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Episodes
What is Upscrolled, Australia’s newest viral social media platform?
30 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
TikTok has finally struck a deal to avoid being banned in the United States. Their privacy policy also got a controversial update. So, who owns US Ti...
Spotify was copied by a piracy archive. Why does that matter?
23 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Plus! Social media site Digg is back. For those who remember, it may feel like returning to what was good about the internet. Is this the sign of a n...
Opt Out 05 | Can you ever really opt out of online life?
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
After weeks of trying to audit, delete, and lock down her digital life, Rae hits the big, uncomfortable question: what if you can’t opt out of the ...
Opt Out 04 | What did I just agree to?
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every time you click 'accept' online, you’re legally agreeing to something. The problem is… you probably have no idea what that something is.In e...
Opt Out 03 | How not to get hacked
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If someone tried to hack you right now… how long would it take?In episode three of Opt Out, Rae confronts her own extremely average cyber hygiene a...
Opt Out 02 | Can you delete yourself from the internet?
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The internet knows a lot about you, but what if you wanted to take it all back and delete yourself all together?In episode two of Opt Out, Rae tries ...
Opt Out 01 | The guide to taking back control of your online life
19 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
We all know the internet knows a bit about us. But… how much, exactly? And what happens if you actually try to look?In the first episode of Opt Out...
What were the biggest stories in tech for 2025?
12 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It was a huge year for tech in 2025, and there were a few stories that hooked our attention more than others. The introduction of the social media b...
Is the AI boom going to spell the end of democracy in Australia?
05 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With AI in our newsrooms, our universities, and our courtrooms, the way we understand the truth has been forever changed. But could it be for the bet...
Do androids dream of electric housework? The liabilities of a $20k humanoid robot butler
28 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you were to picture the ideal robot form to vacuum your floor all by itself, what do you see? Is it a small UFO-shaped disc that whizzes under cou...
Why is the government using AI to help create NDIS plans?
21 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Roblox has been one of the worst culprits for child safety in the games world, and they’ve come up with something to supposedly keep our kids safe....
Is it possible for an AI to 'hasten the coming of Christ's return'?
14 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What happens when theology and technology collide? There's a new tech startup dedicated to building a Christian AI. It's called Gloo, launched by ex-...
Self-driving taxis could be coming to Australia, but are we ready?
07 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How well do you think the streets of Sydney would handle self-driving taxis? What about those same self-driving taxis navigating the Melbourne tram l...
Would you use ChatGPT now that it's in its horny era?
31 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How much do you trust the AI chatbots you use on a day-to-day basis? Once you send your prompt off into cyberspace, how do you now no one is interfer...
How did a global Amazon outage bring down almost 50 other major tech companies?
24 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When a major outage hit Amazon Web Services this week, websites and apps started falling like dominoes -- from Square to Duolingo, Netflix, and Adobe...
What happens when you try to ban a generation from the internet?
17 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Online Safety Amendment Bill is the name on everyone’s lips this week and as the implementation date looms closer, we take a deep dive into som...
We've got tonnes of space waste orbiting our Earth, is there a way to clean up our act?
10 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There are over 170 million pieces of space junk orbiting Earth right now, and that number is only growing as space orbit becomes more accessible. How...
If 'simulated gambling' is banned in kids games, why are we still seeing Loot Boxes everywhere?
03 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
You step up to a box full of prizes, and knowing that there is a chance you may not win anything, you give it your real-life money anyway. No, this i...
Is it true that AI is going to add $60 billion to Australia's economy?
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Australian Finance Industry Association has modelled AI's contribution to economic growth in the years ahead. It found that "scaling", or expandi...
How fanfiction took over the world (and stayed free)
19 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Fanfiction has gone from photocopied zines traded at conventions to millions of stories shared online. From smut-filled Harry Potter ships to the fic...
How did an Australian team make the biggest video game in the world today?
12 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, an Australian video game called Hollow Knight: Silksong is the biggest video game in the world. It’s made by a small team out of Adelaid...
Why is Australia spending a billion dollars on a quantum computer that doesn't exist yet?
05 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
2025 is the 'International Year of Quantum Science and Technology', but what actually is quantum science? IBM and AMD are teaming up to champion 'qua...
Wimbledon broke 148 years of tradition to replace 300 line judges with AI -- will it be worth it?
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
How much is human adjudication in sport worth, and how much more accurate is Wimbledon's new system? Plus, the CSIRO and the Australian Sports Commis...
How do you protect yourself against AI voice scams?
22 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
When 1 in 5 people have been the victim of cybercrime and AI voice scams are on the rise, how do we protect ourselves online? Plus Google may soon be...
How will ICE's deportation teams use iris scanning technology?
15 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
America’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a notice they intend to purchase an iris scanning technology that can identify "suspects...
Would Cyberbrothel be more ethical than a traditional brothel?
08 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A sex doll brothel in Berlin is offering a combination of new VR and AI technologies in their plastic playmates. But the Cyberbrothel business falls ...
Is Snapchat’s My AI a safe space or a slippery slope for teens?
01 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Snapchat’s AI chatbot, My AI, is raising concerns among teens and parents — with questions about how it's used, what it says, and whether the pla...
ID, please? China’s new internet rules and what they could mean for us
25 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Big Brother is getting new powers in China with a digital ID system eerily similar to that being proposed in the upcoming teen social media ban. What...
How do we tell what's real and what's not, when the internet is flooded with AI slop?
18 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Do you think you can tell the difference between what's real and what's made by AI? What about writing? Or even music?More AI-generated content is ma...
With 9,000 new layoffs at Microsoft, is AI set to change the gaming industry forever?
11 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In recent years, like many other big technology firms, Microsoft has refocused its business towards developing AI, and this week the firm has announc...
An expert has quit over the government's planned social media ban, what now?
04 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Download This Show, we're getting up to speed with what on Earth is going on with the teen social media ban. From new standards being an...
How are online tools being used to resist fascism across the globe?
27 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The apps and online tools that are being used in international political action, Tesla drama and the future of autonomous vehicles, what's going on w...
Could a new copyright lawsuit from Disney change the way we use AI?
20 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A lawsuit from the house of mouse, Apple being forced to let you download apps outside the app store, a huge hole in Gmail's data security, plus a wo...
'Imperial Kitten' vs 'Fancy Bear': how are kooky hacker nicknames causing serious concerns for cybersecurity?
13 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why do hackers have weird and wacky non-serious names? And why are British politicians blaming Apple and Google for the rise in phone thefts? Plus, t...
The human-AI conversation crisis: why we're choosing chatbots over people
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In a special AI deep-dive episode of Download This Show, researchers Sandra Peter and Kai Remer break down how AI chatbots are changing the way human...
Could AI be the 'person' deciding whether or not you get your dream job?
30 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI interviewing you for a job, hackable digital drivers licences, dating app safety, and CIA-run Star Wars websites. This week on Download This Show....
How did a haunted game cartridge take the internet by storm?
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Haunted video games, a tech feud between Apple and Epic Games, how tracking apps can be used in coercive control, and Discord transitioning into cool...
Which app is the latest to say it wants to be your everything?
16 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Airbnb's midlife crisis, digital ID age verification, and facial recognition software on social media, this week on Download This Show.
How did pink Lamborghinis, Minecraft, and bitcoin become the centre of a quarter-billion dollar heist?
09 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Crypto heists, OpenAIs mission for good continues, and the dangerous world of unregulated chatbots for minors and women. This week on Download This S...
If people can't tell the difference between ChatGPT and a human, are we doomed?
02 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Content moderators suing for psychological distress, checking in on the teen social media ban, and what do we do now that ChatGPT is supposedly indis...
Hey chat, is this real?: Why politicians are using Grindr, OnlyFans, and Fortnite to campaign this election
25 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Water hungry datacentres being put in the middle of the desert, Google ads being called out for having a monopoly, politicians on Grindr and robots i...
Have we finally created a way for vision impaired people to watch sports?
18 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI cyclone prediction, new accessible tech for people with disability, and a cure for brain rot, this week on Download This Show.
Why was there a big tech-sized hole in this year's budget?
11 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Why there was no tech in the budget, super fund hacks, and what ever happened to the TikTok ban? This week on Download This Show.
Download this brain: we're live from World Science Festival Brisbane!
04 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week on Download This Show, we're coming to you live from World Science Festival Brisbane, at the Queensland Museum, we're here to answer all yo...
Could AI image generators be erasing Indigenous Australian culture?
28 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI generators impersonating Indigenous art, stealth recordings via smart glasses, and child gambling in the form of video games, this week on Downloa...
Download This Show is doing a live show! Join us in Brisbane March 29
24 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Download This Show is coming to World Science Festival Brisbane!Get your tickets here.
Could a brain in a dish be the next big thing in computing?
21 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Computers made of brain cells, a new Meta whistleblower, and AI being used for good, this week on Download This Show.
Would you try a dating app for games?
14 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
AI designing video games, a new app to help you choose which ones to play, and a new way to defend against deepfakes, this week on Download This Show...
Have you ever wanted a virtual boyfriend to remind you about your period?
07 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
IVF health data hacked, virtual boyfriends, the death of Skype and solar-powered laptops, this week on Download This Show.
Could this colourful robot solve the loneliness crisis?
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A worsening climate, loneliness-fighting robots, supersonic jets, and the final consensus on whether AI is making us more stupid on Download This Sho...
Why did Google scrap their 'don't be evil' motto and start using AI in weapons?
21 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Google is using AI in weapons, Meta is laying undersea cables, and teleportation could be on the horizon this week on Download This Show.
Why is hardcore porn showing up on Australian government websites?
14 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
There's porn on government websites, millions of extra dollars in STEM, and a debatably effective AI summit this week on Download This Show.
We've only got 89 seconds to save the world, and tech could be partially to blame
07 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The Doomsday Clock ticks ever closer to midnight, and tech could be the only thing keeping us warm in the harsh light of day.
What is DeepSeek, the Chinese AI that has the world talking?
31 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
DeepSeek's AI assistant became the number one downloaded free app this week, what does this mean for the future of AI?
Trump, TikTok, and the Australian Open: welcome back to a new year of Download This Show
24 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It's a brand new year for Download This Show, and Trump has made headlines with his TikTok tirade.
Wrapping up the world in tech for 2024, and Marc Fennell's last show!
12 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
Wrapping up his final show for 2024 and beyond, Marc Fennell says goodbye to his beloved Download This Show after 12 years.
Can we save a country from climate change by recreating it in the Metaverse?
05 Dec 2024
Contributed by Lukas
The country of Tuvalu is recording everything in virtual reality, from trees and houses, to birth records and language.