The 404 Media Podcast

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1. Inside Proton’s AI Reckoning

   4 november 2026 · 1 uur

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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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2. Can Data Center Development Be Stopped?

   2 november 2026 · 53 min

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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. Lees meer

   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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3. Leaked Audio: Flock CEO Says the Backlash Isn’t Real

   28 oktober 2026 · 44 min

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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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4. Is the AI Boom a Bubble?

   26 oktober 2026 · 56 min

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   This week on the pod we’re joined by Mike Isaac a tech reporter who has been at the New York Times for more than a decade and who just recently announced he’s joining The Atlantic. Isaac also is the author of Super Pumped, a book about Uber that was adapted into a TV show. Isaac and 404 Media cover the same companies and technologies but we come at them from pretty different angles. He has a very deep background in business reporting and he’s also very well sourced in the valley. We spent a lot of time talking about how the AI race looks right now from his perspective, the challenges in covering it, and also the reemergence of Uber’s founder, Travis Kalanick. Lees meer

   Youtube Version: https://youtu.be/1sNBtPRo87s

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5. ‘Reverse-Engineer Anything’ Is the Next Wave of AI Slop

   21 oktober 2026 · 42 min

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   We start this week with Jason’s article about how everyone is apparently reverse-engineering everything. After the break, Joseph tells us about a big AI shakeup at consulting giant Accenture. In the subscribers-only section, Sam and Jason discuss the Character[.]ai bankruptcy. Lees meer

   ‘Reverse-Engineer Anything’ Is the New Wild West of AI

   Accenture Tells Employees They Can Now Spend Only $29 on Claude Per Month

   Character[.]ai Bankruptcy Is First AI Bubble Domino to Fall

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6. Data Centers Are Worse Than You Thought

   19 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 4 min

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   Big tech is rushing to build hundreds of data centers across the planet to keep up with the computing demand of artificial intelligence. The tech companies are promising the massive buildings will bring jobs and prosperity when they’re built, but communities across the country aren’t buying it and they’re fighting back. People are concerned about water, noise, pollution, and the rising cost of electricity. Anyone who already lives next to a data center knows those fears are well founded. Lees meer

   To talk through this, Matthew spoke to Paris Marx. He’s a tech critic, the host of Tech Won’t Save Us and the author of the new book Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech’s Data Empires.

   Buy Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech’s Data Empires

   YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/PRf8ZtpSqAg

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7. Cops Can Use AI to Pinpoint Your Home with Just One Photo

   14 oktober 2026 · 47 min

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   We start this week with Joseph’s article about Raven, previously known as Geospy. This is an AI tool that can geolocate photos, and now says it can pinpoint a specific house based just on one photo taken inside. After the break, Jason explains why a judge ruled a particular Flock search as unconstitutional. In the subscribers-only section, we talk about the wild AI video that has derailed a manslaughter case. Lees meer

   AI Company Lets Cops Pinpoint Specific Houses Based on a Single Interior Photo

   Watch Footage of the Flock Search a Judge Ruled Unconstitutional

   Her AI-Generated Video Swayed the Judge. The Court Said it Carried 'Undue Emotional Weight'

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8. The Social Reckoning’s Real-Life Whistleblower

   9 oktober 2026 · 56 min

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   Former Facebook employee Frances Haugen became one of the most important tech whistleblowers in 2021, when she exposed how Facebook’s algorithm was pushing people toward hate groups, showed Instagram was making teen girls feel worse about themselves, and showed that the company knew about its detrimental impacts on society. Haugen’s story is the basis for Aaron Sorkin’s new movie ‘The Social Reckoning,’ which follows her evolution from model employee to leaker to formal whistleblower. Jason and Frances discuss what the movie got right about journalist-source relationships and how AI is supercharging privacy concerns.

   YouTube Version: https://youtu.be/oB3IxwCfP7M

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9. Leak Show Cops Can Break into Locked iPhones

   7 oktober 2026 · 40 min

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   We start this week with a story from our old friend Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, about how cops can bypass the inactivity reboot on iPhones. After the break, Jason tells us how people are losing their minds over an LLM ‘torture’ prison. In the subscribers-only section, Sam explains what happened in a wild ChatGPT case in New Mexico. Lees meer

   Cops Can Bypass iPhone’s Automatic Reboot to Get Into Locked Phones, Leaked Video Claims

   Someone ‘Torturing’ LLMs in a Robot Prison Has Triggered the Dumbest Debate in AI Yet

   Lawyer Cites ChatGPT-Invented Fake Witnesses in Murder Appeal

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10. 404 Media Live! The Three Year Anniversary Show

    6 oktober 2026 · 1 uur 15 min

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    Thank you to DeleteMe for helping make this night possible. They're offering ⁠20% off a privacy protection plan⁠ for friends of 404 Media. Use code 404M20 at checkout. Lees meer

    404 Media just turned three years old, and to celebrate, we hosted a night of chatting about what we’ve accomplished with your support, what’s next for us, and whether or not we’re all going to be okay. We also threw in some weird bugs and community resistance for good measure. Don’t miss us pulling audience questions out of the mystery AMA box!

    Live from WNYC’s Greene Space, you can also watch the entire show on 404 Media’s YouTube channel.

    We Are Going to Be Okay: A Three Year Anniversary Events Recap

    Our Zine About ICE Surveillance Is Here

    Watch 404 Media’s Super Bowl Ad

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

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