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A flawless-looking LinkedIn photo sparks a much bigger conversation about consent, control, and the digital doubles that follow us everywhere. In this episode, we sit down with Pegah K Parsi, JD, MBA Chief Privacy Officer at UC San Diego, to unpack why privacy is a fundamental right — and how that belief quietly shapes our everyday decisions online and at work.

Pegah introduces a deceptively simple framework with outsized impact: privacy across body, space, and data. From medical choices and physical boundaries to algorithms curating our feeds, she reframes privacy as the right to decide who gets access to what, for which purpose, and for how long. That lens turns scattered anxieties about filters, tagging, and creepy ads into one clear question: how do we reclaim control of our digital identity without opting out of modern life?

We also get practical about building real connection in remote and hybrid teams. Think agenda-free coffee chats, meetings that start with genuine check-ins, and yes — the occasional unannounced phone call just to say hello. The conversation doesn’t dodge the gray areas either: personalization versus manipulation, research benefits versus surveillance risks, and the ethics of editing or posting images of others on professional platforms.

If you’ve ever wondered why your phone feels like it’s reading your mind — or debated whether touching up a colleague’s photo crosses a line — this episode gives you language, principles, and habits you can use immediately. Expect a grounded take on data brokers, consent that’s more than a checkbox, and small rituals that make digital work feel human again.

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