The 404 Media Podcast

404 Media
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Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats. Subscribe to 404 Media at 404media.co to gain access to an ad-free version of this podcast, as well as a bonus podcast episodes. Subscribers are the bedrock of building a sustainable business for our journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. 1 day ago

    Is the Best Game of the Year a Failure?

    Remap Radio’s Rob Zacny and Emanuel dive deep into their current favorite game, Marathon, and what its middling success says about the future of games. If you listen to the 404 Media podcast by now you probably realized that Joe and I are a little obsessed with a game called Marathon. I’m embarrassed to say that I’ve played it for almost 300 hours since it was released in March. But as much as we’re enjoying it, and there are thousands of players who feel the same, Marathon so far has failed to find the audience we’d expect from the developer that made Halo, Destiny, and which a few years ago acquired by PlayStation for more than $3 billion. It’s bad news for Marathon fans and a good sign for how much the video game business has changed over the years. I wanted to have Remap Radio host Robert Zacny on the podcast because much like me and Joe, he’s been obsessed with Marathon as well. One of Rob’s greatest skills is dissecting how and why games get their hooks into us, and what a game’s popularity, or lack thereof in Marathon’s case, might reveal about the state of the industry and culture more broadly. Remap Radio: https://remapradio.com/ 00:00 Rob Zacny Introduction 03:08 What Is an Extraction Shooter? 08:42 The Genre's Evolution 14:48 Why Marathon Works 18:36 Bungie's Design 22:27 Cryo Archive 34:02 The Thrill of Extraction 47:33 Is Marathon Dead?52:22 Can Bungie Save It?58:50 The Business Problem1:05:20 A Millennial Medium?1:12:59 Aging Out of Gaming1:13:40 The Rise of Sweats1:20:06 Bungie's Layoffs1:23:09 The Destiny Era1:28:00 The AAA Dilemma1:34:22 Sony's Big Bet YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/K4U4mWObX84 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1hr 40min

  2. 6 days ago

    The Tokenpocalypse Is Here

    Go to surfshark.com/404Media to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN, with the reassurance of a 30-day money-back guarantee, or just use code 404MEDIA at checkout. That's surfshark.com/404Media. We start this week with Joseph’s story about the Tokenpocalypse, which is companies scrambling to stop spending so much on AI after providers started charging per AI token. After the break, Joseph and Emanuel tell us about the ways companies are trying to do this, including using a tool to make their LLMs talk like cavemen. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains how entirely fake AI-generated flowers are all over eBay, Etsy, and Amazon. The Tokenpocalypse Is Here: Companies Are Scrambling To Stop Spending So Much on AI Companies Are Making Claude and Codex Talk Like Cavemen to Stop AI’s Soaring CostsScammers Sell Seeds for Exotic AI-Generated Flowers That Don’t Exist Youtube Version: https://youtu.be/Sia4LZGNkVs Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    43 min

  3. 29 Jun

    How Brands Use Reddit to Poison AI Search

    This week, we're doing a deep dive into how marketing companies are poisoning AI search results by manipulating Reddit. You may remember when Google’s AI search results first launched, it recommended that people put glue on their pizza. Well that happened because it scraped a 10 year old Reddit comment. We’ve learned over the last year or so that this sort of thing can be done on purpose, and brands are taking advantage of it. There’s been the rise of AEO or GEO, which stands for AI Engine Optimization or Generative Engine Optimization. Basically this is trying to get mentions of your brand into web content that’s likely to be scraped by AI tools. It’s the new version of SEO and lots of marketers and companies are trying to do it. The most reliable, easiest way to do this appears to be by putting brand mentions onto Reddit. Reddit’s volunteer mods have noticed an increase in bot accounts and entire sequencing efforts—where a post and its comments are all basically done as a stealth ad—intended to boost brands. I wrote an article about this a few weeks ago, about r/biohackers banning mentions of peptides, which were a popular promoted class of product. After we wrote that article, researchers from Cornell University reached out to me about a new study they had just done. The research is called “Deep-research agents can be poisoned via user-generated content,” which provides a mechanism for the ways reddit, wikipedia, and other sites that allow users to post are being attacked by brands doing AEO: "We show that a tiny snippet—just 13 words—of retrieved text on a UGC website like Reddit, Wikipedia, Quora, or Facebook can change AI agents to output spam / scam content pretty consistently," the study says. We spoke to two of the researchers, Hal Triedman and Tingwei Zhang, about this problem and what, if anything can be done about it. Deep-Research Agents Can Be Poisoned via User-Generated Content: https://arxiv.org/abs/2605.24245 Youtube Version: https://youtu.be/2uG8ohZHOD8 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min

  4. 24 Jun

    If AI Is Sentient Then So Is ‘Age of Empires II

    Take control of your data footprint risk-free with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Go to incogni.com/404Media and use code 404MEDIA for 60% off an annual plan. That's code 404MEDIA at incogni.com/404Media. Our listeners can buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at WarbyParker.com/404 — and using our link helps support the show. We start this week with Matthew’s story about a fascinating paper that argues if LLMs are sentient, then by those metrics so is the classic game Age of Empires II. After the break, Matthew tells us about a wild story out of Texas with a data center being built on land that was donated to be a park. In the subscribers-only section, we talk hacking and basketball. If AI Is Sentient Then So Is ‘Age of Empires II’ A Farmer Donated Land to Turn into a Park. The City Is Building a Massive Data Center Instead Hackers Publish Knicks and Madison Square Garden Data Online Madison Square Garden Made Dossier on Activists Who Opposed Facial Recognition YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/LlWJTM18z3E Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    42 min

  5. 22 Jun

    Stopping Tech Company Censorship (with Jake Hanrahan)

    Go to surfshark.com/404Media to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN, with the reassurance of a 30-day money-back guarantee, or just use code 404MEDIA at checkout. That's surfshark.com/404Media. Our listeners can buy one pair of glasses and get 20% off any additional pairs at WarbyParker.com/404 — and using our link helps support the show. This week Joseph speaks to Jake Hanrahan, creator of the independent conflict-focused media company Popular Front. They talk all about conflict journalism and how to get your journalism out there when platforms like YouTube make it all that much harder, sometimes. Popular Front Away Days Plastic Defence: Secret 3D Printed Guns in Europe Youtube Version: https://youtu.be/Yf51H5IuRcM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    44 min

  6. 17 Jun

    The Government Wants to End Anonymity on Phones

    Go to surfshark.com/404Media to get 4 extra months of Surfshark VPN, plus there’s a 30-day money-back guarantee—or just use code 404MEDIA at checkout! We start this week with Joseph’s story about the FCC’s wild proposal to require peoples’ government ID numbers to even get a phone plan. The FCC is doing it to curb robocalls, but also said it would be useful for a bunch of other stuff. After the break, Jason tells us all about cops abusing Flock to stalk girlfriends and other people. In the subscribers’ only section, Emanuel explains how a software update is impacting Amazon drivers. FCC Wants to Kill Burner Phones By Forcing Telecoms to Get All Customers’ IDs Cops Keep Getting Arrested for Using Flock to Stalk People Software Update Automatically Turns off Amazon Delivery Drivers’ AC During Dangerous Summer Heat YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/hP53hSJSsSU Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    50 min

  7. 15 Jun

    Meet Me at the Opsec Rave (with Imani Thompson)

    This week, I’m thrilled to be joined by Imani Thompson. Imani is a digital security trainer and host of a series of events called Cache Me Outside, where she and partner orgs help people understand their personal security, divest from big tech platforms, and learn how to stay safe online. She recently hosted a “de-Googling” party and a self-doxxing rave. We get into how platforms have tried to make surveillance cute, why that damn Duolingo owl emotionally manipulates you, and why learning about privacy best practices when surrounded by community works.  Follow Imani on Instagram A 'Self-Doxing' Rave Helps Trans People Stay Safe Online Now you can break up with big tech at a bar: ‘cybersecurity disguised as a party’ Fix It With Piggy YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/C4WVYBEIgzM Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min

  8. 10 Jun

    Google Employees Meme About How Bad Their AI Is

    We start this week with Emanuel’s story about the internal memes Google employees are making all about AI. Definitely check out some of the examples in the article or on YouTube. After the break, Jason tells us how Microsoft explicitly wants to “make people addicted” to its new AI assistant, according to an internal document. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains how companies are using Reddit to manipulate AI search results and big LEGO drama. Google Employees Internally Share Memes About How Its AI Sucks Microsoft Wants to 'Make People Addicted' to its New AI Assistant, Internal Documents Reveal Companies Are Using Reddit to Manipulate ChatGPT and Google AI Search Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    35 min
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Trailers

Hosts & Guests

About

Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats. Subscribe to 404 Media at 404media.co to gain access to an ad-free version of this podcast, as well as a bonus podcast episodes. Subscribers are the bedrock of building a sustainable business for our journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Information

  • Creator
    404 Media
  • Years Active
    2023 - 2026
  • Episodes
    198
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 404 Media
  • Show Website
    The 404 Media Podcast

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