The 404 Media Podcast

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This year’s election results show voters are really mad about the tech oligarchy, Silicon Valley, and data centers. And the right’s memes aren’t working anymore. Then we discuss how AI-powered reverse engineering is under threat from the AI companies that enabled it. In the subscribers-only section, Sam breaks down the UK’s draconian new anti-porn law.

Republicans Learn X Is the Echo Chamber

American Voters Reject Tech Oligarchy

'Reverse Engineer Anything': AI Companies Crack Down on the Coolest Thing People Were Doing With AI

In the UK, Face Sitting Porn Might Land You in Jail

UK Sex Workers Wake Up to Sites Purging Their Content Following Porn Ban

Youtube Version: https://youtu.be/vOTfFaUebN8

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Today I’m joined by Lindsay Goldwert. Lindsay is a writer and soon to be certified sex educator who has written for the New York Times, New York Magazine, Fast Company, Marketwatch and more. Her newsletter DearStar69 is “for passionate people with curious minds and a never-ending desire to learn more about themselves, in and out of the bedroom,” as she puts it.

She’s also the author of two books, Bow Down: Lessons from Dominatrixes on How to Be a Boss in Life, Love and Work (2020), and her latest bestseller, The Midlife Plot Twist: How to Reboot Your Life Without Burning It Down Even If You Really, Really Want To coauthored with Gabrielle Moss. It just came out in September.

We get into why we’re all doing so much self-censoring on the internet these days, honing the skill of confident communication (even if it means embracing conflict), and how her own midlife plot twist meant dropping everything to do stand-up comedy and learning to get comfortable with uncomfortable moments.

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We start this week with Joseph’s investigation into Proton’s culture of fear and the company’s massive push towards AI. A lot to unpack there. After the break, Sam tells us about the AO3 outage and its fallout. In the subscribers-only section, Jason explains: we’re not tech support.

Manifestos, Fear, and ‘Loser Thinking’: Inside Proton’s AI Reckoning

‘Wake Up Call:’ Fanfiction Writers and Readers React to AO3 Outage

ChatGPT Keeps Telling People 404 Media Can Solve Their Tech Support Problems

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Big tech didn’t expect the community pushback around data centers. Developers accustomed to building whatever they want with minimal oversight are facing hard questions about land use, water rights, electricity bills, and noise. To push back on local activism, data center builders are using an old playbook pioneered by the nuclear power and oil industry.

On this episode of the 404 Media podcast, Kyle Keeler and Nate Otjen talk with Matthew about how big tech is trying to take control of the narrative around data centers. Keeler is a professor of environmental sciences and studies at Lafayette College. Otjen is a professor of sustainability and environmental studies at Ramapo College.

Youtube Version: https://youtu.be/hK_aIf9GEd4

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We start this week with Jason and Joseph’s article about leaked audio from a private police conference. In that audio, Flock’s CEO made all sorts of wild claims about the backlash to his company not being real, and his wife’s advice to never apologize. After the break, Sam tells us why former Yahoo CEO Marrisa Mayer can’t keep pretending ‘gender doesn’t matter.’ In the subscribers-only section, Joseph tells us about a woman who is facing years in prison because someone else opened a CashApp account in her name.

In Leaked Audio, Flock CEO Tells Cops Backlash to the Company Isn’t Real

Marissa Mayer Can’t Keep Pretending 'Gender Doesn't Matter'

Someone Opened a CashApp In Her Name. She Faces Years in Prison

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