kill switch
kill switch
Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On killswitch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New host Dexter Thomas answers questions big and small – like who’s behind Shrimp Jesus, and could you get arrested by a computer? kill switch also brings the DIY back to tech – “How to Now” on everything from how…Social links:
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this is the wellness wild west
The wellness and health tech space is more crowded and confusing than ever – influencers are selling dubious health and beauty products and tech companies are developing wearables that track everything, from your sleep to your blood. Victoria Song, senior reviewer at The Verge, calls it the “wellne…
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why are AI agents everywhere? and how useful are they, actually?
AI agents can do stuff for you: like organize meetings or, accidentally delete your hard drive.Is this the future Silicon Valley wants for us? To get a preview of what it might be like, Evan Ratliff launched a startup with almost exclusively AI employees and documented the whole thing in his podcas…
43:00
why the IRS killed a free, easy way to file your taxes
Direct File promised a free and easy way for Americans to file their taxes, but after two successful tax seasons, it was shut down. Dexter talks with Merici Vinton, who helped build Direct File, about the project's development, why it was an example of a good government program, and how lobbying fr…
29:57
why Iran is winning the AI propaganda war
Wartime propaganda isn’t new – but the use of AI slop in churning out propaganda videos is. And in this proxy war, Iran is winning. Dexter talks to Matthew Gault, who recently wrote about the Iran-US slopaganda war for 404 Media, about the strategy behind Iran’s videos, why the US is losing online,…
35:54
he monetized the web. now he has a plan to fix it
Ethan Zuckerman helped design the amateur web as we know it. In the 90s, he worked at Tripod, providing free web space for anyone to build their own site. His invention, pop-up ads, helped make that possible. The industry ran with it, and the Internet was never the same. Since then, Ethan’s been o…
38:28
how the tech boom is killing India’s best coders
India’s tech industry was supposed to be a ticket to the middle class, a way out of poverty. Instead, for many workers, it’s become something else: long hours, intense competition, and a growing mental health crisis. Dexter talks to journalist Parth MN about the mounting pressure inside India’s tec…
34:14
who is palantir, and why are they involved with ICE?
Do you know what Palantir does? Don’t feel bad: neither do a lot of their employees. In fact, WIRED senior writer Makena Kelly recently uncovered company chat logs showing how angry and confused Palantir workers are about the company’s involvement with ICE. Dexter talks to Makena about this new rep…
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why is the government fighting with claude?
kill switch went live on March 4th to cover one of the newsier topics of the week: the fight between the US government and Anthropic, the company behind Claude. Dexter talked to WIRED senior writer, Will Knight, to discuss what exactly is happening, why, and the stakes for all of us. Subscribe to …
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silicon valley’s plan to make the “perfect baby”
The 1997 science fiction film Gattaca depicts a dystopian future where genetic technology creates a two-tier society: people who were born with the “best” genes selected vs. people who were conceived naturally. This was a cautionary tale, showing us a future we don’t want. But now, Silicon Valley i…
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are we all going to end up in AI relationships? [panic world special]
This week, we have a special collab episode with our friends at Panic World: From research to vibe coding to therapy to girlfriends and boyfriends, how are we using AI these days? Dexter joins Ryan Broderick on Panic World to talk about the interesting relationships people are forming with AI — for…
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