Marketplace Tech
By Marketplace
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Description
Monday through Friday, Marketplace demystifies the digital economy in less than 10 minutes. We look past the hype and ask tough questions about an industry that’s constantly changing.
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CleanHow science could disrupt the gin industry | When you think about gin, what tastes comes to mind? Pine? Maybe citrus or coriander? It can vary quite a bit because unlike some spirits, gin is very lightly regulated. Distillers can throw in all kinds of flavors and call the result “gin” as long it has some minimum requirements. In the U.S., gin is gin as long as the flavor is derived from juniper berries and alcohol by volume is at least 40%. In the European Union, the minimum ABV is 37.5%. But researchers in Edinburgh, Scotland, recently identified the exact elements that define gin using nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscropy. Think of it as something like an MRI scan that lets scientists create a flavor “fingerprint.” The new technique could have big implications for this very old industry. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Eve Thomas, who wrote about it for Wired, to learn more. | 4/18/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanScientists try to prevent “forever chemicals” from being a forever problem | When the chemical company DuPont unveiled Teflon in 1946, nonstick pots and pans seemed like a miracle. We now know their coatings contain “forever chemicals,” or PFAS, which don’t break down. These compounds are not only in cookware but in clothing, cosmetics and more — and they contaminate the water millions of us drink. Research shows there’s no safe level of exposure. As the EPA rolls out new limits on PFAS in drinking water, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali asked Tasha Stoiber, senior scientist at the Environmental Working Group, about the tech used to filter it. | 4/17/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow Arizona is preparing for AI-powered election misinformation | President Joe Biden won Arizona in 2020 by a razor-thin margin, flipping the state blue for the first time in more than 20 years. As a result, Arizona became a hotbed of election misinformation and conspiracy theories, as false claims of a stolen election led to protests outside voting centers, a GOP-backed ballot audit and threats against election workers. Now, with just over 200 days until the 2024 election, experts warn that artificial intelligence could supercharge misinformation and disinformation in this year’s race. So how are election officials in a state that has already been in the trenches preparing for another battle over facts? In this episode of “Marketplace Tech’s” limited series, “Decoding Democracy,” Lily Jamali and Kimberly Adams look back at what happened in Arizona during the last presidential election and how the state became entangled in conspiracy theories. Plus, we hear from Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes about how his office plans to combat AI-charged misinformation this year. | 4/16/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe 65-year-old computer system at the heart of American business | The programming language known as COBOL turns 65 this year. We couldn’t help noticing that’s right around retirement age, but COBOL is nowhere near retirement. It remains a mainstay of IT operations at U.S. government agencies, businesses and financial institutions. Yet the programming language, which is older than the Beatles, is no longer taught at most universities. Glenn Fleishman is a freelance tech journalist who has written about this aging slab of digital infrastructure. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali asked him whether our continuing reliance on COBOL is a problem. | 4/15/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTesla settles Autopilot suit, inflation spooks tech investors and Biden’s CHIPS Act pledges $6.6B for domestic chipmaking | The Labor Department this week confirmed what a lot of Americans have been feeling: Inflation is kind of sticking around, and higher interest rates are likely to as well. We’ll look at what that means for venture capital, which was already slow to flow. Plus, the Joe Biden administration announced a $6.6 billion deal with Taiwan-based semiconductor maker TSMC to build a third production hub in Arizona. We take a look at the ongoing rollout of the CHIPS and Science Act, which makes it all possible. But first, Tesla has settled a lawsuit in the death of a software engineer who was killed driving a Tesla while using the company’s semiautonomous driving software, Autopilot. The suit put scrutiny on Elon Musk’s claims about the software. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Jewel Burks Solomon, managing director at Collab Capital, for her take on these stories. | 4/12/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe race to resurrect the dodo | More than 99% of all species that have lived on Earth are now extinct — something humans have certainly had a hand in. There’s now an entire scientific discipline devoted to bringing some of these species back. If you’re picturing those cloning scenes from “Jurassic Park” right now, we get it. But “de-extinction” is not quite that. Beth Shapiro is the chief science officer at Colossal Biosciences, a bioengineering startup working on de-extinction. She explained to Marketplace’s Lily Jamali how the process works. | 4/11/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe rise of AI fashion models | AI models are increasingly being used by the fashion industry, as they save time and money. Some models and agencies are fans, but others want to see more protection for the image rights of models. What does it all mean for the fashion industry? The BBC’s Sam Gruet reports. | 4/10/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe hidden meanings of the AI industry’s favorite words | We hear words like “safety” and “transparency” thrown around in the artificial intelligence industry, but they don’t always mean the same things to a tech insider that they do to the rest of us. Luckily, tech journalist Karen Hao wrote a helpful glossary of 50 AI ethics terms to help us make sense of what tech leaders really mean by the words they use. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with her about some of the double meanings on her list. | 4/9/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanFacial recognition part of Israel’s arsenal in Gaza war | It’s been six months of war in the Gaza Strip since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7. The destruction and death have been profound, and nearly every aspect of life in the roughly 140-square-mile territory has been upended. The New York Times recently reported that the Israeli military is using facial recognition artificial intelligence to monitor Palestinians in Gaza. The government hasn’t publicly acknowledged it, but reporter Sheera Frenkel spoke to Israeli intelligence officers, military officials and soldiers who confirmed that the technology was being used for mass surveillance. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Frenkel about facial recognition’s role in the conflict, starting with the story of a Palestinian poet, Mosab Abu Toha, who reportedly was arrested and beaten by Israeli forces. | 4/8/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe FCC tackles net neutrality, Google commits to voiding billions of data records and Jon Stewart spills about working with Apple | Google has agreed to destroy billions of browser data records to settle a class action suit alleging that the tech giant misled users about how Chrome tracked them in “Incognito mode.” Plus, “Daily Show” host Jon Stewart reveals that Apple discouraged him from interviewing Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan on his Apple TV+ podcast, “The Problem with Jon Stewart.” It’s a window into the “creative differences” that led to the abrupt end of the show last fall and the pressure creators face as Big Tech companies move deeper into “content.” But first, a federal internet subsidy for low-income households is about to expire. We’ll look at efforts to keep that program funded as the Federal Communications Commission moves to vote on restoring net neutrality rules. That policy, enacted during the Barack Obama administration and rescinded under former President Donald Trump, blocked internet service providers from favoring certain websites over others. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali and Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, discuss these stories for Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review. | 4/5/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhy are fake obituaries cluttering Google — and upsetting loved ones? | Fake obituaries have become an online trend. They exploit tragedy for profit and have raised concerns about the reliability of search engines. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali discussed the problem with reporter Mia Sato of The Verge. Her investigation uncovered a network of websites generating this content using search engine optimization, or SEO, tactics. Sato also covered the story of Brian Vastag, a journalist who experienced this abuse when he read his own fake obituary along with that of his ex-wife, who did actually pass away. | 4/4/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhy there’s no TikTok in China | The Chinese company ByteDance owns two versions of basically the same app. In the U.S. we have TikTok, used by an estimated 170 million people, while in China they have Douyin, home to more than 700 million active users. Despite having the same parent company, TikTok and Douyin function as separate worlds. Now, as TikTok simmers in political hot water, the differences between the two apps are under a microscope. To get to the bottom of what sets these sister apps apart, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Marketplace’s China correspondent, Jennifer Pak, about why ByteDance has this system in the first place. | 4/3/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCan deepfakes be used for the greater good? | It was an early attempt to use artificial intelligence in the 2024 presidential election: Ahead of January’s New Hampshire primary, a deepfake audio recording of President Joe Biden made it to some voters in the form of a robocall, encouraging them to save their vote. A political consultant named Steve Kramer said he orchestrated that call to show the dangers of deepfakes. Nevertheless, it caused real confusion. And there are a lot of deepfakes out there, including videos, that contend they are educational or parodies. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali and Kimberly Adams discuss video deepfakes and whether the intent behind them outweighs their overall impact. | 4/2/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWho benefits from a national AI program? | Right now, the federal government is piloting its response to Silicon Valley’s AI boom. It’s called the National Artificial Intelligence Research Resource, and it’s supposed to “democratize” access to AI by making gigantic and expensive AI models available to academic researchers. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Sarah Myers West, co-executive director of the AI Now Institute, who is skeptical of the initiative’s goals. As Myers West explains, the issue with the NAIRR is the government can’t launch an AI program of its own without partnerships that are potentially lucrative for Big Tech. | 4/1/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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ExplicitFlorida bars kids from social media, EV charging tips to make your money go farther and AI ambitions at Apple’s developer fest | In this week’s episode of Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review, Lily Jamali chats with Joanna Stern, The Wall Street Journal’s senior personal tech columnist, who takes us on a road trip through New Jersey’s network of Tesla superchargers. Stern recently explored how drivers of non-Tesla electric vehicles can now use these stations via an adapter. It’s part of her larger look into the best ways to save money supercharging your EV. Also this week, we’ll get Stern’s take on what to expect at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference, which will kick off June 10 in Cupertino, California. But first, a look at a new law in Florida, the latest legislative attempt to address the potential harms social media can inflict on children. It prohibits kids 13 and under from creating accounts on popular platforms. | 3/29/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanGovernment pressures tech behind the scenes, says former Facebook employee. It’s called jawboning. | It’s something government officials on both sides of the aisle are known to do: pressuring tech platforms to bend to their will, aka jawboning. But the line between persuasion and coercion, or even censorship, can get murky. Last week, the Supreme Court heard arguments from two states alleging that the Joe Biden administration illegally coerced social media companies into blocking conservative content. Matt Perault, now with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s Center on Technology Policy, says that in his former job working in policy at Facebook, jawboning happened all the time. | 3/28/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat a privacy organization and Big Tech’s lead lobbying group think about internet regulation | When you look at the lawsuits aimed at blocking attempts to regulate tech, it’s usually not companies like Meta or Snap doing the suing. Oftentimes, it’s a group called NetChoice, which has emerged as Big Tech’s top lobbying force from Capitol Hill to the courts. Today, a conversation with NetChoice General Counsel Carl Szabo and Megan Iorio, senior counsel at the Electronic Privacy Information Center, a nonprofit focused on privacy. They occasionally agree, but very often they do not. Case in point: the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which requires websites that children are likely to visit to provide privacy protections by default. It was set to take effect in July, but so far, Szabo’s group has successfully blocked it in court. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali sat down with Szabo and Iorio and asked about how their groups interact. | 3/27/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAfrica’s gaming market is expected to top $1 billion in 2024 | The number of gamers in Africa has doubled in recent years, but many gaming platforms require users to pay for subscriptions or make in-game purchases. That’s a problem for users who don’t have credit cards, but as the BBC’s Mo Allie reports, some fintech companies think they have a solution. | 3/26/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhy crypto has made a comeback in the Philippines | Crypto is once again big in the Philippines. It first took off during COVID-19 lockdowns in 2021 with a now-defunct video game called Axie Infinity, where players earned money — often more than minimum wage — through non-fungible tokens, or NFTs. Of course, the crypto winter soon followed with the implosion of FTX in 2022, but now crypto is back in a big way on the island nation. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with reporter Eli Tan, who recently visited and wrote about the scene for The New York Times. | 3/25/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanLawsuits, fines and the tech at the heart of it all | When a company pushes false claims about using artificial intelligence in its business, that’s known informally as “AI washing.” It can feel like everybody’s doing it, but the Securities and Exchange Commission is cracking down on the practice. Plus, is the government’s communication with social media companies persuasion or coercion? The Supreme Court heard arguments this week in yet another case involving online speech. But first, the Department of Justice on Thursday announced that it’s bringing antitrust charges against Apple. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Reuters Breakingviews columnist Anita Ramaswamy about all of these stories for this week’s episode of Marketplace Tech’s Bytes: Week in Review. | 3/22/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat it means for nations to have “AI sovereignty” | Imagine that you could walk into one of the world’s great libraries and leave with whatever you wanted — any book, map, photo or historical document — forever. No questions asked. There is an argument that something like that is happening to the digital data of nations. In a lot of places, anyone can come along and scrape the internet for the valuable data that’s the backbone of artificial intelligence. But what if raw data generated in a particular country could be used to benefit not outside interests, but that country and its people? Some nations have started building their own AI infrastructure to that end in a bid to secure their “AI sovereignty.” According to venture capitalist Vinod Khosla, the potential implications and opportunities are huge. | 3/21/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAI manipulation and the liar’s dividend | Marketplace’s Lily Jamali and Kimberly Adams discuss how deepfake images are leading people to second guess everything in the latest episode of our “Decoding Democracy” series. | 3/20/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat Redditors think about the Reddit IPO | More than two years after Reddit first announced plans to go public, a share offering is expected to hit the stock market this week. The social network boasts 260 million active weekly users and more than 100,000 active communities, according to its S-1 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Yet in its nearly two-decade history, Reddit has never turned a profit. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Elizabeth Lopatto, senior writer at The Verge, who says not everyone is on board with the company selling stock. | 3/19/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMakers of electric roasters pitch carbon cutting in coffee making | Roasting coffee beans was a market worth over $1 billion globally in 2022, according to Grand View Research, which projects that figure could double by 2030. Traditional roasters, powered by the fossil fuel natural gas, still dominate the market. These machines are big and bulky and kind of look like part of a train. But the makers of more compact electric roasters are piling into the business. And they have an edge, touting themselves as high-tech alternatives that are more environmentally friendly and cheaper to run than their old-school counterparts. The BBC’s Frey Lindsay has more on the story. | 3/18/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTikTok faces the hammer, Sam Altman returns to OpenAI’s board, and Waymo’s driverless taxis come to Los Angeles | We’re at the end of the week, which means we’re serving up another episode of Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review. Autonomous vehicle company Waymo has launched its driverless taxi service in Los Angeles. OpenAI has given CEO Sam Altman his board seat back. And a U.S. bill passed by the House of Representatives would force TikTok’s Chinese parent, ByteDance, to sell its stake in the U.S. version of the popular social media platform or be banned from app stores. Paresh Dave, senior writer at Wired, joined Marketplace’s Lily Jamali to discuss why policymakers have been pushing for action on TikTok for years. | 3/15/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat a TikTok ban would mean for free speech and data privacy | On Wednesday, members of the House of Representatives proved they can agree on something. In a bipartisan vote, lawmakers passed a bill that would force TikTok to split from its Chinese owner, ByteDance, or face a nationwide ban — the first for a social media app in the U.S. President Biden has signaled he’d sign the bill into law if it passes the Senate. Advocates argue that the Chinese government could use the hugely popular app to collect Americans’ personal data and threaten U.S. security. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Jameel Jaffer, executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, about the congressional action. He pointed out that a little something called the First Amendment could complicate the crackdown. | 3/14/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe Biden administration hasn’t had a CTO. Why? | When President Barack Obama took office way back in 2009, he created a new role that promised to bring some tech know-how to his administration. Chief Technology Officer, or CTO, was, of course, a title borrowed from corporate America. Early on, the job focused on things like bringing broadband access to rural parts of the country and modernizing the way the federal government keeps records. President Donald Trump also had a CTO. Well, we are now deep into President Joe Biden’s current term in office and the president has yet to appoint a CTO for the United States. For more on why, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Cristiano Lima-Strong, tech policy reporter at The Washington Post, who’s been tracking developments on the position. | 3/13/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanStates and schools are learning how to manage AI in education | It’s been about a year and a half since ChatGPT hit the scene and changed the world of education, leaving teachers scrambling to adjust lesson plans and grading policies. Currently, only a handful of states are providing guidance on how AI should be used in the classroom. Just five have official policies, with about a dozen more in the works. Bree Dusseault at the Center on Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University has been following all this. | 3/12/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAI can’t handle the truth when it comes to the law | Almost one in five lawyers are using AI, according to an American Bar Association survey. But there are a growing number of legal horror stories involving tools like ChatGPT, because chatbots have a tendency to make stuff up — such as legal precedents from cases that never happened. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Daniel Ho at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence about the group’s recent study on how frequently three of the most popular language models from ChatGPT, Meta and Google hallucinate when asked to weigh in or assist with legal cases. | 3/11/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanEU fines Apple over competition, Change Healthcare cyberattack drags on, and Max will join the crackdown on password sharing | Late last month, Change Healthcare, a unit of UnitedHealth, came under attack by an infamous hacker group called BlackCat. $22 million in ransom later, reportedly paid in bitcoin, and the problem is far from solved. Also this week: Max, previously HBO Max, announces a crackdown on password sharing — maybe it’s time to dust off the old DVD player. But first, Apple on Monday got hit with a massive fine from regulators in Europe. They say the company used its app store dominance to box out music streaming services competing with its own. What’s $2 billion to the tech titan of Cupertino? Marketplace’s Lily Jamali asked Chrissy Farr, a health tech investor at OMERS Ventures, for today’s episode of Marketplace Tech Bytes. | 3/8/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe San Francisco Fed chief says Silicon Valley is thriving, but “in transitional waters” | More than 260,000 people working in the tech industry were laid off last year, and some CEOs have put at least some of the blame on high interest rates. Policymakers at the Federal Reserve hiked rates at the fastest pace in modern history to beat back inflation. And when rates rise, borrowing money gets more expensive. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali sat down with Mary Daly, president and CEO of the San Francisco Federal Reserve Bank, to discuss how the tech industry is navigating through this higher interest rate world and ask about her agency’s role in the Silicon Valley Bank collapse, one year later. | 3/7/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanOne year after “all hell broke loose” at Silicon Valley Bank | This week marks the first anniversary of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, the largest bank failure in the United States since the 2008 financial crisis. Today, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali revisits the SVB collapse with Anat Admati, an economics professor at Stanford University and co-author of the book “The Banker’s New Clothes.” | 3/6/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanDeepfakes and the 2024 election season | Audio deepfakes have become shockingly convincing in the last few years. A deepfake robocall impersonating President Joe Biden encouraging voters to stay home for the New Hampshire primary was one recent example of how far the technology has advanced. That’s why “Marketplace Tech” is launching a limited series called “Decoding Democracy.” Marketplace’s Lily Jamali will be joined by other Marketplace reporters, experts and researchers to discuss what election mis- and disinformation is out there, how to spot it and how it impacts our democracy. In this first episode of “Decoding Democracy,” Marketplace senior correspondent Kimberly Adams joins Jamali to delve into the latest on audio deepfake technology and how to protect yourself from being fooled by one. | 3/5/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanSpotting tech-driven disinformation isn’t getting easier | “Misinformation” and “disinformation” are often lumped together. They’re not the same, but they are very much connected. Say you hear that Christmas falls on Dec. 23 this year. If someone told you that thinking it was true, it’s considered misinformation. But when it’s spread with the intent to deceive, that’s disinformation, which can easily be amplified unwittingly by the folks in the first group. Audio and video generated by artificial intelligence is everywhere in this election season. So before you click Share, know that the tech used to create that convincing-but-often-false content is getting a lot better a lot faster than you might think. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with longtime misinformation researcher Joan Donovan, now a journalism professor at Boston University, to learn more. | 3/4/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanA boost for data privacy policy, Nvidia’s chip shortage eases and Apple steers away from electric cars | It’s Friday, and that means it’s time to dig into some of this week’s tech headlines in “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review.” Good news for Nvidia, the top chipmaker for artificial intelligence applications. There are signs that the company’s product shortage is finally easing up, as more customers nab chips to power their AI ambitions. Plus, Apple reportedly hits the brakes on plans to create its own electric vehicle. But first, there was significant movement on data privacy policy. This week, the Joe Biden administration issued an executive order restricting the sale of Americans’ data to “countries of concern,” according to the White House. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Natasha Mascarenhas, reporter at The Information, for her take on these stories. | 3/1/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanVoting precincts are steadily moving away from paperless machines | “DRE” is the acronym in election-speak. It stands for direct-recording electronic voting machines … the kind that record votes directly into a computer’s memory, often with no paper trail. In an effort to boost security and ensure more reliable counting of ballots across the country, officials have been replacing them with voting machines that produce a paper backup. And there has been noticeable progress on this front. According to a recent report from the nonprofit organization Verified Voting and the Brennan Center for Justice, in 2016 about 22% of registered voters were in jurisdictions that used DREs. By 2020, that figure had fallen to 9% and could drop considerably further this year. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Megan Maier, co-author of the Verified Voting report, about replacing what’s left of these outdated machines and bringing that number down to zero. | 2/29/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanDOE’s Granholm drives campaign to make EV batteries a U.S. industry | A big part of Jennifer Granholm’s job as U.S. secretary of energy involves selling President Biden’s clean energy agenda and convincing Americans that it’s benefiting them. On Monday, she toured a facility near San Francisco operated by the company Cuberg, which is developing a lithium-based battery that’s less flammable than the ones we use today. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali talked with Granholm about how batteries like Cuberg’s fit into the administration’s sweeping climate policy. | 2/28/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWill we remember any of the fast-paced “trendbait” slang on TikTok? | The race to coin new words and phrases is on — on TikTok. They range from “first time cool syndrome,” to “the weekend effect,” and “dinner and couch” friend. Keeping track of all this can feel like a wild goose chase, to use an expression credited to William Shakespeare, who introduced countless words and phrases to the English language. But unlike the Bard’s phrases, TikTok slang doesn’t seem to have much staying power. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Rebecca Jennings, senior correspondent for Vox, on the TikTok “trendbait,” as she calls it — terms invented by content creators who seem like they’re trying a little too hard — and what’s driving it all. | 2/27/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow NetChoice became Big Tech’s ally against social media regulation | The Supreme Court hears arguments on two state laws Monday — one in Texas and one in Florida — that seek to punish social media platforms over allegations they censor conservative speech. The legal force fighting these state laws is itself a group with conservative leanings called NetChoice, which has emerged as Big Tech’s top political lobbyist. And it’s going after social media crackdowns in blue states too, like the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act, which required that platforms put in stronger default data privacy protections for younger users. Wherever a social media regulation pops up, NetChoice, it seems, is there. Isaiah Poritz of Bloomberg Law has been reporting on the organization. | 2/26/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAmazon to join the Dow, VCs steer away from China’s startups, and Rivian’s cold EV winter | It was not that long ago that electric vehicle maker Rivian was drawing comparisons to Tesla. But flagging demand for EVs has not served the company well. Its earnings release this week made that much clear. Also, a look at why American venture capital firms appear to be pulling back from funding startups in China. But first, Amazon has come a long way since it was founded 30 years ago. Its next stop: the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It joins the market indicator Monday. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Jewel Burks Solomon, managing director at Collab Capital, for her take on these stories. | 2/23/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhen cellphones fail, landlines are still a lifeline | AT&T is asking California regulators to be relieved of its obligation to provide basic landline phone service to anyone who wants it. “No customer will be left without voice or 911 service,” AT&T says, but Californians weighing in are, by and large, skeptical. Regina Costa, telecom policy director at the Utility Reform Network, an advocacy group, told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali that having a “carrier of last resort” matters. | 2/22/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWant to quit your smartphone? | Once a week, many of us get that dreaded screen-time report courtesy of our smartphones. But a recent study found keeping track of our average usage doesn’t actually help us control our screen time all that much. Caught in the loop of screen-time shame like so many of us are, New York Times tech reporter Kashmir Hill decided to actually do something about it. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Hill about her experience breaking up with her iPhone and replacing it with a flip phone, T9 texting and all, because she’d finally had enough. | 2/21/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWould you trust a cancer screening by artificial intelligence? | As consumers, we’ve all been subjected to the “upsell,” or pressure to pay a little more for a product that’s slightly better. It’s one thing if you’re buying, say, a car or a piece of clothing. The ethical questions get a lot more complicated in health care. Some providers have started integrating artificial intelligence in diagnostic procedures, including screenings for breast cancer. The tools may be available for an additional cost, and questions about their accuracy have been raised. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Meredith Broussard, a journalism professor at New York University, about integrating AI into mammograms and her personal experience grappling with the tech. | 2/20/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanVibrating suits offer a new way to experience music | We often think of music as a mostly auditory experience, but it’s also a physical one, especially for people who are deaf and hard of hearing. Daniel Belquer — a Philadelphia-based technologist, composer and “chief vibrational officer” of Music: Not Impossible — has been studying the relationship between sound and sensation, and how that connection can make music more accessible. “Marketplace Tech” spoke with Belquer about how his vibrating technology is helping people experience music in new ways. | 2/19/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanA $7 trillion chips moonshot, AI-fueled cyberattacks, and Disney’s bet on gaming | On the show today, Microsoft says groups affiliated with the governments of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea are using AI tools to improve their cyberattacks. Also, Disney is investing $1.5 billion in Epic Games. Can we expect a “Frozen” / Fortnite crossover? We’re not sure yet, but what we can expect is regulatory scrutiny. But first, in Silicon Valley, where software normally gets all the glory, OpenAI’s Sam Altman is reportedly planning a big move into hardware by raising up to $7 trillion for a new AI chips project. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Paresh Dave, senior writer at Wired, for his take on this week’s tech news. | 2/16/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow a comprehensive federal privacy law could protect kids online | On our show last week, we had Sen. Amy Klobuchar share her take on the recent Senate hearing with tech executives. You remember the one, with the execs, including Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, doing their best to stall in response to searing questions about how to keep kids safe online. Klobuchar told us that hearing may have actually moved the needle on that issue. She stressed to us that such events educate the public and help lawmakers get on-the-record pledges of support for specific bills from tech CEOs. In the absence of federal rules, a patchwork of state laws has filled the void. How’s that going? Nicol Turner Lee, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, gave Marketplace’s Lily Jamali the rundown. | 2/15/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanDating apps can get pretty intimate with your data | Cuffing season is that time of year when singles hunker down with someone to keep them warm — temporarily. And Valentine’s Day more or less marks the end of it. So people are about to start flocking back to their dating apps. Adrianus Warmenhoven, cybersecurity expert at NordVPN, told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali that a lot of those apps are eager to vacuum up their personal data. | 2/14/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanIn spite of plummeting valuation, 23andMe still aims to pivot into biotech | 23andMe has seen its valuation plummet from $6 billion to close to zero, with the Nasdaq threatening to delist the company’s stock. Still, company leaders have high hopes for medical research and a pivot to biotech. Rolfe Winkler has been writing about what happened for The Wall Street Journal, and discussed the company’s financial woes and future roadmap with Marketplace’s Lily Jamali. | 2/13/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanFor Uvalde families, social media is a tool to share grief and energize advocacy | On May 24, it will be two years since 19 children and two teachers were killed in the shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Photojournalist Tamir Kalifa has spent much of the last year and a half documenting the lives of the victims’ families and friends in the wake of the tragedy. Last week he was awarded the American Mosaic Journalism Prize for that work. He told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali about how social media is helping the community deal with its grief and bolstering its push for gun control. | 2/12/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanFCC cracks down on AI robocall scams, Meta tightens oversight of AI content and Sen. Klobuchar discusses Section 230 reform | -- | 2/9/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat does it take to protect children online? | A week later and we’re still thinking about the hearing that saw half a dozen tech CEOs testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee on keeping kids safe online. It left us wondering: Why do lawmakers hold these hearings then fail again and again to pass federal laws to keep Big Tech in check? One thing was clear: The importance of keeping kids safe online is one of the few things that a lot of Democratic and Republican senators agree on. Take for example the SHIELD Act, a bill co-sponsored by members of both parties. One of those members is Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota. She told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali it’s hard to get bills like that through Congress given how much influence tech companies wield in Washington. | 2/8/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe Department of Energy will track energy used in crypto mining | The business of minting cryptocurrencies here in the United States is growing bigger by the day. In January 2020, just 3.4% of the world’s bitcoin mining took place here. That figure ballooned to almost 38% in just two years. As we’ve talked about on this show, mining bitcoin and some other cryptocurrencies burns through a lot of electric power. The Energy Information Administration has been interested in tracking this activity, sifting through articles in the media and company reports. But the federal agency has decided to start collecting information from cryptocurrency miners themselves about where they operate and how much energy they use. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali asked Mark Morey, senior adviser for electricity analysis at the EIA, about the project. | 2/7/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanPumped-storage hydropower could help renewable energy flow | Back in the 1970s, the Tennessee Valley Authority built what remains one of the largest energy storage facilities in the world: a pumped-storage hydropower plant. A pump takes water from the Tennessee River, shoots it up a giant shaft and holds it there until electric power needs peak during the day. At that point, the water is allowed to drain back down, spinning turbines that can generate enough power for a million homes. It’s almost like a gravity-powered battery as big as a cathedral … buried deep inside a mountain. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Robert Kunzig, a freelance journalist who recently wrote about this in depth for the publication Science. He says pumped-storage hydro is attracting a lot of interest, thanks in part to generous tax credits from the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. | 2/6/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanApple’s Vision Pro is finally here. What took so long? | Last Friday, Apple’s long-awaited contribution to the virtual reality headset market finally hit stores across the U.S. Apple CEO Tim Cook promised the new technology would be nothing short of revolutionary when he unveiled it last summer. But let’s not forget the fate of the Google Glass, the glasses with a built-in display and camera first released by Google in 2013 and formally ended a decade later. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Lance Ulanoff, U.S. editor-in-chief of TechRadar, for his take on the Vision Pro. Ulanoff said Apple’s new headset just might catch on, thanks to what Apple calls “spatial computing.” | 2/5/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTech CEOs grilled by Congress, Microsoft still leads in AI, and Neuralink touts its human brain implant | Companies vying for AI dominance have told us their stories, but this week they showed us their numbers, and there is a clear front-runner. Plus, a court struck down Elon Musk’s $56 billion pay package, but it’s the announcement that his startup Neuralink did its first human brain implant that has us really scratching our heads. First, though, a look back at Wednesday’s Senate hearing that put tech execs, politicians and families affected by online child sex abuse in a room together on Capitol Hill. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Anita Ramaswamy, columnist for Reuters Breakingviews, for her take on these stories. | 2/2/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat the “grief tech” industry says about how we navigate loss | The universe of industries that make money off dying in this country is extensive, and tech entrepreneurs have managed to insert themselves into various corners of it. That’s all according to culture journalist Mihika Agarwal, who’s been reporting on the grief tech industry — including ghost bots, the chatbots that are supposed to help us process grief. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Agarwal about her reporting. | 2/1/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe many battles in the lithium and critical minerals revolution | In 2021, the Biden administration put out a report about gaps in the supply chain for electric vehicles. It estimated global demand for lithium and graphite would grow by more than 4,000% by 2040 if the world were to achieve the climate goals laid out in the Paris accords. These materials, along with copper, nickel and others, are critical to green technologies. And there is a global fight over their supply, one that Reuters correspondent Ernest Scheyder documents in his new book, “The War Below: Lithium, Copper, and the Global Battle to Power Our Lives.” He told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali about why lithium, in particular, is in such high demand and the challenges of bringing it to market. | 1/31/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMore people are buying EVs, but there aren’t enough mechanics to fix them | By 2030, there are expected to be up to 11 million hybrid or electric vehicles in the United Kingdom, according to the Local Government Association. But there are currently only around 45,000 mechanics who are qualified to fix and service them. Unless more people sign up to be EV mechanics, drivers in the U.K. might find themselves with an electric car they can’t get fixed or afford to insure. We’ll hear more from BBC reporter Frey Lindsay. | 1/30/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhy carbon capture isn’t a magic bullet solution to the climate crisis | In rural North Dakota, an old, coal-fired power plant is being retrofitted to capture emissions before they enter the atmosphere and store them underground. $890 million from the 2022 bipartisan infrastructure law will go towards that and two similar projects in California and Texas. Critics take issue with spending taxpayer money to kick the tires on “carbon capture and storage” technology. Among those critics are Catherine McKenna, Canada’s former minister of environment and climate change. She’s now CEO of Climate and Nature Solutions, an advisory firm, and chairs the UN’s expert group on net-zero commitments. | 1/29/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanLayoffs continue, Silicon Valley renews romance with Middle East money and why Netflix is retiring its no-ads basic tier | On the show today, Middle Eastern sovereign wealth funds have parked a whole lot of money in Silicon Valley. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, for one, spent more than $31 billion on 49 venture deals, up 33% in 2023. Why does the tech industry find it so hard to break up with Middle East money? Plus, Netflix changes up its business model — again. We look at why the streaming giant sees even more ads in its future. But first, job cuts continue across the tech landscape. Even TikTok, with its $225 billion valuation and 150 million active users in the U.S. alone, is letting people go. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Natasha Mascarenhas, reporter at The Information, for her take on these stories. | 1/26/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow satellite radar helps scientists map the destruction in Gaza | The World Court is expected to rule Friday on whether to grant emergency measures to stop the war in Gaza. South Africa has accused Israel of carrying out genocide in the Palestinian enclave. Israel says it’s targeting Hamas militants – not civilians – in response to the deadly Hamas attack of Oct. 7. But more than 25,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli strikes, and according to Corey Scher of the City University of New York and Oregon State University’s Jamon Van Den Hoek, nearly half the buildings in Gaza have been damaged or destroyed. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Scher and Van Den Hoek about their work mapping the destruction with satellite radar technology. | 1/25/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe anonymous world of “extreme privacy” | It’s hard to disappear these days. Everything from renting property and using a credit card to working a job leaves a digital footprint. But just because it’s hard to vanish from the virtual world doesn’t mean people aren’t trying. Some do it out of necessity, to escape violence or persecution. Others do it out of curiosity, pursuing total anonymity just to see how far they can take things. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Hal Triedman, a privacy engineer who recently wrote about the “extreme privacy” community for the online magazine Reboot. | 1/24/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAI reveals unseen human activity across the world’s oceans | AI can be used for unsavory things, like any technology. But researchers at the nonprofit Global Fishing Watch have revealed a promising use case — enlisting AI to accurately track human activity on the oceans, according to its new study published in the journal Nature. There’s a lot out there that has long floated under the radar of monitoring systems, including the so-called dark fleets involved in illegal and unregulated fishing. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with David Kroodsma, director of research and innovation at Global Fishing Watch, about the group’s work. | 1/23/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanBitcoin has gone mainstream. For crypto, that’s controversial. | It’s been almost two weeks since several investment products tied to bitcoin started trading on old-school financial markets. These bitcoin ETFs have made it easier for everyday investors to place bets on the crypto market, and in the days since federal regulators gave the green light, investors have poured nearly $2 billion into the new bitcoin funds. But probably not the crypto purists, says Joel Khalili, who reports on the industry for Wired. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Khalili about crypto early adopters, who, he says, are quite happy to stay on the fringes of the financial system. | 1/22/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow the C-suite sees AI, what’s next for CRISPR and why health tech needs better marketing | On the show today, the Food and Drug Administration expanded its approval for CRISPR gene-editing therapies. We look at the affordability of these treatments, which can cost well into the millions of dollars. Plus, is bad marketing stunting health tech companies? More on how startups can up their game. But first, at this week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, there were 32 scheduled events devoted to AI. When they weren’t comparing private jets, business executives were busy asking, “How do you make money off AI?” Marketplaces’ Lily Jamali is joined by Christina Farr, a health tech investor at OMERS Ventures, for her take on these stories. | 1/19/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanSpot bitcoin investment funds likely to stoke miners’ massive energy use | The Securities and Exchange Commission’s recent approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds means that for the first time, people can invest in funds that include bitcoin with no crypto wallet required. Demand for the original cryptocurrency is only expected to grow, and bitcoin mining operators are in position to satisfy it. Two years ago, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali visited one in upstate New York. Stacks of computers burned through tons of power to generate new bitcoins, she reported. Texas is now a preferred hub, and Ben Hertz-Shargel of the consultancy Wood Mackenzie says the SEC’s move will be felt there. | 1/18/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe demise of Hyperloop One and the future of high-speed transport | While Marketplace’s Lily Jamali was at CES last week in Las Vegas, she took her first ride on the Vegas Loop, built by Elon Musk’s the Boring Co. In 2013, Musk floated the concept of a hyperloop as a way for people to travel long distances at superfast speeds via pods in vacuum-sealed tubes. The Vegas Loop, as Lily found out, is not that. Developing actual hyperloop technology is hard and costly. Just ask Hyperloop One, a startup that recently shut down after a decade of trying. Lily recently spoke with Bloomberg’s Sarah McBride about Hyperloop One’s demise and what it means for the tech sector’s larger ambition to create hyperloop transport systems. | 1/17/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCould “hydropanels” help solve the water crisis? | One consequence of climate change is more frequent and severe droughts. And that has water-stressed communities looking for new sources of drinking water. Today, Marketplace’s climate podcast “How We Survive” and host Amy Scott take a look at how technology can help. | 1/16/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCan robots make us less lonely? | Last year, the University of Michigan’s National Poll on Healthy Aging found that 1 in 3 adults between 50 and 80 years old said they felt isolated. Enter ElliQ, the robot companion created to alleviate loneliness in older adults. She’s programmed to be inquisitive and empathetic and is designed to sit in your home and keep you company. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Dor Skuler, CEO and co-founder of Intuition Robotics, about why he thinks a robot is the right tool to address loneliness. | 1/15/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAI in the workplace, where venture capital will flow and age tech at CES | On the show today, tech investors are among the 100,000-plus people who’ve descended on Las Vegas for this year’s CES. They’re looking for the next big thing in tech and trying to make sure they don’t throw money at the next big dud. Plus, CES showcases the latest in age tech — products meant to make getting older easier, more comfortable and less lonely. But first, artificial intelligence is a big theme at the gathering this year, and the technology is becoming a regular part of people’s work lives. That’s according to a new survey from Tech.co. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Jewel Burks Solomon, managing director at Collab Capital, and Katie Roof, reporter at Bloomberg, for their take on these stories. | 1/12/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCan tech help improve your sleep? | We’re a few days into CES now, and amid the demos, launches, meeting, greeting, keynotes and all the walking, there’s one thing on a lot of people’s minds: sleep. So, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali stopped by the National Sleep Foundation’s booth to meet some folks there thinking about sleep. She spoke with Biquan Luo, co-founder and CEO of Lumos Tech, whose company makes what looks like a regular sleep mask, but has embedded LED lights. It’s designed to help recalibrate a user’s sleep schedule. | 1/11/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAt CES, a look down the long road ahead for automotive tech | CES is many things — including a gadget fest and a glimpse into the kind of technology we might be using a month or a decade from now. CES also hosts one of the biggest auto shows on the planet, which is why it’s worth noting that General Motors, Ford and Chrysler aren’t here this year. The United Auto Workers strike ended just a few months ago. General Motors, specifically, is still regrouping after the implosion of its robotaxi startup Cruise. Meanwhile, Tesla’s Autopilot driver assistance is under pressure from regulators. The idea of reaching fully autonomous driving — what’s known as Level 5 in the tech sector — is starting to feel out of reach. And maybe that’s OK. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Trevor Curwin, director of strategic partnerships at Sheeva.AI, an automotive payments company, from the CES floor about the troubles and outlook for the auto industry’s tech ambitions. | 1/10/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat to watch for at CES | This week, more than 100,000 people from around the world — including staff from “Marketplace Tech” — are gathered in Las Vegas to talk tech at the annual Consumer Electronics Show. CES this year features more than 4,000 exhibitors, from small startups to tech giants like Amazon, Intel and Sony. There’s so much to see in so little time, so Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Technology Association, which runs CES, about what to watch for at this year’s event. | 1/9/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWomen still hold just a third of clean energy jobs, Fuller Project says | Last June, President Joe Biden flew to Silicon Valley to tout the massive federal investment in clean energy made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act. For a long time though, women have been largely shut out of clean tech jobs. And an investigation by the nonprofit newsroom The Fuller Project, reported by Kate Gammon, found that last year, women filled just 32% of green energy jobs, up just 1 percentage point since 2008. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with senior editor Aaron Glantz about The Fuller Project’s sometimes graphic findings. | 1/8/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTesla updates driver assistance software, Apple’s rocky start to the year and the personal tech to keep an eye on in 2024 | On the show today, shares of Apple touched a seven-week low this week after Barclays downgraded the company. What does the dreaded “sell” rating say about expectations for the Cupertino tech giant? Plus, telling AI from reality might get easier in 2024 thanks to tools that can help with that, and a preview of other personal tech to watch for in the year ahead. But first, Tesla CEO Elon Musk set an ambitious goal at the beginning of 2023 — sell 2 million electric vehicles by the end of the year. The company came pretty close to that sales goal with 1.85 million deliveries; that, compared with 73,000 EVs sold by Ford (if you round up). However, Tesla did fall behind China’s BYD as the EV sales leader for the first time. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Joanna Stern, senior personal technology columnist at the Wall Street Journal, for her take on these stories. | 1/5/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanIs Big Tech using philanthropy to influence universities? | A former Harvard misinformation researcher named Joan Donovan recently filed a whistleblower complaint against the university. In it, she accused officials of bowing to tech giant Meta when she was ousted from her position following a $500 million donation from the charity of Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Harvard denies Donovan’s accusations, but the fallout spotlights the influence Big Tech can have on academic institutions. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Katie Paul, director of the Tech Transparency Project, about how industry funding can come with strings attached. | 1/4/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe ins and outs of reporting on Facebook | For reporters covering Facebook, getting the real story has only become harder since the release of the “The Facebook Files” in 2021. The Wall Street Journal series, based on documents provided by whistleblower Frances Haugen, exposed the inner workings of the company now known as Meta, from its lax rules for VIPs to internal research on Instagram’s impact on teens. Jeff Horwitz, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, writes about the challenge of covering the company in his new book “Broken Code: Inside Facebook and the Fight to Expose Its Harmful Secrets.” Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Horwitz about how he’s covered Facebook and Meta and how Meta’s platforms have changed over the years. | 1/3/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanUsing the internet to connect users to queer-owned spaces around the world | Growing up a closeted child in the rural Midwest, Charlie Sprinkman always hoped he could one day connect with others in the queer community. Now, as an adult, he lives in Portland, Oregon, where he manages a team at a consumer packaged goods company. In his spare time, he combines skills from his day job with a knack for tech to put queer-owned businesses that he’s visited across the U.S. onto a digital map he’s created, called Everywhere Is Queer. What started as a small project last year, has now gone global. | 1/2/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanFor many, AI is a religious experience (rerun) | Artificial intelligence can feel abstract, so we’ve come to depend on certain narratives to try and make sense of it all. Some of the language we use to describe AI and our interactions with it is rooted in religious ideas. Are you bracing for the apocalypse? Have you been blessed by the algorithm or consulted with a Robo Rabbi lately? The deification of AI, whether it’s done consciously or not, is something Beth Singler studies as a professor of digital religions at the University of Zurich in Switzerland. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Singler about religious tropes in the narratives we consume and share about AI. | 1/1/2024 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat happened to the Metaverse? | It wasn’t all that long ago when “the Metaverse” was being pushed hard in certain corners of the Big Tech universe. What was it? It wasn’t always clear — something about a virtual but realistic place where, we were told, we’d be hanging out with friends, holding office meetings and even buying property. Fast forward to today and not many people are talking about it much anymore. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Ed Zitron, writer and CEO of EZPR about what happened to the hype. | 12/29/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCrypto comes to the classroom | Next year marks 15 years since Bitcoin’s launch. 15 years is a drop in the bucket in historical terms, but literally a lifetime for teenagers. Yanely Espinal, host of Marketplace’s “Financially Inclined” podcast, has been talking to teenagers about crypto and she says they have so many questions. She spoke with Marketplace’s Lily Jamali about how teachers are trying to figure out how to handle crypto-curious students. | 12/28/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanRIP, Netflix DVD | In 2023, we said goodbye to a service you might not have known was still around — DVD delivery from Netflix, now a giant in streaming. With a collection of more than 100,000 titles available for delivery in those red, paper envelopes, the DVD service retained some utility even years into the company’s transition. But Netflix pulled the plug on the service in September. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Slate writer and editor Sam Adams about what we lost with its demise. | 12/27/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanPreserving Indigenous cultures and languages with the help of AI | Growing up on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation in Montana, Michael Running Wolf was especially aware of the importance of language. For decades, it was illegal under U.S. law to speak Native languages in schools. So in regard to learning them, generations of Indigenous children went without. Running Wolf grew up to become a computer scientist, landing a job working on Amazon’s virtual assistant, Alexa. A few years ago, he started to wonder how he might get something like Alexa to speak Cheyenne and other Indigenous languages. That has become his lifelong mission. | 12/26/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe cloud’s heavy toll on natural resources (rerun) | The thing we call “the cloud” might sounds harmless, but that seemingly abstract place where the details of your digital life get stored takes a heavy toll on the environment. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Steven Gonzalez Monserrate, a postdoctoral researcher in the Fixing Futures training group at Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, about his research on cloud data centers and their effect on the health of the planet. | 12/25/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanA week of legal troubles for Big Tech | It’s Friday, which means it’s time for Bytes: Week in Review. On the show today, a trio of legal stories dominating Big Tech coverage. As OpenAI and Microsoft stare down allegations of copyright infringement, 11 nonfiction authors, including some Pulitzer winners, have joined a lawsuit against both companies. Plus, Apple pauses sales of two of its latest Apple Watch models. But patent problems might not put much of a dent in the company’s holiday haul. First, though, Google settled a 2021 antitrust lawsuit brought by 36 states and Washington, D.C., in September. This week, we learned that Google is paying $700 million as part of that settlement. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Wired senior writer Paresh Dave, who explains what prompted the states to file suit in the first place. | 12/22/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanLong lines and broken chargers: Demand for powering EVs outpaces infrastructure | More than a million electric vehicles were sold in the U.S. this year, but despite that some automakers announced a slowdown in EV production this fall. As more drivers make the switch to electric, the availability of public places to juice up those cars hasn’t exactly kept pace. Back in 2021, the federal government set aside $7.5 billion to build tens of thousands of chargers across the country. But the project has barely broken ground in the two years since. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Marketplace reporter Meghan McCarty Carino about the issue, which she’s been following as both a reporter and an EV driver. She said relying on public chargers has only become harder. | 12/21/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAre lab-grown diamonds dazzling consumers? | By one estimate, “lab-grown diamonds” make up a $14 billion market. And the world’s largest jewelry maker, Pandora, is betting that that market will only grow. Pandora says it will stop selling mined diamonds and is expanding its lab-grown diamond range. The brand says growing diamonds in a lab is more environmentally sustainable than mining, and also happens to be more affordable, thanks to cost-effective production methods. The BBC’s Leanna Byrne has more on how lab-grown diamonds are made and who’s buying them. | 12/20/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanEU’s tech regulatory framework protects its consumers, but can slow down innovation | When Google unveiled its answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT this month, Gemini, the pitch was: AI that can run efficiently on everything from data centers to your smartphone. But it came with a caveat for users in the UK and the European Union: you can’t use it there, for now. After the EU’s recent passage of the AI Act, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Andrea Renda of the Center for European Policy Studies. He says Google is trying to convince European lawmakers that Gemini complies with the continent’s tough privacy law, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). Renda says the GDPR is likely why Gemini hasn’t made it to Europe, yet. | 12/19/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow AI could help families get paid leave benefits | The U.S. is one of just a handful of countries without a national paid family leave program. As a result, offering those benefits has been left up to individual states and employers. Thirteen states and Washington, D.C., currently offer paid family leave programs, but they’re not always easy to navigate. Reshma Saujani, founder and CEO of Moms First, says this complicated system means workers lose an average of $10,000 in wages by taking that leave without being paid. That’s why her organization released an AI chatbot to help people in New York navigate their state’s paid leave program. | 12/18/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanEurope’s landmark AI law, Google’s court loss and the data behind nearly 100 billion hours of Netflix | On the show today, Epic Games won its antitrust lawsuit against Google this week. What it means for the players and why the rest of Big Tech is watching. Plus, Netflix releases viewing data for its entire streaming catalog for the first time. What did we all watch? But first, it took 37 hours of negotiations for the European Union to pass what’s being called the world’s most ambitious law regulating artificial intelligence. Now the hard part: hashing out the details. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios, for her take on these stories. | 12/15/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMeta has a problem with hosting predators on its platforms | Warning: This episode includes sensitive content about the sexualization of children. For several months now, reporters at The Wall Street Journal have been looking at the algorithms that recommend content on Meta’s platforms, specifically Facebook and Instagram. They’ve found that those algorithms promote child sexual abuse on a mass scale to users who show sexual interest in kids. Meta argues that it uses sophisticated technology, hires child-safety experts and reports content to help root predators out. But the problem persists, according to Wall Street Journal reporter Katherine Blunt. She told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali what she learned by setting up test accounts, including some that followed young influencers on Instagram. | 12/14/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanBug bounty hunters’ attempt at patching zero day vulnerabilities | In software development, bugs in the code are inevitable. That’s why companies push out software updates so often. But there is a specific kind of bug that is especially worrisome, something called a “zero day.” It’s a bug no one knows about — not even the software company — so it hasn’t been patched and is vulnerable to hackers. Dina Temple-Raston, host of the podcast “Click Here,” has more on this story. | 12/13/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTech companies want marketable web addresses. These island nations are selling them. | Since 1974, an international standard has governed the assignment of two-letter identification codes to every country and territory on Earth. When the internet came along, those codes were used in website domain names, and it didn’t take long before outside companies started using them too, paying premiums for some particularly marketable codes. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with journalist Amy Thorpe about the profitable domain name marketplace. | 12/12/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe green bubble vs. blue bubble debate isn’t just a tech issue | Remember Apple’s “Get a Mac” campaign from 2006? They featured actor Justin Long as the hip Mac computer personified in conversation with a noticeably less cool John Hodgman playing a PC. Seventeen years and plenty of tech releases later, it seems the stereotypes in those ads never really went away. Take, for example, a recent TikTok trend in which women respond to the question, “He’s a 10, but he has an Android phone. What’s his new rating?” For some, the answer is 1 or 0. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Brian Chen, personal tech columnist at The New York Times, about “green bubble shaming.” | 12/11/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanLayoffs hit Spotify, Google launches its Gemini AI tool — oh, and an unexpected Cameo star | On today’s Tech Bytes: Google launches its AI tool Gemini into the public arena — finally. Plus, ousted congressman George Santos becomes a star on Cameo. But first, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said the music streaming giant is cutting 17% of its workforce. Here’s the thing, though: The size of Spotify’s user base is actually growing right now. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Anita Ramaswamy, columnist at Reuters Breakingviews, for her take on these stories. | 12/8/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTired of trying to protect your data privacy? You’ve got “consent fatigue.” | If you use the internet, you have undoubtedly been asked to consent to cookies. They remember our log-in information and also track things like what we’re reading and buying. Trying to avoid cookies can feel pretty pointless and exhausting to the point where privacy experts have named the phenomenon “consent fatigue.” Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Matt Schwartz, policy analyst for Consumer Reports, about how we got here. | 12/7/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMeta’s pixel code tracks students from kindergarten to college | For years, Facebook, now renamed Meta, has offered a code called pixel to businesses. By embedding pixel on their websites, those businesses can collect information on users, then target them with ads on Meta’s social media platforms. The investigative news website The Markup has been looking into how some of the personal information pixel gathers is shared back with the tech giant. Meta says its policies make clear that advertisers should not send sensitive information about customers through its business tools. But Colin Lecher, co-author of a new Markup investigation, is reporting that students are among those the pixel code tracks. | 12/6/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCan biofuel help clean up airline emissions? | Last week, a Virgin Atlantic passenger jet traveled from London to New York powered 100% by sustainable aviation fuel, or SAF. The low-carbon fuel came from feedstock that included used cooking oil and waste animal fats. Critics call the flight a gimmick, and to be clear, right now SAF makes up a tiny slice of the fuels airlines use to get us places. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Louise Burke, an energy analyst and vice president of business development at Argus Media, who says that could change. | 12/5/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanA controversial U.S. surveillance program expires this month. Will it be renewed? | When Section 702 became law in 2008, the intelligence community argued collecting phone calls, texts, and emails of people outside of the U.S. could protect against terrorism. But the communications of many Americans have also been collected, all without the required warrants. Now, Section 702 is set to expire at the end of the month. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Elizabeth Goitein, senior director of liberty and national security at the Brennan Center for Justice, about what members of Congress are considering as they decide whether to extend Section 702. | 12/4/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanOne year of ChatGPT, fast fashion’s plan to go public and more trouble for Elon Musk | On today’s Tech Bytes: apologies, profanity and accusations of blackmail. It’s just another week in the life of Elon Musk. Plus, ultra-fast-fashion retailer Shein confidentially files for an IPO and seems to be trying to bolster its image. But first, one year ago this week, OpenAI released ChatGPT to the public for the first time. Within five days of its launch, ChatGPT already had one million users. From writing holiday menus to college essays to wedding vows, ChatGPT has been there. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Natasha Mascarenhas, reporter for The Information, for her take on the week’s tech news. | 12/1/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanBig advertisers flee X as Musk spotlights antisemitic content | This time of year, companies tend to open their wallets and choose where they choose to advertise. Those ad dollars are the lifeblood of X, the former Twitter. In the last quarter of 2021, almost 90% of Twitter’s revenue came from ads. That business model was already showing signs of wear after when Elon Musk took over. Now, as the Israel-Hamas war rages on, a new controversial post by Musk has accelerated the flight of advertisers. New York Times journalist Ryan Mac spoke with Marketplace’s Lily Jamali about how the fallout of fleeing advertisers could affect the platform. | 11/30/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe bust after the boom hits the video game business | This week, TikTok parent ByteDance said it’s retreating from mainstream video games altogether. Earlier this year, Epic Games, the maker of Fortnite, a game that has had more than 400 million “unique registered users” since its 2017 launch, announced hundreds of layoffs as well. They’re just some examples of the wave of layoffs hitting game companies around the globe. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Los Angeles Times reporter Sarah Parvini, who covers the video game sector. In a piece just last week, she wrote that the industry is deep in downsizing mode. | 11/29/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanBeing an influencer sounds great, but is it really that glamorous? | From being your own boss to doing work you actually like, the perks of influencer life have drawn in plenty of creators to an industry valued at $250 billion. Take Sid Raskind, whose goofy lifehacks have earned him millions of followers on TikTok and Instagram. Still, Yanely Espinal, host of the podcast “Financially Inclined,” told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali that younger would-be creators should understand what it takes to make it. | 11/28/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMenopause technology could finally be having its moment | Despite half the world’s population being female, there are still few technologies on the market to help manage the symptoms of menopause. Why is there a reluctance to invest in “menotech,” and is that changing? The BBC’s Elizabeth Hotson looked into the menotech products on the market and how the industry is evolving. | 11/27/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat venture capital is thinking after a week of high drama and shakeups in tech | This week, the shakeups and confusion at OpenAI have come to a conclusion. Sam Altman returns to his position as CEO at OpenAI after its board fired him, which upset most of the company’s staff as well as others invested in OpenAI’s work in the generative artificial intelligence sector. Plus, Ryan Vogt resigned as CEO of the driverless tech startup Cruise, following a series of traffic collisions and accidents. On top of all that, Changpeng Zhao, the founder of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, pleaded guilty to money laundering violations. What do venture capitalists think about all these disruptions and where will their money go now? Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital, for her take on those stories. | 11/24/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanOlder video games are in danger of going extinct (rerun) | For the most part, it’s not too hard to get access to movies from the last decade or even the last century. But if you want to experience a video game from before, say, the ancient era of 2010? Good luck. A new report from the Video Game History Foundation and the Software Preservation Network finds that 87% of those older games are “critically endangered.” They’re not commercially available to the public unless fans have dozens of different old systems to play them on or travel to an archive in person and play them there. In other words, the roots of this hugely influential artistic and cultural medium are in danger of being lost. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Phil Salvador, library director for the Video Game History Foundation, about the report. | 11/23/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanKids prep for YouTube careers at content creator camp | Do you remember what your dream job was as a kid? We’re guessing that “YouTuber” was not on the list. Well, turns out vlogger/YouTuber was the top career choice for almost 30% of 8-to-12-year-olds who were surveyed a few years back. And across the country, camps and afterschool programs are cropping up to teach them how. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Washington Post columnist Taylor Lorenz, who visited a content creator camp in Texas, where children edit video, write scripts and, generally, get a head start on becoming internet pros. | 11/22/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhy OpenAI’s board fired CEO Sam Altman | It’s been a chaotic few days for the folks at OpenAI, including now-former CEO Sam Altman. To recap, on Friday the company’s board announced it had let Altman go, citing a lack of confidence in his “ability to continue leading OpenAI.” Several staff members then resigned and hundreds of others threatened to do the same if Altman wasn’t reinstated as CEO. That option is pretty much moot now that Microsoft — a major OpenAI investor — has hired Altman to lead a new AI research team along with former President Greg Brockman, who resigned in solidarity. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Reed Albergotti, tech editor at Semafor, about what the dramatic ouster was really all about. | 11/21/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow is crypto doing in a post-Sam Bankman-Fried world? | By now you’ve heard that the trial of Sam Bankman-Fried is over. What was the verdict for the founder of the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange FTX? Guilty on all seven charges, including fraud, money laundering and campaign finance law violations. Bankman-Fried will be sentenced in the spring. So how is the world of bitcoin and the blockchain faring now that it’s most famous ambassador will likely end up behind bars? Marketplace’s Matt Levin spoke with Laura Shin, a journalist who covers crypto and host of the podcast “Unchained,” about how people in the cryptocurrency world have been reacting to the SBF trial and what crypto enthusiasts are choosing to focus on next. | 11/20/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanGoogle and Apple’s complicated relationship, and Meta’s chance to return to China | On today’s Tech Bytes, our review of the week’s biggest headlines, Meta strikes a preliminary deal with Chinese videogame maker Tencent, giving the company a chance to return to China 14 years after Facebook was banned there. We also talk about the ransomware attack on a major Chinese bank, and how the Biden administration thinks American companies should respond to cyber extortion. But first, a look at the recent revelations about Google and Apple’s complicated relationship. Earlier in its federal antitrust trial, Google said it paid Apple $18 billion a year to be the default search engine on iPhone web browsers. The government said that’s $18 billion worth of evidence of anticompetitive behavior. This week, a witness for Google accidentally disclosed the company was sharing 36% of ad revenue it made from Safari browser searches with Apple. Whoops! Marketplace’s Matt Levin is joined by Anita Ramaswamy, columnist at Reuters Breakingviews, for her take on these stories. | 11/17/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhen work communication tools distract from the actual work | The soundtrack to the modern workplace sounds a lot like a cacophony of familiar pings and notification sounds from digital communication tools like email, Slack, Zoom and Teams – all of which are supposed to make us more productive. But all too often they can feel overwhelming, interfering with, you know, actual work. On this episode of Marketplace Tech, Matt Levin speaks with “Marketplace” reporter Kristin Schwab about how a small business owner in Nevada who was struggling to keep up with all those pings, dealt with her situation and shares a few tips on how to not get overwhelmed by all those notifications. | 11/16/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe autonomous vehicle industry hits another roadblock | Back in August, the autonomous vehicle industry was riding high. Fast-forward three months, and the California DMV has suspended the robotaxi company Cruise from operating anywhere in the state. Federal regulators have also opened a probe into multiple incidents involving Cruise cars. Andrew Hawkins, transportation editor for The Verge, has reported on the long-awaited autonomous vehicle revolution for years. In an interview with Marketplace’s Matt Levin, he explained the trust issues and other potholes in Cruise’s path, starting with a grisly accident in San Francisco. | 11/15/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat it takes for Mexican coders to cross the cultural border with Silicon Valley | Every tech company needs a good origin story. The startup garage, the dorm room and the hacker house are firmly embedded in American tech mythology. For hacker-entrepreneurs in Mexico, the border with the U.S. looms large. A subset of them hope to one day cross it and pitch their big idea to venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. One way there is to work the hackathon circuit in Mexico. That’s the subject of MIT anthropologist Héctor Beltrán’s new book “Code Work.” Beltrán details how coders gain currency in the field by participating in hackathons. Mexican politicians get something out of them too. The events are frequently sponsored by the government, with big promises of funding and support. But the prize, all too often, is a handshake and photo-op with a public official, and maybe a thank-you letter, but no real investment. | 11/14/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAfter years of explosive growth, is China’s livestream shopping industry slowing down? | In just a few short years, shopping by livestream has become all the rage in China. Think QVC online and on steroids. Influencers, brands and retailers have swarmed apps like WeChat and Douyin — the Chinese version of TikTok — to hawk everything from makeup and clothes to cars and beef jerky. Viola Zhou and Caiwei Chen, reporters at Rest of World, have been writing about this $500 billion market and how it’s changing in a stagnant Chinese economy. | 11/13/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWeWork files for bankruptcy, Meta’s plan for election-related AI and ad blockers get blocked | It’s Friday! Which means it’s time for our week-in-review show: Marketplace Tech Bytes. Meta announced this week that starting in 2024, Facebook and Instagram will start labeling political ads that use images generated by AI. But no… it’s hardly an AI crackdown. Plus, YouTube goes to war with ad blockers. A spate of uninstalls ensues! But first, WeWork, the co-working space provider, files for bankruptcy. What happened? And what’s next for the one-time golden child of Silicon Valley? Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Paresh Dave, senior writer at Wired, for his take on these stories. | 11/10/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMoneyball: the Oakland A’s and the transformation of baseball data | “Stay in Oakland!” was the plea from many a diehard Athletics fan in the stands of the Oakland Coliseum this past baseball season as the team planned its move to Las Vegas. Some potential hurdles to a move remain unresolved, including a vote by Major League Baseball team owners next week on whether to allow it. Even if you don’t follow baseball, you may know the story of how, more than two decades ago, the cash-strapped A’s pioneered the use of high-tech data analysis in the sport. which came to be known as moneyball. Michael Lewis wrote a book about it. Brad Pitt did a movie about it. For more on how the A’s changed the game, Marketplace’s Lily Jamali called up Keith Law, senior baseball writer for The Athletic, who explained that the team found an edge by looking at what some would call nerdy stats, like on-base percentage. | 11/9/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanTechnology, community, insurance: How California hopes to mitigate future wildfires | -- | 11/8/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanSocial media and “eSIMs” help Gazans stay connected amid war and blackouts | Tuesday marks one month since the Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,400 people and taking hundreds of hostages. Israel has responded by bombarding the Gaza Strip and killing more than 10,000 people there, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. The Israeli government has shut off power and fuel supplies to the more than 2 million people, mostly Palestinians, in Gaza. This weekend, Gazans suffered the third internet and phone blackout since Israel declared war on Hamas. Just over the border in Egypt, journalist Mirna El Helbawi has been working to enable people in Gaza to stay online and connected to the rest of the world. She’s part of a small group collecting donations of so-called eSIMs, which let users activate a cellphone plan on a mobile network without needing an actual SIM card. | 11/7/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanMilitary service members’ personal data is for sale. Is that a threat to national security? | Remember when President Donald Trump tried to ban TikTok? He called attention to the risk that American users’ data could fall into the hands of Chinese authorities who have ties to the app’s owners. A judge blocked the ban, but even if he hadn’t, experts say so much of our personal information is available to buy from run-of-the-mill data brokers. That includes information on Americans serving in the military, which can have big consequences for national security. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Justin Sherman, senior fellow at Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, about a new study he led in which his team tried buying just that kind of data. | 11/6/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanGlobal AI concerns, slumping EV sales and Netflix’s ad gamble | This week, electric vehicle sales are in a slump. Last year, the competition among EV buyers was fierce, with consumers paying premium prices to drive one off the lot. But despite federal tax credits aimed at making them more affordable, the red-hot EV market isn’t so hot anymore. Plus, a year into ads on Netflix, the company is reporting that 15 million monthly active users are watching, and rewards for binging your favorite shows are in the works. But first, we’ll dive into the U.K.’s AI Safety Summit at historic Bletchley Park this week. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Joanna Stern, senior personal technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal, for her take on those stories. | 11/3/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAI vs. AI: Automated programs are writing better scam emails, and AI is spotting them | According to the FBI, email phishing attacks accounted for nearly $51 billion in losses over the past 10 years — and the number is only expected to grow with the introduction of artificial intelligence. Dina Temple-Raston from the “Click Here” podcast followed one company that is doing something new to fight the growing threat of scam emails: fighting AI with AI. | 11/2/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanYou realized the AI you’re creating may be dangerous. Now what? | It’s been about seven months since leaders in tech signed an open letter calling for a temporary pause on artificial intelligence development. The gist was that the risks of advanced AI are too great for developers to keep tinkering with the technology in the absence of proper safeguards. That pause ultimately did not happen, and for some researchers, the core concerns in that letter still exist. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Jonas Schuett, research fellow at the Centre for the Governance of AI, about a recent paper he co-authored that has a different take on the question of pausing development. | 11/1/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanBiden’s executive order aims to limit the harms of AI | In 2017, then-MIT graduate student Joy Buolamwini shared the challenge of getting facial analysis software to notice her. “Hi camera, can you see my face? You can see her face. What about my face?” she asks the program as she stares at her webcam. It couldn’t “see” her until she wore a white mask. The reason, argued Buolamwini, who is Black, is because of algorithmic bias. Fighting it is one goal of the executive order on AI unveiled Monday by the Biden administration. Buolamwini, author of the new book “Unmasking AI,” told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali the executive order is a step in the right direction. | 10/31/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhy default settings are important to a search engine’s success | It was declared the winner of the search-engine wars way back in 1998. Fortune magazine said the company was poised for much bigger things. That company was, actually, Yahoo. As it turned out, that prediction didn’t age well. Of course, Google is the real winner of the battle for search engine dominance. How it got there is the subject of the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust case against it. Google has just started mounting its defense as the 10-week trial nears its end. Much of the case hinges on the question of default settings on tech devices. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with her colleague Matt Levin about the role of those settings in the government’s argument. | 10/30/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanPolicymakers take on AI, deepfakes and Meta’s effects on kids | This week, Marketplace Tech is introducing a new regular Friday segment called Bytes: a week in review, where we’ll dive into the major news stories of the week, giving you the context and information you need. And what a week it’s been in the tech industry! Disarray in Congress disrupts plans to deal with deepfakes ahead of the 2024 election. Also, the White House prepares an executive order on artificial intelligence, set for release as soon as next week. But the biggest tech headline of the week? Dozens of states are suing Facebook and Instagram’s parent company Meta for allegedly harming the mental health of its young users with “addictive” features aiming at keeping kids on their various social media sites at the risk of their well-being. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali is joined by Maria Curi, tech policy reporter at Axios for her take on those stories. | 10/27/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAgeism in China’s tech sector has workers fearing the “curse of 35” | Here in the U.S., big tech is having a good earnings season as companies release their quarterly report cards this week. This, after a year marked by layoffs, with many tech workers going through the first industry downturn of their careers. China’s tech industry has been even more exposed. The world’s second largest economy is struggling. Turns out, a long resume isn’t always helpful to those thrown out of work, as a result. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Marketplace’s China correspondent Jennifer Pak, who explained what’s being called the “curse of 35.” | 10/26/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow teens are being blackmailed with sexting scams on social media | Last year, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) got more than 10,000 tips about minors extorted in sexting scams. The number is even higher so far this year. And what authorities are noticing is that in a lot of these cases boys are the target. It often starts with direct messages on social media. Flirting leads to requests for explicit photos. And as soon as they hit send, the person on the other end threatens to share the photos unless they get paid. Freelance reporter Chris Moody wrote about what’s being called “sextortion” for the Washington Post. A warning: this conversation includes a mention of teen suicide. | 10/25/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAs New York cracks down on rentals, Airbnb hosts go underground | As recently as August, Airbnb was doing brisk business in New York City, with more than 22,000 listings there. Two months and a citywide crackdown later, that number has fallen to just above 3,000, a decrease of more than 80%. Local Law 18, which took effect last month, requires hosts of short-term rentals on Airbnb, Vrbo and similar sites to register with the city and live in the property they’re renting out. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Amanda Hoover, a staff writer at Wired, who’s been following the fallout from the new law. | 10/24/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCRISPR pioneer Doudna envisions ending asthma, aiding climate | The technology known as CRISPR is considered one of modern biology’s biggest breakthroughs. It allows scientists to edit genes, similar to how you cut and paste text in a word processor. More than a decade after pioneering CRISPR, Nobel laureate Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, is applying it to big problems, like chronic disease and climate change.Marketplace’s Lily Jamali recently met up with Doudna at Berkeley’s Innovative Genomics Institute. It’s a cluster of lab stations, researchers and very loud refrigerators where CRISPR is used to edit microbiomes. | 10/23/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWorkers in Israel’s dynamic tech sector are joining the war effort. That’s affecting the industry, and the economy. | Thousands of Israelis and Palestinians have lost their lives since Hamas gunmen staged their surprise raid on Oct. 7. In the wake of the attack, Israel’s defense forces have called up more than 350,000 reservists, about 4% of its population. The country’s booming tech industry could be affected more than most, given that so many younger Israelis work in the sector. Fast Company contributing writer Issie Lapowsky recently interviewed several of them, including an Israeli tech lawyer named Yitzy Hammer. | 10/20/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe potential return of net neutrality and the future of the digital divide | The talk of late at the Federal Communications Commission is whether to restore net neutrality. When the Barack Obama administration put those rules in place in 2015, the idea was to ensure that internet service providers — or ISPs — like Verizon and Comcast gave consumers fair access to the web and didn’t favor sites and services they controlled. But that mandate was repealed two years later under then-FCC Chair Ajit Pai, chosen by then-President Donald Trump. He argued that net neutrality would disincentivize companies from building their networks in low-income, urban and rural areas. Critics of the repeal argued that rural America’s ability to access the internet would be hurt. After the federal repeal, some states adopted their own net neutrality regulations while others didn’t, which provided a pretty great data set for researchers wanting to know: What would getting rid of net neutrality mean for internet access in rural areas? | 10/19/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanBacteria could be the key to a safer, greener way of processing rare-earth metals | The word “bacteria” doesn’t exactly evoke positive images, but scientists at Cornell University recently discovered a novel way to replicate and use a bacterium from Oneida Lake in New York state. It’s called Shewanella oneidensis, and it has a special affinity for the rare-earth elements — such as so-called lanthanides, metals that are important for clean, renewable energy technology. The bacteria can be used to process rare-earth metals through a method called biosorption, which is considered safer and less taxing on the environment than current means of extraction. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali discussed the findings with Buz Barstow, a professor of biological and environmental engineering at Cornell and a lead researcher on the project. | 10/18/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow the IRS is using $60 billion to make filing taxes less painful | If you asked for an extension on last year’s taxes, the bad news is the filing deadline was yesterday. The good is if you got it in, refunds are expected to reach you faster than they have in recent years. The notoriously clunky technology behind the IRS is getting a massive update, thanks to a $60 billion cash infusion from last year’s Inflation Reduction Act. The IRS’ technology was considered cutting edge in the 1960s, but Erica Neuman, assistant professor of accounting at the University of Dayton, tells Marketplace’s Lily Jamali the IRS needs all the IT help it can get. | 10/17/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe game-changing work of Jerry Lawson (rerun) | When you think of the early days of video games, the Fairchild Channel F console might not be the first brand that comes to mind. The Fairchild Channel F was released in 1976, before the more famous Atari released its console. It was also the first system to use individual game cartridges, thanks in large part to Jerry Lawson, a Black engineer at Fairchild. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino recently spoke with Anthony Frasier, CEO of ABF Creative and host of a podcast about Jerry Lawson called “Raising the Game,” about Lawson’s life and achievements. | 10/16/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe race for China’s electric vehicle market | Chinese automaker BYD is now the most popular EV in China and could soon beat Tesla as the No. 1 EV globally. As the Chinese auto market moves to electric, the playing field is getting crowded. | 10/13/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanFraud influencers, phishing and scams — account takeovers are on the rise | Whether it’s for travel, meals or event tickets, it’s hard to deny the allure of a good deal. And providing discounts through fraudulent means is a thriving business online. Once mostly relegated to the far reaches of the dark web, fraudsters are offering questionable deals to consumers on mainstream social media sites and messaging apps. That’s according to the online fraud prevention company Sift. Part of the scam is what is called an account takeover or ATO. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Brittany Allen, a trust and safety architect with Sift, about why ATOs are increasing. | 10/12/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanSan Francisco is becoming a tech hub again, Y Combinator CEO says | They say it’s harder to get into than Harvard: Y Combinator, YC for short, is “startup school” for tech founders. It takes applications twice a year. Being among the 230 startups accepted out of 24,000 means getting a half-million-dollar investment and access to mentors who’ve already made it. Airbnb, Reddit and DoorDash are on the alumni list. For most of its 18-year history, Y Combinator has been based in Mountain View, California, the heart of Silicon Valley. Recently, though, its center of gravity has moved about 40 miles north to San Francisco. YC opened a new office in June and now considers the city its headquarters. Garry Tan took over last year in a role once held by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman. Tan wants founders to be nearby, at least during the first three months they’re in the program. He told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali why during a walk through the city. | 10/11/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanX’s misinformation woes get worse during the Israel-Hamas conflict | Last weekend, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, people around the world flocked to Twitter — now X — for up-to-the-minute information. What they found was a site crawling with misinformation: images captured months or years earlier in unrelated attacks, inaccurate claims about other countries entering the conflict, even a fake White House press release announcing billions of dollars in new U.S. aid to Israel made the rounds. And X’s owner, Elon Musk, promoting accounts known for spreading lies and hate didn’t help. The signal-to-noise ratio on X is worse than ever, said David Clinch, a founding partner of the social media intelligence agency Storyful and co-founder of Media Growth Partners. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Clinch about what X users should remember when scrolling through the platform for news on the Israel-Hamas situation. | 10/10/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAs SBF sits in court, is cryptocurrency on trial too? | Almost one year after FTX collapsed, founder Sam Bankman-Fried is on trial for fraud. Crypto’s value has mostly recovered; users hope its reputation will too. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Vicky Huang, a crypto reporter at The Wall Street Journal, about how the trial is affecting perceptions of the industry. | 10/9/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanStreaming data transparency a vast and contested terrain for Hollywood creatives | The lucrative NBC sitcom “Cheers” featured a washed-up baseball-player-turned-bartender, a spunky waitress and a bunch of regulars who hung out at the bar. By the end of its 11-season run in 1993, the show was getting 26 million viewers a week.Back then, the public could get a lot of information about how our favorite shows performed. But for streaming in 2023, that data is harder to come by. It was a sticking point in the five-month Hollywood writers strike. Members of the Writers Guild of America have until next week to ratify a new contract with studios that includes access to data like total hours streamed. But even that metric isn’t enough, Brandon Katz, a strategist at entertainment consulting firm Parrot Analytics. | 10/6/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanCalifornia bill could lead the way in diversifying venture capital investments | Sand Hill Road in Silicon Valley’s Menlo Park is often referred to as the main street of venture capital. Funding from these influential firms can launch a startup into the big time — sometimes unicorn status. But just 2% of venture capital goes to all-female teams. That figure is even lower for Black women and Latina founders. A bill just passed by California lawmakers, SB 54, offers a first-in-the-nation push to gather the statistics on who’s getting all that highly sought-after cash. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until next week to sign it into law. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with reporter Hanisha Harjani of The Fuller Project about how it would work. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation. | 10/5/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe beauty industry generates a lot of waste. Technology can help. | The beauty industry is getting bigger and more lucrative, but beauty brand Olay says that with about 80% of beauty products going unused, there’s an ugly side to that growth. Startups in Sweden and Finland hope technology can reduce cosmetic waste by changing the way we shop. | 10/4/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAre state and local governments embracing or banning generative AI? | A couple of weeks back, the news broke that a school district in Mason City, Iowa, was using ChatGPT to implement Iowa’s ban on books that include descriptions of sex acts. One book flagged was Buzz Bissinger’s classic “Friday Night Lights.” The thing is, that book includes no such descriptions, according to the author himself. Although the district reversed course, it’s an example of how more government officials are using artificial intelligence at work, in some cases leading to restrictions on tools like ChatGPT. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with journalist Todd Feathers, who covered this recently in Wired. | 10/3/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanThe history of the keyboard is filled with battles, controversies and lasers | The humble keyboard is the unsung hero of our tech lives. It’s the thing that almost every great modern book or screenplay or even Instagram caption was first written on. And yet, very few people are writing about it. Designer and writer Marcin Wichary sought to change that with his new book “Shift Happens.” In it, he chronicles the sometimes contentious history of the keyboard. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Wichary about his research, beginning with the very first typewriters. | 10/2/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow California’s Delete Act could impact the business of data brokering | There’s an entire industry built around making money off personal information that’s gathered online. Companies known as data brokers collect it, then sell it to other parties. California tried to tackle this problem a couple of years ago, giving consumers the right to ask that companies delete their information. But actually doing that is tedious. Consumers have to make the request one company at a time. A bill passed by California lawmakers this month aims to change that by allowing one request to apply to all data brokers. SB 362, also known as the Delete Act, would additionally require brokers to register with the state. At this point, the legislation needs Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature to become law. Jessica Rich, a senior policy adviser for consumer protection at the law firm Kelley Drye, laid out the stakes of the issue for Marketplace’s Lily Jamali. | 9/29/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAfter a decade, the EU draws the curtains on its Human Brain Project | In making the case for the Human Brain Project back in 2009, neuroscientist Henry Markram noted that 2 billion people are affected by some kind of mental disorder. It was time, he said, to explore fundamental questions about how the brain works. The collaboration that resulted involved hundreds of scientists across several nations. This week marks the end of Europe’s ambitious but also at times controversial initiative. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke with Miryam Naddaf, a reporter for the publication Nature, about what the project’s researchers have accomplished. | 9/28/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat the FTC’s antitrust lawsuit means for Amazon | According to a lawsuit filed Tuesday by the Federal Trade Commission and 17 states, “Amazon is a monopolist.” They say Amazon uses strategies that prevent sellers on its online marketplace from lowering prices on other platforms and compels them to use Amazon’s logistics service to be eligible for Amazon Prime. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Neil Chilson, the former chief technologist at the FTC and currently a research fellow at the Center for Growth and Opportunity, about the FTC’s lawsuit. He said Amazon’s argument will likely hinge on the amount of value they’ve created for consumers and sellers. | 9/27/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanWhat’s happening in the Google antitrust trial? It’s kind of a black box. | We’re going on Week 3 of Google’s high-stakes trial over allegations that it bought its way to dominance in internet search. The Department of Justice and several states allege that the tech giant has maintained a lucrative monopoly through exclusive contracts with browser companies and phone makers like Apple and Samsung. Google has countered that it’s dominant in search because it offers the best product. Covering this trial has been a complicated task. Part of the challenge is that Google and other companies involved have moved to shield documents from public view. That applies to some testimony too. Leah Nylen, an antitrust reporter for Bloomberg who’s been present throughout, told Marketplace’s Lily Jamali about the trade-offs involved in these confidentiality decisions. | 9/26/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanHow countries around the world shape their data policy | It’s impossible to quantify the volume of data generated by citizens around the world. Make no mistake, though — data has become a commodity to the companies that monetize it. At the same time, governments are making laws around how to protect it, who can access it and even where to store it. These choices are guided by how leaders think data can advance their national interests, according to Gillian Diebold at the Center for Data Innovation, who just wrote an analysis on the subject. She spoke with Marketplace’s Lily Jamali about data policies in China, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Singapore and India and how they compare. | 9/25/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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CleanAI in schools creates greater risk for marginalized students, researchers find | When ChatGPT came on the scene in November, it sent schools across the country into a panic. Some districts immediately started setting rules around how students could use artificial intelligence programs in their schoolwork. Others moved to ban them altogether. All this happened while information about the good and the bad of AI’s foray into classrooms was still pretty scarce. Researchers at the Center for Democracy & Technology, based in Washington, D.C., gathered data to counter some of the hype. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali discussed it with Elizabeth Laird, CDT’s director of equity in civic technology and a co-author of a report out this week. | 9/22/2023 | Free | View in iTunes |
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Customer Reviews
Welcome Molly !!!!!
I re downloaded the Apple podcast app, just so I could do reviews, and specifically for this one. (I consume my podcasts on another app with more control and function). I have enjoyed Marketplace Tech since the days of John Moe. Which means you, Molly are my fourth host for this show. WELCOME!! I am a huge fan of yours, from Marketplace and even more so from Make Me Smart (my next review). I have enjoyed all 3 of your interviews since your start on Tuesday. Keep doing what you're doing. And enjoy.
A perfect little nugget every day
John Moe is a delightful host--funny and opinionated without being snarky or obnoxious. The team finds creative ways to explain complex tech issues, such as parodies of Masterpiece Theater, and the show is consistently entertaining. Five minutes well spent every day.
Full of advertising
Sick of it. FIrst 30 seconds you'll be listening to stupid ads. Then you get 2 minutes of yadda-yadda and then some more ads. Sheesh!
