El Podcast

Investigative journalist Joseph Cox joins to discuss Dark Wire, his explosive new book revealing how the FBI secretly ran a global encrypted phone company to spy on the criminal underworld.

Guest Bio: Joseph Cox is an award-winning investigative journalist and co-founder of 404 Media. He specializes in cybercrime, surveillance, and hacking, and is the author of Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever, which is being adapted into a Netflix film directed by Jason Bateman.

Topics Covered:

• How the FBI created and operated the encrypted phone company Anom
• Global law enforcement collaboration with countries like Australia, Sweden, and Lithuania
• Legal and ethical concerns around bulk surveillance and entrapment
• Technical infrastructure and operational secrecy of the sting
• Impact on organized crime and the global drug trade
• Use of Bitcoin and hawala for money laundering
• AI’s growing role in law enforcement surveillance and data analysis
• Paranoia and fallout within the criminal underworld
• Future implications for privacy, encrypted apps like Signal and Telegram, and law enforcement tactics

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️ https://youtu.be/OLvf63ZSlwk

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
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Christine Rosen discusses her book The Extinction of Experience, warning against the societal costs of technological overreach, constant surveillance, and the erosion of human judgment and private life.

Guest bio: Christine Rosen is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, a contributing editor at Commentary magazine, co-host of the Commentary podcast, and a fellow at the University of Virginia’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. She is the author of several books, most recently The Extinction of Experience: Being Human in a Disembodied World.

Topics covered:

• Workplace surveillance and emotion-tracking apps
• The illusion of AI emotional intelligence (e.g., “Moody” app misreading Hitler speech)
• The ethical implications of outsourcing judgment to technology
• Tech’s impact on relationships, parenting, and education
• Social media, teenage mental health, and gender differences in screen use
• Elite technologists limiting their own children’s screen exposure
• Analog resistance: rituals, habits, and reclaiming human experiences
• Gen Z workplace struggles, desocialization, and the myth of “digital natives”
• AI hype vs. human skills and personal responsibility
• Policy solutions: regulation, parental accountability, and civic engagement

Misc info related to this podcast:

• Christine has twin sons in college and shared her personal experience with raising them screen-light.
• She critiques the techno-elite's hypocrisy—profiting from tech while shielding their families from it.
• Encourages a “day without the phone” experiment to rediscover human presence and attention.
• Closing note: technology should serve human flourishing—not replace or monitor it.

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/f-1WcPg61_s

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Austin Frerick exposes the monopolistic grip on America’s food system and the consequences for quality, health, labor, and democracy in his new book Barons.

Guest bio: Austin Frerick is a Yale University fellow, former tax economist at the U.S. Treasury Department, and co-chair of the Biden campaign’s agriculture and antitrust policy committee. He is the author of Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry.

Topics covered:

• How monopolies dominate each sector of the food industry (hogs, grains, dairy, berries, etc.)
• The illusion of choice through brand consolidation
• Driscoll’s "Nike model" of produce control
• Walmart’s dominance and corporate consolidation
• Offshoring, cartel control, and labor exploitation in produce
• Agricultural automation, data consolidation, and AI
• Junk science, checkoff programs, and academic corruption
• Obesity, the farm bill, and cheap corn-based food
• Monopoly resistance, antitrust reform, and the legacy of Upton Sinclair
• Cultural reform through schools, local farming, and civic engagement

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/02B0rCgJPPU

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Renowned economist Charles Goodhart joins the podcast to explore how aging populations, falling birthrates, and shifting global labor dynamics are reshaping the future of economies, politics, and social care.

Guest Bio: Charles Goodhart is a British economist and former Bank of England advisor, widely recognized for his work on monetary policy and demography. He is emeritus professor at the London School of Economics and co-author of The Great Demographic Reversal: Ageing Societies, Waning Inequality, and an Inflation Revival.

Topics Discussed:

• The "great demographic reversal" and its global economic impact
• Why dementia and elder care pose major social and fiscal challenges
• Declining fertility rates across Asia, the U.S., and Europe
• The limits of automation in aging societies
• Political risks of reforming retirement and tax systems
• Lessons—and limits—of the Japanese model
• The uncertain potential of Africa as the next global labor engine
• What a post-growth economy might look like
• Housing demand trends amid an aging population
• Social media’s impact on young people and public discourse
• Personal reflections on aging, family, and historical change

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/cLBi-hw8bYI

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Journalist and political analyst Caleb Maupin discusses his controversial book Kamala Harris and the Future of America, censorship, and the political forces shaping the 2024 U.S. presidential election.

Guest Bio: Caleb Maupin is a journalist, political analyst, and founder of the Center for Political Innovation. He is the author of multiple books, including Kamala Harris and the Future of America, and has appeared on outlets such as RT, Jimmy Dore, and Kim Iversen.

Topics Discussed:

• The thesis and early predictions in Kamala Harris and the Future of America
• Alleged censorship of the book following Harris’s nomination
• Kamala Harris’s background, political rise, and prosecutorial record
• Role of big tech and intelligence agencies in shaping U.S. discourse
• 2024 presidential election dynamics, including Harris vs. Trump
• Degrowth, elite agendas, and the influence of Silicon Valley
• Cultural engineering by the CIA and historical context of U.S. foreign policy
• Trump’s evolution, RFK Jr., and intra-elite political divisions

Top Quote:

“Kamala Harris is not an ethical person—she’s a synthetic creation molded by powerful interests. The only time she seems truly authentic is when she’s laughing about destroying people’s lives.” – Caleb Maupin

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/Ne5-2HWPRYE

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

DJ Renegade, co-creator of the Olympic breaking judging system, explains how breakdancing entered the 2024 Paris Olympics and addresses the controversy surrounding competitor B-Girl Ray Gun.

Guest Bio: DJ Renegade (Kevin Gopie) is a foundational figure in UK hip-hop and breaking, active since the 1980s. He is the founder and coach of the UK’s Soul Mavericks crew and co-designed the judging system used for Olympic breaking competitions, including the 2024 Paris Olympics. He has judged globally and was a key figure in the 2018 Youth Olympic Games in Argentina.

Topics Discussed:

• The origins and structure of Olympic breaking
• How breaking was judged at the 2024 Olympics (no point system, comparative domains)
• The controversy around Australian B-Girl Ray Gun
• Misconceptions about breaking’s artistic traditions and evolution
• Media, outrage culture, and conspiracy theories
• The future of breaking in the Olympics
• Renegade’s journey from 1980s hip-hop to Olympic leadership

Top Quote:

“I think the world’s not ready for breaking—and breaking’s not ready for the world.” – DJ Renegade

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/oDweMWi0f1E

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Dr. Wilfred Reilly joins the show to discuss his latest book Lies My Liberal Teacher Told Me, challenging dominant narratives in education, race, gender, and American history.

Guest Bio: Dr. Wilfred Reilly is a political science professor at Kentucky State University, co-host of the Cut the Bull podcast, and author of several books including Taboo and Hate Crime Hoax. His work focuses on data-driven critiques of media narratives, identity politics, and ideological orthodoxy in academia.

Topics Discussed:

• The 1960s counterculture and its long-term social effects
• The Red Scare and communist influence in U.S. institutions
• Cultural Marxism vs. traditional Marxism
• Gender, family collapse, and declining fertility
• Lies in mainstream education and media
• How to find balanced non-fiction sources
• The future of family formation and policy implications
• Career advice in a rapidly changing labor market

Top Quote:
"Trust your common sense. If someone says something that sounds insane—like some women have 9-inch penises—believe your gut. You're not crazy." — Dr. Wilfred Reilly

Watch the full episode on YouTube📺➡️https://youtu.be/QVq8komx41M

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Rob Lalka, Tulane professor and author of The Venture Alchemist, explores how big tech used venture capital and surveillance to convert profits into political and societal power.

Guest Bio: Rob Lalka is a Professor of Practice at Tulane University, where he leads the Albert Lepage Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. A former senior advisor at the Howard G. Buffett Foundation and staffer at the U.S. Department of State, Lalka is the author of The Venture Alchemist: How Big Tech Turned Profits Into Power.

Topics Discussed:

• The roots of big tech’s power in government partnerships and VC incentives
• The evolution of surveillance capitalism post-9/11 and the Patriot Act
• Venture capital’s hidden influence on founders and startups
• Uber, Palantir, Facebook, and Google as case studies in privatized power
• The blurring lines between government and Silicon Valley
• The role of Saudi wealth, Elon Musk, and Peter Thiel in shaping tech empires
• Alternatives to the VC model and stories of ethical entrepreneurship
• The political ascent of J.D. Vance and the networked power of tech elites

📺Watch Full Episode YouTube https://youtu.be/1rbqtg0kKxI

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Award-winning professor Hatim A. Rahman joins the podcast to discuss Inside the Invisible Cage, exploring how algorithms and AI shape modern work, from gig platforms to corporate offices.

Guest Bio: Dr. Hatim A. Rahman is an assistant professor of management and organizations at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. His research examines the intersection of technology, work, and organizational control. His latest book, Inside the Invisible Cage: How Algorithms Control Workers, investigates how opaque digital systems influence careers, autonomy, and fairness in the modern economy.

Discussed Topics:

• The "invisible cage" vs. the "iron cage" in modern workplaces
• Algorithmic control on gig and freelance platforms
• Rating inflation, Goodhart’s Law, and trust in digital metrics
• Parallels to historical labor changes and the rise of bureaucracy
• Remote work, surveillance, and the future of hybrid offices
• Consumer responsibility, regulation, and the ethical use of AI
• Career advice for students entering an algorithm-driven job market

Top Quote:

“People are not products, people are not bathrooms, people are not movies… yet we keep applying the same rating systems to them—and then pretend we’re measuring something real.”

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube➡️https://youtu.be/vxXRA2l7DX0

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!

Harvard’s Shane Greenstein breaks down the Google antitrust ruling, the future of search, and why the biggest tech companies may be due for a reckoning.

👤 Guest Bio: Shane Greenstein is the Martin Marshall Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and a leading expert on the economics of technology and innovation. His research explores how digital transformation reshapes business, markets, and society.

🧠 Topics Discussed:

• The August 2024 antitrust ruling against Google
• The economics of default search contracts and market power
• Comparisons to the Microsoft antitrust case
• Investor implications and possible remedies
• The role of AI in reshaping search
• Student use of AI tools like ChatGPT and Claude
• Public sentiment shifts toward big tech
• Online advertising auction mechanics and Google's conduct

💬 Top Quote:
"You can't do that unless you've got market power… They raised prices 20% year in, year out—and didn’t lose any advertisers. That’s pretty persuasive."

📺Watch the full episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5rZIYiJZvGA

🎙 The Pod is hosted by Jesse Wright
💬 For guest suggestions, questions, or media inquiries, reach out at https://elpodcast.media/
📬 Never miss an episode – subscribe and follow wherever you get your podcasts.
⭐️ If you enjoyed this episode, please rate and review the show. It helps others find us.

Thanks for listening!