Slate Technology

On today’s episode, it’s mailbag time!  Rachelle and Madison answer listener questions on a very important Haley Kiyoko relationship status update, if the Apple Health app is also selling your biological data, and – shudder – whether there is a new Couch Guy. Plus, Madison herself has a very important question about resizing your jeans.  

Mentioned in the Show:

“I’m the TikTok Couch Guy. Here’s What It Was Like Being Investigated on the Internet” by Robert McCoy

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder, Cheyna Roth and Derek John.

Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This season of Better Life Lab, we’ve been taking a close look at work stress and the future of work and wellbeing. 

Parts of the American economy are looking tough for many workers — even “dystopian. People are quitting their jobs at record rates.

We know what many of the problems are. Yet the fixes are not so simple. So on this closing episode of our fourth season, we ask: Are bad jobs an inherent part of the workplace — or can we actually do what it takes to make the jobs of the future good jobs, big enough to support real human life for all of us?

Guests

Resources

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

They’ve stolen billions of dollars. Is the U.S. ready to crack down?

Guest: Jason Bartlett, research associate in the Energy, Economics, and Security Program at the Center for a New American Security

Host: Lizzie O'Leary

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While TikTok’s “For You” page is designed to get inside users’ heads—and only show them videos about their niche interests—certain trends and sounds on the app can become too big to avoid. On this week’s episode, Madison and guest host Moises Mendes II break down the disturbing ubiquity of TikToks making fun of the Depp v. Heard defamation trial. Then, they offer insight into the app’s newest dance craze and our strongest contender for 2022 song of the summer, Lizzo’s “About Damn Time.” Finally, they trace the origins of TikTok’s strangest earworm, the “Jiggle Jiggle” rap.

Podcast production by Madeline Ducharme and Derek John.

Support ICYMI and listen to the show with zero ads. Sign up to become a Slate Plus member for just $1 for your first month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The shooting in Buffalo raises questions about the effectiveness of content moderation. Is the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism the answer to how social media can moderate extremist content?

Guest: Emma Llansó, director of the Free Expression Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology

Host: Ray Suarez

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Rachelle Hampton and Madison Malone Kircher speak with Dion Beary, a writer and online community builder who founded the Tumblr blog This Is White Privilege. They talk with Beary about where that blog began, its impact on online discourse, and why he stepped away.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder and Derek John.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Trump's Truth Social network was supposed to be the right's answer to Twitter. What happens to the company if Elon takes over?

Guest: Drew Harwell, reporter for the Washington Post

Host: Lizzie O'Leary

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The “troubled teen” industry, which refers to a network of private wilderness youth programs, therapeutic boarding schools, and residential treatment centers has recently come under scrutiny thanks to TikTok. Survivors of this industry have taken to the app to post stories of their traumatic experiences. On today’s show, Madison and Rachelle talk to Kendee and Daniel, two TikTokkers who’ve become voices of the “troubled teen” industry survivor movement. They take us through what they refer to as “legal kidnapping”, the harsh conditions and manual labor they were subjected to, what life’s been like since they got out, and how TikTok has helped them heal.

Podcast production by Daniel Schroeder.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Companies are developing and selling A.I. products intended to tell your boss or your teacher how you're feeling.

Guest: Kate Kaye, reporter for Protocol

Host: Lizzie O'Leary

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In light of the threat to Roe v. Wade, abortion rights advocates are asking many companies –including in the tech industry– to take a stand. But many industry leaders are silent, and could be poised to profit from data that tracks abortion providers, advocates, and patients. On this week’s episode of A Word, Jason Johnson is joined by Bärí Williams, an expert on diversity in tech and artificial intelligence. They talk about the political, financial, and social priorities that may be keeping tech leaders quiet about the abortion issue. 

Guest: Bärí Williams, an expert on diversity in tech and AI. She’s also the COO of Bandwagon Fan Club, Inc., a data and identity analytics tech company focused on sports and entertainment. 

Podcast production by Jasmine Ellis

You can skip all the ads in A Word by joining Slate Plus. Sign up now at slate.com/awordplus for just $1 for your first month.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices