PODCAST · technology
HACKS | a tech podcast
by simon/maral/robert/rosemary
here at the HACKS Initiative we ask the questions everyone else is too shook to: what is technology? why is everything so bad? what's my passphrase again? how do I get the header image to work? is the NSA agent watching me through my webcam my friend?
Episodes
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episode 018: incognito sicko mode (ft. justine smith)
porn: pretty much all of us watch it or consume it in one form or another, and it takes up a measurable % of the entire internet, but what do we really know about how it's distributed and produced? here to help is pick apart the internet's largely Montreal-based pron oligarchy is film critic and...
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minisode 004: the woke, the horny, the sentient
we're working on a new shcedule of alternating full- and mini-sodes for the foreseeable future, so we hope you can adjust on this decidedly more frivolous outing, simon and rob have decided to offer a taxonomy and investigation into the current darkest corner of the entire god-forsaken internet:...
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episode 017: the quadriga affair
maral, rob, and simon get in way over their heads in a special, nearly double-length discussion of a recent financial calamity and the conspiratorial murmurs that surround it. the HACKS initiative would very much like to apologize in advance for the fact that said discussion required us to…
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episode 016: the algorithmic eldritch odyssey
the HACKS initiative blodly goes where no podcast has before: deep into the dark heart of The Algorithm. specifically, we're conducting a sadistic game/experiment to find out just how youtube ticks, following a rash of recent complaints about the service spitting out some rather strange (and...
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minisode 003: banderscratch n' sniff
it's the all-bro edition of HACKS, as maral and rosemary were both out of reach this week. so rob and simon decided to rewind to the hallowed days of several weeks ago to discuss the relative merits and import of Netflix's foray into interactive storytelling, BLACK MIRROR: BANDERSNATCH, aka "wot…
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episode 015: the 2020 holographic apology tour
we decided that a regular prediction episode was too normal and boring and played out so we tried a different thing and we promise not to do it again next year, also we're back, also we're very sorry for this song at the end: suuns, "2020"
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episode 014: islands in the stream
in our last proper show of 2018, the gang (sadly maral-less) ponders just what the music and film/TV streaming economy has done to both creatives and consumers. in contention: algorthmic storytelling, the merist of Netflix's Hill House, whether the tracks at the end of a 25-track Drake album are...
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episode 013: you news, you lose
after a new raft of high-profile site closures, the HACKS Institute gang, properly reassembled at last, ponders the current state of journalism On The Internet, including a recent, apparently failed attempt to bring journalism to the (shudder) blockchain, the fate of the "pivot to video"…
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episode 012: hq2 pt. ii — the search for shatner
a big news week demands a supersized episode, so the hacks reassemble (once again missing Rosemary, present only in digital spirit form) to properly tackle the bidding process for Amazon's HQ2, which this past week set its final "winning" locations as long island, virginia, as well as an extra...
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episode 011: 23andme and you and everyone we know
we are sadly rosemaryless this week, but we're still excited to finally tackle one of the most annoying and pervasive subjects of the modern era: that's right, it's race science baby!! well, specifically, we're taking a look at 23andme and other ancestry websites and services designed to tell you...
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episode 010: future's so right I gotta wear shades
the rise of neo-fascist Bolsonaro in Brazil prompted a new wave of relection on the role of major social media apps and networks in aiding and abetting the last few years of reactionary political movements around the world. to what extent is technology itself wagging the dog on this issue? the...
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minisode 002: betrayed in the hexagon (sidewalk labs pt ii)
we decided to take a quick return to sidewalk labs (aka alphabet aka google) and their attempt to transform a chunk of toronto's aterfront into the "city of the future." turns out that's also the name of their podcast, which rob and rosemary bravely tuned into....and emerged changed people. we…
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episode 009: blaze it pal, the weed episode 420 hell yeah bro
bro!!!! have you heard that pot is legal in canada??? we ponder the rollout and the ramifications, before moving onto our main topic: the still-illegal drugs! specifically, we dive into microdosing in tech and its class dimensions, as well as the broader phenomenon of "consciousness hacking"…
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episode 008: lightweight jammin'
using a silly McDonald's prank as our starting point, the hacks ensemble goes off on a lot of freewheeling tangents concerning the somehow-still-running "culture jamming" outlet Adbusters, the alt-right, incels, what it means to try to effect change on the internet or IRL, and how mad can simon…
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episode 007: a touch too much
the gang is all back, and with a topic we have not even remotely touched on before: sex! sex! sex! in the first (and briefer) segment, we spend a little time pondering the vagaries of the internet pr0n industry and its resurgent role in the montreal economy, then move onto the main event: rob has...
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minisode 001: eine klein nachtmusik
We didn't have time to do a full court press this week, so a slightly diminished gang quickly assembled to dive deep on a narrowed topic (or at least that was the plan). On our first "minisode", Rob, Simon and Rosemary tackle the polite centrism of Ezra Klein and the "solutionism" a specific…
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episode 006: rehash power
blame simon the birthday bitch, as well as a wide variety of behind-the-scenes recording issues, for the late appearance this week. after our traumatically maral-less outing last week, the gang reassembles properly for a free-flowing conversation about the ecological impacts of disruptive...
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episode 005: disorder of the triad
with the hacks shorthanded for the first time, they decide to once again go after low-hanging fruit in search of sweet, sweet #content - this time by investing a trio of embattled tech giants. Rosemary brings us the tale of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos, Rob braves the entire Joe Rogan/Elon Musk...
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episode 004: cops and LAN go hand in hand
here at the HACKS initiative, if there's one thing we love, it's our cops! but sometimes they do things that freak us out a bit, like when they adopt "pre-crime" measures and surveil us without our knowledge or consent. we take a quick look at two new-ish technologies that aim to do both of those...
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episode 003: shade runner 2018
in the first HACKS initiative field report, simon and rosemary go to a public consultation for Sidewalk Labs, Google/Alpahbet's "smart city" project for toronto's quayside area. this leads us to ponder the value and meaning of "smart cities" in general. in another topic we're sure to revisit, we...
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episode 002: spooky action at the multiplex
already scraping the very bottom of the content barrel only two weeks in, the gang takes a look at Unfriended: Dark Web, the latest attempt to make the movie internet scarier than the real internet. also, the Initiative looks at what went wrong with everyone's favorite money pit / excuse to camp...
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episode 001: welcome to the interrortron
in our first episode, the gang ponders the promise and mission of Wealthsimple, the robo-advisor company selling you "ethical investing" without the pesky need to talk to actual humans, and whose spiffy ads recruit errol morris, various celebrities, and a seven-year old. we also pitch our...
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ABOUT THIS SHOW
here at the HACKS Initiative we ask the questions everyone else is too shook to: what is technology? why is everything so bad? what's my passphrase again? how do I get the header image to work? is the NSA agent watching me through my webcam my friend?
HOSTED BY
simon/maral/robert/rosemary
CATEGORIES
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Frequently Asked Questions
How many episodes does HACKS | a tech podcast have?
HACKS | a tech podcast currently has 22 episodes available on PodParley. New episodes are automatically indexed when they're published to the podcast feed.
What is HACKS | a tech podcast about?
here at the HACKS Initiative we ask the questions everyone else is too shook to: what is technology? why is everything so bad? what's my passphrase again? how do I get the header image to work? is the NSA agent watching me through my webcam my friend?
How often does HACKS | a tech podcast release new episodes?
HACKS | a tech podcast has 22 episodes. Check the episode list to see recent publication dates and frequency.
Where can I listen to HACKS | a tech podcast?
You can listen to HACKS | a tech podcast on PodParley by clicking any episode. We provide an embedded audio player for direct listening, and you can also subscribe via your preferred podcast app using the RSS feed.
Who hosts HACKS | a tech podcast?
HACKS | a tech podcast is created and hosted by simon/maral/robert/rosemary.
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