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Latest Episodes:

Week in Tech: Did Social Media Just Change Forever? Oct 10, 2025

Show notes

Are you ready to bond over AI videos? This week in tech news, OpenAI dominates the game. Their new social media app is the talk of the internet, they signed a massive chip deal that rocked the industry, and they just released tech that gets ChatGPT one step closer to becoming the 'everything app'. Then, Oz answers the question, “Have we passed peak social media?” and introduces Karah to “wetware.” Karah explains how robots are helping make babies. And finally, a sneak peek at a new podcast, How to Raise Kids in the Age of AI.

Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in an unusual or surprising way, send us a 12 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

Additional Reading:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: Spies vs. AIs Oct 08, 2025

Show notes

This week, we check in on the CIA and how it’s faring in the age of AI. Oz sits down with David Ignatius, a foreign affairs columnist for The Washington Post to discuss his article, “A Band of Innovators Reimagines the Spy Game for a World with No Cover.” Ignatius has been covering US foreign policy and the CIA for almost four decades and he recently had a realization that the “future of intelligence was going to be written in zeros and ones.” Which means the intelligence community needs to adapt and adapt quickly. But how does a government agency do this and what happens if it doesn’t? And who is responsible for dragging the bureaucracy-addled CIA into the AI future?

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Week in Tech: Does 'Workslop' Affect Your Workplace? Oct 03, 2025

Show notes

Do you know the definition of a friend? This week in tech news, workplaces may not be getting a good return on their AI investments and a new wearable goes all in on advertisements, but they are getting defaced. Then, Italy has a new AI regulation law and there’s a buzzy new “actress” in Hollywood. On Chat and Me, how one listener is personalizing AI to help his students learn Spanish.
Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in an unusual or surprising way, send us a 12 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

Additional Reading:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: Everyone in Hollywood Already Uses AI Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

This week, we explore Hollywood’s open secret — that everyone is using AI, they just aren’t talking about it. Karah sits down with Lila Shapiro, a features writer for New York Magazine, about what Hollywood, itself, thinks of AI. She shares what she’s learned from her extensive interviews with studio executives, directors, writers, vfx artists, actors, and AI entrepreneurs. They discuss whether AI is making creative jobs easier, or threatening to destroy them entirely.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Week in Tech: Cast Your Ballot On Discord Sep 26, 2025

Show notes

Who are the teens debugging in the bathroom? This week in tech news, there’s a Gen Z-led revolution in Nepal and Discord made it possible. Early 2000s hustle culture is so back in Silicon Valley — at least for teen tech founders. Then, there’s a new AI-generated political satire show airing on Russian state TV. And Albania gets an AI-avatar to seek out corruption. Finally, on Chat and Me, how ChatGPT is helping one user through a new diagnosis.

Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deranged) way, send us a 12 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

Additional Reading:

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: ON CRISPR: The Story of Jennifer Doudna with Walter Isaacson Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

This week, we’re bringing you the first episode of Season 3 of the podcast ON CRISPR. Walter Isaacson — the bestselling biographer behind Musk, Einstein and Steve Jobs and journalist Evan Ratliff (Shell Game, Mastermind, Longform) take a behind-the-scenes look at the story of Jennifer Doudna, one of the scientific pioneers behind the gene editing software, CRISPR.

In this episode, Evan sits down with Walter Isaacson to discuss Doudna’s upbringing, the history of DNA’s discovery and gene editing, and Baby KJ, a CRISPR patient who represents a milestone for both researchers and patients.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Week in Tech: Why the Charlie Kirk Video is Everywhere Sep 19, 2025

Show notes

What does the viral video of Charlie Kirk’s assassination say about the state of content moderation on social media? This week, Oz and Karah unpack the complexities of moderating graphic-but-newsworthy content, and why tech companies commitment to moderation has waned in recent years. Then, Karah talks to a student in New York about how they’re adjusting to not having access to their phone during the school day. Then, on Chat and Me, a woman uses ChatGPT to diagnose her mother’s mysterious ailment.

Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deranged) way, send us a 12 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

Sources:

Charlie Kirk Was Shot and Killed in a Post-Content-Moderation World

From burner phones to decks of cards: NYC teens are adjusting to the smartphone ban

Larry Ellison’s personal fortune soars on back of Oracle’s share price surge

5,000 Podcasts. 3,000 Episodes a Week. $1 Cost Per Episode — Behind an AI Start Up’s Plan

Labour MPs accused of using ChatGPT to write speeches

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: Social Media is Ruining Our Sex Lives Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

This week, we take a deep dive into why Gen Z isn’t having sex. Karah talks with Carter Sherman, a reproductive health and justice reporter for The Guardian, and author of the book The Second Coming: Sex and the Next Generation's Fight Over Its Future. They unpack how tech factors into the “Sex Recession,” sex as a proxy measure for empathy and human connection, and how all of this is a lot more political than you might think.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Week in Tech: Turning China's Surveillance Against Itself Sep 12, 2025

Show notes

What does getting older actually feel like? This week, Oz and Karah discuss MIT Researchers who are using technology to simulate aging. Then, Oz tells the story of an activist who used China’s surveillance state as a form of protest. Karah dives deep into the weird world of humans quietly training chatbots. And finally, on Chat and Me, is replacing your therapist with ChatGPT a good idea?

Also, we want to hear from you: If you’ve used a chatbot in a surprising or delightful (or deranged) way, send us a 12 minute voice note at techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

Sources:

My Day as an 80-Year-Old. What an Age-Simulation Suit Taught Me.

She Sacrificed Her Youth to Get the Tech Bros to Grow Up

A Hidden Camera Protest Turned the Tables on China’s Surveillance State

Inside the lucrative, surreal, and disturbing world of AI trainers

Sam Altman, Tim Cook, and other tech leaders lauded Trump at a White House AI dinner

“First of its kind” AI settlement: Anthropic to pay authors $1.5 billion

AirPods Pro 3 arrive with heart-rate sensing and live translation using Apple Intelligence

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: Russian Bots vs American Gamblers Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

This week, we’re all in. Oz chats with Kit Chellel, a Bloomberg writer who focuses on gambling, technology, and sports betting. He wrote an article about a secret Russian bot farm that infiltrated the world of online poker in the early 2000s. We follow Kit from Siberia to Armenia, and get a peek into just how bots can make or break the future of online poker.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

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