TechStuff

Tech News - Time Flies in VR

27 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Human rights group urge Google to drop a cloud computing project in Saudi Arabia. UK Uber drivers now have a union they can join. And scientists think...

The Warner Story Gets Messy

26 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Continuing our episodes about the evolution of WarnerMedia, we look at a brief history of HBO and Cinemax. We learn about the Worst Merger of All Time...

Tech News – Tech and Global Politics

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today’s episode includes many stories of how tech and politics are clashing. From police in India raiding Twitter offices to China cracking down on ...

The Messy Origins of WarnerMedia

25 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

AT&T plans to spin off WarnerMedia and have it merge with Discovery Communications, but this is just the most recent example of corporate shufflin...

Fuller Monster House

21 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

TechStuff listeners join hosts Jonathan Strickland and Ariel as they discuss sitcoms and movies. Knives Out 2 gets another amazing actor. Dear Evan Ha...

Tech News: Google I/O Highlights

20 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Google held a virtual event for developers and we learned about a lot of software updates, but not much on hardware. Cryptocurrency values went throug...

The Copyright Hammer Meets the Internet

19 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Over the years, large companies have pressured governments (particularly the US government) to create strict laws that crack down on unauthorized copy...

Tech News: Chinese Rovers and Musky Rascals

18 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

China lands a rover on Mars. Elon Musk contributes to another dip in Bitcoin's value. Apple and Amazon Music offer lossless audio options to subscribe...

Copyright and Fair Use

17 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

No copyright infringement intended. Does that matter? Does it even mean anything? We look at the complicated issues of copyright and fair use. Learn ...

TechStuff Classic: The HBO Story-Part One

14 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How did the Home Box Office network get its start? And how did it grow into the giant it is today? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.ih...

Tech News: Ubisoft Moving Toward Free to Play

13 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Game developer Ubisoft is shifting toward more free-to-play titles, which generate revenue on a recurring basis. In this episode, we look at how video...

The Drama of Radio Theater

12 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Radio dramas brought audiences to places they could never go on their own, from collapsing mines beneath Wales to a Martian invasion hitting New York ...

Tech News: Fake Reviews, Fake Products and Fake Currency

11 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hackers shut down Colonial Pipeline in the largest cyberattack on US infrastructure to date. Amazon responds to calls to crack down on counterfeiting....

How 3D Audio Works

10 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In the late 19th century, a French experiment demonstrated the power of stereo sound. A century later, experiments in binaural audio would help create...

TechStuff Classic: Flying Without Fuel

07 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Solar Impulse 2 is scheduled to fly around the Earth in 2015 using only solar power. Say what? How is that even possible? Learn more about your a...

Tech News: Think Before You Tweet

06 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook's oversight board says the company was justified in banning Donald Trump but needs to revisit the issue. Microsoft has never made a profit of...

TechStuff Rerun: Machine Consciousness

05 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Is it really possible for a machine to achieve consciousness? What does consciousness even mean? From philosophy to technological obstacles, we look a...

Tech News: AOL and Yahoo Might Get Sold Again

04 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Verizon is looking to offload AOL and Yahoo (for about half of what the company paid for them). Facebook hates Apple's new iOS rules. Sony hates cross...

Pokemon Go Keeps On Going

03 May 2021

Contributed by Lukas

In a continuation of our story about Niantic, we learn how the company has grown thanks to Pokemon, and how a young wizard's spell totally failed to r...

TechStuff Classic: How Hydrogen Fuel Works: Part Two

30 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How are we using hydrogen today and how might we use it in the future? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee om...

Smart Talks with IBM and Malcolm Gladwell: Reshaping the Future with Women in AI

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Today, women represent approximately 22% of the AI workforce. But IBM is out to change that by increasing diversity not just in hiring but through pro...

The Rise of Niantic

29 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

This is the story of the founding of Niantic, the company behind the hit smartphone game Pokemon Go. From shipwrecks to corporate acquisitions, we lea...

Tech News: Beavers Hate the Internet

27 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Apple has some new challenges. Google and Roku are having a spat. And a beaver in Canada decided to destroy the Internet. Kind of. Learn more about y...

A Concrete Problem

26 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Concrete is one of the most useful materials humans have ever made. But it also represents a big source of greenhouse gas emissions. How do we solve t...

TechStuff Classic: How Hydrogen Fuel Works: Part One

23 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Could hydrogen be the fuel of the future? We look at the most plentiful element in the galaxy and discuss the possibility. Learn more about your ad-c...

Tech News: Spring-Loaded Apples

22 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Apple holds a marketing event and I like what I see. TikTok is in legal hot water in the UK. The FCC is cracking down on robocalls in the US. And it l...

Machine Learning 101

21 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why is it so hard to define concepts like artificial intelligence and machine learning? What do those even mean? And how does it work? We take a very ...

Tech News: Flying Spiders of Mars

20 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Okay, there are no flying spiders of Mars, but there is a flying drone that successfully flew on the Red Planet (and doesn't that deserve a David Bowi...

Can't Quit the QWERTY Keyboard

19 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The modern QWERTY keyboard has had pretty much the same layout for more than a century. Why do we still rely on keyboards (and the computer mouse as w...

TechStuff Classic: How Washing Machines Work

16 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What makes washers tick? How have they evolved over time to become more energy efficient and conserve water? And what's going on in there? Learn more...

Rerun: Is Carbon Dating on the way out?

16 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How does radiocarbon dating work? And why might it be less reliable in the future? Learn about carbon-14 and how it can be used to guess when ancient ...

The Mortal Kombat Konquest

14 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After launching in 1992, Mortal Kombat would spawn a massive franchise. It would also burn out the creators of the franchise and the company that spaw...

Tech News: Nuclear Sabotage and Pizza Robots

13 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Iran reports that a cyber attack shut down the Natanz nuclear reactor. A former Facebook employee says that the company turned a blind eye to state-ba...

The Komplicated Story of Midway Games

12 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The company that created Mortal Kombat has a complicated past that intertwines with lots of other companies. This is part one of the story of Midway. ...

TechStuff Classic: The Secrets of Tor and the Deep Web

09 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is Tor? What's the web under the web? What's really going on? We dish out the details. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpod...

Tech News: Questions For Facebook, No More Answers from Yahoo

08 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What's going on with the Facebook data breach that saw personal data from half a billion accounts compromised? Why are Signal app users upset? And why...

Henry Ford and the Model T

07 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Ford Motor Company and the Model T transformed America and the world. From 1908 to 1927, Ford would produce and sell more than 15 million Model T ...

Tech News: Apple Says AR Will Make You a Better Conversationalist

06 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Why does Apple CEO think augmented reality will make conversations better? Did Amazon terminate two employees illegally because they criticized the co...

The James Webb Space Telescope

05 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After several delays, we expect to launch the James Webb Space Telescope later this year. Where is it going, what is it looking for, and how did it le...

TechStuff Classic: Biometrics: Digital Fingerprinting

02 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How has the Digital Age improved the centuries-old practice of fingerprinting? We explore the history of fingerprint tech and explain how modern scann...

Tech News: All News and No Fooling

01 Apr 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tech journalists hate April Fools. Twitter is banning some accounts claiming to be Amazon employees. Is Google collecting 20 times more data about you...

Living on the Edge (Computing)

31 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What exactly is edge computing? Why is it important? We learn about edge computing, its relationship with cloud computing and the Internet of Things, ...

Smart Talks with IBM and Malcolm Gladwell: How 5G, Edge Computing and AI are Transforming Industries

30 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

As one of the nation’s largest wireless communication providers, over 120 million subscribers count on Verizon to stay connected, but we’re not ju...

Planned Obsolescence and the Right to Repair

29 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Do companies really implement planned obsolescence to get you to buy more stuff? (Spoiler: yes). And do they really resist giving you the option to re...

TechStuff Classic: How Ad Blockers Work

26 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are ads on the Web a necessary annoyance? The creators of ad-blocking software don't think so. We dig into the history of browser extensions like AdBl...

Smart Talks with IBM and Malcolm Gladwell: Using AI to Rethink the Way Work Gets Done

25 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

With hybrid cloud and AI, businesses today can challenge the limits of how they put their data to work across the organization. In this episode of Sma...

What the NFT is this?

24 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Non fungible tokens or NFTs have been in the news recently. What the heck are they and how do they work? Learn more about your ad-choices at https://...

Tech News: Robots Can Be Scary

23 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A New York council member wants to ban police from owning weaponized robots. A San Francisco couple who co-founded a startup face multiple charges of ...

GM Navigates A Treacherous Road

22 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

General Motors and the US automotive industry entered a golden age post World War II. But energy crises and changing markets would prove to be terrain...

Tech News: You're Being Tracked And Here's How

19 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From Google to TikTok to car companies, we look at stories that show how tech is tracking people in real time. How might that data be used for (or aga...

General Motors Gets Up To Speed

17 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

After being kicked out of General Motors in 1910, William Durant co-founded Chevrolet. He came back to GM in 1916, but within four years was kicked ou...

Tech News: In Pennsylvania, Robots are People Too

16 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Tinder is getting background checks, India is banning BitCoin and in Pennsylvania robots can roam the streets legally. All this and a story about shoo...

Rerun: Antikythera Update

15 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

You wouldn't think a 2,000 year old machine would need an update, but it does! This classic episode features Joe McCormick and Jonathan talking about ...

TechStuff Classic: Time for an IRC Chat

12 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is Internet Relay Chat? How does IRC work and what does it do? TechStuff looks at this legacy chat tech. Learn more about your ad-choices at htt...

Tech News: Hack the Planet

11 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The news is all about lots of hacking. Gab got hacked (again). A security camera company got hacked. And everyone is spying on everyone else. Learn mo...

The Crazy Origins of General Motors

10 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

William Durant founded General Motors more than a century ago, but the story of how he did it is a who's who of early automotive history. From Buick t...

Tech News: Tricking AI With Sticky Notes

09 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Hackers exploit vulnerabilities in Microsoft products, those temperature-measuring gadgets might not be all that reliable and an image-recognition AI ...

The Human Ethics of Artificial Intelligence

08 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence can help or hurt us on our quest for a more equitable world. We learn about the history of computer ethics, some of the issues...

TechStuff Classic: The History of Handheld Gaming Part Two

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What's the story behind some of the more recent handheld gaming devices? Which ones failed and which succeeded? Learn more about your ad-choices at h...

Tech News: Reading Unopened Letters Using AI

05 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Netflix has a new comedy feature in its iOS app, Parler withdraws a lawsuit against Amazon (and files another one), and scientists snoop on correspond...

The Sound of Mars

03 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We learn more about the Perseverance Rover and how NASA engineers had to navigate tricky technical and financial challenges to make it all work. Plus,...

Tech News: Gab gets Hacked and YouTube Copies TikTok

02 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

A hacker with a piratical handle hacked into Gab and stole 70 gigabytes of data. Meanwhile, China tests out a digital currency, Minneapolis backs off ...

NASA's Amazing Perseverance

01 Mar 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Perseverance Mars rover is already returning incredible video and audio from the Red Planet. We learn about the mission, how it survived massive c...

TechStuff Classic: The History of Handheld Gaming Part One

26 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How did handheld gaming get started? We look at the origins of the electronic handheld game craze and how it evolved in the early years. Learn more a...

Tech News: Military Coups and Net Neutrality

25 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We've learned more about how the military in Myanmar locked down communications in the wake of a coup. California's net neutrality law survives a lega...

TechStuff By the Numbers (Stations)

24 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Numbers stations are mysterious, creepy and part of the world of espionage. We learn how shortwave radio works, why it's used for numbers stations and...

Tech News: Harder, Better, Faster, Bye Bye

23 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Spotify announced a ton of stuff at a live event, Google is back in the political ad game, and we say goodbye to an iconic music duo. Plus more tech n...

Radicalization by Algorithm

22 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Bridget Todd joins the show to talk about the role social networking platforms play with radicalization and extremism. From a hands-off approach to al...

TechStuff Classic: It's All About The Polymers

19 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What is a polymer banknote? We look at this special type of currency, how it's made and why it's important. Learn more about your ad-choices at https...

Tech News: No News for Australia on Facebook

18 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook puts a ban on linking to news stories in Australia and the consequences could be enormous. Waymo starts testing autonomous vehicles in the Sa...

The Tech of Coffee

17 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

From harvesting to brewing, we look at some of the tech connected to that ol' cup of Joe. Learn about harvesters, hullers, pulpers, roasters and other...

Tech News: The Rise of the Robocall

16 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook is making a smartwatch, Google isn't welcome in French hotels and robocalls have changed how Americans answer (or don't answer) the phone. Pl...

How Medieval Warfare Led to the Lawnmower

15 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We learn who invented the lawnmower, how lawnmowers evolved, and why we even have lawns in the first place. Hint: it has to do with castles in the Mid...

Chased by Pee-wee Herman

12 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

TechStuff listeners check out Jonathan in this three course episode as he and Ariel talk about some wacky news, discuss their thoughts on if the DCUE ...

Tech News: Nature Goes Punk Rock

11 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We've got stories about Facebook, police using copyrighted music to escape being caught on video, and more on supply chain hack attacks. Plus we learn...

The Bankrupt Billionaire

10 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jia Yueting is a complicated entrepreneur. He's been involved in some big projects with some spectacular fallout. From streaming video to a startup ca...

Tech News: Riots and Coups and Facebook, Oh My!

09 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Facebook COO claims the platform wasn't heavily used to plan the assault on the US Capitol on January 6th, but the Department of Justice begs to diffe...

Flops, Failures and Falls from Grace

08 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We've got another roundup of products and companies in the tech world that made some pretty big mistakes. That's not always bad - you can learn a lot ...

TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Listens to Dolby

05 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Who was Ray Dolby? TechStuff takes a look at the life and work of a man whose inventions changed how we experience sound. Learn more about your ad-ch...

Tech News: Lost in the Amazon

04 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Jeff Bezos is stepping down as CEO (but will stick around Amazon). Google releases how much money it made (and lost) in cloud services. Gearbox Softwa...

A Discussion on Discord

03 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Discord started out as a useful tool for gamers, but today lots of people who have never played a video game rely on it to stay in touch. We look at t...

Tech News: Stealing from the Rich

02 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Investment app Robinhood comes under fire for blocking GameStop stock purchases. Facebook's challenges in moderating content are pretty big. And we mi...

The SolarWinds Hack

01 Feb 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Cybersecurity reporter and hacker extraordinaire Shannon Morse joins the show to talk about what happened in the SolarWinds hack. How is it different ...

TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Builds a Nest

29 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

How can a company that makes thermostats be worth $3.2 billion? We look at Nest Labs and how it may fit into Google's future. Learn more about your a...

Tech News: GameStop Stocks and Much Ado About Nothing

28 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

News items include more updates on the stock market drama around GameStop, TikTok lays off employees in India, Virgin Hyperloop puts out a new concept...

Start Ups and Shut Downs

27 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The world of startups is already a risky one, but it gets even worse when the "move fast and break things" philosophy extends to the law. We cover som...

Tech News: Malware and Mind Control

26 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

We have updates on a ransomware attack in the UK, how the Department for Education ended up giving malware-infected laptops to students and a video ga...

It's a (Crypto) Ponzi Scheme!

25 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The Ponzi scheme is an old trick, but it's being used in new ways. Learn how this well worn scam is being tailored for the age of cryptocurrency, and ...

Something's Rotten in Gotham City

22 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Adaptations are rarely 100% accurate to their source material, but where is the line between adaptation and a completely new story with the same old n...

Tech News: LG Hanging Up On the Phone Business?

21 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

LG might stop making smartphones. The SolarWinds hack continues to be really bad. Soon you'll be able to buy makeup inspired by Animal Crossing. And m...

The CES Products That Never Made It

20 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Every year at CES we see a lot of interesting technology. But some of it never seems to make it beyond the show floor. This episode is dedicated to th...

Tech News: Signal Flares and Police Errors

19 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Signal found the pain of success when new users overloaded the service. UK police accidentally delete hundreds of thousands of files. And we look at c...

Excess Babbage

18 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Charles Babbage was a man ahead of his time. He was an engineer, inventor, mathematician, and grouchy pants. We learn more about this historic figure ...

TechStuff Classic: Why Y2K Didn't End the World

15 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Despite all the Y2K hype, the world kept turning on January 1, 2000. Did we have nothing to fear to begin with, or did we narrowly avoid technological...

Tech News: When the Chips are Down

14 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Intel gets a new CEO, the Signal messaging app gets a bunch of new users and CES gets virtually crazy. All this and more in today's news episode. Lea...

The Google Stadia Story

13 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Google launched a video game streaming service called Google Stadia in 2019. Can Google succeed where others failed, or will Stadia become another Goo...

Tech News: Coups and CES

12 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

The assault on Capitol Hill in the US has already had an enormous impact, including in the world of tech. We look at how social platforms and hosting ...

The Death and Rebirth of Earthlink

11 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Earthlink encountered some serious challenges in the 2000s. From the rise of cable and telecom companies in the ISP world to the decline of the dial-u...

TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Bonds With Spy Tech Part Two

08 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

Are invisible cars and exploding pens just the stuff of James Bond fiction? We look at spy gear both real and imaginary in this episode. Learn more a...

Tech News: Trade Wars and Classic Blunders

07 Jan 2021

Contributed by Lukas

What happened to Chinese billionaire Jack Ma? Why did a UK judge deny bail to Julian Assange? And are we ready for CES 2021? All this and more in tech...