The Tech Policy Press Podcast
Episodes
Considering How AI Destroys Democratic Institutions
22 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Across the world, governments and other institutions are racing to apply artificial intelligence in countless ways. In a draft paper forthcoming in th...
Google Employees Push Back on Government Surveillance Contracts
15 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Early this year, following the deaths of Keith Porter, Renee Good, and Alex Pretti at the hands of federal agents and the violent immigration raids on...
How to Regulate Deepfake Financial Fraud
13 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Online fraud has become one of the fastest-growing criminal enterprises on the planet. Deepfake fraud cases are surging, and Deloitte analysts project...
Cindy Cohn on How to Sustain the Fight Against Authoritarianism
08 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest has spent thirty years on the front lines of one of the defining battles at the intersection of technology and democracy: privacy and th...
In Age of Disruption, a Defense of Incrementalism
01 Mar 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In their new book, Move Slow and Upgrade: The Power of Incremental Innovation, Evan Selinger, a professor in the Department of Philosophy at Rochester...
How to Think About the Anthropic-Pentagon Dispute
28 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The Pentagon wants AI that can fight wars — without limits. One of the United States’ leading AI companies says there are lines it won't cross. An...
How to Get Paid to Polarize on TikTok
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Concerns about synthetic media and coordinated manipulation of online platforms have moved from theoretical worry to documented reality. Researchers, ...
How to Become an Algorithmic Problem
22 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
As AI technologies proliferate, a growing number of people are asking what it means to live in a world dominated by algorithms and automated systems—...
The Digital Services Act is a Lightning Rod for Debate
15 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
This week marks the second DSA and Platform Regulation conference in Amsterdam, where experts will convene to consider the Digital Services Act (DSA) ...
What Carrie Goldberg Has Learned from Suing Big Tech
08 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A wave of lawsuits in the Unites States is targeting tech firms for their product design decisions. Lawyer Carrie Goldberg has played a role in establ...
AI, Surveillance and the Siege of Minneapolis
05 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
"Operation Metro Surge" — the massive immigration enforcement operation playing out right now in Minnesota — was billed as a targeted effort to ap...
How to Apply the 'Tyrant Test' to Technology
01 Feb 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In his forthcoming book, Your Data Will Be Used Against You, George Washington University Law School professor Andrew Guthrie Ferguson explores how th...
Documenting Terror on the Streets of Minneapolis
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
The killing of 37-year old nurse Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis was filmed from multiple angles by residents of the city, and local gove...
Unpacking the Rise of 'Smart Authoritarianism' in China
25 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
Today's guest is Jennifer Lind, an associate professor of government at Dartmouth, a fellow at Chatham House London, and the author of the new book...
How Trump's AI Policy Promotes Ethnonationalism
18 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In a forthcoming paper, George Washington University Law School scholar Spencer Overton argues that the Trump administration's AI policy is consistent...
New Book Challenges Assumptions on Digital Governance in China
18 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
A new book titled Governing Digital China offers crucial insights into China's governance ecosystem. Written by Daniela Stockmann, a professor at the ...
What to Expect from US States on Child Online Safety in 2026
11 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
2026 is poised to be another landmark year for the child online safety debate in the United States.In recent years, states have passed dozens of bills...
The Policy Implications of Grok's 'Mass Digital Undressing Spree'
04 Jan 2026
Contributed by Lukas
In what Reuters called a "mass digital undressing spree," Elon Musk is provoking outrage after his Grok chatbot responded to user prompts to remove th...
Through to Thriving: Insights from the Field
21 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli joined Justin Hendrix to discuss insights from her special 2025 series of podcasts, Through to Thrivin...
A Critical Look at Trump's AI Executive Order
14 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump invited reporters into the Oval Office to watch him sign an executive order intended to limit state regulati...
Unpacking the Politics of the EU's €120M Fine of Musk’s X
07 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Friday, the European Commission fined Elon Musk’s X €120 million for breaching the Digital Services Act, delivering the first-ever non-com...
Exploring Belief and Belonging in a Fractured Online Age
04 Dec 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this podcast, for years we’ve discussed issues such as conspiracy theories, mis- and disinformation, polarization, and the ways in which the desi...
Considering Trust and Safety's Past, Present, and Future
30 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The past few years have seen a great deal of introspection about a professional field which has come to be known as 'trust and safety,' comprised of t...
What Is Europe Trying to Achieve With Its Omnibus and Sovereignty Push?
23 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, the European Commission unveiled a sweeping plan to overhaul how the EU enforces its digital and privacy rules as part of a ‘Di...
Through to Thriving: Protecting Our Privacy with Chris Gilliard
15 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest episode in her special podcast series, Through to Thriving, Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli talks about protecting priva...
The Past, Present, and Future of the US Information Integrity Field
15 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
To discuss the past, present and future of information integrity work, Tech Policy Press contributing editor Dean Jackson spoke to American University...
What Are the Implications if the AI Boom Turns to Bust?
12 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode considers whether today’s massive AI investment boom reflects real economic fundamentals or an unsustainable bubble, and how a potentia...
Why Independent Researchers Need Better Access to Platform Data
09 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This episode was recorded in Barcelona at this year’s Mozilla Festival. One session at the festival focused on how to get better access to data for ...
Through to Thriving: Connecting Art and Policy with Mimi Ọnụọha
02 Nov 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For her special series of podcasts, Through to Thriving, Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli spoke to artist Mimi Ọnụọha, whose work...
Ryan Calo Wants to Change the Relationship Between Law and Technology
26 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Ryan Calo is a professor at the University of Washington School of Law with a joint appointment at the Information School and an adjunct appointment a...
Evaluating Instagram's Promises to Protect Teens
19 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Instagram has spent years making promises about how it intends to protect minors on its platform. To explore its past shortcomings—and the questions...
The Open Internet is Dead. What Comes Next?
12 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Mallory Knodel, executive director of the Social Web Foundation and founder of a weekly newsletter called the Internet Exchange, and Burcu Kilic, a...
What We Can Learn from the First Digital Services Act Out-of-Court Dispute Settlements?
08 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
It’s been three years since Europe’s Digital Services Act (DSA) came into effect, a sweeping set of rules meant to hold online platforms acco...
Governing Babel: John Wihbey on Platforms, Power, and the Future of Free Expression
05 Oct 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Drawn from the biblical story in the book of Genesis, “Babel” has come to stand for the challenge of communication across linguistic, cultural, an...
Following DOGE, US States Pursue 'Efficiency' Initiatives
28 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Across the United States, dozens of state governments have attempted to establish their own efficiency initiatives, some molded in the image of the fe...
California Becomes Frontline in Battle Over AI Companions
26 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
With two new bills headed to the desk of Governor Governor Gavin Newsom (D), California could soon pass the most significant guardrails for AI compani...
Setting a 'Tech Agenda' for Climate Week
21 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From September 21–28, New York City will host Climate Week. Leaders from business, politics, academia, and civil society will gather to share ide...
Assessing Tech Platform Responses Following the Assassination of Charlie Kirk
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist and co-founder of Turning Point USA, died Wednesday after he was shot at an event at Utah Valley Unive...
Across the US, Activists Are Organizing to Oppose Data Centers
14 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Demand for computing power is fueling a massive surge in investment in data centers worldwide. McKinsey estimates spending will hit $6.7 trillion by 2...
Through to Thriving: Centering Young People with Vaishnavi J
07 Sep 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For the latest episode in her series of podcast discussions, Through to Thriving, Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli spoke to Vaishnavi J...
Seeing Like a Platform
31 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Petter Törnberg, who with Justus Uitermark is one of the authors of a new book, titled Seeing Like a Platform: An Inquiry into the...
Inside the Lobbying Blitz Over Colorado's AI Law
29 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Colorado signed a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence measure into law. The Colorado AI Act would require developers of high-risk AI ...
New Insights on Tech and the Crisis of Democracy
24 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this podcast, we’ve come back again and again to questions around mis- and disinformation, propaganda, rumors, and the role that digital platform...
Through to Thriving: Pursuing The Truth with Dr. Jasmine McNealy and Naomi Nix
17 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the latest installment in her series of podcasts called Through to Thriving, Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navoroli speaks with Dr. Jasmin...
Technology and Democracy in the New India
17 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest, journalist Rahul Bhatia, has written a book that is part journalistic account, part history, and part memoir titled The New India: Th...
A Conversation with Jeff Horwitz on Meta's Flawed Rules for AI Chatbots
14 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Thursday, Reuters tech reporter Jeff Horwitz, who broke the story of the Facebook Papers back in 2021 when he was at the Wall Street Journal, ...
Daniel Solove on Privacy, Technology, and the Rule of Law
10 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Daniel J. Solove is the Eugene L. and Barbara A. Bernard Professor of Intellectual Property and Technology Law at the George Washington University Law...
Through to Thriving: Advocating for Change with Nora Benavidez
03 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Through To Thriving is a a special series of podcast episodes hosted by Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli. With her guests, Anika is ima...
Unpacking China's Global AI Governance Plan
02 Aug 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Saturday, July 26, three days after the Trump administration published its AI action plan, China’s foreign ministry released that count...
Considering Trump’s AI Plan and the Future It Portends
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Yesterday, United States President Donald Trump took to the stage at the "Winning the AI Race Summit" to promote the administration's AI Action Plan. ...
Centering Disability Rights in US Tech Policy 35 Years After ADA
24 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This weekend, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) turns 35. Signed into law on July 26, 1990, the law provides broad anti-discrimination protect...
Through to Thriving: Finding Balance and Resilience in the Trust & Safety Field
20 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli is the host of Through to Thriving, a special podcast series where she talks with technology poli...
How the EU's Voluntary AI Code is Testing Industry and Regulators Alike
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, following months of negotiation and just weeks before the first legal deadlines under the EU AI Act take effect, the European Commission pu...
How US States Are Shaping AI Policy Amid Federal Debate and Industry Pushback
13 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the United States, state legislatures are key players in shaping artificial intelligence policy, as lawmakers attempt to navigate a thicket of poli...
Protecting Privacy and Dissent in an Age of Authoritarianism and AI
06 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Helen Nissenbaum, a philosopher, is a professor at Cornell Tech and in the Information Science Department at Cornell University. She is director of th...
Considering the Human Rights Impacts of LLM Content Moderation
06 Jul 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At Tech Policy Press we’ve been tracking the emerging application of generative AI systems in content moderation. Recently, the European Center for ...
Interrogating Tech Power and Democratic Crisis
29 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If you’ve been reading Tech Policy Press closely over the last three weeks, you may have come across one or more posts from collaboration with Data ...
Through to Thriving: Honoring Our Elders with Dr. Timnit Gebru
22 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For a special series of episodes dubbed Through to Thriving that will air throughout the year, Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli is host...
AI Companions and the Law
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Concerns about AI chatbots delivering harmful, even profoundly dangerous advice or instructions to users is growing. There is deep concern over the ef...
Addressing Questions Over Europe's AI Act, Digital Sovereignty, and More
15 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In Europe, the digital regulatory landscape is in flux. Over the past few years, the EU has positioned itself as a global leader in tech regulation, r...
Technology, Labor Rights, and Political Power in Kenya and Across Africa
08 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In this episode, Justin Hendrix speaks with Nerima Wako-Ojiwa, director of Siasa Place, and Odanga Madung, a tech and society researcher and journalis...
Through to Thriving: Journeying to Joy with Dr. Desmond Upton Patton
08 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For a special series of episodes dubbed Through to Thriving that will air throughout the year, Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli is host...
Canada's Post-Election Outlook on Tech Policy
06 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Canadian political leaders are in a precarious moment. Fresh off the resignation of former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and ascendancy of his success...
Taking on the AI Con
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna are the authors of a new book that The Guardian calls “refreshingly sarcastic” and Business Insider calls a “funn...
Assessing the Relationship Between Information Ecosystems and Democracy's Woes
01 Jun 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Earlier this year, an entity called the Observatory on Information and Democracy released a major report called INFORMATION ECOSYSTEMS AND TROUBLED DE...
An Interview with California's New State Chief Technology Innovation Officer
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In February, California Governor Gavin Newsom appointed Vera Zakem as California’s State Chief Technology Innovation Officer at the California&...
Considering a New 'Civil Rights Approach to AI'
29 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On May 29, the Center for Civil Rights and Technology at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights released its Innovation Framewo...
A 10-Year Moratorium on Enforcing State AI Laws?
25 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Thursday, May 22, the United States House of Representatives narrowly advanced a budget bill that included the "Artificial Intelligence and Informa...
Decolonizing the Future: Karen Hao on Resisting the Empire of AI
23 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In his New York Times review of the book, Columbia Law School professor and former White House official Tim Wu calls journalist Karen Hao’s new book...
What the History of Internet Governance Tells Us About the Future of Tech Policy
18 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Today’s guest is Milton L. Mueller, a professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology in the School of Public Policy and the head of an advocacy...
Between Borders and Lies: Fact-Checkers on Navigating the India-Pakistan Conflict
13 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
In the wake of the most intense India-Pakistan escalation in two decades, experts are still trying to make sense of the role that the information war ...
Taking Stock of the Google Search Remedies Trial
11 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, a United States federal judge ruled that Google is a monopolist in the market for online search. For the past three weeks, the company a...
xAI's Memphis Neighbors Push for Facts and Fairness
06 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last year, Elon Musk's xAI set up its "Colossus" supercomputer in an old Electrolux manufacturing facility in Memphis, Tennessee. Now, the residents o...
How Venture Capital Warps the World
04 May 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Catherine Bracy is a civic technologist and community organizer whose work focuses on the intersection of technology and political and economic i...
Adam Becker Takes Aim at Silicon Valley Nonsense
27 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From visions of AI paradise to the project to defeat death, many dangerous and unscientific ideas are driving Silicon Valley leaders. Justin Hendrix s...
Through to Thriving: Building Community with Ellen Pao
20 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
For a special series of episodes that will air throughout the year, Tech Policy Press fellow Anika Collier Navaroli is hosting a series of discussions...
Researchers Defend the Scientific Consensus on Bias and Discrimination in AI
16 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last month, a group of researchers published a letter “Affirming the Scientific Consensus on Bias and Discrimination in AI.” The letter, published...
A Guide to the FTC's Case Against Meta
13 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Monday, April 14, the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will kick off its trial against Meta. In process for years, the case is over whether Mark Z...
What We Don't Know About DSA Enforcement
08 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On April 4, The New York Times reported that the European Commission is considering finding X, formerly Twitter, as part of its ongoing DSA investigat...
DOGE and the United States of AI
06 Apr 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Across the United States and in some cities abroad yesterday, protestors took to the streets to resist the policies of US President Donald Trump. Dubb...
Part 2: Technology, Democracy, and Power—Journalism’s Role in a Time of Crisis
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Tuesday, March 25th, Tech Policy Press hosted a webinar discussion to talk shop with others on the tech and democracy beat. We gathered seven colle...
Part 1: Technology, Democracy, and Power—Journalism’s Role in a Time of Crisis
30 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On Tuesday, March 25th, Tech Policy Press hosted a webinar discussion to talk shop with others on the tech and democracy beat. We gathered seven co...
About that Signal Chat
27 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Every now and again, a story that has a significant technology element really breaks through and drives the news cycle. This week, the Trump admini...
A Conversation with Alvaro Bedoya on Trump's FTC Firings
25 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, President Donald Trump ordered the firing of two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, an independent agency that enforces fe...
Is an Anti-Fascist Approach to Artificial Intelligence Possible?
23 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
What is necessary to develop a future that is less hospitable to authoritarianism and, indeed, to fascism? How do we build collective power against au...
A Conversation with Dr. Alondra Nelson on AI and Democracy
16 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Dr. Alondra Nelson holds the Harold F. Linder Chair and leads the Science, Technology, and Social Values Lab at the Institute for Advanced S...
Should AGI Really Be the Goal of Artificial Intelligence Research?
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
The goal of achieving "artificial general intelligence," or AGI, is shared by many in the AI field. OpenAI’s charter defines AGI as "highly autonomo...
Assessing Europe's Digital Markets Act One Year In
09 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
A year ago, Europe’s Digital Markets Act—the DMA—went into effect. The European Commission says the purpose of the regulation is to make “digi...
Promising Opportunities, Distinct Risks: AI and Digital Public Squares
06 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Could AI help design better, more democratic platforms and online environments for public discourse? What are the opportunities, challenges, and risks...
Building Middleware for Bluesky: A Conversation with Blacksky Founder Rudy Fraser
03 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On this podcast, we regularly engage with questions about redesigning social media networks to make them more democratic, pluralist, and prosocial. On...
Inocencia en Juego: An Investigation into Groups Targeting Children on Facebook
02 Mar 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Last week, Tech Policy Press joined the Latin American Center for Investigative Journalism (EL CLIP) in publishing a report and series of ar...
Watching the Watchers: The Future of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board
28 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
On January 22, President Donald Trump terminated all three Democratic members of the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board (PCLOB), an intellige...
Evaluating the First Systemic Risk and Audit Reports Under the Digital Services Act
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Tech Policy Press Associate Editor Ramsha Jahangir hosts a roundtable discussion on the first systemic risk assessments and independent audit reports ...
Digital Rights Activists in Taiwan Driven by Memory and Threat of Authoritarianism
23 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
This week, RightsCon, which bills itself as "the world’s leading summit on human rights in the digital age," descends on Taipei. To better unde...
Paths Diverge at the Paris AI Summit
16 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
At the Paris AI Action Summit on February 10-11, remarks by EU and US leaders indicated significant divergence on how to think about AI. But on balanc...
A National Heist? Evaluating Elon Musk’s March Through Washington
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
As Donald Trump’s second presidency enters its third week, Elon Musk is center stage as the Department of Government Efficiency moves to gut federal...
Online Lives, Space and Place: Exploring the Mobile City
09 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Over the last two decades, as Berlin reinvented itself as a "creative city," social media both mirrored and shaped shifting social landscapes—offeri...
The Dangerous Combination of Technology and Capitalism
02 Feb 2025
Contributed by Lukas
Justin Hendrix speaks with Jathan Sadowski, a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Information Technology at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia...
DeepSeek Prompts a Rethink
28 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
If Chinese AI startup DeepSeek’s efficiency and performance achievements stand up to scrutiny, it could have big implications for the AI race. It co...
Evaluating Trump's First Moves on Tech
26 Jan 2025
Contributed by Lukas
From Executive Orders on AI and cryptocurrency to "ending federal censorship," President Donald Trump had a busy first week in the White House. Justin...