Wide Angle

Angelo Fernando
  • 5.0 (1)
  • TECHNOLOGY
  • UPDATED MONTHLY

A podcast that looks across the tech frontier's blind spots. The platforms, the apps and systems we take for granted. Plus those pesky issues that come up from behind us and …. jolt us.

Episodes

  1. Destination Unknown On The AI Train

    10/16/2025

    Destination Unknown On The AI Train

    Let's be clear: I am an AI skeptic. I run into so much of AI as a teacher it's not even funny. Not just from students but in workshops, newsletters, and nearly every tools I use whether it is Photoshop, Canva, YouTube, Descript, or Capcut. The shenanigans by Meta, Anthropic, and OpenAI, however, worry me. In this podcast I take up some of these contentious issues. But my guest, Tyron Devotta, a former journalist and still a prolific writer isn't fazed by this. His novel will be out shortly--and since he uses AI extensively as an 'editorial assistant'--I pick his brains on how he uses it. I also use excerpts from two podcasts, and one book: ⁠On the Media with Brooke Gladstone⁠⁠The Ezra Klein Podcast⁠The book: Jonathan Haidt's ⁠Anxious Generation

    14 min
  2. What Money Can't Buy - Episode 8

    09/01/2025

    What Money Can't Buy - Episode 8

    There are still some things in life that money can't buy. In this episode I've got three stories of people and situations that enrich our lives: Tuk-tuks, goat milk, and Alaskan salmon. It all began while I was on a ride-share taxi in Sri Lanka, in a three-wheeled vehicle we call Tuk-tuks, so named after the noisy engine. The Tuk-tuk has become an iconic symbol of the country, brightly painted, and often displaying humorous slogans. The drivers add to the experience. The driving...that's another story. Let's just say a ride is not for the faint hearted. But I always take these Tuks when I am in Sri Lanka. My small experience set the scene for the rest of the podcast.

    14 min
  3. Are we living in an echo chamber? Angelo Fernando - Episode 6

    02/16/2025

    Are we living in an echo chamber? Angelo Fernando - Episode 6

    Remember The Matrix? That 1999 cult sci-fi movie starring Keanu Reeves and Laurence Fishburne. There's something happening today, here in 2025, that feels slightly like that synthetic world. Not just social media, but now with AI becoming part of every digital space, we could be trapped inside a simulated, controlled world and not realize it. So in this podcast I wanted to shed some light in those parallels in which we users --heavy users, I should say-- of social media are often echoing what others are saying, reluctant to express our individuality, simply 'Liking,' sharing, and re-posting material that crosses our path. It's also a call to reflect on what values and digital skills we are passing on to the children.

    9 min
  4. Oops, you may have been hacked - Angelo Fernando - Episode 5

    08/09/2024

    Oops, you may have been hacked - Angelo Fernando - Episode 5

    It's as if we're one nation, under attack. Cyber attacks are so common, we tend to dismiss them as someone else's problem. Until it isn't. Our home, our workplace, our identity, our social media account. What have you done lately to ward off the next hack? What if you're identity has already been compromised? If the answer is 'nothing' then you should listen to two people on this show who are embedded in the complex, murky world of cybersecurity. Michael Emery is senior systems administrator at Benjamin Franklin Charter Schools. Spencer Luke is a security analyst at Microsoft overseeing very large groups. They give us valuable insight into who might be after our data and how to safeguard it.

    19 min
  5. Something To Write Home About - Angelo Fernando - Episode 4

    07/13/2024

    Something To Write Home About - Angelo Fernando - Episode 4

    On this show, hear from three writers I met during a recent visit to Sri Lanka. Tyron Devotta, a former journalist is about to publish a book set during World War 2 in Ceylon. He talks about the role of the writer in a time when the audience's reding habits are changing. Shannel Pinidiya, still a student, talks about the construction of her complex novel, and how she got into historical fiction writer at an early age. Lal Medawattegedara, senior lecturer at the Open University of Sri Lanka. His book, "When Ghosts Die," was shortlisted for a Gratiaen Award this year. I also like to promote two organization. First Story, a London based outfit partners with schools to nurture young writers. Write The World, based in the US, is an organization I support. My students to participate in their projects. The Gratiaen Trust organizes workshops for writers and editors, has outreach programs, and holds an annual book awards. _________________________________________ Spending time in Sri Lanka helped me reconnect with many of my friends and colleagues in advertising, media and journalism. I was fortunate to be able to attend the Gratiaen Awards in June. It was inspiring to see how book publishing and authors have evolved, despite the constant complaints that "nobody reads anymore!" SHOW NOTES: To Find out more about these: 1. The Gratiaen Awards, Sri Lanka: https://www.gratiaen.com Tyron Devotta - http://www.media360.lk Shannel Pinidiya - "Dear Leo" (2024) Dear Leo - Jam Fruit Tree Publications Lal Medawattegedara - Open University of Sri Lanka. Radio 201 - Angelo Fernando - Radio 201 Podcasts https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/radio201/id1565037153 First Story, UK - FirstStory.org.UK Write The World, US - WriteTheWorld.Org

    14 min
  6. "Escape from The Attention Hackers" - Angelo Fernando - Episode 3

    03/27/2024

    "Escape from The Attention Hackers" - Angelo Fernando - Episode 3

    For about 1,250 hours a school year, our students' phones are turned off, and they're not in their pockets either! It's how we make sure the 'attention hackers' can't get through. There's plenty of evidence that this model of education is best for our youth. (Do listen to a podcast called 'Your Undivided Attention' for more on this.) In this episode I talk about how this phone-free environment makes teaching and learning such a joy at Benjamin Franklin High School. We are not the only school to adopt this. Coram Deo, a school in Texas. Its principal calls school 'a place of digital rest.' I also feature Jonathan Haidt who challenges schools to conduct a larger experiment with phones. Listen to how he frames it. By coincidence, his book, The Anxious Generation is out this week. To place all of this in a wider context, consider how Congress in the US, and the EU, are finally getting out of their slumber and holding social media companies' feet to the fire. But it's a little too late, and there is plenty of pushback. This means we ought to come out stronger and tell these companies what we expect of them. Perhaps this podcast is one such an attempt. I hope you enjoy the show. Do listen to "Your undivided attention," too, if you have the time. And thanks for listening, and subscribing.

    11 min
  7. "Everyone's Biased" - Angelo Fernando - Episode 2

    02/28/2024

    "Everyone's Biased" - Angelo Fernando - Episode 2

    Let's just admit--we are all biased. But as my guest, Rick Panganiban at KQED Teach, says, not all biases are bad! Rick has deep experience in media literacy. He's got an interesting take--But we got to fight our urge to click on every link that sails into ur feeds. Bias to me is part of the toxic eco-system we live in. Or to put it another way, bias is part of a giant venn diagram overlapped by isolation, stereotyping and media literacy. My second guest is a cybersecurity expert, Spencer Luke, who'll expand on this. It's a packed show. That's the kind of podcast Wide Angle tries to be, probing the blind spots of technology that blur our focus.

    21 min

  8. 01/31/2024

    Wide Angle - A new tech podcast by Angelo Fernando - Episode 1

    Hello, and welcome to a brand new podcast. Yes, it's about tech, but a different side of tech. Think of it as the technology that wraps us around its little fingers. It’s called Wide Angle because I'll be probing those blind spots in those platforms, apps and systems we use. Those pesky issues that come up from behind us and …. jolt us. I'm phasing out my class podcast, Radio 201, a podcast I began at the height of the pandemic. I hope you like Wide Angle, and will subscribe. Thank you! Angelo Fernando

    5 min
  • 8 Episodes

About

A podcast that looks across the tech frontier's blind spots. The platforms, the apps and systems we take for granted. Plus those pesky issues that come up from behind us and …. jolt us.

Information

  • Creator
    Angelo Fernando
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2025
  • Episodes
    8
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Angelo Fernando
  • Show Website
    Wide Angle