TechTank
Episodes
What to expect from Biden's 2022 tech agenda
10 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
2022 is shaping up to be an eventful year in tech policy. President Biden has laid out an ambitious agenda on infrastructure investment, tech regulati...
Taylor Lorenz on Gen Z, Influencer Culture, and the Future of Social Media
13 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
How have teens, the most tech-savvy population of all, been navigating the internet, rife with the spread of misinformation, algorithmic discriminatio...
How to Build Back Better with Telehealth
29 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID-19 pandemic has facilitated the unprecedented growth of telehealth. What shouldlawmakers keep in mind to create an equitable and inclusive h...
In the U.S.A.’s tech-driven economy, is enough being done to protect consumer choice and privacy?
15 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
There is much public debate about whether big tech giants, airlines, and even cable providers are monopolists that maximize shareholder profit at the ...
What lies ahead for the US-China tech race?
01 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The US’s relationship with China has grown complicated over the years, with increasing tensions on issues ranging from trade and commerce to technol...
What life in space teaches astronauts about solving challenges on planet Earth
18 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On this episode of TechTank, veteran NASA astronaut Nicole Stott joins host Darrell West to discuss space tourism, the future of space exploration, an...
Online behavioral advertising can be discriminatory, so what’s the plan to fix this?
04 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On social media, advertisers can use online tools to target people of color in housing, banking, and employment, resulting in limits to the opportunit...
Why schools still need a remote option to mitigate COVID-19
20 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the new school year begins, COVID cases are on the rise again – this time hitting K-12 students, especially those who are unvaccinated and under ...
Which U.S. Cities Are Poised for AI Growth?
08 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
As the AI economy grows, there is tremendous variation across local and regional economies in howwell-positioned cities are. Some metropolitan areas h...
How will Biden’s broadband infrastructure plan address rural poverty while closing the digital divide?
23 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The bipartisan infrastructure plan championed by President Biden and passed by the U.S. Senate aims to close America’s racial and rural broadband ga...
Why State Unemployment Insurance Programs Failed Workers During The COVID-19 Pandemic
09 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government enacted a relief package designed to help Americans cope with the pandemic and resulting economic down...
Managing Privacy, Equity, and Access in COVID Vaccine Passports
26 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Vaccination rates are on the rise and several countries, including the United States, are relaxing public health restrictions as they steer toward a f...
How Should Universities Deal with Student Cheating?
12 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The COVID pandemic forced many schools and universities to remote education where students logged onto video calls for their classes. At one level, te...
Protecting Your Online Reputation
28 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the wild west known as the internet and social media, digital sliming is quite real. There are internet sites that spread information about people ...
Is Biden’s American Jobs Plan the beginning of a Tech New Deal?
14 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden’s American Jobs Plan promises to generate more than 19 million jobs for U.S. workers, with an emphasis on blue collar occupations, r...
Did citizens' use of technology deliver justice for George Floyd and implicate bad policing?
31 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
On the anniversary of George Floyd's murder by police officer Derek Chauvin, questions remain about the emerging role of technology in the criminal ju...
Facebook Oversight Board Decision Banning Trump
17 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Should a powerful technology company such as Facebook have the power to ban public officials from its platform? On January 7th, the day after a m...
What to Expect from the Biden Administration on Antitrust Regulation and Big Tech
03 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
The nation’s current antitrust laws have historical regulatory and enforcement precedents. Recent hearings targeting Big Tech companies are beginnin...
With new investments in broadband infrastructure, can we finally close the digital divide once and for all?
19 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
President Biden has put forth an agenda to Build Back Better that now includes physical infrastructure and job creation in an effort to stir economic ...
What We Can Learn About Mars From The Perseverance Exploration?
05 Apr 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In February, the latest US rover named Perseverance landed on Mars and began what is expected to be a historic exploration of the Red Planet. Equipped...
To Build Back Better, The U.S. Needs A Digital Service Corps
22 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
This podcast is part of a three-part series on the various parts of the Tech New Deal. This episode explores the necessity of digital service in the U...
How Companies Surveil Workers And Ways Employees Can Protect Themselves
08 Mar 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Today, under the coronavirus quarantines and lockdowns, most of us are working from home. This transition to a virtual world has blurred the lines bet...
Should Free Speech Be Regulated Online?
22 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
In the days leading up to the U.S. Capitol insurrection on January 6, social media platforms were flooded with hate speech and misinformation. Months ...
How To Protect Yourself From Cybersecurity Attacks
08 Feb 2021
Contributed by Lukas
At the end of 2020, reporting revealed the dramatic SolarWinds hack of major American businesses and government agencies. Russia broke into leading in...
How To Protect Your Privacy with Online Dating Apps
11 Jan 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Online dating apps like Tinder collect a large amount of personal information on their users. Tinder’s privacy policy clearly states your data may b...
How Fair Is The Gig Economy?
14 Dec 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Many people participate in jobs associated with the gig economy. This includes those who drive for ride-sharing services, deliver food, or otherwise g...
Will Telehealth Continue Under The Biden Administration?
25 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Within the coronavirus era, doctor’s visits have gone virtual--much like nearly every aspect of everyday life. So telehealth means a patient talks t...
What Will Tech Policy Look Like In The Next Administration?
11 Nov 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With Election 2020 coming to a close, President-Elect Joe Biden is moving to assemble his administration and set his policy priorities. The new leader...
How Can We Cope With Zoom Fatigue?
28 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
The phrase “telecommuting” was first coined in the early 1970s by a NASA employee named Jack Nilles. Nilles claimed telecommuting could offset tra...
Is There a Way to Keep Schools Open Safely?
14 Oct 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Early in March, the COVID-19 pandemic began burning a furious path across the U.S., shuttering schools and sending 50 million students home. Some of t...
Will Disinformation and Voter Suppression Help Trump Win Reelection?
30 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
With the 2020 presidential election about to take place, concerns about foreign interference, disinformation, mail ballot snafus, and voter suppressio...
Should Trump Ban TikTok and WeChat?
17 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
On June 20th, President Donald Trump showed up in Tulsa, Oklahoma for his first campaign rally after a three-month hiatus. Before the rally, the Trump...
Congressman David Cicilline on Why We Need a Glass-Steagall Act for the Internet
02 Sep 2020
Contributed by Lukas
In 1932, Senator Carter Glass and Congressman Henry Steagall joined forces to pass a new banking law that divided investment from commercial banking. ...
How Has COVID-19 Transformed Work, Education, and Healthcare?
20 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
As the pandemic spring has turned into the pandemic summer—and with no sign of abating once fall arrives—Americans are beginning to grapple with h...
How Can We Fight Racial Bias in Technology?
04 Aug 2020
Contributed by Lukas
Algorithms are the tools by which the modern world plans, programs, and conducts itself. But they’re also the tools by which the modern world perpet...