The Internet is Crack

2026 Pulitzer Prize winner in fiction, Daniel Kraus spoke to us about his award-winning book, “Angel Down,” just before its release. We discuss AI, storytelling, and the future of human creativity.

This week’s guest, Maribeth Rauh, formerly of Google DeepMind, explains why people so often treat AI like a person and how that illusion can distort judgment and lead to real-world harm.

Dr. Ryan Jenkins explores a future where AI surpasses humans. He examines economic upheaval, artistic purpose, and the search for meaning when machines outperform us at nearly everything humans value.

Robot ethicist Professor Alan Winfield joins us to explore the real risks of robots and AI and what they mean for humanity’s future.

Dr. Alan Winfield explores how robots evolve through error, imitation, and iteration, revealing surprising parallels with human learning, culture, and creativity, while questioning what “learning” really means for machines.

We speak with Dr. Julie Carpenter about how technology encourages emotional bonds with robots and AI, exploring whether these relationships feel genuine, manipulative, or are just something new.

Those who own your data own you! In this episode, Aral Balkan exposes how billionaire corporations have seized control of the internet, turning us into products, and why reclaiming our digital rights is the fight of our lifetime.

This week, we had the honor of speaking with Alice E. Marwick, Director of Research at Data & Society, a nonprofit research institute that examines the social, political, and legal implications of data-driven technologies. We explored how online communication is warped by profit-driven systems, why bad actors thrive in digital spaces, and what makes civil discourse so elusive in the age of algorithmic manipulation.

Dr. Kasra Ghaharian joins us to discuss the rise of digital betting.

We talk with Dr. Randolph R. Lewis about his new book “Bummerland: Ruin and Restoration in Trump’s New America.” We explore how technology, politics, and culture are reshaping society and not always for the better.