Crashed

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker try to understand why Barnsley has been picked as the UK’s first Tech Town (spoiler: it’s a Reform target seat, so Alex thinks it might have something to do with it). They speak to Barnsley council leader Sir Stephen Houghton. 

Also… campaigner, performer, and all-around titan Paulita Pappel talks about tech innovations, censorship, and the patriarchy’s role in the adult industry.

Follow Paulita here: https://www.paulitapappel.com/

Finally, they discuss Elon Musk's plan to get one million satellites in orbit, and start a fight with students about the role of AI in media.

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker interview data politics and social justice academic Dr Elinor Carmi, of City St George’s, about the government wanting 10 million workers to get trained on AI… run by Google, Amazon, and others. Is this a good thing, or, as some critics say, letting economic growth supersede democratic values?

Follow Dr Carmi on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/elinorcarmi/?originalSubdomain=uk 

Learn more about The Society for Hopeful Technologists: https://societyforhopefultechnologists.org/ 

Elsewhere, adult sites start removing themselves from the UK market, a cricket app that’s finally good, VPN regulation, and what a dumb phone can actually be used for.

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker discuss how Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood has sparked a media storm over her views on the surveillance state. 

Her view? "To achieve, by means of AI and technology, what Jeremy Bentham tried to do with his Panopticon. That is that the eyes of the state can be on you at all times.” 

We also discuss what Trump is doing in Iceland... we mean Greenland, and what, if anything, trust has do with prosperity.

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker investigate how AI is transforming our relationships, from best friends to husbands and wives and even therapists, the death spiral of the global media and whether it’s AI to blame, and how Keir Starmer is attempting to influence the influencers.

This includes an interview with the author James Muldoon, whose new book Love Machines looks at how AI is changing relationships (you can buy his book here: https://www.faber.co.uk/product/9780571399277-love-machines/) 

We also discuss the “death spiral” of journalism and the media industry, which executives still seem to underestimate despite the bleak outlook; Westminster finally catching up with the influence of influencers; and how David Attenborough is the secret victim of a Reddit bug.

Keywords: technology, podcast, economics, AI, big tech, UK technology, democracy, social media 

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

Crashed is the tech podcast about everything else,

Today, hosts Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker discuss whether the controversy around Grok (Groktroversy if you will) and AI-editing images is really the beginning for real regulation, the end of X, or both?

They also discuss British politicians playing with AI sandboxes, and all the latest updates from CES.

Follow us:

Instagram: 

Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexhuds

Chris: https://www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker 

TikTok: 

Alex: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: https://www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1zO7Ll6SY7W3qBrjhMCQXb?si=9d4dc1a7bcbd4f9b  

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crashed/id1846834434  

RSS feed: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/68f22ac7ca0e7f7545c5ecea 

Keywords: technology, podcast, economics, AI, big tech, UK technology, democracy, social media 

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

Welcome to Crashed, the podcast about how tech is at the centre of everything, whether that be economics, politics, philosophy, ethics, community, law, religion, education, or literally anything else. 

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker take 10 predictions on what’s coming for tech in 2026. From trying to work out if anyone still uses LinkedIn, to whether podcasting might have its cancellation moment, there are a lot of things very likely to happen, and a lot of things not really that likely to.

Our contributors: 

Olly Mann:

The Week Unwrapped podcast: https://theweek.com/the-week-unwrapped-podcast

Everything else he does: https://www.ollymann.com/ 

Ellen C. Scott

Working on Purpose Substack: https://workingonpurposenewsletter.substack.com

And her book Working On Purpose: https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/working-on-purpose-ellen-scott/7788609 

H Alan Scott:

Their Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/halanscott/?hl=en 

Dr. Carolina Are:

Her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bloggeronpole/ 

Chris Hamilton:

Albie’s website https://www.albie.ai/ 

Chris’s LinkedIn https://uk.linkedin.com/in/chrishams 

Paulita Pappel:

Her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/paulitapappel/?hl=en

Hardwerk’s Instagram (discretion advised): https://www.instagram.com/hardwerk_studio/?hl=en 

Rowan Ferguson:

Molly Rose Foundation homepage: https://mollyrosefoundation.org/

And on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mollyrosefoundation/?hl=en 

Robert Forrest

Robert’s LinkedInwww.linkedin.com/in/rforrest1

Deep Design Systems www.deepdesignsystems.com   

Jo Eckersley

Jo’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/joeckersley/ 

Alex Voica - Synesthesia

Alex’s blog: https://www.synthesia.io/blog/authors/alexandru-voica

His Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexandruvoica/ 

Follow us:

Instagram: 

Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexhuds

Chris: https://www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker 

TikTok: 

Alex: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: https://www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1zO7Ll6SY7W3qBrjhMCQXb?si=9d4dc1a7bcbd4f9b  

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crashed/id1846834434  

RSS feed: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/68f22ac7ca0e7f7545c5ecea 

Keywords: technology, podcast, economics, AI, big tech, UK technology, democracy, social meda

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

Welcome to Crashed, the podcast about how tech is at the centre of everything, whether that be economics, politics, philosophy, ethics, community, law, religion, education, or literally anything else. 

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker take a second over Christmas to thank everyone for listening across the first 10 episodes of a ridiculous experiment before fobbing listeners off by not recording an original episode for Christmas Day and instead looking back at the best bits of the pilot phase of the podcast.

We'll be back next week with a cracking episode of 2026 predictions.

Instagram: 

Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexhuds 

Chris: https://www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker 

TikTok: 

Alex: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds 

Chris: https://www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1zO7Ll6SY7W3qBrjhMCQXb?si=9d4dc1a7bcbd4f9b  

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crashed/id1846834434  

RSS feed: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/68f22ac7ca0e7f7545c5ecea 

Keywords: technology, podcast, economics, AI, big tech, UK technology, democracy, social meda

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker discuss whether a MAGA whisperer will become US ambassador for the sake of a tech deal, our reflections on whether anything actually happened in 2025, and whether there are any politicians who aren’t working for an AI firm.

Follow us:

Instagram: 

Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexhuds 

Chris: https://www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker 

TikTok: 

Alex: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds 

Chris: https://www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1zO7Ll6SY7W3qBrjhMCQXb?si=9d4dc1a7bcbd4f9b  

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crashed/id1846834434  

RSS feed: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/68f22ac7ca0e7f7545c5ecea 

Keywords: technology, podcast, economics, AI, big tech, UK technology, democracy, social meda, 2026 predictions

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker decide whether Australia banning social media for children under 16 is a good or bad thing, whether “fascion” right wing fashion means that fascism is inevitable, and if under 10% of the world’s population living in free democracies means that everything is doomed. 

Follow us:

Instagram: 

Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexhuds 

Chris: https://www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker 

TikTok: 

Alex: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds 

Chris: https://www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1zO7Ll6SY7W3qBrjhMCQXb?si=9d4dc1a7bcbd4f9b  

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crashed/id1846834434  

RSS feed: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/68f22ac7ca0e7f7545c5ecea 

Keywords: technology, podcast, economics, AI, fascism, big tech, UK technology, fashion, democracy, social media

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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

What happens when all music is automated? When all our currency is on the blockchain? When all the tech companies own everything? 

Presenters Alex Hudson and Chris Stokel-Walker unpack whether a single crypto bro can be responsible for the Bitcoin crash, if music really can be automated, and whetehr the overreporting of the reactions to the AI bubble could make the bubble popping more likely. 

Follow us:

Instagram: 

Alex: https://www.instagram.com/alexhuds 

Chris: https://www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker 

TikTok: 

Alex: https://www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds 

Chris: https://www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1zO7Ll6SY7W3qBrjhMCQXb?si=9d4dc1a7bcbd4f9b  

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/crashed/id1846834434  

RSS feed: https://feeds.acast.com/public/shows/68f22ac7ca0e7f7545c5ecea 

Keywords: technology, podcast, economics, AI, cryptocurrency, music production, big tech, UK pension funds, Bitcoin, ransomware

To support, go to https://bit.ly/CrashedPodcast or search Crashed podcast

Follow:

Alex: www.instagram.com/alexhuds / www.tiktok.com/@alexhuds

Chris: www.instagram.com/cstokelwalker / www.tiktok.com/@st0kel

Spotify: https://bit.ly/CrashedSpotify

Apple Podcasts: https://apple.co/4qkgmmV

RSS: https://bit.ly/CrashedRSS

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