Flock and awe: Flock Safety and the surveillance state you didn't vote for — Dingus of the Week Podcast #37

A man in Atlanta got tired of cars getting jacked. Instead of getting therapy, he decided to get even. Garrett Langley's Flock Safety cameras now blanket small towns and big cities alike, sharing a searchable database of your activity across the country. On the bright side in this timeline, we all get to be camgirls. So that's something. Also this week: a viral (possibly AI-fabricated) invitation to a Gwyneth Paltrow dinner party for Sam Altman and Jason Kelsey teams up with Liquid Death to piss away the marketing budget (Dollars well spent!).On this episode of DINGUS OF THE WEEK, hosts LYZ LENZ and ZACHARY OREN SMITH tune-in to watch our rights exist stage left.DINGUS OF THE WEEK is a weekly comedy news podcast where writers Lyz and Zach light a fire under the American rogue's gallery to see who comes spilling out. If you're tired of doom-scrolling but know ignoring the problem doesn't get us anywhere, this is your new weekend listen. New episodes every Saturday morning.SUPPORT THE SHOW by subscribing on Patreon.👑 $5/month - Not a Dingus tier (3 weekly newsletters, 1 podcast, and our entire archive)👑👑 $10/month - Definitely Not a Dingus tier (all the above + polls and topic submissions, a chat community, weekly discussions, comment access, and our love)SEND US YOUR DINGUS. Record a voice memo and tell us who your dingus of the week is. Make it good and you'll hear your voice on the show. You can also email those to [email protected]. FOLLOW DINGUS OF THE WEEKYoutubeInstagramLYZ LENZ is the HBIC of MYAM Media. ZACHARY OREN SMITH writes about politics for Iowa Starting Line. Follow his work on Instagram (http://instagram.com/zacharyorensmith) and TikTok (https://www.tiktok.com/@zacharyorensmith).LAURA BENITEZ wrote the theme song.SHOW RUNDOWN:00:00 - Cold open: giant pumpkins at the Iowa State Fair13:41 - Intro 13:57 - Dingus: Flock Safety's AI surveillance cameras51:09 - Midroll 51:12 - Newsletter Discord check-in: readers organizing their towns against Flock cameras 56:57 - Jason Kelsey, Garage Beer, and Liquid Death's "We Want Your Pee" data-center ad 1:06:01 - Tangent: the Dust Bowl, Herbert Hoover, and the parallel to AI data centers 1:11:32 - Joy: Lyz on Herbert Hoover's death (and conservation districts); Zach on grape High Chews 1:18:23 - Outro 1:22:04 - Bonus: Lyz and the Dust Bowl