How did a music festival become one of the biggest tech events in the US? We look at the history of SxSW, explore some of the notable (and sometimes disastrous) things that happened there and Jonathan relives one of his worst memories as a professional.

How did a music festival become one of the biggest tech events in the US? We look at the history of SxSW, explore some of the notable (and sometimes disastrous) things that happened there and Jonathan relives one of his worst memories as a professional.

Behind every innovation is a new kind of power. TechStuff unpacks how technology reshapes influence, creativity, and control, from Silicon Valley’s rising moguls to the cultural forces they create. Because tech is the new religion, economy, and entertainment, all at once.

Each week, Oz Woloshyn and Karah Preiss dig into the weird, funny, and sometimes unsettling ways technology, AI, and the internet shape our daily lives. From AI and social media to privacy, digital burnout, and the creator economy, they ask how all this innovation is changing who we are, how we work, love, and make meaning. Smart talk, strange stories, and the questions everyone’s Googling: why AI feels human, why social media feels broken, and what it all says about us.

Get in touch here: techstuffpodcast@gmail.com

Behind every innovation is a new kind of power. TechStuff unpacks how technology reshapes influence, creativity, and control, from Silicon Valley&rsquo;s rising moguls to the cultural forces they create. Because tech is the new religion, economy, and entertainment, all at once.
Each week, Oz Woloshyn and Karah Preiss dig into the weird, funny, and sometimes unsettling ways technology, AI, and the internet shape our daily lives. From AI and social media to privacy, digital burnout, and the creator economy, they ask how all this innovation is changing who we are, how we work, love, and make meaning.&nbsp;Smart talk, strange stories, and the questions everyone&rsquo;s Googling: why AI feels human, why social media feels broken, and what it all says about us.
Get in touch here:&nbsp;<a href="mailto:techstuffpodcast@gmail.com" data-stringify-link="mailto:techstuffpodcast@gmail.com" data-sk="tooltip_parent" aria-haspopup="menu">techstuffpodcast@gmail.com</a>

TechStuff

TechStuff is getting a system update. Everything you love about TechStuff now twice the bandwidth with new hosts, Oz Woloshyn (Sleepwalkers) and Karah Preiss (Sleepwalkers) 

Oz and Karah bring humour and wit to the table as they break down what's happening in tech...and what it says about us. 

TechStuff is the podcast where technology meets culture. 

We speak to the folks building the future to understand what tomorrow will look like and how our technology is changing us: how we live, how we love, how we work and even how we die. With a healthy dose of drama, too, as tech titans clash over their interstellar ambitions. 

 

TechStuff is getting a system update. Everything you love about TechStuff now twice the bandwidth with new hosts, Oz Woloshyn (Sleepwalkers) and Karah Preiss (Sleepwalkers)&nbsp;
Oz and Karah bring humour and wit to the table as they break down what's happening in tech...and what it says about us.&nbsp;
TechStuff is the podcast where technology meets culture.&nbsp;
We speak to the folks building the future to understand what tomorrow will look like and how our technology is changing us: how we live, how we love, how we work and even how we die. With a healthy dose of drama, too, as tech titans clash over their interstellar ambitions.&nbsp;
&nbsp;

The SxSW Interactive Story

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/c2aefd24-9d2d-41ae-85af-afa1016d1deb/transcript

It’s been two months since Australia’s social media ban went into effect for kids under 16. But Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer at The New Yorker, doesn’t think America will follow suit. Jay sits down with Karah to unpack why a U.S. ban is unlikely, what Australia’s move does change, and how cultural pressure — not legislation — may be the most powerful tool we have to protect kids online.

Additional Reading: 
Americans Won’t Ban Kids from Social Media. What Can We Do Instead? | The New Yorker 
The Case for Banning Children from Social Media | The New Yorker 
If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books? | The New Yorker 
Gen Z are arriving to college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates | Fortune

It&rsquo;s been two months since Australia&rsquo;s social media ban went into effect for kids under 16. But Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer at The New Yorker, doesn&rsquo;t think America will follow suit. Jay sits down with Karah to unpack why a U.S. ban is unlikely, what Australia&rsquo;s move does change, and how cultural pressure &mdash; not legislation &mdash; may be the most powerful tool we have to protect kids online.
Additional Reading:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/americans-wont-ban-kids-from-social-media-what-can-we-do-instead">Americans Won&rsquo;t Ban Kids from Social Media. What Can We Do Instead? | The New Yorker</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/the-case-for-banning-children-from-social-media">The Case for Banning Children from Social Media | The New Yorker</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.newyorker.com/news/fault-lines/if-you-quit-social-media-will-you-read-more-books">If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books? | The New Yorker</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li><a href="https://fortune.com/2026/01/09/gen-z-college-students-struggling-to-read-professors-forced-to-rethink-standards-warn-of-anxiety-lack-of-workplace-prepardness/">Gen Z are arriving to college unable to even read a sentence&mdash;professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates | Fortune</a></li>
</ul>

America Won’t Ban Kids from Social Media, So Now What? - The Story

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/79f135cc-90dc-4411-8c12-b3ee006910fb/transcript

Oz is at the Web Summit in Qatar this week, and he’s taking you with him. This episode was recorded live on stage with Wired’s global editorial director Katie Drummond. Katie and Oz talk about what it’s like to cover this moment, from DOGE and tech titans in the White House to AI’s rapid ubiquity. Katie also shares why Americans need to wake up to what is happening outside the US to discover the future of technology.

Oz is at the Web Summit in Qatar this week, and he&rsquo;s taking you with him. This episode was recorded live on stage with&nbsp;Wired&rsquo;s global editorial director Katie Drummond. Katie and Oz talk about what it&rsquo;s like to cover this moment, from DOGE and tech titans in the White House to AI&rsquo;s rapid ubiquity. Katie also shares why Americans need to wake up to what is happening outside the US to discover the future of technology.

Tech Skepticism, AI and Why China's Innovations Matter - w/ Wired’s Katie Drummond

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/aa113fe4-5a32-4449-a295-b3e7016b57cc/transcript

If the 20th century was defined by oil, journalist and author Nicolas Niarchos bets that the 21st century will be defined by batteries. In his book, The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth, Niarchos unpacks the hidden costs behind the world’s battery boom. In this episode, he and Oz trace how the race for cobalt and other critical metals is reshaping global power—why China dominates refining and battery innovation, what the U.S. would actually have to build to compete, and whether trade deals can realistically “clean up” the system.

Additional Reading: 
The Elements of Power by Nicolas Niarchos| PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

If the 20th century was defined by oil, journalist and author Nicolas Niarchos bets that the 21st century will be defined by batteries. In his book, The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth, Niarchos unpacks the hidden costs behind the world&rsquo;s battery boom. In this episode, he and Oz trace how the race for cobalt and other critical metals is reshaping global power&mdash;why China dominates refining and battery innovation, what the U.S. would actually have to build to compete, and whether trade deals can realistically &ldquo;clean up&rdquo; the system.
Additional Reading:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/709025/the-elements-of-power-by-nicolas-niarchos/">The Elements of Power by Nicolas Niarchos| PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books</a></li>
</ul>

The Future is Battery-Powered - The Story

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/75cb48ca-aa74-4c85-9005-b3e7000c6836/transcript

The SxSW Interactive Story

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