How do you calm down a chatbot? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and producer Eliza Dennis dig into the book that Meta doesn’t want you to read, chatbot reactions to stressful stimuli, and the new home of Pokémon Go data. On TechSupport, 404 Media’s Joseph Cox discusses a tool with surprising data scraping capabilities that is used by US agencies like ICE.

How do you calm down a chatbot? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and producer Eliza Dennis dig into the book that Meta doesn&rsquo;t want you to read, chatbot reactions to stressful stimuli, and the new home of Pok&eacute;mon Go data. On TechSupport, 404 Media&rsquo;s Joseph Cox discusses a tool with surprising data scraping capabilities that is used by US agencies like ICE.

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;

Week in Tech: Careless People, Mindful Chatbots

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cdad61b3-4afe-4c79-9314-b2a700282b5d/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

How do you feel about AI in your art, your music, and your video games? Oz is joined by Kill Switch host, Dexter Thomas, to discuss Switchbot's AI Art Frame and the video gamers who are holding developers to account. But will the anti-AI outrage continue to make change? Then, Oz updates us on last week’s World Economic Forum — one Davos attendee spent the night in jail and Canada’s PM says there’s a rupture in the world order. Europe is listening and threatening to part ways with American tech companies.

Additional Reading: 
An entrepreneur’s 13 hours in Davos jail: ‘The food was phenomenal’ | Semafor 
Europe Prepare For A Nightmare Scenario: The US Blocking Access to Tech | Wall Street Journal 
SwitchBot AI Art Frame Now Officially Available | Corporate - EQS News
Angry gamers are forcing studios to scrap or rethink new releases | Washington Post

How do you feel about AI in your art, your music, and your video games? Oz is joined by Kill Switch host, Dexter Thomas, to discuss Switchbot's AI Art Frame and the video gamers who are holding developers to account. But will the anti-AI outrage continue to make change? Then, Oz updates us on last week&rsquo;s World Economic Forum &mdash; one Davos attendee spent the night in jail and Canada&rsquo;s PM says there&rsquo;s a rupture in the world order. Europe is listening and threatening to part ways with American tech companies.
Additional Reading:&nbsp;
<ul>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.semafor.com/article/01/22/2026/an-entrepreneurs-13-hours-in-davos-jail-the-food-was-phenomenal?utm_medium=technology&amp;utm_campaign=flagshipnumbered6&amp;utm_source=newsletterlink">An entrepreneur&rsquo;s 13 hours in Davos jail: &lsquo;The food was phenomenal&rsquo; | Semafor</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.wsj.com/tech/europe-prepares-for-a-nightmare-scenario-the-u-s-blocking-access-to-tech-1967b39b?st=AobE5F&amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share">Europe Prepare For A Nightmare Scenario: The US Blocking Access to Tech | Wall Street Journal</a>&nbsp;</li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.eqs-news.com/news/corporate/switchbot-ai-art-frame-now-officially-available/47ecb8cf-ee55-4399-a6f0-144fb8b31d1a_en">SwitchBot AI Art Frame Now Officially Available | Corporate - EQS News</a></li>
<li aria-level="1"><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2026/01/26/gamer-protests-ai-slop-backlash/">Angry gamers are forcing studios to scrap or rethink new releases | Washington Post</a></li>
</ul>

Gamers Fight AI Art, For Now - Week in Tech

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/0df80918-877d-431c-a421-b3e101881cb1/transcript

Week in Tech: Careless People, Mindful Chatbots

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