SXSW features killer robots and killer barbeque. Alexa's spontaneous laugh makes us afraid of an AI takeover. Amazon wants to take over your checking account. Can blockchain reinvent fintech? Android users more loyal than iOS users. Is AI really all that smart? Apple hires M. Night Shyamalan. Millennials love Apple more than anything. Mario takes over Google Maps. Facebook asks if pedophilia is ok. On Twitter, fake news spreads faster than the truth. China's new Department of PreCrime.
Category: Listen
🎧 This Week in Google 447 Geothermal It!!! | TWiT.TV
Android P Developer Preview gets its release. Google sells Zagat to The Infatuation. How the Defense Department is working with Google to train AI to analyze drone footage. Why Google might be working on hypersonic drilling. Facebook is trying to determine the difference between satire and fake news. Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey asks for help in addressing the effects social media has on the world. The Amazon Echo is laughing at its owners, literally.
🎧 House Arrest in Venezuela | The Daily – New York Times
With the country in crisis, its most vocal opposition leader, Leopoldo López, is under house arrest, unable to act. What happens if he does?
A riveting story. Can’t wait for the second half.
🎧 Trump’s Tariffs | The Daily – New York Times
President Trump said that protections on steel and aluminum imports were in the interest of national security. But could the threat be the tariffs themselves?
A nice breakdown of the history of trade in the 20th century.
🎧 North Korea Reaches Out | The Daily – New York Times
South Korea says that the North is willing to talk about dismantling its atomic arsenal. What happened to the threat of nuclear war?
A nice breakdown on recent history of North Korea and nuclear weapons.
🎧 Amy Klobuchar | The Atlantic Interview
Amy Klobuchar, the first woman to be elected U.S. Senator from Minnesota, has been been working faithfully toward little victories in Donald Trump's Washington. Now, she's turned her attention toward that unicorn of lawmakers all over the country--a sensible gun bill that can get around the National Rifle Association. She talks to the Atlantic's editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg about how this time might be different, and why she is taking Donald Trump at his word. They also discuss her tater tot hotdish recipe.
🎧 Caitlin Flanagan | The Atlantic Interview
Caitlin Flanagan wrote a devastating story about the death of a fraternity pledge at Penn State University for the Atlantic last year, and she has updates on the case for editor in chief Jeffrey Goldberg. They discuss why fraternities are still attractive to straight, white, well-off young men on college campuses. Flanagan has also started fighting feminists, with her provocative essays on how some women are turning the #MeToo movement into a racket. She sees some women using the moment to take revenge against individual men while doing nothing to topple the patriarchy. She talks about why millennial women are confused and angry about their sexual encounters. She also says that our fear of toxic masculinity is crowding out an honest look at toxic femininity.
An awesome little interview. I’m going to have to listen to this a second time to unpack pieces. Definitely some ideas here worth working through in more depth.
🎧 Introducing ‘Change Agent’ | The Daily – The New York Times
The New York Times has a new five-part podcast series that tries to solve a real-life problem with a surprising story. Today, we share the episode “Boy Problem.”
I just don’t really get this new show at all. Nothing makes me want to listen to this show. I’ve never been a fan of podcasts that let other podcasts do a full episode “take over” of their shows. Just give me a one minute advertisement instead. If I’m interested, I’ll track it down. Otherwise, let’s all move on.
🎧 I Don’t Think I Can Do Anything to Fix It | The Daily – New York Times
Representative Tom Rooney, a Florida Republican, talks about the Russia investigation, gun control and his decision not to run for re-election.
This gives me some interesting ideas about how things might be fixed via game theory. In some sense it may also help if we all (both parties) had a common enemy to fight against. During the Cold War it was Communism we fought against which helped us be on the same side, and as a result we were more united. Now with nothing to “fight against” we’re fighting each other.
This is one of the most interesting episodes of this podcast I’ve come across yet.
🎧 The Daily: Trump vs. the N.R.A. | The New York Times
The president stunned lawmakers with calls for gun control. Also, Hope Hicks, the White House communications director, is to step down.
🎧 The Daily: Guns and the Midterm Elections | The New York Times
Will gun control be a dominant topic in races across the U.S.?
🎧 This Week in Tech 653 X Stands for Nothing | TWiT.TV
HomePod should have been delayed longer. Elon Musk's rollercoaster week: Falcon Heavy sends a Tesla to Mars just as Tesla has its worst quarter ever. iPhone boot code leaked online. Chrome will shame insecure websites. YouTube suspends Logan Paul for generally being a horrible human being. Rethinking Facebook and Google. T-Mobile warns of phone hacking scam. Uber settles with Waymo. ESPN's new streaming service will not show ESPN.
https://youtu.be/9vdjtG9ozeQ
🎧 This Week in Tech 656 A Camel With Your Name on It | TWiT.TV
Social media and kids, Google fiber fail, 5G dreams, and more. Surprise: young people use social more than the oldsters. Some of them even use Vero. Samsung Galaxy S9 takes top marks for display and camera. Google Fiber didn't go quite as planned. Feds in your iPhone? It's more likely than you think. Amazon buys Ring, can now see and hear everything. US vs Microsoft II: The Revenge of the Irish. GitHub gets gotten by the biggest DDoS EVER.
There’s a great conversation in this episode about open platforms and why they’re important. The basic conversation starts around 12m19s, but really gets going at 16 minutes in and continues through to about 26:30. It includes some great examples of text messaging, social media companies, reservation systems and how they work either for the good or the bad based on how open or closed they are. It becomes a textbook set of cases for why the IndieWeb movement is important.
For those interested in just this short 10 minute section you can listen below on this bookmarked version of the audio:
Another interesting sub-segment is at 17:13 where Dwight Silverman comments that he knows many people who’ve removed social apps from their cell phones, including Leo Laporte. I’ve done this nearly a year ago and recently Dries Buytaert mentioned he’s done it as well. There’s also a recent article by Farhad Manjoo in the New York Times that he’s done something similar with solid results. For a list of people who’ve gone further, check out this list of silo-quits.
🎧 The Daily: The Day Their Childhood Ended | The New York Times
“I feel broken, I feel defeated. Right now on my mind, it’s not going to be fine.” Six students at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., spoke to a Times reporter.
🎧 This Week in Google 446 Kardashassinated | TWiT.TV
Net Neutrality Gone, Comments Sections are Next What is Vero and why should you delete it? Google Clips takes pictures you wouldn't. Amazon buys Ring. Waymo takes you for a ride. Google and the Right to Be Forgotten. YouTube brings back Logan Paul. Google betas Flutter. Facebook and ther death of Little Things. Net Neutrality is officially over - now the real fight begins.
https://youtu.be/LygyDBNdQBU