Raw Data
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Technically Sweet
21 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Chocolate is beloved by...well, most humans, it would seem. But this sweet treat that, for many of us, brings instant happiness, has a nasty secret: m...
Training Computers to See
14 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Over the past few decades, computer vision has held the promise of making the world a better place, from aiding the blind to helping doctors better an...
The Worst Cyber Attack (For now)
07 Nov 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In June 2017, something weird — and very alarming — started happening at a company in Copenhagen. It seemed that hackers had shut down the company...
How We Found Ourselves
31 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Get out your smartphone, and you can almost instantaneously know where you are — and find out how to get where you want to go. Which, when you think...
About Us, But Not For Us (Repost)
29 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Originally broadcast in April 2019. As we approach the end of 2019, the Financial Times recognizes Shoshana Zuboff's "The Age of Surveillance Capitali...
Prediction (BYTE)
24 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When humans predict something, it’s basically an educated guess, based on our experiences. When a machine makes a prediction, it uses data and math....
The Digital Divide
17 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Imagine a life without the Internet. No email, no Instagram, no texting, no Google maps, no Netflix...what would you do? A “normal” life would be ...
Hacking (BYTE)
10 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
In the world of computer science, being a hacker means you know what’s up, and you have street cred. Outside of technology circles, though, hacking ...
Machine Learning (BYTE)
03 Oct 2019
Contributed by Lukas
It’s 2019, and machine learning is everywhere. It might not be Skynet, but it can still sound a little scary. If the robot apocalypse isn’t around...
Memory (BYTE)
26 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What exactly is memory? And why is it so important to how our devices work today? Friend of the show and Georgia Tech computing lecturer Kantwon Roger...
The Answer Machine
19 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Google has become our yellow pages, our atlas, our library, our medical consultant, our shopping guide. Which means it is, basically, a giant, virtual...
Algorithms (BYTE)
12 Sep 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Simply put, we (humans) can’t possibly process all of the data in the world, which is why computers are so useful — and why algorithms have become...
Your Data Are Showing
29 Aug 2019
Contributed by Lukas
What could someone learn about you from your location? What about your Facebook likes? What about just...your face? You’re probably thinking — not...
Power from the People (Post Trump, Pre-2020)
18 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Originally broadcast in March 2019, this episode has a new introduction, with an update on the Trump administration’s push to add a citizenship ques...
Power Lines, Post SCOTUS
11 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Originally broadcast in May 2019, this episode has a new introduction, with an update on the implications of the recent Supreme Court decision on part...
Conspiracy Tyranny
04 Jul 2019
Contributed by Lukas
If the rise of despots around the world seems bewildering, especially given our unprecedented access to information in 2019 — therein might lie the ...
Kinetic Effects
27 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
We know that Russia has been honing its tools of disinformation since the Cold War, but how did Soviet Era sabotage make the jump into the digital age...
Dezinformatsiya
20 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Russians posing as Americans. Wild conspiracy theories about political figures. Outright fabrications. All part of Russian efforts to interfere in the...
Climate and Behavior: Warmer Means Worse
06 Jun 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Climate change is already reshaping the natural world, but how does it affect human behavior? Economist Marshall Burke is part of a growing field of s...
Power Lines
13 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
The United States is a pretty divided country; which may just feel like an inevitable product of our times. But it turns out there’s one partisan to...
Titan vs. Titan: A.I. & the Race for Global Supremacy
02 May 2019
Contributed by Lukas
There’s an epic struggle under way: a challenge to lead the world in A.I. — artificial intelligence. But this space race for the 21st century does...
Weaponized
25 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
When we think of killer robots, images of the Terminator, Robocop, and other dystopian movies often spring to mind. These movies usually don’t end w...
About Us, But Not for Us
11 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
Shoshana Zuboff doesn’t mince words when it comes to the data economy. According to Zuboff, author of the recent book *The Age of Surveillance Capit...
Power from the People, Part II: A New Kind of Machine
04 Apr 2019
Contributed by Lukas
At the start of the 20th century, the United States Census Bureau was in a bit of a pickle. The electric tabulating machines that had saved the census...
Power from the People
21 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
At the birth of the United States, the new nation faced a problem. How do you make a crazy new idea — power coming not from a king, but from the peo...
Meet Raw Data
07 Mar 2019
Contributed by Lukas
On Raw Data, we take a look at the new source of power in the 21st century: data. Whoever controls data has power. But is this making things better? W...
Reckoning
26 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Silicon Valley and Washington DC have a showdown when Zuckerberg goes before Congress. Silicon Valley has grown powerful because it advances a vision ...
Inevitability
19 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Technology is an almost god-like force that acts upon all of humanity. What does it actually want?
Democracy
12 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Can democracy survive the internet? What country will take the lead in shaping our online environment – and how?
Gatekeepers
05 Jul 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The tech giants that control the internet have destroyed 20th century institutions and challenged the role of an independent press. Whither the 4th es...
All the World's a Stage
28 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Within 15 years, social media has become the dominant force shaping the Valley. What does it mean for individuals around the world and for society at ...
The Garage
21 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Silicon Valley reveres garage start-ups and the myth of the entrepreneur. But, in the wake of the dotcom crash, power dynamics shift. Have the entrepr...
Land of the Free Dotcom
07 Jun 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Netscape’s IPO electrifies the dotcom era, and “New Economy” proponents insist that cyberspace will redefine the rules of prosperity. The data e...
The Triple Fence
31 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
In the post-Watergate era, two academics battle the NSA and establish the technology that protects our online information. Cryptography remains a fund...
The Looking Glass
24 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The Valley comes of age as the center of innovation and personal computing. Doug Englebart delivers the Mother of All Demos. Steve Jobs makes a fatefu...
Drop City
17 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by cybernetics and LSD, Stewart Brand creates the Whole Earth Catalog as a how-to manual for the commune movement. The catalog articulates a ...
Valley of Heart's Delight
10 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Before tech, there were orchards in the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.” Federal funding for Cold War research changes everything, and the semicondu...
Monument to a Dead Child
03 May 2018
Contributed by Lukas
The seeds of Silicon Valley were sown long ago. The Gold Rush, the railroad barons, the founding of Stanford University, and myths of the American Wes...
Prelude
26 Apr 2018
Contributed by Lukas
Introducing the series. Silicon Valley’s power: how did we get here?
Season Finale: The Legal Codes
27 Jun 2017
Contributed by Lukas
How are algorithms and data science making their way into the American criminal justice system? The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any cou...
Meddling
19 May 2017
Contributed by Lukas
There are A LOT of unanswered questions right now about Russia’s role in the 2016 election. Whether it’s actually hacking into the DNC servers or ...
Newer Money
02 Apr 2017
Contributed by Lukas
It's been a minute since we've checked in on the world's favorite cryptocurrency – Bitcoin! And man oh man is there a lot of upheaval in Bitcoin-lan...
Propaganda Armies
24 Feb 2017
Contributed by Lukas
Let’s face it – there’s a lot of bulls**t flying around on the Internet. But where is it all coming from? This week, we tackle fake news, propag...
A New Day in Hollywood
30 Jan 2017
Contributed by Lukas
There are massive changes underway in Hollywood – and a lot of the disruption is being driven by big data. In this week’s episode, we’re taking ...
Attention is Money
20 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
On the Internet there’s a never-ending, epic battle to catch – and keep – your attention. We don't really think about it much, but attention is ...
Data Confidential
13 Dec 2016
Contributed by Lukas
It’s nearly impossible to know if you're having a truly private, unmonitored conversation today. Big data and online communications open the door fo...
Gold or Pyrite?
29 Nov 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Season 2 of Raw Data! There's been a lot of buzz about big data in the past few years. The success of companies like Google, Facebook, and ...
Upon Reflection: Season 1
24 May 2016
Contributed by Lukas
We’ve reached the end of Season 1 of Raw Data! (Don’t worry, there’s a second season coming soon.) In this episode, producers Mike and Leslie br...
Episode 11: So... What's On Your Mind?
05 Apr 2016
Contributed by Lukas
Language is a window into our minds. So with all the digital text trails we're creating these days, what can we learn about our inner psychology, ment...
Episode 10: Love
21 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
LOVE!! Why is it so hard to find?! The seemingly endless options of online dating should make it easy, right? Is there data that can predict lasting l...
Episode 9: The Digital Afterlife
03 Mar 2016
Contributed by Lukas
What happens to our data when we die? Digital estate planning is becoming an increasingly important topic, though many of our laws have not yet caught...
Episode 8: All the News That's Fit to Feed
11 Feb 2016
Contributed by Lukas
How do you get your news – and how do you think your news gets to you? The pathway of information flow involves layers of decisions that in many way...
Episode 7: The Big Data of Nature
27 Jan 2016
Contributed by Lukas
As we hear over and over again, environmental issues are mounting, and the stakes are huge. So how might big data be used to tackle the issues of sust...
Episode 6: Under the Influence
21 Dec 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Are we addicted to the Internet? Is it even appropriate to use the language of addiction about smartphones and other digital devices? After all, tech ...
Episode 5: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Data
24 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Elections and political messaging are changing in the new media landscape. Campaigns are using big data to target voters with better precision, and te...
Episode 4: New Money
03 Nov 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Cryptocurrencies could revolutionize money and finance. But even more than that, they symbolize how trust is changing as we increasingly rely on techn...
Episode 3: The Hippocratic Algorithm
20 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Big data is revolutionizing health and medicine, from genomics to wearable technologies to precision health. But is our medical care system prepared f...
Episode 2: Work in the Crowd
06 Oct 2015
Contributed by Lukas
What is the future of work? Today, all of our careers are being transformed by big data, from how we find it, to how we collaborate with others, to ho...
Episode 1: Uploaded
16 Sep 2015
Contributed by Lukas
Welcome to Raw Data! In this first episode, hosts Mike Osborne and Leslie Chang explore how normal, everyday digital footprints can reveal surprisingl...