Cyber Podcast

Cyber is a show covering a diverse range of topics. We’ve covered everything from crypto to AI to online cults. If it touches technology or online culture, we’ll talk about it. That’s how you get an episode like today’s, which is both a deep dive into professional wrestling’s latest scandal and a discussion of the latest existential threat: nuclear weapons in space.Vice features editor Timothy Marchman can do it all. First, Marchman walks us through the newest allegations against WWE boss Vince McMahon. It’s a civil case that may have wider ramifications for how the U.S. handles non-disclosure agreements. Then we get into a bit of Congressional kayfabe: the reports that Russia wants to put nuclear weapons in space.Co-Defendant in Vince McMahon Sex Trafficking Lawsuit Says He Was a Victim TooNDAs Vince McMahon Signed Behind WWE’s Back May Be Worthless, Say ExpertsDespite Denials, WWE Management Knew Wrestler Said She Had Been Raped on Military BaseWWE Wrestler Ashley Massaro Accused Vince McMahon of Sexually Preying on Wrestlers in Previously Unreleased Statement​Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An AI-generated Biden called voters in New Hampshire ahead of the primary and told them to stay home. X locked down the search term “Taylor Swift” after AI-generated nudes of the pop giant flooded the platform. In the wake of both scandals, Congress has struggled with how to fight back against the flood of fake bullshit. Keeping the world from drowning in fakes affects all of us, but some of the cures sound worse than the sickness.This week on Cyber, Motherboard Senior Editor Janus Rose and Fight for the Future’s Lia Holland come on to talk about the limits of legislation around AI-generated scams and abuse.Stories discussed in this episode.Congress Is Trying to Stop AI Nudes and Deepfake Scams Because Celebrities Are MadTaylor Swift Is Living Every Woman’s AI Porn Nightmare‘Palworld’ Is Tearing the Internet ApartAn AI-Generated Content Empire Is Spreading Fake Celebrity Images on GoogleCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ten years ago, Big Tech reached a peak. Facebook had wormed its way into the lives of billions of people. The mainstream news covered iPhones releases like they were Taylor Swift concerts. Elon Musk was promising to colonize Mars and fill the streets with self-driving cars. In 2024, the wheels have come off all these dreams. Musk has filled the sky with satellites, but no colonists, and constantly fights people on X. Self-driving cars are killing people. Apple has released a $3,500 VR headset that’s been met with middling reviews. And Facebook’s only recent innovation is eating its own tail to churn out massive profits.How did it come to this? This week on Cyber, PR provocateur and tech critic Ed Zitron stops by to tell us about everything he saw at the Consumer Electronics Show, the problem with most tech journalism, and why we all turned against Big Tech. He’ll explore these topics more in depth on his new podcast, Better Offline, which launches later this month.Stories discussed in this episode:Better OfflineRabbit AI Introduction VideoWhere’s Your Ed AtHow Tech Outstayed Its WelcomeCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We live in a golden age of data. Every day, hacktivists release terabytes of data on sites like DDoSecrets, but sorting through it all requires some technical knowledge. What if you don’t know XML from SQL let alone how to write a simple Python script?Micah Lee is the director of information security for The Intercept and he’s on Cyber today to talk about his new book: Hacks, Leaks, and Revelations. The book is a manual for people who want to learn how to parse and organize hacked datasets. It also contains stories of how Lee and others handled famous cases such as Blueleaks, neo-Nazi Discord chat rooms, and the Parler leak. If you’re not interested in diving into corporate or government secrets, you might learn something about how to protect your own data.Hacks, Leaks, and Revelations: The Art of Analyzing Hacked and Leaked DataStories discussed in this episode:How to Authenticate Large DatasetsTech Companies and Governments Are Censoring the Journalist Collective DDoSecretsCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The unreliable narrator of After World, the new novel from author Debbie Urbanski, is an AI tasked with writing a book about Sen, the last human on Earth. In this world, humanity is done. The world is moving on without us and Sen was born for a purpose: to watch the planet change itself without humanity. After World is a story about artificial intelligence, climate change, and what we can hope to leave behind for our children in a doomed future. On today’s episode of Cyber, Emily and Matthew sit down with Urbanski to discuss all of it.Stories discussed in this episode:The original short story: An Incomplete Timeline of What We TriedCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

According to the hype, artificial intelligence is changing everything. The truth is more complicated, but that doesn’t mean that companies and governments aren’t rushing to embrace the new technology. It’s even being used to update an old and destructive technology: nuclear weapons.America is modernizing its force, Russia is building new kinds of nuclear weapons, and China is increasing its nuclear stockpile. At the same time, all three countries are looking to AI to outsource the dangerous and deadly work of apocalyptic destruction.But what, exactly, does that look like? When it comes to nukes and AI, it’s time to embrace the horrors of uncertainty. This week’s guest is Edward Geist, a policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. His latest book is Deterrence Under Uncertainty: Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Warfare.It’s a conversation that’s both fascinating and frightening with one major theme: we don’t know nearly enough. “One lamentable parallel between nuclear weapons and artificial intelligence is that both topics elicit an astonishing degree of magical thinking from otherwise intelligent people, including some with genuine expertise,” Geist wrote in his book.Cyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The New York Times kicked off the holiday season by suing OpenAI and Microsoft. The paper of record believes that ChatGPT is violating various copyrights by using its articles as training data. It’s a landmark case that may end up before the Supreme Court and might change copyright law in America forever. This week on Cyber, Sharon Goldman of VentureBeat sits down with us to discuss the lawsuit, the coming presidential election, and all the other big AI stories she’s watching in 2024.Stories discussed in this episode:Why NYT vs OpenAI Will Be the Copyright Fight to Watch in 2024The 5 AI Stories I’m Waiting For in 2024The Quest for AGI: Building Idols, Not a GodCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On February 3, a train crashed in East Palestine, Ohio releasing toxic chemicals into the air. Almost a month later, another train owned by the same company also derailed in Ohio. That’s not all. Trains in Charlotte are running slower than they should. NYC can’t fit trains into its new station. The list goes on and on.What the hell is going on with mass transit in America?If you’re a long time Cyber listener, you might already know some of the answers to this question. That’s thanks to returning champion, Motherboard senior writer Aaron Gordon.‘It’s Going to End Up Like Boeing’: How Freight Rail Is Courting CatastropheEast Palestine Derailment ‘Foreseeable and Preventable,’ Ohio Attorney General Lawsuit Alleges24 Hours of News Shows America’s Transportation HellscapeThe Worst Transit Project in the U.S. Is Officially DeadBoston’s Subway Was Running at Half Speed Because It Lost Paperwork‘We Had All the Issues That Town Has:’ East Palestine Is Not the First or Last Derailment DisasterCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As we slide into the winter holidays, Cyber is taking some time to relax with old friends and discuss the things that truly matter: the decline of the internet, creator culture, and the transcendent power of movies. This week on Cyber, Aftermath co-founder Gita Jackson stops by to talk about “Napoleon,” the death of film criticism, and what happens when a big name on YouTube plagiarizes you.Stories discussed in this episode:Please Stop Asking Me To Sue James SomertonCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Your posts matter more than you think. Social media has changed the way wars are fought and the internet has become a new battlefield. Twitter may be dying, but it still matters an awful lot to policy makers. TikTok is ascendent, but often because its content can be repurposed on other platforms. Telegram can give you the news on the ground, but only if you trust the sources.With all this information flowing and everyone motivated by personal politics, who can you trust?This week, Emerson T. Brooking joins Matthew and Emily to explain how online discussion shapes the reality on the ground in conflict zones. Brooking is a resident senior fellow at the Digital Forensic Research Lab of the Atlantic Council and the co-author of LikeWar, a book about the weaponization of social media. Cyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The tensions between security and operations and developer teams are the stuff of legend. DevSecOps is trying to change that, and automation is a big part of making it possible. But automation alone can’t overcome entrenched behavior. Joylynn Kirui shares how Microsoft is helping teams prioritize security without bogging down development.Follow and listen to Code Comments: https://link.chtbl.com/codecomments?sid=podcast.cyber Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when a for profit company is run by a non-profit board of directors who are ideologically opposed to the company’s product? You get something like what happened to OpenAI over the past week, which saw its board of directors sack CEO Sam Altman before eventually reinstating him and resigning. It’s a weird story that involves AI, predictions of the end of the world, strange pagan rites in Silicon Valley offices, and a Harry Potter fanfic.Join us this week on Cyber as Motherboard senior editor Maxwell Strachan walks us through what the hell just happened and what it means for the future of AI.Stories discussed in this episode:Sam Altman Out at OpenAI ‘Effective Immediately’Everything You Need to Know About the Ridiculously Chaotic ‘Coup,’ Implosion, and Counter-Revolution at OpenAIBinance CEO Changpeng Zhao, Who Crafted a Responsible Image, Is Pleading Guilty to Breaking Anti-Money Laundering LawsWall Street Embraces AI Despite Risks of Catastrophe Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When “Alison” started working for Operation Underground Railroad, she wanted to make a difference in the lives of kids. She was a former Marine and social worker who’d seen the devastating effects that abuse could have on people. She wanted to stop it before it happened.She ended up with a broken orbital bone, bleeding and vomiting in a gym after a training exercise gone wrong. This week on Cyber, Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman walk us through their latest reporting on Tim Ballard and Operation Underground Railroad.Stories discussed in this episodeA Private Island, Downloads From God, and the ‘Couples Ruse’: Inside the Dangerous World of Tim Ballard’s Operation Underground RailroadFive of Tim Ballard’s Alleged Victims Have Filed a Lawsuit Against HimWomen Accuse Tim Ballard of ‘Spiritual Manipulation, Grooming, and Sexual Misconduct’A Century-Old, Debunked Theory Is Fueling the TikTok Moral PanicCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a bad time to be a crypto-person. Some of crypto’s biggest evangelists are facing serious federal jail time. FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried was convicted on seven counts of wire fraud, securities fraud, and money laundering after a disastrous trial. Some owners of Bored Ape NFTs experienced vision injuries at a recent gathering. Prices are in the toilet and SEC regulators are circling.And yet, many crypto holders are holding out hope that the number will go up again soon. This week on Cyber, Jordan Pearson sits down with Matthew and Emily to talk about what the crypto landscape looks like one year after its collapse. The shocking news is that legitimate investment firms like BlackRock are still looking to get into the market, Paypal launched its own stablecoin, and crypto dreamers are still sure that the decentralized currencies will change everything.Stories discussed in this episode:NFT Owners Partying at ‘ApeFest’ Report Vision Injuries (Not From Looking at NFTs)Elon Musk’s ‘GrokAI’ Is Beating the Competition In Generating CringeCyber Live is coming to YouTube. Subscribe here to be notified.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Rhino sounds like a good deal at first. When people move into a new apartment, they often have to pay a large lump sum security deposit to their landlord. For people who can’t pay, Rhino offers to bill them a little bit every month in lieu of the deposit. But there’s a catch: unlike security deposits, money sent to Rhino is never returned.  The company uses algorithms to make the wealthy pay less than poorer people, some renters are still paying for places where they no longer live and no one, including landlords, can get the service on the phone.This week on Cyber, Motherboard writer Roshan Abraham comes on to discuss his investigation into Rhino. Stories discussed in this episode:How Landlord Tech Is Squeezing Renters Who Can’t Afford Security DepositsTenants Are Suing Landlords for Allegedly Price-Fixing Rents with Software and the Feds Could Get InvolvedWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Kias and Hyundais are being stolen in America at an alarming rate. Using a screwdriver and a USB cable, it’s trivially easy to steal one. Kia and Hyundai blame social media, but the problem is so overwhelming that several cities are suing the car manufacturer for creating a crime epidemic by electing not to build a $100 anti-theft device into some models.This week on Cyber, Motherboard Reporter Aaron Gordon stops by to walk us through what’s really behind the viral crime wave.‘Kia Boys’ Trend Fueling Nationwide Crime Wave Is Running Rampant on InstagramWhat It’s Like To Own the Cars That Became a Viral Sensation To StealKia and Hyundai Blame TikTok and Instagram For Their Cars Getting StolenU.S. Cities Have a Staggering Problem of Kia and Hyundai Thefts. This Data Shows It.We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s a lot of reasons to be worried about the future. Climate change, nuclear weapons, space junk, and World War III are all threats both present and long-term. But, every day, people are trying to make the world a better place. It lands them in weird situations like skinny dripping with Soviet officers at the height of the Cold War or getting drunk with engineers in North Korea.This week on Cyber, Dr. Jeffrey Lewis stops by to tell us all about the brave men and women who took a chance, reached out, and helped prevent the world from falling into oblivion. Lewis is a professor at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies on the Nonproliferation and Terrorism Faculty. His new podcast, The Reason We’re All Still Here, explores the apocalypse with an air of hope for the future.Go here to check out The Reason We’re All Still HereWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Have you noticed your internet is …. kinda shitty? Does Spotfiy’s smart shuffle keep playing the same Cure song over and over again? Does a quick google search give you page after page of obvious advertisements? Want to leave Facebook behind but that one group chat keeps you checking in day after day?Well have I got the book for you. It’s The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation. It’s a little bit history, it’s a little bit manifesto, and it’s all about one simple concept that can help us get out of this mess: interoperability.Here with me today to discuss is the book’s author, Cory Doctorow. Doctorow is a writer, activist, and journalist.We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Luddites! It’s a dirty word, right? One that’s become synonymous with anti-technology crusaders that want to return us to an idyllic past where everyone is free from their phones. But who were the Luddites? Where does the term come from? How has it been misused and do we, perhaps, need a little more King Ludd in all our lives?Brian Merchant is here to answer all our burning questions about Luddites and his new book Blood in the Machine: The Origins of the Rebellion Against Big Tech. He’s a technology columnist at the LA Times now. But Brian is as old school Motherboard as they come. We once made him eat Soylent for a month!Buy Blood in the Machine here.We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This summer, a movie called The Sound of Freedom took America by storm. The hero was Tim Ballard, the founder of an organization called Operation Underground Railroad. The movie depicted Ballard as an avenging hero who rescued trafficked children from a life of slavery. The truth, we’re all finding out, is something more complicated and a lot less heroic.Ballard left the organization around the time Sound of Freedom premiered, following an investigation into his sexual misconduct. It’s a wild story involving the The Church of Latter Day Saints, a psychic channeling the Prophet Nephi, and serious criminal investigations.Here to tell us about it are Vice’s own Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman.Stories discussed in this episode:Mormon Church Denounces Tim Ballard’s “Morally Unacceptable” ActivitiesTim Ballard’s Departure From Operation Underground Railroad Followed Sexual Misconduct Investigation‘Sound of Freedom’ Producer Felt the Naked Breasts of Apparently Underage Trafficking VictimOperation Underground Railroad Child-Rescue Missions Were Based on Psychic IntelligenceWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.