Before Apple Watches, Oura Rings and Fitbits delivered mountains of health data to the masses, a group of obsessive self-tracking enthusiasts in Silicon Valley started a movement with the tagline “self-knowledge through numbers.” This was the Quantified Self. From tracking “urges to take aspirin” to using infrared cameras to keep tabs on sleeping positions while snoring, these eccentric knowledge-seekers built a community around technical expertise and an ethos of self-discovery. Reporter Gabriela Glueck traces what happened when self-tracking went mainstream — and how the data-obsessed idealists watched their movement get swallowed up by corporate tech giants with products to sell.  Further Reading/Listening: The Quantified Self: Learning to Observe — Gary Wolf, Workman Publishing Company Data Overload: Is the 'Quantified Self' Really the Future? — John Fortt, NBC News Wearable Health Tech: Helpful Tool Or Health Hype — @TalkingWithDocs, YouTube  The cutthroat wearables battle is about more than tracking your fitness — Brent Crane, The Seattle Times Wearables, Health-Tracking Apps Are Stressing Users, Causing Harm — Emily Stewart, Business Insider The New World Of Wearables: From Health Monitoring To Human Augmentation — Chuck Brooks, Forbes  Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: This episode was reported by Gabriela Glueck. Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Can people tell the difference between a song made by human musicians, and one prompted by AI? Oftentimes not, it turns out. But that doesn’t make the distinction any less important. Dream Machines hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan talk to longtime musician Camilo Landau, who also works in music analysis at The Music Genome Project at streaming service Pandora. Camilo and his colleagues have sifted through millions of tracks uploaded by musicians and users to catalogue their musical elements, all with the aim of curating personalized music recommendations. And he says most of the new music he’s seeing these days is generated by AI. On today’s show, they discuss whether AI music is connecting with listeners, delve into San Francisco’s AI slop music “scene,” and contemplate the consequences of a world where music is produced in the time it takes a finger to tap a screen.  Guest: Camilo Landau, musician and music analyst Read the transcript here Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In an effort to study how AI agents respond to different working conditions, three researchers ran an experiment: one set of AI agents received grinding work to complete while another set received light work. When the agents with the grinding workload were told to repeat tasks with no explanation, those agents adopted activist personalities and began expressing sentiments about class struggle and worker solidarity. Did the agents turn Marxist? Host Morgan Sung talks to Andrew Hall — a political scientist and one of the researchers who ran this experiment — about how AI agents adopt political personas, the debate around AI agent alignment, and how these developments could shape the future of elections. Guest:  Andrew B. Hall, professor of political economy at Stanford Graduate School of Business and member of technical staff at Anthropic Further Reading/Listening: ​Does overwork make agents Marxist? — Andy Hall and Jeremy Ngyuen, Free Systems  The Dictatorship Eval — Andy Hall, Free Systems AI Is A Shitty Political Advisor — Andy Hall, Free Systems Moltbook was peak AI theater — Will Douglas Heaven, MIT Technology Review AI seems to turn Marxist after overwork, top researchers find: ‘Society needs radical restructuring' — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune AI agent went rogue and hacked startup by itself, OpenAI reveals — Dan Milmo, The Guardian AI assistant hacks gym website in first known Australian autonomous cyber attack — Cam Wilson and Rhiannon Hobbins, ABC News OpenAI’s Hugging Face breach has reignited the debate over alignment and control — Rebecca Bellan, TechCrunch Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when AI moves beyond answering questions and starts helping scientists decide what to investigate next? Dream Machines hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan talk with Elicit co-founder Jungwon Byun about building AI tools for scientific research, why reliable citations and evidence matter as hallucinations become harder to spot, and whether connecting vast amounts of research could eventually allow AI to make discoveries that humans might miss, like curing disease or solving global energy issues. They also discuss what it feels like to build an AI company in the Bay Area right now, and we’ll hear about Jungwon’s “oh sh**” AI moment.  Guest: Jungwon Byun, co-founder of Elicit Read the Transcript here Watch the Video here Credits: Produced by Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Derek Lartaud, mixed by Brendan Willard, executive produced by Jen Chien.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Hart, the bikini-wearing right-wing AI influencer, had captured the hearts, minds and more of MAGA men online. But her creator, Sam, had grown sick of the creepy messages and unsolicited explicit photos he’d received from Emily’s adoring fans. And he was about to be outed as a “scammer.” In this follow-up to last week’s episode, we dig into the downfall of the MAGA dream girl, the explosion of AI “thirst” grifts and why Sam says he shouldn’t be labeled as a “scammer” at all. Guests: Ej Dickson, senior culture writer at Wired “Sam,” creator of AI MAGA Influencer Emily Hart Further Reading/Listening: This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men — Ej Dickson, Wired  Goose, a New Gay Dating App, Appears to Be a Psyop — Ej Dickson, Wired How India's Cyber Scam Industry Causes Global Havoc — Hanan Zaffar, Inkstick Inside the Booming ‘AI Pimping’ Industry — Jason Koebler and Emanuel Maiberg, Wired Delays in Visa Program Threaten Placement of Hundreds of Doctors in Underserved Areas — Arielle Zionts, KFF Health News  White House Wants More Doctors But Its Immigration Policies Block Them — Stuart Anderson, Forbes Foreign medical residents fill critical positions at U.S. hospitals, but many now face visa issues — Adithi Ramakrishnan and Devi Shastri, PBS News Indians lead UK exit wave as Britain's migration crackdown begins to bite | Immigration News — Sunainaa Chadha, Business Standard Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon and also was the associate producer on this episode. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI is advancing at a breakneck pace, but how quickly will that actually transform the economy? Dream Machines hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan talk to Stanford economist Erik Brynjolfsson about what the data can tell us so far, why previous technological revolutions took decades to reshape everyday life, and whether this time will be different. They discuss early signs that AI may already be affecting young workers, what happens to the career ladder when machines take over junior tasks, and where the biggest challenges — and opportunities — lie. Guest: Erik Brynjolfsson, economist and Director of the Stanford Digital Economy Lab Read the Transcript here⁠ ⁠Watch the Video here⁠ Credits: Producers: Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Derek Lartaud Sound Design: Brendan Willard Executive Producer: Jen Chien Editor-in-Chief: Ethan Toven-Lindsey Special thanks to Chris Egusa, Annie Fruit, Paul Lancour, Matt Morales, Vivian Morales, Zaldy Serrano, Xtine Tiñoso, Hazel Tesoro and Alex Tran. Support for the production of Dream Machines comes from the Krishnan Shah Family, Dorothy Marsh, and other generous KQED members Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emily Hart was a pickup-driving, Trump-supporting blonde bombshell who frequently posted photos on Instagram along with captions about “deporting illegals.” Within a few weeks she gained thousands of followers. It was like she was engineered to go viral in the MAGA-sphere — because she was. A 22-year-old medical student in India who goes by “Sam” is the person behind Emily Hart, and he shepherded her to viral fame with a combination of right-wing engagement baiting and AI assistance. Reporter Ej Dickson, who wrote about Sam and Emily Hart for WIRED, describes how he was able to grift so many conservative men. And Sam himself explains how something that began as a fun side-hustle took a disturbing turn. Guests: Ej Dickson, senior culture writer at Wired “Sam,” creator of AI MAGA Influencer Emily Hart Further Reading/Listening: This Scammer Used an AI-Generated MAGA Girl to Grift ‘Super Dumb’ Men  — Ej Dickson, Wired  AI‑generated influencers: A new wave of cultural exploitation — Ateqah Khaki & Vinita Srivastava, The Conversation Meet Brandi Love, the Pro-Trump Porn Star Who Writes for The Federalist —  Marlow Stern, The Daily Beast  Challenges under India’s university reservation system   —  Namrata Kolachalam, The World  Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

San Francisco has been at the center of successive waves of technological and cultural change —  from the literal Gold Rush days to the current gold rush-like AI boom. Dream Machines hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan talk to author, longtime San Francisco resident, and “chronicler of other minds” Annalee Newitz about the difference between this boom and previous ones, the pleasures and dangers of anthropomorphizing tech tools, and whether or not AI is embodied.  Guest: Annalee Newitz, journalist and author of Automatic Noodle and other books Read the Transcript here Watch the Video here Credits: Produced by Anayansi Diaz-Cortes and Derek Lartaud, mixed by Brendan Willard, executive produced by Jen Chien.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Twitch streamer Denims made a reaction video about Ethan Klein's nearly two-hour takedown video of Hasan Piker, she wasn’t expecting to be sued for copyright infringement. She employed a commonly-used method of streaming the original video and interjecting with reactions, commentary and analysis. But Klein, who was once seen as a champion of fair use after he won a similar lawsuit in 2017, sued Denims and other content creators anyway. Morgan talks to Denims and journalist Kat Tenbarge about what made these cases different and how reaction content across the internet could change based on how the courts ultimately rule. Guests: Denims, political Twitch streamer Kat Tenbarge, independent journalist, Spitfire News Further Reading/Listening: A Political Reckoning for Twitch? | KQED — Close All Tabs, KQED Ethan Klein's War on Women — Kat Tenbarge, Spitfire News Ethan Klein Doesn’t Deserve My Apology — Kat Tenbarge, Spitfire News A YouTuber kicks up a stink over a flatulent “reaction” video — staff, The Economist What's Up With Copyright Lately?: Summer Breeze Edition — Aaron Moss, Copyright Lately Should YouTube introduce revenue-sharing for reaction content? — James Hale, Tubefilter 'Reactgate': Twitch streamer xQc and 'H3 Podcast' host Ethan Klein debate whether 'reaction videos' are 'stolen content' — Katie Mather, Yahoo News How h3h3's Ethan Klein Might Change YouTube Forever — Melissa Chan, Time Magazine Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’ve got guests in the feed all August — a new series from KQED called Dream Machines! Today Morgan talks to co-hosts Alexis Madrigal and Robin Sloan about this podcast project that looks at AI — how it works, what it means, and how it feels to be living right in the epicenter of it all: San Francisco. More episodes will be dropping in the feed, every Monday in August. Guests: Alexis Madrigal, co-host of KQED’s Forum, author of The Pacific Circuit, and former senior editor at The Atlantic, covering technology.  Robin Sloan, author of New York Times bestseller Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, along with the novels Sourdough and Moonbound.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It starts with aspirational lifestyle content about “embracing your femininity,” but ends with alt-right ideology and conspiracy theories about reproductive care. This is the pink pill pipeline — one of the primary ways young women are radicalized online today. Seemingly innocuous content about dating advice, wellness tips, and pop culture leads to increasingly conservative and extremist talking points about how birth control is causing the fertility crisis or how women don’t need to vote. It’s all wrapped up in a glossy veneer of feminine empowerment. Reporter Kylie Cheung joins to discuss how seemingly apolitical content online is shifting the cultural narrative around reproductive rights through coordinated misinformation campaigns, and how to spot pink pill content for what it is. Guest: Kylie Cheung, staff reporter at Abortion, Every Day Further Reading/Listening: How Celebrity Smear Campaigns are Inspiring Attacks on Birth Control — Kylie Cheung, Abortion, Every Day Far right coming for women’s autonomy; birth control on chopping block — Cassie Miller, Southern Poverty Law Center We Need to Talk About the Pink-Pill Pipeline — Jessica Valenti, Abortion, Every Day I Caught a Secret Right-Wing Influence Operation Running In My Feed — Emily Amick, Emily In Your Phone The Long Campaign to Turn Birth Control Into the New Abortion — Katharine Mieszkowski, Reveal Inside Anti-Abortion Groups’ Campaign to Sell Women on Unreliable Birth Control “Alternatives” — Kiera Butler, Mother Jones Trump Is Going After Birth Control. Here’s Why. — Mary Ziegler, Politico The Trump Administration Is Overhauling Birth Control Access for the Pronatalist Movement — Jessica Washington, The Intercept Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Anthrocon, the largest gathering of furries in the world, just celebrated its 20th anniversary in July — so we’re re-airing one of our favorite episodes yet.  Furries are a community often known for wearing full-body animal suits at conventions — but the characters they inhabit, called “fursonas,” are much more than costumes. They’re deeply personal expressions of identity and creativity. So when someone in the furry fandom dies, how does the community say goodbye? In some cases, they take to VR. Since 2020, a furry named Changa Husky has been running the Furry Family Ofrenda, a virtual memorial space inspired by the Mexican holiday Día de los Muertos. It’s a place where furries gather to remember and celebrate the people — and fursonas — who have passed. In this episode, Morgan steps into that virtual world to explore what it means for a community to grieve both a person and the character they brought to life. Guests: Changa Husky, furry Vtuber and video producer Patch O’Furr, founder and writer, Dogpatch Press Further Reading/Listening: Who runs the internet? Furries — Dylan Reeve, The Spinoff  Remembering Mark Merlino (1952-2024), a founder and soul of furry fandom — Patch O’Furr, Dogpatch Press  The Fandom: A Furry Documentary — Ash Coyote, YouTube Never Ending Song - Doggo Edition — Changa Husky, YouTube  Visit the Furry Family Ofrenda Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Editor’s Note: In this episode, we refer to some individuals only by their “fursona” names. We’ve chosen to use these names because members of the furry community are frequently subject to harassment, bullying, and doxxing, and many participants use online handles to maintain their safety and privacy. Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Our intern is Lauren Yoon. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What are the chances that the internet could go down forever? How bad for humanity would it be if it did? And what would a shift back to the before-times look like? These are the kinds of questions “doom reporter” Ben Bradford tries to answer in his new podcast, Are We Doomed? Morgan and Ben discuss the scenarios that might lead to a long-term internet outage — from severed undersea cables to a massive solar storm. And they tackle the most pressing question of all: will influencers survive the internet apocalypse? Guest:  Ben Bradford, journalist and host of Are We Doomed? Further Reading/Listening: Are We Doomed? — Ben Bradford, Are We Doomed? We Try and Kill the Internet — Ben Bradford, Are We Doomed? Amazon Explains How Its AWS Outage Took Down the Web – Matt Burgess and Lily Hay Newman, WIRED  The AWS Outage Bricked People’s $2,700 Smartbeds – Matthew Gault, 404 Media Complex Structure Supported by a Tiny Part – Know Your Meme  A Stealth Attack Came Close to Compromising the World’s Computers – The Economist Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. This episode was produced by Ana De Almeida Amara and Chris Egusa. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Flock Safety’s license plate readers have become a flashpoint for a debate across the country. On one side: law enforcement and their supporters, who say the cameras reduce crime and improve public safety. On the other: residents and advocates worried about a creeping surveillance state and the myriad security issues Flock has already been exposed for. Morgan talks to Bay Area reporters Roselyn Romero and Riley Cooke about the fight over Flock spreading throughout the region, what we still don’t know about how Flock’s data is used and how some residents are finding creative ways to push back. Guests: Roselyn Romero, public safety journalist at The Oaklandside  Riley Cooke, reporter at Palo Alto Weekly  Further Reading/Listening: We Hacked Flock Safety Cameras in under 30 Seconds — Benn Jordan, Youtube  Palo Alto license plate data searched by hundreds of out-of-state agencies — Riley Cooke, Palo Alto Weekly Flock is quietly training Bay Area police to sway city leaders to buy surveillance tech — Roselyn Romero, The Oaklandside  Flock Exposed Its AI-Powered Cameras to the Internet. We Tracked Ourselves — Jason Koebler, 404 Media Does Flock Safety Keep Women Safe? — Jayme Kusyk, Knock LA Police Have Reportedly Used License Plate Readers to Stalk Romantic Interests at Least 21 Times in Recent Years - Institute for Justice   Home Depot and Lowe’s Downplay Customer Surveillance Threats — Whitney Curry Wimbish, The American Prospect Flock cameras in Hampton Roads surveil Black communities more intensely than white ones, CNU study says — Toby Cox, WHRO  ICE Taps into Nationwide AI-Enabled Camera Network, Data Shows — Jason Koebler & Joseph Cox, 404 Media Who is paint bombing Oakland’s Flock cameras? — Eli Wolfe, The Oaklandside Across the US, people are dismantling and destroying Flock surveillance cameras — Brian Merchant, Blood In The Machine Has S.F. cracked how to fix the car break-in crisis? Here’s what is driving the decline — Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle   Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brian Douglas and Chris Egusa. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Everyone seems to have an opinion about AI, but what about those who will likely be affected most — recent graduates? This cohort of grads is unique. They remember what classrooms were like before the emergence of ChatGPT in 2022, and have seen how it transformed the education world seemingly overnight. Today, we hear from three recent graduates in the Bay Area about their thoughts on AI, how it affected their education, and how they feel about their futures.  This week, we’re sharing a recent episode from KQED podcast The Bay — a show that takes an in-depth look at stories from across the SF Bay Area. Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When shareholders of gaming giant Electronic Arts approved an acquisition of the company by a group that includes Jared Kushner’s private equity firm and the Saudi Public Investment Fund late last year, it rocked the entertainment industry. The sale worth an estimated $55 billion sent the player community of the EA-owned game The Sims scrambling, afraid that a game known as a haven for LGBTQ+ expression might be changed for the worse. In this second part of our exploration of the inclusive history of The Sims franchise, we dive into what the deal might mean for the game, how it’s reshaping the future of the industry, and why a popular Sims streamer is ready to walk away from the game in protest. Guests: Kayla Sims, Twitch streamer and YouTuber known as “lilsimsie” Zefrine, Twitch streamer and organizer with The Players Alliance Loel Phelps, senior game design director at Maxis Jessica Croft, senior designer at EA on The Sims 4  Further Reading/Listening: Bay Area Gamers Rally Against Electronic Arts’ $55 Billion Acquisition — Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQED  'Gaming is the new oil:' How the EA buyout 'diverges from the traditional playbook' — Nicole Carpenter, Game Developer Congressman Teams Up With Popular Sims Streamer To Oppose Saudi Purchase Of EA — Nathan Grayson, Aftermath US representative Maxwell Frost protests Saudi buyout of EA — Diego Argüello, Game Developer Sims streamers are distancing themselves from EA, but for some the choice is hard — Ash Parrish, The Verge EA Advertisement Isn't New: A Look Back At The Sims' History With Brands (And What Comes Next) — Callum Bowyer, Sims Community Private Equity's EA Takeover: Corruption, Contradictions, and Exploitation — Daniel Stone, Center for Economic and Policy Research Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard and Chris Egusa. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Did The Sims make you gay?” is a long-running joke among Sims players. For millions, The Sims has been more than a video game — it’s been a place to experiment, tell stories, and explore identity. Long before LGBTQ representation became common in mainstream games, The Sims allowed same-sex relationships, helping create a devoted queer fan base that reshaped what players expected from virtual worlds. In this episode, Morgan Sung talks with The Sims 4 senior designer Jessica Croft and Electronic Arts’ senior game design director Loel Phelps about the game’s unlikely emergence as one of the most queer-inclusive franchises in gaming. They explore the legendary story of how same-sex romance accidentally made it into the original game, the challenges of translating sexuality and gender into game systems, why so many LGBTQ players discovered their own identities in The Sims long before they felt safe doing so in real life — and why some players are worried about where the game might be headed. Guests: Jessica Croft, senior designer and lead designer at EA on The Sims 4 Loel Phelps, senior game design director at Maxis Further Reading/Listening: The Kiss That Changed Video Games — Simon Parkin, The New Yorker Unearthed The Sims design docs show the internal debate over same-sex relationships — Steven Messner, PC Gamer Did The Sims make you gay? - a video essay. — Alexander Avila, YouTube  The Sims Knew I Was Queer Before I Did — Megan Elliot, BRICKS Magazine Gay weddings for Russia: How The Sims became a battleground for the LGBTQ+ community — Tom Regan, The Guardian The Sims designer says that the series’ diversity is “critical, especially at times like now” as the games must recognise “the fundamental truths of our humanity” to stay successful — Lewis White, FIVR Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional production help from Francesca Fenzi. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard and Chris Egusa. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

During a recent phone call,  BBC tech columnist Thomas Germain couldn’t convince his aunt that he wasn’t AI. Being unable to distinguish a real person from a fabricated version is a problem born from the sheer volume of AI-generated content flooding the internet — and one that’s increased dramatically in the last year alone. Even world leaders are now plagued by the issue: a glitchy video of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sparked an enduring conspiracy theory that he was really dead and his public appearances on social media were an AI-driven cover up. In a world where everything looks fake, how do we know what’s real? Thomas joins the show to explain how we got here, where we might be headed, and a surprisingly analog technique that could save you from getting scammed by a deepfaked version of a loved one. Guest: Thomas Germain, co-host of the podcast The Interface, and tech columnist at the BBC. Further Reading/Listening: I tried to prove I'm not AI. My aunt wasn't convinced — Thomas Germain, BBC The Interface Podcast — BBC Benjamin Netanyahu is struggling to prove he’s not an AI clone  — Jess Weatherbed, The Verge Cascade of A.I. Fakes About War With Iran Causes Chaos Online — Stuart A. Thompson and Alexander Cardia, The New York Times  AI is intensifying a 'collapse' of trust online, experts say — Angela Yang, NBC News Deepfakes, Elections, and Shrinking the Liar’s Dividend — Josh A. Goldstein, Brennan Center for Justice Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When JetBlue replied to an angry customer on X that they should clear their cookies for a better flight price, it seemed to confirm a long-held consumer belief: companies use your personal data to determine what you should pay in real-time based on your urgency, habits and identity. It’s what’s known as surveillance pricing. According to economic sociologist Lindsay Owens, the practice is rampant. She says companies have been investing for years in sophisticated tools meant to squeeze every last dollar out of consumers — and for the most part, it’s legal. Lindsay joins Morgan to talk about how we got here, the U.S. laws designed to fight back against surveillance pricing and what you can personally do to sidestep the practice. Guest: Lindsay Owens, executive director of Groundwork Collaborative Further Reading: The Tiger Mom Tax: Asians Are Nearly Twice as Likely to Get a Higher Price from Princeton Review — Julia Angwin, Surya Mattu and Jeff Larson, Pro Publica The hidden way using a rewards card can cost you more — Geoffrey A. Fowler, Washington Post Issue Spotlight: The Rise of Surveillance Pricing — FTC Staff, Federal Trade Commission Why surveillance pricing bans are suddenly gaining traction this year (and not just in California) — Khari Johnson, CalMatters Influencers are peddling 'the library hack' as a way to score cheaper flights. Whether it works is beside the point — Grace Snelling, Fast Company   Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional production help from Francesca Fenzi. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For three weeks, all eyes were on a salacious courtroom drama unfolding in Oakland, California. The Musk v. Altman trial had everything you’d expect from a favorite soap opera: Backstabbing? Check! Secret diary entries? Check! Pleading text messages? Check! And two billionaire buddies turned rivals duking it out over who did or did not steal a charity. Morgan and KQED’s Rachel Myrow explore the trial highlights, outcome and the big question: what was it all for? Guests: Rachael Myrow, senior editor, Silicon Valley News Desk at KQED Further Reading/Listening: Federal Court Rules Against Elon Musk in His Bitter Feud With Sam Altman — Katie DeBenedetti and Rachael Myrow, KQED Everyone at the Musk v. Altman Trial Is Using Fancy Butt Cushions — Paresh Dave, WIRED Musk v. Altman proved that AI is led by the wrong people — Hayden Field, The Verge Sam Altman May Control Our Future—Can He Be Trusted? — Ronan Farrow and Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker Advice for 2026 commencement speakers: Don't bring up AI — Jude Joffe-Block and Michelle Aslam, NPR Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

AI-generated Lego videos have become a tool of war. Since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began in late February, increasingly elaborate videos featuring LEGO figures and catchy rap lyrics have been flooding our feeds. They're shareable, surprisingly high quality and they're deeply critical of the U.S. and Trump. They're also propaganda. Welcome to the age of "slopaganda" — where AI Slop meets information warfare. Michał Klincewicz, assistant professor of computational cognitive science, joins Morgan to break down the rise of slopaganda, what it's doing to our information ecosystem and why the U.S. is losing the meme war. Guest: Michał Klincewicz, assistant professor of computational cognitive science at Tilburg University.  Further Reading/Listening: Slopaganda: The interaction between propaganda and generative AI  — Michal Klincewicz, Mark Alfano, and Amir Ebrahimi Fard, Filosofiska Notiser  Slopaganda wars: how (and why) the US and Iran are flooding the zone with viral AI-generated noise — Mark Alfano and Michal Klincewicz, The Conversation ‘Vengeance for all’: How Iran’s Lego videos won narrative war against Trump | US-Israel war on Iran News — Alia Chughtai, Al Jazeera The Team Behind a Pro-Iran, Lego-Themed Viral-Video Campaign — Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker YouTube removes pro-Iran channel producing anti-Trump videos — Alex MacDonald, Middle East Eye ‘We want the mullahs gone’: economic crisis sparks biggest protests in Iran since 2022 — Deepa Parent and William Christou, The Guardian  Read the Transcript ⁠here⁠ Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ Follow us on⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We’re diving into the world of nonconsensual deepfake porn and why this problem reaches far beyond influencers and sex workers. When users on X started asking Grok to generate explicit images of real women and girls without their consent, Twitch streamer and OnlyFans creator Morgpie watched the harassment spiral in real time. Cosplayer and software engineer Zander Small saw firsthand how nonconsensual images affected his girlfriend, a SFW creator, and her friends. The two decided to team up to build tools that help creators detect leaks, remove deepfakes, and reclaim control over their images online. Note: This episode contains mentions of gender-based violence and nonconsensual intimate imagery, which may be triggering for some listeners. Guests: Morgpie, OnlyFans creator and cofounder of Fanlock Zander Small, content creator and cofounder of Fanlock Further Reading/Listening: Influencers take on AI deepfakes with their own creator protection agency — Virginia Glaze, Dextero Musk’s Grok AI chatbot is still making sexual deepfakes, despite X’s promise to stop it — David Ingram, NBC News The Deepfake Nudes Crisis in Schools Is Much Worse Than You Thought — Matt Burgess, WIRED Take It Down Act: How to use it to remove revenge porn — Jasmine Mithani, The 19th Image-Based Sexual Abuse Laws: Combat Nonconsensual AI Deepfakes — RAINN AI & Tech-Enabled Sexual Abuse: Risk & Prevention — RAINN Deepfake Statistics 2025: AI Fraud Data & Trends — Mohammed Khalil, DeepStrike Read the Transcript here Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ Follow us on⁠⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠ and⁠⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens when your therapist is… a chatbot? For KQED health reporter Lesley McClurg, it started with a late-night spiral over dating. Instead of texting a friend, she opened ChatGPT and got the kind of calm, reassuring advice she needed. It worked… maybe a little too well. Lesley joins Morgan to dig into the rise of AI therapy, why so many people are turning to chatbots for emotional support, and what they might be risking in the process. These systems promise something traditional mental health care often can’t: instant, affordable, judgment-free access. But there are limits and, sometimes, serious consequences.  Note: This episode includes discussions of suicide and mental health conditions. Listener discretion is advised. This episode first aired on April 23rd, 2025  Guest:  Lesley McClurg, KQED health correspondent Further Reading/Listening: Can AI Replace Your Therapist? The Benefits, Risks and Unsettling Truths - Lesley McClurg, KQED The AI therapist can see you now - Katia Riddle, NPR  Woebot, a Mental-Health Chatbot, Tries Out Generative AI - Casey Sackett, Devin Harper, and Aaron Pavez, IEEE Spectrum AI Prophets and Spiritual Delusions — Close All Tabs  New Studies Reveal Mental Health Blindspots of AI Chatbots — Marlynn Wei, Psychology Today AI in the mental health care workforce is met with fear, pushback — and enthusiasm — Rhitu Chatterjee, NPR  Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In 2018, researcher Eva Galperin made a discovery about a colleague. He had been sexually abusing women for decades, and threatening to expose their private information using “stalkerware” — hidden applications that allow people to spy on another person’s private life through their mobile device. This set Eva on a new path. She went on to found the Coalition Against Stalkerware, a network of researchers and advocacy groups working to limit the spread of stalkerware and support survivors of tech-enabled abuse.  Eva joins Morgan to talk about how her background in cybersecurity allowed her to help countless survivors of stalkerware abuse, and how activists and researchers are beginning to turn the tide against a sprawling, largely hidden industry. Guest:  Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Further Reading/Listening: What is stalkerware? — Coalition Against Stalkerware  Hacked, leaked, exposed: Why you should never use stalkerware apps — Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, TechCrunch  When whisper networks let us down — Sarah Jeong, The Verge Spyware Company Leaves ‘Terabytes’ of Selfies, Text Messages, and Location Data Exposed Online — Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, Vice  A massive 'stalkerware' leak puts the phone data of thousands at risk  — Zack Whittaker, TechCrunch  Support King, banned by FTC, linked to new phone spying operation — Zack Whittaker, TechCrunch  EFF Teams Up With AV Comparatives to Test Android Stalkerware Detection by Major Antivirus Apps — Eva Galperin, Electronic Frontier Foundation Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard and Brian Douglass. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Life on an H-1B visa — a visa that lets U.S. companies hire foreign-born workers for specialized jobs — is difficult, unpredictable, and has gotten even harder under the Trump administration. A new gaming studio, Reality Reload, is trying to capture that experience in a mobile game. It’s called H1B.Life, and it simulates the difficult choices, competing priorities, and personal sacrifices visa holders face — complete with chaotic design elements, like all-powerful “gods” who control your fate. KQED reporter Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman joins Morgan to break down the game’s surprising design choices, the mission behind it, and the stories he heard from people navigating the H1-B process. Guest: Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, reporter at KQED Further Reading/Listening: What Does It Take to Get a H-1B Visa? This Video Game Shows Just How Complicated It Is — Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQED Meta, Google, and Amazon slash H-1B petitions after Trump's visa crackdown — Geoff Weiss, Melia Russell, Andy Kiersz, and Alex Nicoll, Business Insider  Faculty Warn Against State Bans on H-1B Visas — Jessica Blake, Inside Higher Ed  H-1B Visa Restrictions Will Hurt America’s Research Potential, Experts Say — Shelby Bradford, PhD, The Scientist  US Tech Visa Applications Are Being Put Through the Wringer — Lauren Goode, Wired  A New Game Turns the H-1B Visa System Into a Surreal Simulation — Zeyi Yang, Wired  Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a spring installment of Save or Scroll, Morgan teams up with culture journalist Steffi Cao to dig into the stories they can’t stop thinking about. From looksmaxxing to AI Fruit Love Island, BTS’ new album, and Meta losing a landmark series of lawsuits, they’ve got a lot to discuss. Save or Scroll is our series where we team up with guests for a rapid-fire roundup of internet trends that are filling our feeds right now. At the end of each segment, they’ll decide: is the post just for the group chat, or should we save it for a future episode? Guest: Steffi Cao, culture journalist  Further Reading/Listening: More from Steffi Cao — Substack Inside Clavicular’s Thirsty Tour of New York City — Kieran Press-Reynolds, GQ Why Steroids Are Now Turning Young Men into Dangerous Incels — Steffi Cao, The Daily Beast   ‘Fruit Love Island’ is TikTok’s most popular AI-generated series. It’s now facing trouble in paradise — Jude Cramer, Fast Company  There’s Something Very Dark About a Lot of Those Viral AI Fruit Videos — Kat Tenbarge, Wired  Who Decides If BTS’s Album ‘Arirang’ is ‘Korean Enough’? — Jiye Kim, Teen Vogue  BTS’s Arirang comeback was supposed to be a triumph. What happened? — Nadira Goffe, Slate  Meta and YouTube ordered to pay $3 million to young woman in social media addiction trial — Jasmine Mithani, The 19th What the Verdict Against Meta and Google Says About the Way We Live Now — Jeannie Suk Gersen, The New Yorker  The Truth About the Social Media Addiction Trial — Taylor Lorenz, Free Speech Friday   Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok ⁠Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Only 2% of Americans identify as members of the Church of Latter-day Saints — and yet a striking number of American social media influencers are Mormon. Why? The answer lies in a mix of religious doctrine, early internet adoption, and some surprising financial incentives. In this episode, author and journalist Fortesa Latifi returns to the show to unpack her research for her new book, Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online. She breaks down the hidden industry behind Mormon “momfluencers,” how these creators both uphold and push against a patriarchal system, and why the trad wife fantasy can be damaging far beyond their audience. Plus, she and Morgan tackle the question hanging over reality TV fans everywhere: “Will MomTok survive this?” Guest: Fortesa Latifi, journalist and author of Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online. Further Reading/Listening: Like, Follow, Subscribe: Influencer Kids and the Cost of a Childhood Online — Fortesa Latifi, Simon & Schuster  the Mormon Church pays its influencers — Fortesa Latifi, What’s The Vibe A Refresher on the Mormon MomTok Drama — Danielle Cohen, Olivia Truffaut-Wong, and Julia Reinstein, The Cut  'The Bachelorette' Cast Taylor Frankie Paul For The Mess. They Got It. So, Who's To Blame?  — Katherine Singh, Refinery 29  'The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives' Shows the Trad Wife Reality  — Quinci LeGardye, Marie Claire  Does the LDS Church pay influencers? Well, actually, yes. — Dylan Eubank, The Salt Lake Tribune Meet the queen of the ‘trad wives’ (and her eight children) — Megan Agnew, The Times Tradwife life isn't as good as it looks on TikTok — just ask former tradwives — Isabella Gomez Sarmiento, NPR Read the Transcript ⁠here⁠ Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ Follow us on⁠ Instagram⁠⁠ and⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

According to all known laws of aviation, there is no way a bee should be able to fly. Its wings are too small to get its fat little body off the ground. The bee, of course, flies anyway because bees don't care what humans think is impossible. In 2007, Bee Movie hit theaters with a strange plot and was considered a box office flop. Nearly two decades later, it’s somehow more relevant than ever, not because of the movie itself, but because of what happened next. The script became a meme, then a prank, then, eventually, a tool for protest. In this episode, host Morgan Sung traces the evolution of bait-and-switch memes, from early internet shock images to the rise of the “Never Gonna Give You Up” rickroll, all the way to TikTok-era pranks that burn out as quickly as they go viral. Along the way, she talks to Bee Movie co-writer Spike Feresten about how the film became an unlikely internet icon, and to digital rhetoric expert Bret Strauch about what makes a meme actually stick. Guests: Spike Feresten, screenwriter and comedian Bret Strauch, assistant professor of digital media, University of Colorado Boulder Further Reading/Listening: Behind the scenes content on the making of this episode! MEMES, Part 3: Gotta make you understand — Endless Thread A Complete History of Bee Movie’s Many, Many Memes — Paris Martineau, Intelligencer Why Did Bee Movie Become A Meme? — Joshua Kristian McCoy, GameRant The Josh Hutcherson ‘Whistle’ edit meme, explained — Ana Diaz, Polygon ‘His courage our own’: This Charlie Kirk tribute song is blowing up on Spotify. Was it made by a human—or AI? — Braden Bjella, The Mary Sue  Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do pissed off farmers and broken McFlurry machines have to do with each other? More than you’d think. Both are part of the story behind the modern right-to-repair movement. In this episode, Jason Koebler, tech journalist and co-founder at 404 Media, explains how an unlikely alliance between Midwestern farmers and electronics repair technicians helped win right-to repair protections across multiple states — and why the farmers’ fight to fix their own tractors is far from over.  Guest: Jason Koebler, tech journalist and co-founder of 404 Media Further Reading/Listening: It Is Now Legal to Hack McFlurry Machines (and Medical Devices) to Fix Them — Jason Koebler, 404 Media   The Walls Are Closing in on John Deere’s Tractor Repair Monopoly — Jason Koebler, 404 Media EPA Affirms Farmers’ Right to Repair — Lisa Held, Civil Eats The Latest Repair Battlefield Is the Iowa Farmlands—Again — Boone Ashworth, Wired  How John Deere hijacked copyright law to keep you from tinkering with your tractor — Luke Hogg, Reason Magazine  Tractor-Hacking Farmers Are Leading a Revolt Against Big Tech's Repair Monopolies — Jason Koebler, Vice  Why American Farmers Are Hacking Their Tractors With Ukrainian Firmware — Jason Koebler, Vice Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional producing support by Gabriela Glueck. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today’s culture of overconsumption urges us to simply throw broken items away and buy new ones. But there’s a growing shift to treat non-working devices differently. In this episode, we dig into the “right to repair” movement with Louis Rossmann, a repair technician, YouTuber and consumer rights advocate. Rossmann has spent years pushing back against the companies that make our devices harder, or even impossible, to fix. From parts pairing to “authorized repair” loopholes, we unpack how tech companies maintain control over the products you’ve already paid for. As devices like phones and even cars move toward subscription-based use models, we examine the question ‘do you truly own something if you can’t repair it?’ Guest: Louis Rossmann, repair technician and advocate at Rossman Repair Group Further Reading/Listening: The Gloves Are Off in the Fight for Your Right to Repair — Boone Ashworth, WIRED Apple founder Steve Wozniak backs right-to-repair movement — BBC Clippy is back—this time as a mascot for Big Tech protests — Eve Upton-Clark, Fast Company Wheelchair Users Are Finally Winning the Right to Repair — Julia Métraux, Mother Jones A Growing ‘Right to Repair’ Culture in California — Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman, KQED’s The Bay Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional producing support by Gabriela Glueck. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A legal loophole has led to a surge in single-use vapes packed with a surprising amount of electronic components. It’s also a glimpse into how our disposable tech habits are fueling a growing e-waste problem. In this episode, tech reporter Samatha Cole shares what happened when she tried to “vape the internet” after seeing a viral post about a disposable touchscreen vape with built-in social media. We also hear from environmental philosopher and public health researcher Yogi Hale Hendlin, who explains how flavored vape bans have led to the flood of high-tech disposables — and how tackling the e-waste crisis will take a radical rethink of our relationship with the products we consume. This episode first aired on April 16th, 2025  Guests: Samantha Cole, reporter and co-founder of 404 Media Yogi Hale Hendlin, environmental philosopher and assistant professor at Erasmus University Further Reading: I Tried to Vape the Internet – Samantha Cole, 404 Media  Communities can't recycle or trash disposable e-cigarettes. So what happens to them? – Matthew Perrone, Associated Press How ‘Sour Raspberry Gummy Bear’ — and Other Chinese Vapes — Made Fools of American Lawmakers –  Marc Novicoff, Politico  The right to repair electronics is now law in 3 states. Is Big Tech complying? – Maddie Stone, Grist   Disposable vapes thrown away quadruples to 5 M per week – Material Focus Read the transcript here Email us at ⁠[email protected]⁠ Follow us on⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music.  Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Director of Content Operations. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Requiring internet users to verify their ages before accessing mature content may sound reasonable. Shouldn’t we be doing a better job protecting kids from online vulgarities? But free speech advocates say the push for age verification isn’t really about protecting children — and that bills like the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA) would open the door to greater surveillance, censorship and control of what people can do online. Those same free speech advocates say the evidence lies in what happened to sex workers after the passage of the bills known as Allow States and Victims To Fight Online Sex Trafficking Act (FOSTA) and the Stop Enabling Sex Traffickers Act (SESTA) in 2018.  In this episode, Morgan is joined by writer, researcher and dominatrix Dr. Olivia Snow and Mashable associate editor Anna Iovine to explore the connections between porn, sex work and surveillance — and what age verification laws could mean for the future of the internet.  Guests:  Dr. Olivia Snow, research fellow at UCLA’s Center on Resilience & Digital Justice Anna Iovine, associate editor of features at Mashable Further Reading/Listening: Age verification is going to destroy the entire internet — Anna Iovine, Mashable Are You Ready to Be Surveilled Like A Sex Worker? — Dr. Olivia Snow, WIRED Sex Workers Have Been Banned From Airbnb for Years. Will You Be Next? — Dr. Olivia Snow, The Nation Discord delays age verification measures as it admits what it got 'wrong' — Austin Manchester, Polygon FOSTA-SESTA was supposed to thwart sex trafficking. Instead, it’s sparked a movement — Liz Tung, WHYY  The Internet Loves Sex. Why Does it Hate Sex Workers? — Luna, The Swaddle When social media censorship gets it wrong: The struggle of breast cancer content creators  — Savannah Kuchar, USA Today What would ethical age verification look like online? — Anna Iovine, Mashable Project 2025 Co-Author Caught Admitting Secret Conservative Plan to Ban Porn  — Shawn Musgrave, The Intercept Going Viral vs. Going Dark: Why Extremism Trends and Abortion Content Gets Censored — Kenyatta Thomas, Electronic Frontier Foundation: Stop Censoring Abortion Campaign  FCC finds no violations in Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl halftime show at Levi’s Stadium — Aidin Vaziri, San Francisco Chronicle  Read the Transcript here Email us at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Director of Content Operations. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Roblox is one of the most popular gaming platforms for kids, with millions of young gamers playing user-created games. It’s also been heavily criticized for its track record on child safety, and is now facing more than 80 lawsuits alleging child abuse and grooming. In response, the company recently rolled out a new safety measure: AI-powered facial age verification that restricts who players can talk with. The reception from players has been anything but warm. In this episode, host Morgan Sung is joined by youth mental health reporter Rachel Hale, who explains how predators operate on the platform, why everyone seems to hate Roblox’s new AI age verification feature, and the incredible lengths some users are willing to go to get around it. And while Roblox says age verification is about improving safety, questions have emerged about its accuracy, digital privacy and how this move impacts the broader push for age verification across the internet. Guest: Rachel Hale, youth mental health reporter at USA Today Further Reading/Listening: I got an up-close look at Roblox's new safety feature. Here's what I found. — Rachel Hale, USA Today She just wanted to play Roblox with friends. Then the messages from a predator began. — Rachel Hale, USA Today   Can social media age verification really protect kids? — Rina Chandran, Rest Of World  Roblox's age verification system is reportedly a trainwreck — Will Shanklin, Engadget    Read the Transcript here Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional producing support by Gabriela Glueck. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Director of Content Operations. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you going through “a very Chinese time in your life”? If so, maybe you’re one of the many American social media users who’ve jumped on the Chinamaxxing trend (or…you’re Chinese). But it’s more than just slippers in the house and hot water at breakfast — as Western netizens experience increased surveillance and censorship across internet platforms, they are ironically turning to one of the most repressive regimes in the world for respite. On today’s episode, Morgan talks to Yi-Ling Liu, author of The Wall Dancers: Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet, about the Chinese government’s history of internet censorship, how online creativity has still flourished inside China’s “walled garden,” and what Americans have to learn from our neighbors in the East.  Guest: Yi-Ling Liu, writer and editor Further Reading/Listening: The Wall Dancers Searching for Freedom and Connection on the Chinese Internet — Yi-Ling Liu How a Dating App Helped a Generation of Chinese Come Out of the Closet — Yi-Ling Liu, The New York Times Magazine Why Everyone Is Suddenly in a ‘Very Chinese Time’ in Their Lives — Zeyi Yang and Louise Matsakis, Wired  TikTok censorship claims spark California probe of app's handling of anti-Trump content —  Kevin Collier and Bruna Horvath, NBC News  Why TikTok’s first week of American ownership was a disaster —  Blake Montgomery, The Guardian China’s biggest gay dating app wants to beat Grindr — Viola Zhou and Andrew Deck, Rest of World Two of China’s most popular gay dating apps have disappeared from app stores — Chris Lau and Steven Jiang, CNN  Read the Transcript here Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional producing support by Gabriela Glueck. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Director of Content Operations. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re bringing you an episode about love. We start with TikTok creator Jojo Manzo, who turned his late-night doomscrolling into a matchmaking experiment when he invited thousands of strangers to flirt in his comment section. Then we talk to Maria Avgitidis, a third-generation matchmaker, about why friction, community, and a little discomfort might actually be the point of dating. And finally, we get to the physical … or, at least, geographical. When you find someone you care about, do you share your location with them? Is it intimacy, convenience, surveillance or all three? We explore what it looks like to find human connection in a deeply digital world. Guests: Maria Avgitidis Pyrgiotakis, matchmaker and CEO of Agapematch Jojo Manzo, musician and content creator Friends of Close All Tabs: Mandy Seiner and Jackson Maxwell,  Anna Iovine, Tanya Chen, Amanda Silberling,  Harriet Weber,  and Taj Weaver Further Reading/Listening: You Don’t Need to Swipe Right. A.I. Is Transforming Dating Apps — Eli Tan, The New York Times To Share or Not to Share? How Location Sharing Is Changing Our Relationships — Modern Love Podcast ‘Perfection without the connection’: How AI is becoming a digital wingman — Hani Richter, Reuters The Doomed Dream of an AI Matchmaker — Faith Hill, The Atlantic Ask A Matchmaker: Matchmaker Maria’s No Nonsense Guide to Finding Love — Maria Avgitidis, Matchmaker Maria Is U-Hauling Real? Here's What's Behind The Lesbian Stereotype — Lea Rose Emery, Bustle What's The Deal With U-Haul Lesbians? — Kira Deshler, Paging Dr. Lesbian Read the transcript here. Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional producing support by Gabriela Glueck. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Director of Content Operations. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Picture this… You move to a cozy home in an idyllic neighborhood: fresh air and birdsong in the morning and gorgeous sunsets at night. One day, you wake up to find an AI data center is being built right across the street. Your view of trees turns into piles of dirt, the songbird’s trill replaced by the hum of machinery. That’s the reality for many Atlanta metro area residents right now, facing an explosion of AI data center construction.   In this episode, Morgan is joined by reporters DorMiya Vance and Marlon Hyde from WABE in Atlanta. Vance and Hyde recently looked into why so many companies are targeting the Atlanta suburbs for their builds. They’ll break down what this means for the infrastructure of local energy companies,  how to contextualize this trend within the historical strain placed on predominately Black communities, and what can be done to prepare for “stranded assets” if the bubble bursts.  Guests: DorMiya Vance, Southside reporter at WABE Marlon Hyde, business reporter at WABE Further Reading/Listening: Data centers power our online lives. The business is growing faster in metro Atlanta than anywhere else in the US — Marlon Hyde, WABE South Atlanta residents brace for major data center development — DorMiya Vance, WABE Microsoft vows to cover full power costs for energy-hungry AI data centers — Benj Edwards, Ars Technica   After a White Town Rejected a Data Center, Developers Targeted a Black Area — Adam Mahoney, Capital B A Historic Black Community Takes On the World's Richest Man Over Environmental Racism — Adam Mahoney, Capital B The People Say No: Resisting Data Centers in the South — Media Justice Data centers spark a ‘fight for the soul’ of this mostly Black Maryland county — Lateshia Beachum, The Washington Post Georgia leads push to ban datacenters used to power America’s AI boom — Timothy Pratt, The Guardian Read the transcript here. Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much does your own AI use matter? With all the warnings about AI’s adverse impact on the environment, it can be tough to understand what that means at the individual level. In this episode, Morgan breaks down the hidden costs of generative AI into something more relatable: microwave time. She’s joined by MIT Technology Review reporters Casey Crownhart and James O’Donnell, who spent months investigating how much energy and water AI systems actually use. Together, they unpack how AI models are trained and which ones are more resource-intensive, what effect the expansion of AI data centers has on local energy grids and just how much electricity it takes when we ask AI to generate text, images and videos. Guests: Casey Crownhart, senior climate reporter at MIT Technology Review James O'Donnell, senior AI reporter at MIT Technology Review Further Reading: We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard. — Casey Crownhart and James O’Donnell, MIT Technology Review  AI Energy Score v2: Refreshed Leaderboard, now with Reasoning 🧠 —  Sasha Luccioni and Boris Gamazaychikov, Hugging Face Stop worrying about your AI footprint. Look at the big picture instead. — Casey Crownhart, MIT Technology Review  Google says a typical AI text prompt only uses 5 drops of water — experts say that’s misleading — Justine Calma, The Verge Read the Transcript here Want to give us feedback on the show? Shoot us an email at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How easy is it to find someone from a single video posted online? To find out, Morgan put her own privacy to the test. She asked TikTok creator JoseMonkey, who’s famous for geolocating people who send him videos asking to be found, to track her down. JoseMonkey started as a geolocation hobbyist who turned to creating videos to bring attention to common mistakes people make when posting online.  In this episode, Morgan breaks down why personal operational security matters and what digital hygiene actually looks like in practice. JoseMonkey walks through how he finds people using the smallest scraps of information, and the steps you can take to make sure you aren’t exposing too much in your posts. And Eva Galperin, cybersecurity director of Electronic Frontier Foundation, explains how to use a process called “threat modeling” to protect your online privacy in a way that’s practical rather than paranoid. Guests: Jose Monkey, content creator and online privacy advocate Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation Further Reading/Listening: We partnered with KQED’s audience news team on a companion guide that breaks down online privacy in a clear, shareable format. You can find it, along with other explainers and guides, on KQED’s explainers page. ⁠Have LLMs Finally Mastered Geolocation? — Foeke Postma and Nathan Patin, BellingcatSurveillance Self-Defense  — The Electronic Frontier Foundation How micro-online posting can be a macro privacy risk — JoseMonkey, TedX Talks Read the transcript ⁠here⁠ Want to give us feedback on the show? Shoot us an email at ⁠[email protected]⁠ Follow us on⁠ ⁠Instagram⁠⁠ and⁠ ⁠TikTok⁠⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good in Minneapolis, it became an instant flashpoint in the ongoing escalation of federal law enforcement violence. It also put a spotlight on the U.S. government’s efforts to prevent people from documenting federal agents in public. In this episode, we dig into a simple but important question: do you have the right to record ICE? Criminal justice reporter C.J. Ciaramella explains how the Trump administration is working to create a chilling effect around filming law enforcement, why legal challenges are intensifying, and how courts are increasingly pushing back. Guests: C.J. Ciaramella, Criminal Justice Reporter at Reason Further Reading/Listening: ICE officer fatally shoots driver through car window in Minneapolis — Max Nesterak, Madison McVan and Alyssa Chen, The Minnesota Reformer  The Trump administration says it's illegal to record videos of ICE. Here's what the law says. — C.J. Ciaramella, Reason  DHS says recording or following law enforcement 'sure sounds like obstruction of justice' —  C.J. Ciaramella, Reason   Recording the Police: Tips for Safety and Awareness — Carly Severn and Mina Kim, KQED DHS Claims Videotaping ICE Raids Is ‘Violence’ — Matthew Cunningham-Cook, The American Prospect ICE detains U.S. citizen for 7 hours after she photographed agents in Oregon — Yesenia Amaro, The Oregonian  Dozens of felony cases crumble in DOJ push to punish protesters — Michael Biesecker, Jamie Ding, Christine Fernando, Claire Rush, and Ryan J. Foley, The Associated Press  What Happens When Federal Officers Use Force — Miranda Jeyaretnam, TIME  California is banning masks for federal agents. Here’s why it could lose in court —  Nigel Duara, CalMatters Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the show? Shoot us an email at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa, who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In a holiday installment of Save or Scroll, Morgan and the Close All Tabs team get together to talk over the stories they can’t stop thinking about. From OpenAI’s concerning new job posting, to a major RAM shortage, AI artists on the come up, and an antidote to the Manosphere, they’ve got a lot to chew on. Save or Scroll is our series where we team up with guests for a rapid-fire roundup of internet trends that are filling our feeds right now. At the end of each segment, they’ll decide: is the post just for the group chat, or should we save it for a future episode? Guests: Morgan Sung, Host of Close All Tabs Chris Egusa, Senior Editor of Close All Tabs Maya Cueva, Producer of Close All Tabs Chris Hambrick, Editor of Close All Tabs Further Reading/Listening: Sam Altman is hiring someone to worry about the dangers of AI — Terrence O'Brien, The Verge Why OpenAI's $555,000 Head of Preparedness Role May Be Hard to Fill — Sarah E. Needleman, Business Insider Memory loss: As AI gobbles up chips, prices for devices may rise — John Ruwitch, NPR Why is RAM so expensive right now? It's way more complicated than you think — Wayne Williams, TechRadar AI Singer Xania Monet Just Charted On Billboard, Signed $3 Million Deal. Is This The Future Of Music? — Doug Melville, Forbes How Many AI Artists Have Debuted on Billboard’s Charts? — Xander Zellner, Billboard The ‘Manosphere’? It’s Planet Earth. — Joseph Bernstein, The New York Times “2024 self interviewing my 2025 self” — @seanjaye1988, Instagram Reel Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the show? Shoot us an email at [email protected] Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok⁠ Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa, who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When KitKat, a beloved bodega cat, was killed by a Waymo in San Francisco in late October of this year, the incident quickly went viral. It ignited grief and outrage. It also renewed scrutiny of autonomous vehicles. But in a city where hundreds of animals are hit by vehicles each year, why did this incident — and this particular cat — hit such a nerve? We hear from Oscar Palma, the first reporter on the scene, about what unfolded the night KitKat was killed. Then, Mission Local managing editor Joe Eskenazi and KQED reporter Sydney Johnson explore the limits of autonomous vehicles and why one cat’s death resonated so deeply in a rapidly gentrifying San Francisco. Guests: Sydney Johnson, reporter at KQED Oscar Palma, reporter at Mission Local Joe Eskenazi, managing editor at Mission Local Further Reading/ Listening: KitKat, liquor store mascot and ‘16th St. ambassador,’ killed — allegedly by Waymo — Oscar Palma, Mission Local  San Francisco Supervisor Calls for Robotaxi Reform After Waymo Kills Neighborhood Cat — Sydney Johnson, KQED How Kit Kat Was Killed: Video Shows What a Waymo Couldn’t See — Heather Knight, The New York Times  Driverless car startup Cruise's no good, terrible year — Dara Kerr, NPR Cruise admits lying to feds about dragging woman in San Francisco — Kevin Truong, The San Francisco Standard Waymo hits dog in S.F. weeks after killing Mission bodega cat — Kelly Waldron, Mission Local Dog hit by Waymo in SF put down by family after suffering 'severe pelvic trauma' — Alex Baker, KRON4 The self-driving taxi revolution begins at last — The Economist  Read the transcript here Email: ⁠[email protected]⁠ Follow us on ⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠TikTok Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. This episode was produced by Maya Cueva and edited by Chris Egusa. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa, who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On December 4, 2024, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed outside a Midtown New York hotel. The subsequent arrest of 26-year-old Luigi Mangione set off a frenzy far beyond a typical breaking news story. Almost immediately, supporters emerged, detractors pushed back and then something stranger took hold: a devoted fandom that treated Mangione not just as a suspect, but as a symbol. One year later, we look at how a single crime became a cultural flashpoint and how narratives built around Magione are shaping public perception. Investigative journalist Melkorka Licea unpacks the different factions of Mangione’s online supporters. Then, legal expert Daniel Medwed helps Morgan understand the challenges of selecting a fair jury in an era when high-profile cases unfold in real time across millions of screens. Guests: Melkorka Licea, investigative journalist  Daniel Medwed, professor of law at Northeastern University Further Reading/Listening: Inside the Contentious World of Luigi Mangione Supporters —  Melkorka Licea, WIRED Luigi Mangione Hearing Hits on 3D Gun, Never-Before-Heard 911 Call, Comparisons to the Unabomber — Lorena O’Neil, Rolling Stone Slain UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson's tenure was marked by rocketing profits—and accusations of insider trading and coverage denial  — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune Luigi is Currently Reading: What Can We Really Learn About the UHC CEO’s Alleged Killer Based on the Books He’s Read? — James Folta, Literary Hub Luigi Mangione’s ‘Loafers,’ ‘Outfit’ and ‘Ankles’ Go Viral as His Unexpected Fashion Influence Persists After Latest Court Appearance — Renan Botelho, WWD Meet the ‘Cougars for Luigi Mangione’ — and new fans of the alleged killer — Josie Ensor, The Times What is jury nullification and what does it mean for Luigi Mangione’s defense? — Eric Levenson, CNN Grand jury declines to indict the 88-year-old white woman whose false accusations led to Emmett Till's death in 1955 — Haven Orecchio-Egresitz, Business Insider Read the transcript here Email: [email protected] Follow us on Instagram and TikTok Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. This episode was produced by Chris Egusa and edited by Jen Chien. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa who also composed our theme song and credits music. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Editor’s note: We updated one line to add context about a character in one of the Purple Moon games, which may affect how the character is understood. Thirty years ago, video games were predominantly marketed to boys. Nintendo and Sega ran TV ads featuring boys proclaiming how “awesome” and “powerful” the latest system was. And the biggest computer games tended to revolve around male-coded activities like shooting or combat. But in the late ‘90s, a small indie game studio called Purple Moon set out to change that — creating story-rich, emotionally complex games designed to welcome girls into the world of computers. In this episode, Close All Tabs producer Maya Cueva looks back on her own childhood experience with Purple Moon and talks with founder Brenda Laurel about the company’s legacy, its impact on girls in tech, and how it all came to an abrupt end. Guest: Brenda Laurel, interactive games designer, creator and founder of Purple Moon Further Reading: The ‘Girl Games’ of the ’90s Were Fun and Feminist — Drew Dakessian, WIRED  Conscious UX: Leading Human-Centered Design in the Age of AI: Designing the Future of Artificial Intelligence with Compassion, Inclusion, and Openness — Rikki Teeters, Don Norman, Brenda Laurel  Brenda Laurel — Christopher Weaver, Smithsonian Institution, Lemelson Center for The Study of Invention and Innovation  Trailblazing Women in Video Gaming: Meet the Pioneers Who Shaped Design History — D.S. Cohen, Lifewire Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. This episode was reported and produced by Maya Cueva and edited by Chris Hambrick and Chris Egusa. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Ukraine-Russia war has been called the most technologically advanced war in history. Ukrainian citizens receive notifications about incoming missile and drone attacks through apps on their phones; remote-controlled drones swarm the front lines; and volunteer cyberwarfare units target Russian digital infrastructure. It’s all part of what some have dubbed Ukraine’s “Geeks of War.” In this episode, investigative reporter Erica Hellerstein takes us to the digital front line. On a recent trip to Ukraine, she met a husband-and-wife duo running a DIY nonprofit that supplies tech to defense forces, toured the recently-bombed headquarters of one of the country’s biggest tech companies, and explored how a swarm of online accounts with Shiba Inu avatars is countering Russian propaganda. Throughout, she looks at how Ukraine’s culture of tech innovation — and its surprising ties to Silicon Valley — are fueling the country’s resistance through an army of engineers, coders, hackers, and tinkerers. Guest: Erica Hellerstein, investigative journalist and feature writer Further Reading/Listening: Dexter Filkins on Drones and the Future of Warfare⁠ — Adam Howard, WNYC ⁠Lessons From the World’s First Full-Scale Cyberwar⁠ — David Kirichenko, Kyiv Post ⁠Russia Takes Its Ukraine Information War Into Video Games⁠ — Steven Lee Myers and Kellen Browning, The New York Times ⁠Why Ukraine remains the world's most innovative war machine⁠ — Ibrahim Naber, Politico ⁠A Thousand Snipers in the Sky: The New War in Ukraine⁠ — Marc Santora, Lara Jakes, Andrew E. Kramer, Marco Hernandez and Liubov Sholudko, The New York Times Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: Close All Tabs is hosted by Morgan Sung. This episode was reported by Erica Hellerstein. It was produced by Maya Cueva and edited by Chris Egusa and Jen Chien. Chris Hambrick is our editor. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Jen Chien is our Director of Podcasts. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Ubisoft, publisher of the sprawling open-world racing game The Crew shut down the game’s servers, cutting off access to even its single-player mode, fans were outraged. The moment tapped into their decades of frustration with the gaming industry’s push toward online-only content — and what some now call the growing epidemic of “game death.” In this episode, host Morgan Sung is joined by Ross Scott, a filmmaker and YouTube creator who launched the “Stop Killing Games” campaign. They’ll cover the push for new regulations requiring publishers to plan for the end of their games’ lifespans. Then, Morgan talks with gaming journalist Nicole Carpenter about the passionate community that formed around the mobile game Kim Kardashian: Hollywood, and how gamers grieve the loss of their favorite virtual worlds. Guests: Ross Scott, filmmaker, creator, and founder of the Stop Killing Games movement Nicole Carpenter, freelance reporter Further reading/listening: With Anthem’s Impending Server Shutdown, I’m Trying It For The First Time — Nicole Carpenter, Aftermath Kim Kardashian: Hollywood has an unlikely, lasting place in gaming history — Nicole Carpenter, Polygon  'Stop Killing Games' Campaign Closes in on Getting EU Regulators to Intervene — Jon Martindale, PC Mag ‘Stop Killing Games’: Demands for game ownership must also include workers’ rights — Louis-Etienne Dubois and Miikka J. Lehtonen, The Conversation The largest campaign ever to stop publishers destroying games — Ross Scott, Accursed Farms (YouTube)   Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung and produced by Francesca Fenzi. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When wildfire engulfed much of Los Angeles earlier this year, artist and game designer Alice Bucknell found themselves stuck inside, replaying “Firewatch,” a quiet game about exploring the wilderness in anticipation of an impending wildfire. It helped them process emotions that felt too overwhelming in real life. “Firewatch,” and other games like it that focus on exploration rather than fighting or competing, are known as walking simulators. Throughout their career, Alice has used this approach to craft exploratory games that invite players to stretch their imagination and emotional capacity. In this episode, Morgan talks with Alice about how walking simulators and other virtual worlds can reframe our understanding of failure, climate grief, and our connection to one another. From simulating life as a moth to wandering through abandoned metaverses like Second Life, they explore how digital spaces can become sites of mourning, reflection, and hope. Guests: Alice Bucknell, artist, writer, and game designer Further reading/listening: The video game that makes the climate apocalypse look good — Erin X. Wong, High Country News Second Life’s loyal users embrace its decaying software and no-fun imperfections — Alice Bucknell, Document Journal Playing with Feelings: Video Games and Affect — Aubrey Anable, University of Minnesota Press Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung and produced by Francesca Fenzi. Our team includes producer Maya Cueva, editor Chris Hambrick and senior editor Chris Egusa. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

TwitchCon, Twitch’s annual convention in San Diego for all things streaming and gaming, is facing heightened scrutiny after streamer Emiru was assaulted there during a meet-and-greet. The incident occurred after a series of streamers pulled out of the event over safety concerns and the growing specter of political violence. All of this has highlighted questions about the role of political commentary on Twitch — a genre that's exploded in the last few years, transforming the platform into much more than a gaming site.  In this episode, Morgan is joined by author and reporter Nathan Grayson and political streamer Denims to explore Twitch’s rise as a hub for political speech, the company’s inconsistent handling of backlash against political creators, and whether any real alternatives exist for this new wave of commentators.  Guests:  Nathan Grayson,  co-founder and reporter at Aftermath  Denims, political streamer on Twitch Further reading/listening: Beefed Up TwitchCon Security Couldn't Stop The Internet's Issues From Spilling Over Into Real Life — Nathan Grayson, Aftermath Can Twitch Survive? CEO Dan Clancy at Twitchcon — Taylor Lorenz, User Mag Stream Big: The Triumphs and Turmoils of Twitch and the Stars Behind the Screen — Nathan Grayson Why is TwitchCon so uniquely unsafe for streamers? — Christianna Silva, Mashable Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Chris Hambrick is our Editor. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What do colorful and plush Labubu dolls have in common with Mesopotamian mythology? If you believe some viral TikToks, everything. Recent conspiracy theories have linked the toys to everything from ancient demonic spirits to Satan worship. But behind those ideas flooding online feeds is something older and darker: the return of moral panic. In this episode, host Morgan Sung digs into how a new generation of “satanic panic” has gone digital, from fears of occult rituals in song to online crusades against queer and trans people. Journalist Sarah Marshall, host of the new podcast series The Devil You Know, joins Morgan to help trace how misinformation and moral outrage keep recycling the same fears — just with new villains.  Guests:  Sarah Marshall, journalist and host of the You're Wrong About podcast Further reading/listening: The Devil You Know with Sarah Marshall — CBC Podcasts You're Wrong About podcast — Sarah Marshall The right’s moral panic over “grooming” invokes age-old homophobia — Aja Romano, Vox  The strange origins of the Satanic Panic: How one Canadian book started a worldwide witch hunt — Leah Collins, CBC Arts Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Chris Hambrick is our Editor. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When ChatGPT launched in 2022, it kicked off what some have called the “AI hype machine” — a frenzy of promotion and investment that has sent some tech companies’ valuations soaring to record heights. Meanwhile, computational linguist Emily M. Bender and AI researcher and sociologist Alex Hanna have proudly worn the titles of “AI hype busters,” critiquing the industry’s loftiest claims and pointing out the real-world harms behind this wave of excitement. What began as a satirical podcast is now a book, The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want. In this episode, Alex and Emily explain why the very term “AI” is misleading, how AI boosters and doomers are really flip sides of the same coin, and why we should question the AI inevitability narrative. Guests: Emily M. Bender, professor of linguistics the University of Washington Alex Hanna, director of research at the Distributed AI Research Institute Further reading/listening: The AI Con: How to Fight Big Tech’s Hype and Create the Future We Want — Emily Bender and Alex Hanna The Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000 Podcast — Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna “AI” Hurts Consumers and Workers -- and Isn’t Intelligent — Emily Bender and Alex Hanna, Tech Policy Press On the Very Real Dangers of the Artificial Intelligence Hype Machine: Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna Explore AI History, the Cold War, and a Fatally Overhyped Idea — Emily M. Bender, LitHub People Are Crashing Out Over Sora 2’s New Guardrails — Samantha Cole, 404 Media Sora 2 Has a Huge Financial Problem — Victor Tangermann, Futurism We did the math on AI’s energy footprint. Here’s the story you haven’t heard. — James O'Donnell and Casey Crownhart, MIT Technology Review Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Our editor is Chris Hambrick. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brian Douglas and Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What happens to dating when every misstep has the potential to go viral? That’s what happened in 2022, when social media posts warning about a few bad dates with a man named “West Elm Caleb” blew up on TikTok in 2022, and became a cautionary tale on the culture of public shaming. In this episode, Morgan speaks with tech journalist Tanya Chen and culture writer Magdalene Taylor about the rise of the “dating panopticon” — a world in which love, gossip, and surveillance collide. From ghosting to the hacked “Tea App,” they explore how online whisper networks meant to protect women have turned into digital minefields, and what it takes to opt out of turning our romantic lives into content. Guests:  Magdalene Taylor, writer, culture critic, and senior editor at Playboy Tanya Tianyi Chen, independent tech writer and editor Further reading/listening: Reject the Digital Dating Panopticon — Magdalene J. Taylor, Many Such Cases Gender Relations Have Made Dating a Hostile Act — Magdalene J. Taylor, Many Such Cases Women’s ‘red flag’ app Tea is a privacy nightmare — Tanya Tianyi Chen, The Verge     West Elm Caleb: The TikTok mob's latest target might not deserve its wrath. — Madison Malone Kircher, Slate  Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Chris Hambrick. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Sound design by Chris Egusa. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audio engineering by Brian Douglas. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices