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This Is How Fake News Spreads Jul 25, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about what’s happening new with the proposed $3.9 billion dollar merger between Sinclair, the largest television station owner in the country and also happens to have an overt tilt in favor of Trump, and Tribune media. Thanks to an unexpected announcement from the FCC last week, that merger may be doomed.

The hosts are also joined by Claire Wardle, the executive director of First Draft, a nonprofit news literacy and fact-checking outfit with Harvard University. Wardle works hands-on with journalists and newsrooms around the world to find and responsibly debunk disinformation. They talk to Wardle about what we should be concerned about as the midterm elections approach, how false stories spread on social media to confuse readers, disenfranchise voters, or incite violence—even when Russian agents aren’t working behind the scenes.

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The Atlantic: Artificial Intelligence Shows Why Atheism Is Unpopular

Twitter: Shane Goldmacher

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.

Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

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

How a Top Twitter Exec Tackles Trolls Jul 18, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus is joined by guest co-host Maya Kosoff from Vanity Fair. They discuss the latest Congressional dog and pony show involving the big social media platforms. They’ll get into a controversy over whether Facebook should ban the prominent conspiracy theorist Alex Jones of InfoWars. Meanwhile, there’s a new owner of the title “wealthiest person in modern history.” They’ll talk about who that is and what it says about our economy.

Later, Will is joined by Vijaya Gadde, a top-level executive at Twitter, in charge of their legal, public policy, and trust and safety teams. It’s her job to fight bots, trolls, and Russian agents, all while navigating the laws of more than 100 different countries in which the site operates. They’ll talk about how that uphill battle is going these days, and find out how Twitter is thinking about the balance between free speech and user safety at the highest level.

Don’t Close My Tabs

Medium: Digital Exile: How I Got Banned for Life from AirBnB

Buzzfeed: Elon Musk Has Always Been At War With The Media

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

Listen to If Then by clicking the arrow on the audio player below, or get the show via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

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

The Surveillance State's Eyes at the U.S. Border Jul 11, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk to Dr. Guadalupe Correa-Cabrera, a professor of political science and policy at George Mason University and an expert on immigration and security at the U.S.-Mexico border. They discuss how technology contractors benefit from working with the government to carry out its immigration policies — while others suffer from the ever-broadening surveillance state. And they examine the concept of a “virtual border wall,” and what that might look like in reality.

The hosts are then joined by Brian Brackeen, CEO of a face recognition company called Kairos. Kairos provides face recognition technology to businesses, but Brackeen warns that putting that same kind of software and data in the hands of law enforcement is a very bad idea. Oremus and Glaser ask him why that is, and what he sees as the more appropriate uses for a controversial cutting-edge technology.

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

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

The Supreme Court in the Cyber Age Jul 04, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about the Facebook privacy scandal that won’t go away. They’ll also touch on some new data from our employer, Slate, that illustrates how Facebook is pulling back from the news business.

Then, the hosts will be joined by our colleague Mark Joseph Stern, who covers courts and the law. They’ll discuss some recent tech-related Supreme Court cases, and how the court’s stance toward technology and privacy could change with the retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy.

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Real Life Mag: Big and Slow: How can we represent the threats that are too vast to see? What if civilization itself is one of them?

Vanity Fair: Sorry to Bother You Director Boots Riley Takes a Ride Through Oakland’s Changing Landscape

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

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

Tech Workers Fight Back Jun 27, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about the midterm elections coming up in November -- and whether Silicon Valley companies are ready for the deluge of disinformation -- whether from Russia, Macedonia, or right here in the U.S.

The hosts are joined by Paige Panter, a product manager in Silicon Valley who is also a volunteer with the Tech Workers Coalition, a group that’s been active since 2014, but more recently has acted as a kind of communications hub for people who work in the technology industry to organize to make demands of their employers. They discuss this recent wave of tech employee activism, how it got started, and what could come down the line.

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The New York Times: San Francisco Restaurant Can't Afford Waiters. So They're Putting Diners to Work.

SF Chronicle: Silicon Valley bus drivers sleep in parking lots. They may have to make way for development

Wired: How A Child Moves Through A Broken Immigration System

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

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

Should Tech Companies Take a Stand Against Family Separation? Jun 20, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser discuss the horrifying story that’s on everyone’s minds this week: the Trump Administration’s policy of separating immigrant families crossing the US Mexico border. They focus on how tech’s big players -- some of the most powerful companies in the world -- are responding to the policy and what we should expect from those companies and their leaders in the face of a humanitarian emergency.

The hosts also discuss the fallout from AT&T’s merger with Time Warner. Both Disney and now Comcast want to buy Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox. And as always - Don’t Close My Tabs - some of the most interesting stories from the web this week.

A quick update to Will’s tab, in which he discussed Verizon’s announcement that it would stop sharing customers’ real-time location data with third parties: As of Wednesday, the other three major carriers have all announced that they will do the same.

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The New Yorker:The Government Has No Plan For Reuniting The Immigrant Families It Is Tearing Apart

The Verge: Verizon Will Stop Sell Real-Time Location Data to Third-Party Brokers

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

Listen to If Then via Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify, Stitcher, or Google Play.

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

The Failed Promise of the Gig Economy Jun 13, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus is joined by guest co-host Maya Kosoff from Vanity Fair. They discuss the electric scooters that are suddenly wreaking havoc on city streets—and why Silicon Valley venture capitalists are swooning over them. They also discuss the layoffs at Tesla, and what they might mean for the electric-car company and its workers.

Later, Will is joined by journalist Sarah Kessler of Quartz. Her new book is called “Gigged: The End of the Job and the Future of Work,” and it looks at the so-called gig economy from the human side. She talked to people around the country who are trying to make ends meet on services like Uber, Amazon Turk, and Taskrabbit.

On Tabs this week, the hosts discuss Palmer Luckey’s proposed surveillance border wall, and why you probably shouldn’t let foreign governments help you cool down your computer.

Don’t Close My Tabs

Slate:Why the Gift Bags at the North Korea Summit Could Pose a Cybersecurity Threat

Wired: Inside Palmer Lucky’s Bid to Build a Border Wall

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

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

Naomi Klein on Disaster Capitalism in Puerto Rico. Jun 06, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about how Microsoft is buying GitHub, Google is ending its Pentagon contract, and all the news from Apple’s developer conference on Monday—including the company’s effort to engineer a less addictive iPhone.

April is joined by journalist, author, and activist Naomi Klein to discuss her new book The Battle for Paradise about how corporations and politicians are trying to cash in on the chance to rebuild Puerto Rico following Hurricane Maria’s destructive sweep through the island last fall. Some of the people descending on the island: blockchain enthusiasts hoping to build a “Crypto Island” of their own.

On ‘Tabs’ this week, the hosts discuss Silicon Valley’s relative silence on local elections and some listener mail about politicians who won’t stop texting us.

Don’t Close My Tabs

New York Times: Tech Was Supposed to Get Political. It’s Hanging Back in This Election.

Listener mail!

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

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

Bloody Money and Blind Investors May 30, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about GDPR, Europe’s sweeping new online privacy legislation that took effect last Friday. They explain why it triggered an avalanche of emails to your inbox, and what it means for the tech industry.

The hosts are joined by John Carreyrou, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter with the Wall Street Journal. His new book, Bad Blood, chronicles his investigation into Theranos, the now-disgraced blood-testing startup, which sold faulty machines that may have put patients’ lives in danger. Carreyrou fills in some fascinating details in this bizarre story, and reflects on what it tells us about Silicon Valley—and whether it could happen again.

On ‘Tabs’ this week, Will digs into Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s attacks on the media and his idea to fix journalism by rating the credibility of individual journalists. April discusses the New York Times story about how Googlers’ quest to help stray cats has gone awry.

Don’t Close My Tabs

The Daily Beast: What It’s Like When Elon Musk’s Twitter Mob Comes After You

The New York Times: As Google Feeds Cats, Owl Lovers Cry Foul

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

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

Google’s Chokehold on the Web May 23, 2018

Show notes

On this week’s If Then, Will Oremus and April Glaser talk about about a privacy invasion that’s arguably scarier than Cambridge Analytica, and why it’s not getting nearly the same amount of attention. It involves your cellphone, and its ability to track where you are at all times.

The hosts are then joined by Luther Lowe, the senior VP of public policy for Yelp, a company that has had some major beef with Google’s allegedly anti-competitive behavior. They’ll talk about how Google got so big, and whether or not federal regulators might start taking action.

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

If Then plugs:

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

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