearing from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Every day this week, a new episode of our series, No Filter: Women Owning It Online, with New York Magazine’s The Cut. Five conversations with badass women. Some old, some young. ALL have bent the internet to their will. And trust us, you don’t have to be a woman for this series to be a must-listen.
Today, Lele Pons. And if you’re thinking “Lele who?”, you’re not a teen girl. The Instagram megastar talks to Manoush about crafting her image, controlling her edits, and why she gives her cell number to fans.
Tomorrow, Transparent actor Trace Lysette. Wednesday, painter Amy Sherald, who created that stunning portrait of Michelle Obama. Then CNN anchor Christiane Amanpour, and iconic artist Barbara Kruger, who blew all of our minds. Plus, writers from The Cut.
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And we want to hear from you. Send us a quick message - How do YOU portray yourself online? How does the internet mess with your head? How do you mess back? We have a new way to talk to us, right in your browser. Give it a try.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love hearing from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
We kick off our new series, No Filter: Women Owning It Online, with New York Magazine’s The Cut. Because since the #metoo movement, we’re all rethinking what it means to be a woman in the world. But what about what it means to be a woman on the web?
Today, our launch episode. Every day next week, a new conversation with a badass woman about the highs and lows of living online. And how they've bent the internet to their will. Trust us, you don’t have to be a woman for this series to be a must-listen.
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We want to hear from you. How do YOU portray yourself online? How does the internet mess with your head? How do you mess back? We have a new way to send us a message, right in your browser. Give it a try.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love hearing from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Stories of life online, told live.
We teamed up with Generation Women, a monthly event where women from their 20s to their 80s share stories on a theme. For this episode, the theme is My Digital Revolution. Tales from the wellness editor at Teen Vogue, Kathy Tu from the Nancy podcast, Chirlane McCray, the first lady of New York. And Carol Prisant, the most baller septuagenarian you’ve ever heard. For real. Plus, Generation Women founder Georgia Clark.
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Our newest series is No Filter: Women Owning It Online. Since #metoo, we're all rethinking what it means to be a woman in the world. But what does it mean to be a woman on the web? To find out, we've partnered with New York Magazine's The Cut. Hear our launch episode now.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love hearing from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Mona Chalabi, data editor at the Guardian, takes the numb out of numbers. She joins Manoush to talk about stats versus stories, how data defines normal, and average testicle size. That one’s an interactive iPhone chart. For real.
Her hand-drawn illustrations are in her Instagram feed, if you want to check them out as you listen. Specifically, Manoush and Mona talk about the “iceberg of pervs,” women in Congress, the hairiness series, and male vocal change.
*all credit for the numb/numbers wordplay goes to Mona, via her Twitter bio.
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Listen to Mona's new podcast, Strange Bird.
Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
We asked how you share personal photos. Here’s what we learned from your 1,200 (!) answers.
Psychologist Guy Winch joins Manoush to untangle our mixed posting emotions. Because our grams are complex. A trans listener is thankful his parents didn’t post during his teen years. A mom doesn’t understand her daughter’s online brand. A son wishes his dad included him in family snapshots. Nothing is just a pretty picture.
Plus, the wonderful Charlotte Philby, former editor of Motherland magazine. Her family posts were part of her "brand" - until she stopped gramming cold turkey.
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Guy Winch’s new book is How to Fix a Broken Heart.
Charlotte Philby’s website is here, and the article she wrote about her famous spy granddad is incredible.
We gathered some of your comments in a Medium post, because you all are amazing.
Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Real OKCupid message: “Hi, good evening, nice photos. You are not fat.” It’s rough on dating apps. Can romance survive?
Eric Klinenberg wrote Modern Romance with Aziz Ansari. This week, he joins Manoush to make the case that dating apps have killed romance. Featuring a mystery dater, reporting from the frontier of 21st century love.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Let’s build a database of political Facebook ads. Just in case someone needs to check on them later. Like, say, if the Russians bought thousands of ads to sway an election. Manoush’s privacy girlfriend, ProPublica’s Julia Angwin, is back with a challenge (and a browser plugin) for Note to Self listeners.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
We all need someone to tell (or text) our stories to. Even if they’re paid to text back.
This week, Manoush meets an Invisible Girlfriend, earning pennies a message to create fake love. And an utterly wonderful man using the service for an entirely valid reason. We’re revisiting this 2015 episode to warm your heart pre-Valentine's Day.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Screen time is a daily battle. Between kids and parents, between ourselves and our better judgment. But maybe it doesn’t have to be. There is a better way.
Manoush gets the answers from Anya Kamenetz, NPR education correspondent and author of the new book, The Art of Screen Time: How Your Family Can Balance Digital Media and Real Life. Practical strategies, solid research, and some reassurance that mostly we’re all gonna be fine.
And we sneak a peek at Dina Temple-Raston’s new podcast, What Were You Thinking: Inside the Adolescent Brain.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Is there a secret solution to information overload? Can random accounts ever truly be erased? How do I stay connected if I break up with social media? It’s Manoush’s brain, distilled into actionable pearls of wisdom. Plus, meet the woman behind the Note to Self inbox.
Read the full list of tips and services we discuss in the episode. Including Manoush's favorite newsletters, and a killer oatmeal cookie recipe.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
People have a lot of excuses for not meditating. Eight, in fact. Dan Harris knows them all. And he can help.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Let’s create some calm as this year ends. It all starts with one deep breath, led by Google employee 107. This week, we revisit Manoush’s lovely interview with Chade-Meng Tan, who retired at 44 to meditate and search for world peace. Because these days, we sure need it.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
The creators of the Netflix hit Black Mirror on predicting the future, Twitter as a massive role-playing game, and nostalgia for meh. As season four of the Emmy-award-winning show approaches, we revisit Manoush’s conversation with show creators Charlie Brooker and Annabel Jones. Chipper optimism and wit from two delightfully dark geniuses.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
The tradeoffs we don’t see when we shop on Amazon. Why the answer isn’t to cancel your Prime. And yes, I bring Alexa’s new camera into my bedroom.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
People say mean things to Dylan Marron online. He takes that as an invitation to call them up and make friends.
This week, the benefits of talking to our haters, and why it’s good for the country as well as the soul.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Find Dylan’s show, Conversations with People Who Hate Me, here.
An incomplete list of the objects listening to us: Siri. Alexa. Google Home. With so many recordings, the transcribed life isn’t far off. For better or for worse.
This week, one intrepid woman records every minute of her life for three days. She captured a lot of minutia, and one extremely uncomfortable interaction. Our guest co-host on this repeat episode is Rose Eveleth, of the Flash Forward podcast.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
How a single American’s quest for his own digital marketing profile may show us all how our data travels the world. And may even end up in the hands of foreign governments.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
From March, the first chapter in our look at Cambridge Analytica. We asked the controversial digital marketing firm what services they provided for Trump. And experimented with our own psychometric profiles. Listen to our latest episode to learn about the new lawsuit that could shine a light on Cambridge Analytica.
More spy terms explained, reasonable/sensible coping strategies for when democracy is under threat, and nyet more puns. This week: how to spot a botnet. How psychometrics sells sneakers - and worldviews. And how to make sure you’re not the useful idiot.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
Russian spy tactics have gotten an upgrade since the Cold War. This week how they work now: bad actors, active measures, advanced persistent threats. Cyberwar has its own vocabulary. So we got ourselves a tutor.
Join Manoush and information warfare expert Molly McKew, who puts the fun in fundamental assault on democracy.
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Subscribe to our Wednesday morning newsletter for info on new episodes, our must-reads, and the news you need to get just a little geeky. Sign up here.
Follow us on Twitter @manoushz and @notetoself, or on Facebook. Email us any time at notetoself@wnyc.org - we love to hear from you. Responses from real humans, not bots, promise.
If talking about democracy getting hacked feels like old news, it’s time to take a fresh look.
This week, we separate fear from facts with Noah Shachtman and Spencer Ackerman of the Daily Beast. Good thing they're funny guys, or this could get really dark.
There was a time humans were guided by stars, not satellite. Now you can beam into robots, or turn on GPS. But when we put ourselves on autopilot we may lose our minds.
This week, Manoush outsources her body to a telepresence robot. And finds out what GPS has done to her brain. Turn right, turn left, right off a cliff.
With Greg Milner, author of Pinpoint: How GPS is Changing Technology, Culture, and Our Minds.
We have photos of robot Manoush in this week's newsletter. If you don't already get it, sign up here.
You judge the person playing Candy Crush. Even when it’s you. But that mental fist pump from leveling up has real value. How to stop judging and use games for a strategic reset.
With game designer and futurist Jane McGonigal, author of SuperBetter and Reality is Broken.
The Replika app chats with you, learns from you, and reflects you back. It starts to become you. And your AI self gets pretty real.
Journalist Mike Murphy used the app to create his mini-me, and wrote about it for Quartz.
After months of talking to himself, he had a breakthrough. And some questions about how we define humanness.
And other fibs we tell our friends, family and lovers. Psychotherapist Esther Perel is back to call us on our bullsh*t.
This is the second of our two-parter on how our phones create such intimacy and such distance. Esther’s new book is The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity. Listen to part one here.
Remember being dumped? Now, technology lets us delay, deflect, and disappear. Renowned pyschotherapist Esther Perel is here to help us fall in love better.
Esther is the bestselling author of Mating in Captivity and the host of the podcast Where Should We Begin? Her new book is The State of Affairs: Rethinking Infidelity.
Silicon Valley is still a man's world. And Ellen Ullman, who started programming in 1978, thinks it's high time for the rest of us to infiltrate.
Ellen's new book, Life in Code, is full of great and awful stories. Her love of the work. The joys of hunting down a bug. But also, the client who would rub her back while she tried to fix his system. The party full of young men drinking beer, where she turned down a job offer from Larry Page. Ellen has watched tech-bro culture take over everything. Now, she says, we have to grab our angry dignity and fight back.
José Cruz is a college student, research scientist, and phone power-user. He spent 6 hours in one day on his screen. So he wanted to cut back, make more time for research, reading, and mental drift. And he recorded himself doing it. It was not easy. There are some painful moments - but man, is there a payoff.
Plus, seventh grade teacher-turned-neuroscientist Mary Helen Immordino-Yang on the link between single-tasking and innovation.
The second of our two episodes celebrating the launch of Manoush's new book, Bored and Brilliant.
We deleted, we unplugged, we took walks. We made choices. We made time. Two years later, we catch up with some of the original Bored and Brilliant participants - some of the 20,000 people who joined our 2015 experiment. Today, that experiment is a book, designed to help us separate from our devices just a bit, and turn them from taskmaster to tool. To make space for boredom, and let the brilliance in.
Plus a new conversation with tech-star and NTS friend Tristan Harris, a designer once tasked with sucking your eyeballs to the screen. Now, he’s fighting the good fight to reclaim your brain.
To encourage you to #GetBored and find brilliance, we made a weird earworm. It's an interview about the history of boredom... sound-designed to help you space out. A brain nap. With historian Peter Toohey, and some very soothing, meditative music.
A surprise bonus, because Manoush's TED talk is online now (!) and she has some behind-the-scenes memories to share from the main stage. To celebrate - and vent (in a good way).
This week, five episodes for five ways we can do better by the planet. First: warm up, strip down. Rethink the air conditioner.
With David Biello, science curator for TED.
Giant whale turds. A permanent shade over the sun. One is flashier, but that's the danger of it. This is poopier oceans vs. the climate quick fix.
The last episode in our five-part series, with TED science curator David Biello.
We’ve made our plants bigger, juicier, and sturdier. Now can we make them better at sucking CO2? And should we?
The last episode in our five-part series, with TED science curator David Biello.
First, stick a giant vacuum cleaner onto a smokestack. Inhale the exhaust. Then what?
The last episode in our five-part series, with TED science curator David Biello.
We were going to have to talk about it eventually. No, not Elon Musk (although yes, he does come up). Mars. Planet B.
The last episode in our five-part series, with TED science curator David Biello.
It’s 2017, and Manoush still has a Yahoo account. Is her exit strategy an encrypted file in Switzerland? This week, the tech loyalties we keep past their expiration date, and how to move on - technically and emotionally.
We visit the Dark Web, where you can get heroin, fentanyl and oxycontin shipped right to your door. This week, we stress out our IT department with our searches and talk to author Nick Bilton about the Silk Road, online drug markets, and the opioid crisis in America.
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Do your parents post pictures of you? Or did they when you were younger?
Do you post pictures of your kid?
We want to better understand how families are sharing information online. So we made two surveys - one for parents and guardians, and one for teens and young adults - to help us think about this, together.
Spare 3 minutes to take them now. This one if you're a teen, and this if you're answering as a parent.
Then spare another 30 seconds to share our surveys with your network. Your (aggregated) answers will be part of an upcoming episode, and our on-going inquiry into these digital lives we're living.
Here's why we're interested: a 2010 study discovered that 92% of children in the U.S. have a social media presence by their second birthday. A third are online even before they're born - in sonogram photos on their parents' social feeds. Growing up has never been so public or so digital. And that's our bread and butter. Maybe it's yours, too?
A third of kids are online before they’re even born, thanks to sonogram images posted to Facebook. Is there a downside to all the kid photos we share?
This week, we revisit a conversation with Hillary Frank, host of the Longest Shortest Time. And we want to hear what you think - did your parents post photos of you? Do you post photos of your kids? Visit notetoselfradio.org/kidphotos to take our survey.
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Yeah, it’s been a while for us too. So let’s reset. It’s the Bored and Brilliant bootcamp: three quick challenges to make space for brilliance in our accelerating world.
Maybe you’ve heard this episode before, but even if you have, a boredom refresher can’t hurt. Take some time to daydream, and see what ideas bubble up as your mind wanders.
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Address books, maps, keys. Your Walkman, your datebook. All wiped out by your phone. Along with eye contact and boredom. This week, as the iPhone turns 10, we assess our most enduring love affair: the relationship between us and our devices.
With tech journalist David Pogue and Adam Greenfield, author of Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life.
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Netflix’s Black Mirror is a tweaked reflection of technology’s worst consequences - what show creator Charlie Brooker calls a “sarcastic version of the present.’ This week, Brooker and executive producer Annabel Jones join us for a cheerfully dystopian chat about where their ideas come from, why they haven’t quit TV to launch a startup, and Twitter as the world’s top video game.
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This Father's Day, one dad on his role as lead parent, and what it means for his career, psyche, and marriage. With Andrew Moravcsik, an accomplished author, academic, and husband to Anne-Marie Slaughter (yeah, the one who literally wrote the book on women in the workplace).
This bonus episode is one of our favorites from the Note to Self archive, and was first released as part of our now award-winning series Taking the Lead. We thought it fitting to return to today.
Besides investigating Russian election interference, Sen. Wyden is tackling government hacking, email surveillance, border device searches, and fighting for your rights online. How did a basketball-playing former gerontologist become your digital champion in Congress?
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Today, Sen. Wyden hears testimony from former FBI Director James Comey. Next week, he’ll be here on Note to Self. Here’s a sneak peek at our chat about cybersecurity and your digital rights.
Rochelle LaPlante keeps horrifying images off the internet, screening photos for four cents a click. Content moderators do an important job. So why don’t employers like Facebook hold them up as heroes?
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Our producer discovered an FBI file on her grandfather. Back then, the big threat was communists. Today, it's terrorists, Occupy and BLM. Maybe even you. And the surveillance methods are a lot less analog.
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With all the news of leaks, national security, and hacking, who better to talk to than Ed Snowden? So yes, Manoush and Ed tackle the NSA, privacy, and ransomware. But also identity, the self, and the “quantified spiderweb of all our worst decisions.” It’s a very Note to Self chat with a very smart man.
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Who among us hasn’t wondered, maybe in a stoned haze, if the colors you see aren’t even the same colors that I see? How do we know we’re even in the same reality, man? That’s what the world has been feeling like, except not so chill. This week, we dissect reality itself, with our friend Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC’s On the Media.
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This Mother's Day, a surprise. To celebrate working moms, we're re-releasing all four episodes of our award-winning series, Taking the Lead. The story of two Brooklyn women and their tech idea to help harried working mothers - like themselves. Start here, with Episode 1: The Pain Point. And happy Mother's Day, ladies. You rock.
Episode two of Mother's Day series is The Paradox. Rachael and Leslie test a prototype of their app on one very eager participant: Manoush. And they run into an ironic challenge. Turns out, it's tough to build a work/life balance app without one.
Faced with financial barriers, Rachael and Leslie join a startup accelerator. But while honing their pitch, different goals emerge. Rachael is focused on social change, while Leslie wants to create a giant woman-led company.
The last episode in our Mother's Day special. Rachael Ellison and Leslie Ali Walker face difficult choices: Should they drop the feminist mission behind the company when they make their pitch to investors? Does Rachael need to give up entrepreneurship so she can remain the kind of mom she wants to be?
Bot armies are taking aim at our democracies, spreading garbage on Twitter from last November to Brexit to this weekend’s French election. But what do they want with Manoush?
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Uh, mom, the eggplant emoji is not about food. The crying-laughing emoji is not appropriate for funerals. And dad, just texting 'K' is super passive-aggressive. This week, a real live therapist tackles your intergenerational tech dilemmas. And we try to stop copping out of tough conversations with a text. Admit it, you do it too.
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We count on robots to do more and more stuff. Drive cars, water crops, diagnose disease. What happens when the robots are racist? This week, a look back at one terrible AI mistake.
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Your selfies are sharing way more than your smiling face. They’re full of data. Which is being used by stores. And banks. And police. And, well, everyone.
This week, you sent us your photos. We gave them to data scientist Andreas Weigend, to see what he could deduce. A lot, it turns out. Date and time. Location, down to where in a building you were. Your name, education, employment history. Your hopes and dreams. Well, not quite. But close.
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Information overload has reached an all time high. Is there a way to stay-up-to-date without losing your mind? Yes. We call it “single-tasking.” Here’s a reminder of what multi-tasking does to your brain plus a proven way to find focus.
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How one revolting, racist, sexist word emerged from the dark corners of 4chan and Reddit. And why we should care.
With slang lexicographer Jonathon Green, writer Dana Schwartz of the Observer, and Derek Thompson of the Atlantic.
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The story goes: the Trump campaign hired consultants called Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge uses data to target voters' personalities and emotions. Trump wins. But it's not so simple.
Did the Trump campaign have a secret sauce? Or just more ketchup? This week, some answers. With Matt Oczkowski of Cambridge Analytica, psychometrics pioneer Michal Kosinski, and Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times.
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After building the social network’s ad system, Antonio García Martínez tried to set his career on fire with a tell-all. An inside view on Face-versaries, terrifying emails from Zuck, and the cult of changing the world. Turns out, it takes a lot to get shunned in the Valley. Especially when you write a bestseller. The author of Chaos Monkeys, on the fallout from his attempt to commit career suicide.
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So, the C.I.A. has a back door to your phone. At least, according to the Vault 7 data dump from WikiLeaks. This week, when are these tactics really making our lives safer?
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Maybe you’ve heard, some big news hit the privacy world on Tuesday.
WikiLeaks, the organization behind the DNC leak last year, released a trove of documents (ominously) called “Vault 7.” The files reveal a collection of hacking systems developed or obtained by the CIA, and, if true, these tactics are pretty startling. One tool, for example, code-named “Weeping Angel” can allegedly turn a Samsung TV into a recording device--even if it looks turned off.
Many of you tweeted and emailed us to say these revelations have you side-eyeing your devices. Yeah, we feel you. So here’s a round-up of what we know so far and some suggestions of what to do and read as the story continues to unfold.
First thing’s first, what happened.
The New York Times broke the news, and we like their breakdown of what’s in the leaked documents, what’s true, new, and how it could affect your tech use.
Signal and Encrypted Text Messaging
“Vault 7” reveals the CIA can hack iPhone and Android operating systems, allowing it to intercept messages before they get encrypted by texting apps like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, and Weibo. The Note to Self team recommended Signal during our Privacy Paradox project as an encrypted messaging app. But does this new information mean Signal isn’t living up to its promise? No. Signal is encrypting all your messages.
What the leaked documents suggest is that the C.I.A. can use vulnerabilities in the operating system to take control of your phone. Which, as Wired says, means you have bigger problems. Moxie Marlinspike, one of the developers of Signal, also pointed out to New York Magazine that there are limited uses for those so-called "zero-day" tools--every time they get used, they might be discovered and patched. So the surveillance agencies are likely limiting their use to “nation-state actors,” as Wired puts it.
Apple
The “Vault 7” leak suggests the CIA uses “zero day” exploits to target Apple’s iOS. That means it gets into the operating system via vulnerabilities that already exist in the software rather than using malware or viruses. But Apple says they had already patched the vulnerabilities mentioned in the report.
P.S. Remember Apple’s legal battle with the F.B.I last year? It’s outdated, but gives some weight to this line in their statement: “Apple is deeply committed to safeguarding our customers’ privacy and security.”
Samsung
Samsung TVs are said to be targets of a particularly creepy tool detailed in the WikiLeaks documents--one that allegedly allows the CIA to turn TVs into recording devices, even when they appear to be turned off.
Samsung told Buzzfeed News, “Protecting consumers’ privacy and the security of our devices is a top priority at Samsung. We are aware of the report in question and are urgently looking into the matter.”
Microsoft, Google and Facebook’s WhatsApp are all looking into the claims as well, according to USA Today.
While they have not verified specifics, U.S. intelligence officials confirm the documents themselves are legitimate.
Here’s what to read while you ponder whether it’s time to trade in your connected TV for a short-wave radio…
And if these revelations have you thinking about privacy in a whole new way, and you haven't done the Privacy Paradox challenges yet, you can start them any time.
A little yellow ghost has joined Manoush’s home screen. This week, Note to Self takes the plunge into Snapchat. Where we find lots of opportunities for passive aggression, obligation, and shade. And that’s not a bug. It’s a feature. With designer Tristan Harris, of Time Well Spent, and Snapchat artist CyreneQ.
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Can brain stimulation tech replace your glass of wine? Or your joint? We strap a digital potato chip to our heads, and zap our brains with electricity, in the name of science. And we accidentally over-chill.
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No, not by watching porn. By sharing with your partner what turns you on, and weirds you out. Through an app.
Kaitlin Prest of The Heart podcast recruits two couples to test drive the Pls Pls Me app. And talk about awkward conversations, making out, and more… unusual desires.
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Technologist Anil Dash on mistakes he’s made, and the new ethics of tech. Journalist Julia Angwin on why we’re all losing, and her strategies as a privacy prepper. Much laughter ensues. Note to Self nerds out, live from WNYC’s Greene Space.
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Tens of thousands of people did the Privacy Paradox challenge. And the results are in. Seven percent of you said you want to give up. (Sorry. Don’t!) Seventy percent of you want to push for big change. (Hooray! Do.) And we have ideas.
We’ll hear from Michal Kosinski, creator of Apply Magic Sauce, and Solon Barocas, who studies the ethics of machine learning at Microsoft Research. Plus, reports from our listeners on the wonder and terror of digging through their digital identities.
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Many of you told us that the Privacy Paradox challenges freaked you out. But you were happy to take back even just a little control. Want to go further? Here's what you can do to protect your personal information.
We also heard from you that this problem is bigger than you realized. Keep reading for our ideas on what we can all do, together, to create the web we want to see in the world.
THE BASICSFun bonus:
Okay, you have strong passwords. And two-factor on all your accounts. And you’re using Signal. Well, it’s on your phone. Right?
Then here are your next steps.
Fun bonus:
You’ve done the basics and then some. You have the stamina and want to take it to the next level.
Fun bonus:
This isn’t all on you. These are society-level problems that require collective response. Here’s some ways to take action.
1. GO STRAIGHT TO THE TOP
2. CHECK OUT THESE (NON-PARTISAN) GROUPS WORKING ON PRIVACY
3. TALK ABOUT PRIVACY OPENLY
4. BONUS FOR TECHNOLOGISTS
This should go without saying, but just in case: We’re not suggesting that you use any of these tools or tips to hide illegal activity or nefarious deeds. We’re suggesting you use them because the U.S. Constitution affords us a right to be secure in our persons, houses, papers and effects. And digital privacy is the 21st Century version of that.
The last day of the Privacy Paradox challenge. We'll draw some conclusions from this week—and some boundaries for the future. With Sir Tim Berners-Lee, who invented a little something called the World Wide Web. He has a big idea for a more secure, more private experience online. And he thinks we can build it together.
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It's day four of the Privacy Paradox challenge. We talk to Elan Gale, executive producer of The Bachelor, about how we perform for social media, and how we change when we know we’re being watched. Also, the dangers of drunk tweeting. And Stanford psychology professor Elias Aboujaoude on how to find your true self when your personal details are public knowledge.
Plus, it's time to get away from wifi, unplug the smart devices, and turn off your phone. We're going off the grid. Briefly.
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It's day three of Note to Self's Privacy Paradox challenge. There are the things you know you share online: selfies, emails, Facebook posts. But there is so. much. more. Marketers are mining the words you use, your tone and sentence length, to profile you. To assess your personality.
Today, find out who the Internet thinks you are. With the man who helped Google implement the right to be forgotten.
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It's the second day of the Privacy Paradox challenge. You know - as you move across the web, clicking and searching and liking, you’re being tracked. You might use an ad blocker. Or a do-not-track plug-in. But you're still leaving tiny traces everywhere.
Today, we go from creepy to crappy. Creepy is that vague feeling that the machines know… something. Crappy, at least, is knowing what they know. And taking a step to slow the information flow.
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Your Privacy Paradox challenges start today.
What does your phone know about you? Too much, probably. And it’s even more than you think. Many apps track your location, even when you’re not using them. Others listen in via your microphone, even when you’re not talking to them.
Maybe you want your apps to know what you’re up to. Or maybe want to open up your Settings app and check out what data you’re giving away. That’s your task for day one of “The Privacy Paradox,” our five-part project to help you take back your digital identity.
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1. What is the Privacy Paradox?
It’s a five-day series of challenges, newsletters and mini-podcasts, that will help you take back control over your personal information and digital identity.
It’s also the term behavioral economists use to describe the disconnect between our feelings about digital privacy (we value it!) and how we act online (we give privacy away!).
2. Why should I sign up for the Privacy Paradox project?
Because you’ll be part of a community that also wants to know where their information goes, what the trade-offs involve, and how they can live a better life, online and off. Plus, privacy is right. Claim it before it drip, drip, drips away.
3. But I don’t have anything to hide! Tell me again why I should do this?
Because a life without shadows is a flat life. You don’t have to be subversive to want to live in a world where your every thought and action is not tracked and quantified. Free will, anyone? Also, what about people who DO have something to hide? Be a mensch. If everyone protects their privacy, it won’t be considered “suspicious.”
4. How will the project work?
It’s easy. Put in your email address at PrivacyParadox.org. And yes, we promise to protect it. Then, if you want a thought-provoking giggle, take our Privacy Personality Quiz. Find out if you are The Believer, The Realist, or The Shrugger.
Then, every morning, you’ll get a special newsletter that includes mini-podcast with the experts behind that day’s challenge. And tips. Lots of tips.
5. What happens at the end?
Good stuff. We don’t want to ruin the surprise but you’ll get easy tip sheets to take with you and share. And we’ll measure how people want to move forward afterwards. We have some ideas. More soon.
5. I missed the launch date! You said it started February 6th - can I still join?
You bet. Just sign up for the newsletter, and you’ll get the launch newsletter. Then, for five days after that, you’ll get a challenge newsletter in your inbox.
6. Do you really know what you’re doing?
Yes. Amazing people like inventor of the web and 4th Amendment legal experts have helped us create the Privacy Paradox. And we’ve done these big interactive projects before. Check out Bored and Brilliant and Infomagical. This is the new digital literacy, sugar.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEAM7. What is Note to Self?
A ridiculously fun and smart podcast for anyone trying to preserve their humanity in the digital age, if we do say so ourselves. We call it the tech show about being human. You can find us on Twitter @NoteToSelf and on Facebook at Note to Self Radio. We're produced and distributed by WNYC Studios – home to Radiolab, On the Media, Freakonomics and more.
8. Who is Manoush Zomorodi?
Manoush is a hard-core journalist and also kind of a weird public radio mash-up between Morgan Spurlock and Tina Fey. She tweets @manoushz. You can learn more about her here.
9. You didn't answer my question. How do I get in touch?
Feel free to send us a message on Facebook, Twitter, or email (notetoself[at]wnyc[dot]org.)
QUESTIONS FROM THE PRESS10. I want to write about The Privacy Paradox/Infomagical/Note to Self/Bored and Brilliant/Manoush Zomorodi/WNYC Studios. Who do I talk to?
Awesome, we’d love to talk to you. You can contact Senior Director of Publicity Jennifer Houlihan at jhoulihan@nypublicradio.org.
We want control of our personal information. But even when risks to our data are high, we sign up for services and apps. We download, click, and post without being sure where that data ends up. The Privacy Paradox, Note to Self's latest interactive project is your answer to this digital dilemma.
Next week, we'll bring you five days of challenges and mini-podcasts, to help you make digital decisions that feel right for you. To join the project, sign up at privacyparadox.org. And listen here. Let's do this, folks.
Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.
There’s so much potential. With big data, researchers can smooth social interactions and create better cities. Maybe cure cancer, and slow climate change. But the data has to come from somewhere. And that somewhere is us.
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The Fourth Amendment doesn’t mention privacy once. But those 54 little words are a crucial battleground in today’s fight over our digital rights.
This week, Note to Self gets in our time machine, back to the court cases that brought privacy from parchment to Gmail. Tales of Miami bookies, tapped payphones, and a 1975 Monte Carlo. And where the Fourth Amendment needs to go, now that we’re living in the future.
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Are you an upholder, a questioner, an obliger or a rebel? Gretchen Rubin of the Happier podcast has identified four ways that people respond to expectations - the Gryffindor, Slytherin, Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw of habit change, if you will.
Figuring out your cognitive house might be the key to changing your bad habits for good. Including one habit we hear about a lot: clinging to the phone right up until our eyes drop closed.
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Can we really start fresh when our every step, nap, and calorie are measured? If even a hard-core coder fails at a tech-enabled diet, maybe we need a new way to optimize our quantified selves.
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FOMO is real. And it's amplified during the holiday season when party glam shots and scrumptious food pics are everywhere. So let's embrace a little JOMO (Joy of Missing Out) instead.
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