The 404 Media Podcast

404 Media
  • 4.8 (367)
  • TECH NEWS
  • UPDATED WEEKLY

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. 6H AGO

    The Video Game Industry’s Existential Crisis (with Jason Schreier)

    The video game industry has had a turbulent few years. The pandemic made people play more and caused a small boom, which then subsided, resulting in wave after wave of massive layoffs. Microsoft, one of the major console manufacturers, is shifting its strategy for Xbox as the company shifts its focus to AI. And now, Electronic Arts, once a load-bearing publisher for the industry with brands like The Sims and Madden, is going private via a leveraged buyout in a deal involving Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and Jared Kushner. Video games are more popular than ever, but many of the biggest companies in the business seem like they are struggling to adapt and convert that popularity into stability and sustainability. To try and understand what the hell is going on, this week we have a conversation between Emanuel and Jason Schreier, who reports about video games for Bloomberg and one of the best journalists on this beat. Jason helps us unpack why Microsoft is now aiming for higher-than-average profit margins at Xbox and why the company is seemingly bowing out of the console business despite a massive acquisition spree. We also talk about what the EA deal tells us about other game publishers, and what all these problems tell us about changing player habits and the future of big budget video games. YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/6ydF7hD6cFI Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Microsoft Pushes Xbox Division to Hit Higher Profit Margins EA's Deal to Go Private Could Be Good for Investors, Bad for Employees EA Buyout Highlights Gaming Struggles as Growth Slows The Video-Game Industry Has a Problem: There Are Too Many Games Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    1h 5m

  2. 5D AGO

    Inside a Small Town's Fight Against a $1.2 Billion AI Datacenter

    We start with Matthew Gault’s dive into a battle between a small town and the construction of a massive datacenter for America’s nuclear weapon scientists. After the break, Joseph explains why people are 3D-printing whistles in Chicago. In the subscribers-only section, Jason zooms out and tells us what librarians are seeing with AI and tech, and how that is impacting their work and knowledge more broadly. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/rHk580uKwHw 6:03 - Our New FOIA Forum! 11/19, 1PM ET7:50 - A Small Town Is Fighting a $1.2 Billion AI Datacenter for America's Nuclear Weapon Scientists12:27 - 'A Black Hole of Energy Use': Meta's Massive AI Data Center Is Stressing Out a Louisiana Community21:09 - 'House of Dynamite' Is About the Zoom Call that Ends the World30:35 - The Latest Defense Against ICE: 3D-Printed Whistles SUBSCRIBER'S STORY: AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    50 min

  3. NOV 10

    A Massive Archiving Effort at National Parks (with Jenny McBurney and Lynda Kellam)

    If you’ve been to a national park in the U.S. recently, you might have noticed some odd new signs about “beauty” and “grandeur.” Or, some signs you were used to seeing might now be missing completely. An executive order issued earlier this year put the history and educational aspects of the parks system under threat–but a group of librarians stepped in to save it.  This week we have a conversation between Sam and two of the leaders of the independent volunteer archiving project Save Our Signs, an effort to archive national park signs and monument placards. It’s a community collaboration project co-founded by a group of librarians, public historians, and data experts in partnership with the Data Rescue Project and Safeguarding Research & Culture.  Lynda Kellam leads the Research Data and Digital Scholarship team at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries and is a founding organizer of the Data Rescue Project. Jenny McBurney is the Government Publications Librarian and Regional Depository Coordinator at the University of Minnesota Libraries. In this episode, they discuss turning “frustration, dismay and disbelief” at parks history under threat into action: compiling more than 10,000 images from over 300 national parks into a database to be preserved for the people. YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/xrCElwgY5Co ‘Save Our Signs’ Archive and Submission Site 'Save Our Signs' Wants to Save the Real History of National Parks Before Trump Erases It ‘Save Our Signs’ Preservation Project Launches Archive of 10,000 National Park Signs Archivists Work to Identify and Save the Thousands of Datasets Disappearing From Data.gov Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    46 min

  4. NOV 5

    People Are Modding Meta Ray-Bans to Spy On You

    We have something of a Meta Ray-Bans smart glasses bumper episode this week. We start with Joseph and Jason’s piece on a $60 mod that disables the privacy-protecting recording light in the smart glasses. After the break, Emanuel tells us how some people are abusing the glasses to film massage workers, and he explains the difference between a phone and a pair of smartglasses, if you need that spelled out for you. In the subscribers-only section, Jason tells us about the future of advertising: AI-generated ads personalized directly to you. YouTube version: https://youtu.be/tAmhRnHc16Q 1:00 - A $60 Mod to Meta’s Ray-Bans Disables Its Privacy-Protecting Recording Light 18:03 - Meta's Ray-Ban Glasses Users Film and Harass Massage Parlor Workers SUBSCRIBER'S STORY: The Future of Advertising Is AI Generated Ads That Are Directly Personalized to You Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    53 min

  5. NOV 3

    The Crackdown on ICE Spotting Apps (with Joshua Aaron)

    Joseph speaks to Joshua Aaron, the creator of ICEBlock. Apple recently removed ICEBlock from its App Store after direct pressure from the Department of Justice. Joshua and Joseph talk about how the idea for ICEBlock came about, Apple and Google’s broader crackdown on similar apps, and what this all means for people trying to access information about ICE. ICEBlock Owner After Apple Removes App: ‘We Are Determined to Fight This’ Google Calls ICE Agents a Vulnerable Group, Removes ICE-Spotting App ‘Red Dot’ Apple Banned an App That Simply Archived Videos of ICE Abuses YouTube version: https://youtu.be/WLpyObHkPqc Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    45 min

  6. OCT 29

    Grokipedia Is Cringe

    We start this week with Jason’s explanation of what Grokipedia is, and how it compares to the very much human-made Wikipedia. After the break, we talk all about the hell of updating Windows PCs and what that means specifically for Windows 10 users. In the subscribers-only section, Emanuel explains what a16z is doing with a ‘speedrun’ to a wholly AI-generated world. Intro0:00 - Merch drop2:38 - Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever (use code WIRE20 for 20% off)3:25 - First Contact: The Story of Our Obsession with Aliens Stories5:00 - Grokipedia Is the Antithesis of Everything That Makes Wikipedia Good, Useful, and Human10:48 - Elon Musk's Grokipedia Pushes Far-Right Talking Points23:04 - The End of Windows 10 Support Is an E-Waste Disaster in the Making32:00 - Nathan Proctor interview Subscriber's Stories: a16z-Backed Startup Sells Thousands of ‘Synthetic Influencers’ to Manipulate Social Media as a Service a16z Is Funding a 'Speedrun' to AI-Generated Hell on Earth YouTube version: https://youtu.be/LqYMoK7dlDA Subscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    40 min

  7. OCT 22

    Hackers Dox ICE

    We start this week with Joseph’s articles about a hacking group that doxed DHS, ICE, FBI, and DOJ officials. The group then sent us the personal data of officials from the NSA and a bunch of other government agencies. After the break, Emanuel revisits Wikipedia’s AI problem. In the subscribers-only section, Sam explains OpenAI’s inevitable path to an AI sex bot.0:00 - Intro0:50 - How Artists Are Keeping 'the Lost Art' of Neon Signs Alive4:42 - Hackers Dox Hundreds of DHS, ICE, FBI, and DOJ Officials 13:53 - Hackers Say They Have Personal Data of Thousands of NSA and Other Government Officials 31:58 - Wikipedia Says AI Is Causing a Dangerous Decline in Human Visitors SUBSCRIBER'S SEGMENT: OpenAI Catches Up to AI Market Reality: People Are Horny YouTube version: https://youtu.be/7P2a4Y7P5UESubscribe at 404media.co for bonus content. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    50 min

  8. OCT 15

    Meta Tells Workers to ‘Go 5x Faster’ with AI

    We start this week with Jason’s article about an internal Meta message telling workers to increase their output by 5x with AI. That’s five times, not five percent. After the break, Joseph and Sam tell us all about the catastrophic Discord breach. In the subscribers-only section, Joseph explains what happened when AI came for craft beer (nothing is sacred). YouTube version: https://youtu.be/VJLHVJ-OOj8 Help Us Investigate Book Bans and Educational Censorship Around America Meta Tells Workers Building Metaverse to Use AI to ‘Go 5x Faster’ The Discord Hack is Every User’s Worst Nightmare What Happened When AI Came for Craft Beer TIMESTAMPS: 0:51 - Help Us Investigate Book Bans and Educational Censorship Around America 3:57 - Meta Tells Workers Building Metaverse to Use AI to ‘Go 5x Faster’ 19:44 - The Discord Hack is Every User’s Worst Nightmare SUBSCRIBER'S STORY: What Happened When AI Came for Craft Beer This is a production of 404 Media, a journalist-owned tech website. Learn more and subscribe at: htttps://404media.co Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

    47 min
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Hosts & Guests

4.8
out of 5
367 Ratings

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 - 2025
  • Episodes
    132
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 404 Media
  • Show Website
    The 404 Media Podcast

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