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What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Baby, You Can Self-Drive My Car May 09, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about the hedge fund that’s gutting the newsrooms of local newspapers across the country—and racking up huge profits. They also discuss the futuristic news out of Google’s annual developer conference, including an AI that can hold a conversation and book you a dinner reservation.

Oremus is joined by Professor Raj Rajkumar, a self-driving car expert who serves as co-director of Carnegie Mellon’s autonomous driving research lab. They discuss the future of self-driving cars, but also the current moment—how today’s technology stacks up to human drivers in terms of safety, and what’s behind the recent spate of crashes.

Don’t Close My Tabs

The New York Times: Yes, It’s Bad. Robocalls, And Their Scams, Are Surging.

The Atlantic: I’m not Black, I’m Kanye

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on Twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment, you can email us at ifthen@slate.com.

If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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Slate Money - The Leapfrogging Edition May 05, 2018

Show notes

The Sprint–T-Mobile merger, remittances, and Apple buybacks on this week's show with Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski, and Yinka Adegoke.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Political Gabfest - The "Live in St. Louis" Edition May 03, 2018

Show notes

Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss the Mueller team’s questions for President Trump and Missouri Governor Eric Greitens’ indictments. Jason Kander joins in to talk about voting rights and the 2018 elections.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/gabfestplus.

Twitter: @SlateGabfest

Facebook: facebook.com/Gabfest

Email: gabfest@slate.com

Show notes at slate.com/gabfest

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - Why an E-Waste Recycler Is Going to Prison May 02, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about Facebook’s big privacy changes and its foray into online dating, as Glaser reports from the company’s annual developer conference in San Jose. Oremus takes a listener’s question about the Golden State Killer case and the questions it raises about the privacy of our DNA.

Oremus is joined by Eric Lundgren, a pioneer in e-waste recycling who is awaiting a 15-month prison sentence for distributing CDs that allow people to reinstall Microsoft Windows on used Dell computers. Lundgren insists he’s not a criminal, and that the real crime is how tech companies drive sales of new products by discouraging people from fixing up their old ones.

And on this week’s “Don’t Close My Tabs,” Slate tech reporter Heather Schwedel joins Oremus as they share stories about “Moviepass movies” and Google’s increasingly divided internal culture.

Timestamps:

1:47 News: Golden State Killer and DNA Tech

5:55 News: April dispatches from F8, Facebook’s Annual Developer Conference

16:09 Interview: Eric Lundgren, the e-waste recycler on why he’s going to prison

35:04 Don’t Close My Tabs

Don’t Close My Tabs

The Cut: The Distinct Pleasure of the “MoviePass Movie”

The Wall Street Journal: Google Vs. Google: How Nonstop Political Arguments Rule It’s Workplace

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Slate Money - The Self-Driving Office Edition Apr 28, 2018

Show notes

Self-driving cars, Ford, and WeWork debt on this week's episode with Felix Salmon, Anna Szymanski, and Meredith Broussard. Meredith's new book Artificial Unintelligenceis available now.

Production by Daniel Schroeder.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts - Travel Ban 3.0 and Rinsing off Religious Animus for SCOTUS Apr 27, 2018

Show notes

This week Amicus takes you inside the chamber for a forensic discussion of the last, and possibly the most significant, oral arguments of this Supreme Court term. Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Josh Geltzer, executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown University Law Center and former senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council.

Please let us know what you think of Amicus. Join the discussion of this episode on Facebook. Our email is amicus@slate.com.

Podcast production by Sara Burningham.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Political Gabfest - The “Hardest Job in the World” Edition Apr 26, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s Slate Political Gabfest, Emily Bazelon, John Dickerson, and David Plotz discuss Ronny Jackson’s will-he-won’t-he Cabinet nomination, arguments before SCOTUS in Hawaii v. Trump, and John’s new piece on the presidency.

Join Slate Plus! Members get bonus segments, exclusive member-only podcasts, and more. Sign up for a free trial today at www.slate.com/gabfestplus.

Twitter: @SlateGabfest

Facebook: facebook.com/Gabfest

Email: gabfest@slate.com

Show notes at slate.com/gabfest

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future - The Cost of Online Immunity Apr 25, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Slate’s April Glaser and Will Oremus talk about a somewhat surprising speech from the antitrust chief of Trump’s DOJ. They bring you up to date on a big new data privacy bill in Congress, and Mike Nuñez, a journalist for Mashable, joins the show to discuss how his reporting on alleged liberal bias at Facebook has sparked a somewhat bizarre Congressional inquiry.

The hosts are also joined by Dr. Mary Anne Franks, a professor of law at the University of Miami Law School, where she teaches criminal law, First Amendment law, and Technology policy. They speak about the massively important Communications Decency Act, which was just amended to allow victims of sex trafficking to sue websites that knowingly facilitate it.

And as always, “Don’t Close My Tabs,” the Sean Hannity/Jeff Bezos edition.

Timestamps:

1:40 DOJ Antitrust Speech

6:15 New data privacy bill

11:13 Diamond and Silk on Capitol Hill: phone call with Mashable’s Michael Nuñez

20:55 Zillow clarification regarding last week’s show

22:14 Interview: Professor Mary Anne Franks on amending the CDA to fight sex trafficking

44: 08 Don’t Close My Tabs

Don’t Close My Tabs Links:

KQED: How Sean Hannity Began His Path to Punditry on Santa Barbara Community Radio

Washingtonian: Here Are the Floor Plans for Jeff Bezos’s $23 Million DC Home

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.