The 404 Media Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Meet Me at the Opsec Rave (with Imani Thompson) Jun 15, 2026

Show notes

This week, I’m thrilled to be joined by Imani Thompson. Imani is a digital security trainer and host of a series of events called Cache Me Outside, where she and partner orgs help people understand their personal security, divest from big tech platforms, and learn how to stay safe online. She recently hosted a “de-Googling” party and a self-doxxing rave.

We get into how platforms have tried to make surveillance cute, why that damn Duolingo owl emotionally manipulates you, and why learning about privacy best practices when surrounded by community works.

Follow Imani on Instagram

A 'Self-Doxing' Rave Helps Trans People Stay Safe Online

Now you can break up with big tech at a bar: ‘cybersecurity disguised as a party’

Fix It With Piggy

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/C4WVYBEIgzM

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Google Employees Meme About How Bad Their AI Is Jun 10, 2026

Show notes

We start this week with Emanuel’s story about the internal memes Google employees are making all about AI. Definitely check out some of the examples in the article or on YouTube. After the break, Jason tells us how Microsoft explicitly wants to “make people addicted” to its new AI assistant, according to an internal document. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how companies are using Reddit to manipulate AI search results and big LEGO drama.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s So Not Over for Hollywood (with Devindra Hardawar) Jun 08, 2026

Show notes

Emanuel talks to Devindra Hardawar about AI in Hollywood and the state of the movie industry.

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code 404MEDIA at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/404media

I didn’t plan it this way, but it’s a good coincidence that my interview with Devindra Hardawar is coming out on the week that the first Star Wars movie in years is being crushed at the box office by two low budget horror movies. Something is extremely off at Hollywood, or at least the old studio executives and streamers who control most of the money that funds movies.

This week we’re joined by Devindra Hardawar. Devindra is a senior editor at Engadget and a co-host of The Filmcast, a podcast about film I’ve been listening to for 15 years. We’ve covered the intersection of the movie industry and AI here and there on 404 Media, but Devindra lives at that intersection. He’s the perfect person to talk to about AI and film, but also the state of the industry more broadly, how to fit movies into your life in the age of the infinite scroll, how to introduce kids to film, and more.

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/imCSQkhFkoM

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hackers Asked Meta AI To Let Them In. It Worked Jun 03, 2026

Show notes

Go to surfshark.com/404Media to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN, plus there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee—or just use code 404MEDIA at checkout!

We start this week with Jason’s story about one of the wildest hacking stories in a while. Hackers simply asked Meta’s AI to change the email address on a target Instagram account, and the chatbot did so. Insane. After the break, Emanuel tells us about Amazon’s internal leaderboard for tracking AI usage and how it was cheated. In the subscribers-only section, we provided an update on our lawsuit against ICE.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Repairable, No-Tech Tractor Jun 01, 2026

Show notes

Go to https://surfshark.com/404Media to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN, plus there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee—or just use code 404MEDIA at checkout!

Ursa Ag is an Alberta, Canada-based company that is selling a repairable, no tech tractor. It’s not often we have companies on this podcast, but listeners of the show will know we have been covering the right to repair movement for years. One of the things I’ve written about most is the frustration that farmers feel with agriculture giant John Deere, which has made their tractors very difficult to repair by loading it up with tech, lobbying against right to repair legislation, and making parts and diagnostic tools and repair guides hard to access. When we write about right to repair, people often say - why don’t people just vote with their dollars and buy something else? Well, all the major tractor companies have more or less done the same thing Deere has done - add software locks, sensors, and digital rights management to their tractors. There wasn’t any other alternative. Doug Wilson of Ursa Ag has built an alternative. Ursa Ag is selling a repairable dumb tractor specifically to provide an alternative in the market. We spoke with Doug about how one creates a tractor company, how it all works, and what the response has been.

00:00 Doug Wilson Introduction 00:02:05 Why IRSA Ag Exists 00:04:24 Modern Tractors & Repair Locks 00:07:40 Demand for Older Tractors 00:08:46 The $800K Tractor Story 00:09:37 Building a Repairable Tractor 00:12:56 Precision Ag vs Simplicity 00:20:45 Starting a Tractor Company 00:22:52 AI & Everyday Farm Work 00:27:21 Viral Response & Demand 00:28:52 Expansion Plans 00:31:56 Why Farmers Want Simpler Machines 00:34:11 Farm Consolidation 00:35:48 Tech Overload Beyond Farming 00:36:57 What’s Next

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/wYM4Ho-Ma9w

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Deepfakes Destroyed a High School May 27, 2026

Show notes

Sponsor: Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code 404MEDIA at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/404media

We start this week with Sam’s deeply reported story on how deepfakes rocked a high school, and how those kids were failed at each step. After the break, Joseph tells us about BusPatrol, a company that plans to turn school buses into roaming surveillance vehicles. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains why a councilmember crashed out over Flock.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Millions of People Are Installing Malware on Their Partners’ Phones May 25, 2026

Show notes

This week Joseph speaks to Zack Whittaker, an editor at TechCrunch. Zack has been leading coverage into the spouseware or stalkerware industry. This is malware sold to ordinary people, which they then often install on their girlfriend’s or someone else’s phone. Zack talks about the crazy scope of this problem.

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/BLb46310iLs

Subscribe at 404media.co

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Boo-sters May 20, 2026

Show notes

We start this week with Sam telling us all about the commencement speeches where speakers have been praising AI, including former Google CEO Eric Schmidt. That did not go down well! After the break, Jason tells us how he was offered the chance to buy a bunch of images of poop to train AI (really). In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains how researchers planned to stick cameras onto preschool teachers to train AI.

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/VE0EtqQLcgY

Subscribe at 404media.co

Don’t sleep on Ultra Pouches. New customers get 15% Off with code 404MEDIA at takeultra.com! #UltraPouches #ad

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Physical Politics of the Internet with Britt Paris May 18, 2026

Show notes

This week, I’m delighted to be joined by Britt Paris. Britt is a critical informatics scholar and Associate Professor of Library and Information Science at Rutgers University’s School of Communication & Information. Her work focuses on Internet infrastructure, artificial intelligence-generated information objects, digital labor, civic data, and social epistemology. She’s also a fellow with AI Now. Her book Radical Infrastructure: Imagining the Internet from the Ground Up just came out in February.

Britt tells us about how her great-great-great uncle started a telecommunications cooperative in rural Missouri before the city even had connection, how examples like NEMR show us an alternative to monopolies that provide internet access and let people decide how they want their internet to work for them, and what’s giving her hope as she helps bargain for educators’ rights at Rutgers.

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/5twr0EUo2YE

Go to surfshark.com/404Media to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN, plus there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee—or just use code 404MEDIA at checkout!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Chinese Deepfake Software Powering Scams May 13, 2026

Show notes

We start this week with Joseph’s story about how we obtained Haotian AI, a sought-after piece of realtime video deepfake software that lets you turn into anyone else during Microsoft Teams, WhatsApp, or Zoom calls. After the break, Matthew tells us about some insane Yu-Gi-Oh trading card drama. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how the hard drive shortage is impacting those archiving the internet.

YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/O_d1VxuBdAU

Take your personal data back with Incogni! Use code 404MEDIA at the link below and get 60% off an annual plan: https://incogni.com/404media

Subscribe at 404media.co

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected