Discord announced it would start scanning users' account data to guess their age and if it couldn't figure out how old you were, it would ask for your government ID or a face scan. Gamers lost it, and within weeks, Discord backed down. But the fight isn't over. Dexter talks with Rin Alajaji of the Electronic Frontier Foundation about why age verification doesn't actually protect kids, how California's new Digital Age Assurance Act means your next laptop might card you before you can turn it on, and why a policy that started with gamers is quietly becoming everyone's problem.

Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

Links: 
EFF’s Age Verification and Age Gating: Resource Hub: https://www.eff.org/issues/age-verification

Discord announced it would start scanning users' account data to guess their age and if it couldn't figure out how old you were, it would ask for your government ID or a face scan. Gamers lost it, and within weeks, Discord backed down. But the fight isn't over. Dexter talks with Rin Alajaji of the Electronic Frontier Foundation about why age verification doesn't actually protect kids, how California's new Digital Age Assurance Act means your next laptop might card you before you can turn it on, and why a policy that started with gamers is quietly becoming everyone's problem.
Hit us up: <a href="mailto:killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc">killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc</a>, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.
Links:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">EFF&rsquo;s Age Verification and Age Gating: Resource Hub: <a href="https://www.eff.org/issues/age-verification">https://www.eff.org/issues/age-verification</a></li>
</ul>

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 to run your own LLM to tips to keep your data safe. Because the more “user-friendly” our devices get, the less we understand how they work, and the less control we have. We’re here to help you take back control. And if we can’t… Well, maybe we need to look for the kill switch.

 

Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New host <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dexdigi/?hl=en">Dexter Thomas</a> answers questions big and small &ndash; like who&rsquo;s behind Shrimp Jesus, and could you get arrested by a computer?
kill switch also brings the DIY back to tech &ndash; &ldquo;How to Now&rdquo; on everything from how to run your own LLM to tips to keep your data safe. Because the more &ldquo;user-friendly&rdquo; our devices get, the less we understand how they work, and the less control we have. We&rsquo;re here to help you take back control. And if we can&rsquo;t&hellip; Well, maybe we need to look for the kill switch.
&nbsp;

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 to run your own LLM to tips to keep your data safe. Because the more “user-friendly” our devices get, the less we understand how they work, and the less control we have. We’re here to help you take back control. And if we can’t… Well, maybe we need to look for the kill switch.

Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New host <a href="https://www.instagram.com/dexdigi/?hl=en">Dexter Thomas</a> answers questions big and small &ndash; like who&rsquo;s behind Shrimp Jesus, and could you get arrested by a computer?
kill switch also brings the DIY back to tech &ndash; &ldquo;How to Now&rdquo; on everything from how to run your own LLM to tips to keep your data safe. Because the more &ldquo;user-friendly&rdquo; our devices get, the less we understand how they work, and the less control we have. We&rsquo;re here to help you take back control. And if we can&rsquo;t&hellip; Well, maybe we need to look for the kill switch.

discord’s new age verification is about to spy on every message

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5516f205-91b1-4945-8e17-b43a016047ae/transcript

This week, we’re sharing a clip from another podcast we’re excited about. Two Percent with Michael Easter is a deep dive into the science of living better, balancing rigorous evidence with a healthy dose of skepticism to cut through the noise of the modern wellness industry.

In this episode, Michael takes a nuanced look at vices and whether some of them might actually enhance your life when you use them the right way. We don't have to live like monks to live a good life.

We’re sharing the first segment of the episode featuring Dean Stattmann, a GQ reporter who spent three months sober and wrote a now-viral piece titled "Why My 2026 Resolution Is to Start Drinking Again." His Whoop scores got better, but his friendships, his marriage, and his mood got worse. Dean explains what alcohol actually does for human connection, what anthropologists call "costly signaling," and why moderate drinking might not be the villain the internet has made it out to be.

Check out the rest of the episode and the show, Two Percent with Michael Easter, wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.

Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

This week, we&rsquo;re sharing a clip from another podcast we&rsquo;re excited about. Two Percent with Michael Easter is a deep dive into the science of living better, balancing rigorous evidence with a healthy dose of skepticism to cut through the noise of the modern wellness industry.
In this episode, Michael takes a nuanced look at vices and whether some of them might actually enhance your life when you use them the right way. We don't have to live like monks to live a good life.
We&rsquo;re sharing the first segment of the episode featuring Dean Stattmann, a GQ reporter who spent three months sober and wrote a now-viral piece titled "Why My 2026 Resolution Is to Start Drinking Again." His Whoop scores got better, but his friendships, his marriage, and his mood got worse. Dean explains what alcohol actually does for human connection, what anthropologists call "costly signaling," and why moderate drinking might not be the villain the internet has made it out to be.
Check out the rest of the episode and the show, Two Percent with Michael Easter, wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube.
Hit us up:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc">killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc</a>, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

new from kaleidoscope: two percent with michael easter

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/83d78089-46c3-4af0-b265-b436017237ce/transcript

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 “wellness wild west.” Dexter talks to Victoria about the growing wellness trends online, the gray area between medical devices and wellness devices, and the mental health consequences of it all that no one talks about.

Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

Links: 
Victoria’s newsletter, Optimizer: https://www.theverge.com/optimizer-newsletter
kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod

The wellness and health tech space is more crowded and confusing than ever &ndash; 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 &ldquo;wellness wild west.&rdquo; Dexter talks to Victoria about the growing wellness trends online, the gray area between medical devices and wellness devices, and the mental health consequences of it all that no one talks about.
Hit us up: <a href="mailto:killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc">killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc</a>, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.
Links:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Victoria&rsquo;s newsletter, Optimizer: <a href="https://www.theverge.com/optimizer-newsletter">https://www.theverge.com/optimizer-newsletter</a></li>
<li aria-level="1">kill switch on YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod">https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod</a></li>
</ul>

this is the wellness wild west

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/5892fb1c-e52f-414a-aaf8-b433013a8ff0/transcript

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 podcast Shell Game. Dexter talks with Evan about what it feels like to have a robot apologize for interrupting your lunch, why Clawdbot and Moltbook weren’t as groundbreaking as you might think, and why he thinks fellow journalists should consider using AI agents. 

Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

Links: 
Shell Game on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shell-game/id1753117762 
kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod

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 podcast Shell Game. Dexter talks with Evan about what it feels like to have a robot apologize for interrupting your lunch, why Clawdbot and Moltbook weren&rsquo;t as groundbreaking as you might think, and why he thinks fellow journalists should consider using AI agents.&nbsp;
Hit us up: <a href="mailto:killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc">killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc</a>, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.
Links:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1">Shell Game on Apple Podcasts: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shell-game/id1753117762">https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shell-game/id1753117762</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1">kill switch on YouTube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod">https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod</a></li>
</ul>

why are AI agents everywhere? and how useful are they, actually?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/89814b1e-9d08-4880-83f8-b42600fa48db/transcript

discord’s new age verification is about to spy on every message

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