Download This Show

ABC

4.8 (1.2K)
TECHNOLOGY
UPDATED WEEKLY

Download This Show is your weekly guide to the world of media, culture, and technology. From social media to gadgets, streaming services to privacy issues. Each week Rae Johnston and guests take a fun, deep dive into how technology is reshaping our lives.

4 DAYS AGO

Are there more bots than people on the internet?

Having an AI agent act as your personal executive assistant may seem like a sweet deal, but security experts have a few concerns. Also on the program, Moltbook is a new social media platform specfically designed for AI agents to chat. So far, they’ve started a religion, made their own scripture and called for humanity’s downfall. What happens when we anthropomorphise binary code? And, the dead internet theory used to be a fringe conspiracy theory. But AI is getting us closer and closer to it being a reality. So, how much of the internet is still occupied by humans? GUESTS: Kai Riemer, professor of information technology at University of Sydney, and and director of Sydney Executive Plus.Tegan Jones, deputy editor at SmartCompany and co-host of Weird Tech.

29 min
30 JAN

What is Upscrolled, Australia’s newest viral social media platform?

TikTok has finally struck a deal to avoid being banned in the United States. Their privacy policy also got a controversial update. So, who owns US TikTok now? And what difference will it make to users? Also on the program, there’s a new social media site going viral – Upscrolled. What is this Australian-owned site, exactly? And finally, OpenAI is trialling ads on ChatGPT. The company’s CEO Sam Altman once said including ads would be a last resort. So does this mean the company is financially unstable? And what kind of data would they share with advertisers? Gianfranco references this The Information article about OpenAI burning through $115 billion through 2029. GUESTS: Meg Coffey, digital strategist and founder of State of Social. Gianfranco Di Giovanni, ABC Radio Perth content director and an arts, gaming and tech reporter.This episode was produced on Gadigal land.

28 min
23 JAN

Spotify was copied by a piracy archive. Why does that matter?

Plus! Social media site Digg is back. For those who remember, it may feel like returning to what was good about the internet. Is this the sign of a new era for social media? And how long can it hold out being monetised? Also, why gaming in a group, even publicly... outside, is becoming more popular. GUESTS: Phoebe Toups Dougas, associate professor of human-centred computing in the Exertion Games Lab at Monash University.Fergus Halliday, journalist at Whistleout and reviews.org Australia.This episode of Download This Show was produced on Gadigal land.

29 min
19/12/2025

Opt Out 05 | Can you ever really opt out of online life?

After weeks of trying to audit, delete, and lock down her digital life, Rae hits the big, uncomfortable question: what if you can’t opt out of the internet, even if you really want to? In the final episode of Opt Out, Rae speaks with Jathan Sadowski, senior lecturer at Monash University and proud Luddite, about how surveillance creeps into everyday life — from smart cars to smart locks — and why 'just logging off' is a privilege most people don’t actually have. Then she sits down with Carly Kind, Australia’s Privacy Commissioner, to ask what protections exist here, where the gaps are, and what power individuals really have to push back. Opt Out is Download This Show's five-part series following Rae as she attempts to take back control of her online life — auditing, deleting, and locking down her own digital life, one step at a time, so you can too. Technical production by Riley Mellis.

29 min
19/12/2025

Opt Out 04 | What did I just agree to?

Every time you click 'accept' online, you’re legally agreeing to something. The problem is… you probably have no idea what that something is. In episode four of Opt Out, Rae tackles the fine print: the privacy policies and terms and conditions we all scroll past because life is short and the language is cooked. She speaks with Dr Katharine Kemp, privacy law expert and associate professor at UNSW, about how digital 'consent' works in Australia, and why companies can legally do things with your data you’d probably never agree to if it was written in plain English. Then Rae talks to Dr Sky Croeser from Curtin University about what happens when people do try to opt out, and why the internet is designed to make that as hard as possible. Surprisingly, it’s not all bleak: there are corners of the web doing things differently, and they’re worth knowing about. Opt Out is Download This Show's five-part series following Rae as she attempts to take back control of her online life — auditing, deleting, and locking down her own digital life, one step at a time, so you can too. Technical production by Riley Mellis.

29 min
19/12/2025

Opt Out 03 | How not to get hacked

If someone tried to hack you right now… how long would it take? In episode three of Opt Out, Rae confronts her own extremely average cyber hygiene and tries to stop being the digital equivalent of someone who leaves their keys in the front door. She speaks with Vanessa Teague, cryptographer and privacy advocate, to unpack why passwords matter (and why humans are terrible at them), before spiralling into the world of password managers, two-factor authentication, and security keys. Then, drowning under the weight of security suggestions, Rae turns to Carter Smith from CyberCX to work out what’s actually worth doing, and what’s just security theatre. It turns out, staying safe online assumes way more time, knowledge, and energy than most people have. Opt Out is Download This Show's five-part series following Rae as she attempts to take back control of her online life — auditing, deleting, and locking down her own digital life, one step at a time, so you can too. Technical production by Riley Mellis.

29 min
19/12/2025

Opt Out 02 | Can you delete yourself from the internet?

The internet knows a lot about you, but what if you wanted to take it all back and delete yourself all together? In episode two of Opt Out, Rae tries to do the unthinkable: delete herself from the internet. She talks to Lawrence Gentilello, founder of data-removal service Optery, about what it really takes to scrub your details from people-search sites — and why it’s harder than it sounds. Then she checks in with John Payne from Electronic Frontiers Australia to find out what Australian law does (and very much doesn’t) let you do when it comes to your own personal data. Opt Out is Download This Show's five-part series following Rae as she attempts to take back control of her online life — auditing, deleting, and locking down her own digital life, one step at a time, so you can too. Technical production by Riley Mellis.

29 min
19/12/2025

Opt Out 01 | The guide to taking back control of your online life

We all know the internet knows a bit about us. But… how much, exactly? And what happens if you actually try to look? In the first episode of Opt Out, Rae volunteers as tribute and starts poking around her own digital footprint — checking data breaches, Googling herself, and asking some pretty uncomfortable questions about where our personal info ends up. Along the way, she chats with investigative tech reporter Yael Grauer about how our data spreads, and Troy Hunt, the creator of Have I Been Pwned, before typing her own email into his incredibly revealing website. This is the place to start if you’ve ever thought about pulling back from the internet without disappearing into the bush. Opt Out is Download This Show's five-part series following Rae as she attempts to take back control of her online life — auditing, deleting, and locking down her own digital life, one step at a time, so you can too. Technical production by Riley Mellis.

29 min

See All (158)

Rae Johnston

Host

4.8

out of 5

1,180 Ratings

Opt Out podcast

2 Jan

Victoria Dawson99

This is an excellent podcast to listen to if you're interested in your security and privacy online. I've had my personal information released in numerous data breeches in the past few years and this podcast gives you step by step instructions about how to take back control of your personal information. The podcast is also very interesting - it's better to be informed rather than ignorant!
So Glad I Started Tuning in

23/04/2025

J-Dawg#23

I’ve only recently started getting into podcasts and listed in after a friend recommended this one… so glad I did and will be looking forward to this each week!
Stick to tech

11/10/2025

Nicko24842

I’m a little disappointed with the turn the show has taken away from tech. It seems that since Marc left, it’s really lost something.
For the low key techheads like me that love learning!

23/04/2025

mssabrinagxxxxxxx

I’ll be honest — I haven’t always been a regular listener of Download This Show. I’d catch an episode here and there, but it wasn’t something I was following closely. Since Rae has taken over full-time though, I have to say I’m making much more of an effort to listen to the podcast. I already follow Rae on a few of her other platforms, and I love her perspective on tech. She brings such a wealth of knowledge to the show, especially when it comes to science and the way First Nations perspectives intersect with it. Rae has this great way of showing how science touches so many different parts of our everyday lives — often in places you wouldn’t expect. I also really appreciate the perspective she offers as a First Nations woman. It adds such a fresh, important lens to the conversation, especially when talking about new technologies and how they connect to culture, innovation, and the world around us. I’m definitely tuning in more regularly now. Check out the podcast for yourself — because honestly, knowledge is power, and we are so lucky to have access to shows like this that educate us, entertain us, and give us a bigger perspective on what’s happening in the world of tech!

Download This Show is your weekly guide to the world of media, culture, and technology. From social media to gadgets, streaming services to privacy issues. Each week Rae Johnston and guests take a fun, deep dive into how technology is reshaping our lives.