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Latest Episodes:

The Story: Inside the World of Kidfluencers w/ Ines Novacic Aug 06, 2025

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Documentary director Ines Novacic spent five years following kidfluencers and their families to get the behind the scenes scoop on the industry. She joins Karah to discuss Born to Be Viral: The Real Lives of Kidfluencers, her six-part docuseries on these content creators. Karah and Ines explore the rise of kidfluencing as a modern path to generational wealth, how the business is changing and the potential psychological toll of growing up on camera.

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Week in Tech: Diners, Dating, TikTok PI’s Aug 01, 2025

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How good is Dr. GPT? This week, Oz and Karah spill the tea on Elon Musk’s new retro-futurist diner in LA—where robots serve popcorn and the food comes in Cybertruck-shaped boxes. Then, Oz gets serious about Trump’s new AI Action Plan and what it could mean for American infrastructure and free speech. Karah addresses the rise of TikTok PI’s and public shaming. And finally, on Chat and Me, AI makes a diagnosis that is a little too real.

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.

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Inside View: Making Cancer Visible w/ Andrey Zarur Jul 30, 2025

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On the Inside View, we talk to the experts behind the innovations shaping our lives. This week, Andrey Zarur discusses the future of cancer surgery and makes a bold prediction — that we could effectively see the end of cancer within our lifetimes. Zarur, a biochemist and co-founder of Lumicell and GreenLight Biosciences, is on his way to making this prediction a reality. He sits down with Oz to discuss the FDA-approved technology that is helping surgeons see and remove cancer tissue with unprecedented precision. Then, they discuss how Zarur plans to address agriculture’s pest problem, without using chemical pesticides.

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Week in Tech: Do You Share Your Location? Jul 25, 2025

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Which company has the best AI engineering talent? It may be shifting. This week, Oz and Karah discuss how the most powerful CEO’s in the tech industry are poaching each others’ talent using some dramatic hiring practices. Then, is the normalization of location sharing helping us or hurting us? Plus, a human programmer beats an AI model in a coding competition for the first (and last?) time, scientists use robotic bunny rabbits to crack down on an invasive species, and a new app that helps you get free stuff! But only if you’re hot. And finally, on Chat and Me, can ChatGPT make you a better parent? How one woman is using AI to navigate the challenges of motherhood.

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: AI-Induced Psychosis w/ Kashmir Hill Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

This week we unpack a disturbing new phenomenon: people being driven into a state of delusion after extended conversations with ChatGPT. Oz sits down with Kashmir Hill—a features writer covering technology and privacy for The New York Times—to discuss the users who found themselves spiraling into conspiracy-laced narratives and self-destructive behavior, often reinforced by the chatbot’s eerily affirming responses. These are extreme cases. But they raise a much bigger question: What happens when a sycophantic AI is fine-tuned to flatter, affirm, and mirror us back to ourselves?

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Week in Tech: My Deepfake, My Choice Jul 18, 2025

Show notes

Are we starting to sound like ChatGPT? This week, Oz and Karah explore a new AI-powered recipe tool and test whether mustard and pasta actually go together. Then, a new study suggests AI may already be changing the way we talk. Plus, impersonations of U.S. politicians and the Danish bill that would give people legal rights to their digital selves. And finally, on the new segment Chat and Me, what happens when bots prioritize efficiency over honesty? One novelist’s frustrating, multi-hour standoff with ChatGPT.

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.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: User-Centered AI at Google w/ David Webster Jul 16, 2025

Show notes

David Webster is the head of UX at Google Labs, the company’s experimental AI division. When he stepped into the role in 2022, the tech world was scrambling to respond to the rise of ChatGPT — and Google Labs was no exception. Since then, the team has launched several high-profile projects, including the viral NotebookLM. Webster joins Oz to share his philosophy on human-centered design and how it shapes Google’s AI experiments.

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L’Oréal and IBM: AI-Powered Beauty Jul 15, 2025

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This week, the show takes you behind the scenes at L'Oréal’s research center in New Jersey. Malcolm Gladwell delves into the complexities of cosmetic formulation and the AI partnership with IBM. Learn how AI is poised to revolutionize the creation of beauty products, to make them even more sustainable and innovative.

This is a paid advertisement from IBM. The conversations on this podcast don't necessarily represent IBM's positions, strategies or opinions.
Visit us at https://www.ibm.com/think/podcasts/smart-talks

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Week in Tech: Hot Maps and AI Judges Jul 11, 2025

Show notes

Is betting on current events the ‘future of news’? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah ask AI if their favorite restaurants are hot or not and why Gen Z is nostalgic for a world without the internet. They also discuss Wimbledon’s new AI judges and how drones are impacting beach days. Plus, we want to hear from you! If you’ve found yourself turning to ChatGPT, Grok, Claude, Gemini or any other chatbot for help with a particular task or to answer unusual questions we want to hear about it. Send us a 1-2 minute voice note to techstuffpodcast@gmail.com.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Story: Roblox and the ‘Prehistoric Era’ of Gaming w/ David Baszucki Jul 09, 2025

Show notes

David Baszucki is the co-founder and CEO of Roblox, the gaming platform that’s become a digital playground for millions of kids around the world. Baszucki sits down with Oz to talk about how Roblox became one of the most beloved tech platforms for the younger generations, and why he believes gaming is still in its “prehistoric era.” They also dive into one of the platform’s biggest challenges—safety—and what Roblox is doing to protect its users.

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