Touch, Smell, Taste, See, Hear: the five senses as we know them. If you dig deeper though, you'll find that many more exist (just google "proprioception"). Dig down further, you'll see that we're able to create even more with machines.

In this episode, we speak to two big names in biohacking—the expansion of senses and experiences through the power of technology. First, Amal Graafstra, whose company Vivokey, makes payments and unlocks doors by sticking NFC chips in people's hands. Next, Frank Swain, the man who hacked his own hearing aid to hear WiFi. Are these two cyborgs? Maybe. Are they in The Shade? You bet your implant.

Apple customers are more than used to bringing their iPhones and laptops into the store for repair. If you're a fan of electric cars, you may have experienced the same thing with your Tesla. But controversially, the same thing is happening with John Deere and the farmers they sell their tractors to.

In this episode, we talk to filmmaker Jason Koehler, who documented the tech problems that farmers are facing for Vice's Motherboard, and to Richard Counsell, founder of Stable—who tells us that the problem of ownership may extend well beyond just tractors…

Tune in to find out more.

For many in the US, the prospect of unfair detention and jail time is all too real. These underprivileged groups, black people in particular, have matters made worse for them by the cash bail system, which punishes the poor with time behind bars before a trial even begins.

In this episode, we speak to Dr. Kortney Ziegler whose company Appolition funds sorely-needed justice to the bail system through the twin powers of tech and the crowd; and we speak to Atara Rich-Shea and Jacqui Bryant, the operatives on the ground bringing the funds to people, and mothers home for Christmas. Tech for good, for good.

Intro music: Nangdo - The Look

Outro music: Blank & Kytt - RSPN

Cannabis. Weed. Dope. Trees. The controversial but popular plant is seeing a renaissance now that it's becoming legalised in states in the US. With opportunity comes startups. With startups comes disruption, but who exactly is being disrupted?

In most industries it's some creaky old corporate with slightly unwashed carpeting, but with weed it's the man on the street, the little guy, your friendly neighbourhood dealerman, and they're not going down without a fight. In this episode of The Shade we hear from two sides of the new cannabis tech frontier: a dealer on the street using financial technology to survive and thrive, and a VC powering the new wave of tech startups. 

Intro music: Nangdo - The Look

Outro music: Blank & Kytt - RSPN

Let's be honest. All kinds of things go on behind closed doors, especially bedroom doors. Kinks and preferences range from the absurd to the sublime, and in this episode of The Shade we're definitely erring on the side of the former.

Enter Findom, the kink in which the submissive REALLY enjoys someone taking control of their finances. In this episode we spoke to an unnamed dominatrix at the forefront of the practice, who told us all about what her client's are into, and Kate Moyle, a psychosexual therapist applying real science to the tastes and preferences of others.

Wacky kink with no parallel—or Power Games just like everything else? Either way, we dived straight in to find out more. Because with doors: you never know quite what's behind them.

Intro music: Nangdo - The Look

Outro music: Blank & Kytt - RSPN

The Shade Podcast - Coming Soon.