Technology Blows

The cash register: a machine invented because your boss doesn't trust you to count. Join me and my guest Daniel Ryan to learn:Why we can thank the father of cash registers for B2B sales, office cafeterias, and maybe even the Buzzfeed listicleHow one man's fall from a horse led to the entire world being poisoned with leaded gasolineHow many baked potatoes is too many baked potatoesReferences:Conover, Charlotte Reeve. (1939). Builders in New Fields. G.P. Putnam's Sons.Crowther, Samuel. (1924). John H. Patterson: Pioneer in Industrial Welfare. Doubleday, Page & Company.Friedman, Walter A. (2004). Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America. Harvard University Press.https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/5d/2e/92/8bbb58c75ecb6a/US271363.pdfhttps://archive.org/details/johnhpattersonpi00crow/page/20/mode/2uphttps://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htmhttps://www.anchin.com/uploads/1413/doc/News_Rest-101Steal_FB.pdfhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20551940.2024.2307721St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1901, p. 11.St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, 1901, p. 44.https://www.brassregisters.com/fwl3/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1898-NCR-catalogue-Introduction-Terms.pdfhttps://www.brassregisters.com/fwl3/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NCR-catalogue-1909-color-400-class.pdfhttps://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/incorruptable_cashier.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/llkUXxpIo20

The cash register: a machine invented because your boss doesn't trust you to count. Join me and my guest Daniel Ryan to learn:Why we can thank the father of cash registers for B2B sales, office cafeterias, and maybe even the Buzzfeed listicleHow one man's fall from a horse led to the entire world being poisoned with leaded gasolineHow many baked potatoes is too many baked potatoesReferences:Conover, Charlotte Reeve. (1939). Builders in New Fields. G.P. Putnam's Sons.Crowther, Samuel. (1924). John H. Patterson: Pioneer in Industrial Welfare. Doubleday, Page & Company.Friedman, Walter A. (2004). Birth of a Salesman: The Transformation of Selling in America. Harvard University Press.https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/5d/2e/92/8bbb58c75ecb6a/US271363.pdfhttps://archive.org/details/johnhpattersonpi00crow/page/20/mode/2uphttps://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1867-c1/ch15.htmhttps://www.anchin.com/uploads/1413/doc/News_Rest-101Steal_FB.pdfhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/20551940.2024.2307721St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 21, 1901, p. 11.St. Louis Post-Dispatch, May 26, 1901, p. 44.https://www.brassregisters.com/fwl3/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/1898-NCR-catalogue-Introduction-Terms.pdfhttps://www.brassregisters.com/fwl3/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/NCR-catalogue-1909-color-400-class.pdfhttps://www.daytonhistorybooks.com/incorruptable_cashier.htmlhttps://www.youtube.com/shorts/llkUXxpIo20

On this week's episode, Meg Sinick joins me for the saga of Ticketmaster: the company that swallowed up and digested the live music industry by making a product that literally no one wants. Find out:How service fees and exclusive contracts turned the thriving music scene into a $300 Lil Jon meet-and-greet atop a pyramid of bleached skullsWhy the concentrated hate of millions of concertgoers only makes Ticketmaster more powerfulHow Taylor Swift finished what Eddie Vedder started (and also Kid Rock was there)References: Budnick, Dean, and Josh Baron. Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped. New York: Plume, 2012.https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/reports/Ticket_Sales_Report.pdfhttps://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970504/2537429/paul-allen-caught-in-the-middle----his-varied-business-ventures-sometimes-collide-with-those-of-microsoft-the-firm-he-helped-foundhttps://conduition.io/coding/ticketmaster/?ref=404media.cohttps://faqs.axs.co.ukhttps://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/live-at-wharton-music-man-ron-delsener/https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qoim5FInvN4https://manicpresents.com/about/https://musicsustainability.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/628/2025/08/The-LiveNation_Ticketmaster-Merger_-A-citizens-guide.pdfhttps://nclnet.org/live_event_ticketing_guide/https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33288959https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/ahead-trial-attorney-general-bonta-lays-out-case-against-live-nationhttps://playbill.com/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-ticketmasters-verified-fan-ticket-buyinghttps://prospect.org/2022/12/21/ticketmasters-dark-history/https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdf/10.1257/089533003765888449https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10185618/event-brite-qr-codehttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e91157c96fe495a4baf48f2/t/68e58e39bce25b729b47932e/1759874617679/2025-NIVA-State-of-Live-Report.pdfhttps://web.archive.org/web/20240402023930/https://help.ticketmaster.com/hc/en-us/articles/9663528775313-How-are-ticket-prices-and-fees-determinedhttps://web.archive.org/web/20241209042105/https://www.ticketmaster.com/mobile-ticketshttps://www.404media.co/scalpers-are-working-with-hackers-to-liberate-non-transferable-tickets-from-ticketmasters-ecosystem/https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/online-ticket-sale-fees/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/11/23/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-buys-control-of-ticketmaster/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-07-17-9507210012-story.htmlhttps://www.classaction.org/media/heckman-et-al-v-live-nation-entertainment-inc-et-al.pdfhttps://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/media/taylor-swift-tickets-resale-market/index.htmlhttps://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/03/09/music-industry-revenue-us-2021/https://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/testimon.shtmlhttps://www.foxbusiness.com/features/paperless-ticket-trend-leaves-unbanked-outside-the-gatehttps://www.hypebot.com/adele-plots-ou-tour-with-indie-promoters-snubbing-live-nation-aeg/https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2025/06/27/live-nation-ticketmaster-among-issues-at-indie-music-venue-conference/84342601007/https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nj/Press/files/Lowson,%20Kenneth%20et%20al%20News%20Release.htmlhttps://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/ticketmaster-pays-10-million-criminal-fine-intrusions-competitor-s-computer-systems-0https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-31-fi-5143-story.htmlhttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-09-ca-136-story.htmlhttps://www.natb.org/why-natb/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32898804https://www.newspapers.com/image/176472943/?match=1&terms=ticketmaster%20fees%20service%20facilityhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/35017641/?match=1&terms=ticket%20scalpershttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-rare-humanism-behind-paul-allens-technological-vision

On this week's episode, Meg Sinick joins me for the saga of Ticketmaster: the company that swallowed up and digested the live music industry by making a product that literally no one wants. Find out:How service fees and exclusive contracts turned the thriving music scene into a $300 Lil Jon meet-and-greet atop a pyramid of bleached skullsWhy the concentrated hate of millions of concertgoers only makes Ticketmaster more powerfulHow Taylor Swift finished what Eddie Vedder started (and also Kid Rock was there)References: Budnick, Dean, and Josh Baron. Ticket Masters: The Rise of the Concert Industry and How the Public Got Scalped. New York: Plume, 2012.https://ag.ny.gov/sites/default/files/reports/Ticket_Sales_Report.pdfhttps://archive.seattletimes.com/archive/19970504/2537429/paul-allen-caught-in-the-middle----his-varied-business-ventures-sometimes-collide-with-those-of-microsoft-the-firm-he-helped-foundhttps://conduition.io/coding/ticketmaster/?ref=404media.cohttps://faqs.axs.co.ukhttps://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/live-at-wharton-music-man-ron-delsener/https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qoim5FInvN4https://manicpresents.com/about/https://musicsustainability.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/628/2025/08/The-LiveNation_Ticketmaster-Merger_-A-citizens-guide.pdfhttps://nclnet.org/live_event_ticketing_guide/https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=33288959https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/ahead-trial-attorney-general-bonta-lays-out-case-against-live-nationhttps://playbill.com/article/what-you-need-to-know-about-ticketmasters-verified-fan-ticket-buyinghttps://prospect.org/2022/12/21/ticketmasters-dark-history/https://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdf/10.1257/089533003765888449https://stackoverflow.com/questions/10185618/event-brite-qr-codehttps://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e91157c96fe495a4baf48f2/t/68e58e39bce25b729b47932e/1759874617679/2025-NIVA-State-of-Live-Report.pdfhttps://web.archive.org/web/20240402023930/https://help.ticketmaster.com/hc/en-us/articles/9663528775313-How-are-ticket-prices-and-fees-determinedhttps://web.archive.org/web/20241209042105/https://www.ticketmaster.com/mobile-ticketshttps://www.404media.co/scalpers-are-working-with-hackers-to-liberate-non-transferable-tickets-from-ticketmasters-ecosystem/https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/online-ticket-sale-fees/https://www.chicagotribune.com/1993/11/23/microsoft-co-founder-paul-allen-buys-control-of-ticketmaster/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-07-17-9507210012-story.htmlhttps://www.classaction.org/media/heckman-et-al-v-live-nation-entertainment-inc-et-al.pdfhttps://www.cnn.com/2022/11/16/media/taylor-swift-tickets-resale-market/index.htmlhttps://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2022/03/09/music-industry-revenue-us-2021/https://www.fivehorizons.com/archive/articles/testimon.shtmlhttps://www.foxbusiness.com/features/paperless-ticket-trend-leaves-unbanked-outside-the-gatehttps://www.hypebot.com/adele-plots-ou-tour-with-indie-promoters-snubbing-live-nation-aeg/https://www.jsonline.com/story/money/business/2025/06/27/live-nation-ticketmaster-among-issues-at-indie-music-venue-conference/84342601007/https://www.justice.gov/archive/usao/nj/Press/files/Lowson,%20Kenneth%20et%20al%20News%20Release.htmlhttps://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/ticketmaster-pays-10-million-criminal-fine-intrusions-competitor-s-computer-systems-0https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-01-31-fi-5143-story.htmlhttps://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-06-09-ca-136-story.htmlhttps://www.natb.org/why-natb/https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna32898804https://www.newspapers.com/image/176472943/?match=1&terms=ticketmaster%20fees%20service%20facilityhttps://www.newspapers.com/image/35017641/?match=1&terms=ticket%20scalpershttps://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/the-rare-humanism-behind-paul-allens-technological-vision

Grok is here to seek truth and tell lies… and we're all out of truth. Join me and my guest Matt Johnson to find out:What Grok has in common with turn-of-the-20th-century tsarist propagandaThe 3 Jewish-adjacent facts that make it okay for Elon Musk to joke about JewsWhy LLMs sometimes become MechaHitler, but never CyberMaoReferences:Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. Penguin Classics, 2017.https://academictorrents.com/details/5f96d43576e3d386c9ba65b883210a393b68210e https://anewz.tv/science/artificial-intelligence/3045/elon-musks-xai-releases-grok-3-its-latest-flagship-ai-mode/news https://apnews.com/article/parody-ad-ai-harris-musk-x-misleading-3a5df582f911a808d34f68b766aa3b8e https://archive.ph/pLqkg https://blog.x.com/en_us/topics/company/2023/supporting-peoples-right-to-accurate-and-safe-political-discourse-on-x1 https://counterhate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Toxic-Twitter_FINAL.pdf https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/18/tech/grok-3-release-elon-musk/index.html https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/ai-principles/ https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/ https://github.com/xai-org/grok-1 https://github.com/xai-org/grok-prompts/blob/main/grok4_system_turn_prompt_v8.j2 https://github.com/xai-org/grok-prompts/commit/82a9ce73bcd1422d2abd899ee7340e545f729e0b https://gizmodo.com/most-embarrassing-blunders-elon-musks-grok-ai-news-1851416945 https://gizmodo.com/round-them-up-grok-praises-hitler-as-elon-musks-ai-tool-goes-full-nazi-2000626156 https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/intimate-media https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/manipulated-media https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-premium https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-x-twitter-ai-chatbot-grok-fake-news-trending-explore https://mashable.com/article/twitter-ad-share-revenue-creators-elon-musk-favorites-eligibility https://mashable.com/article/twitter-x-creator-fund-ad-revenue-sharing https://observer.co.uk/news/international/article/how-the-hitchhikers-guide-inspired-elon-musk https://observer.com/2024/07/openai-founders-career/ https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-source-ai-grok-llm https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/27/elon-musk-fired-top-twitter-execs-including-ceo-reports-say/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/03/twitter-layoffs-elon-musk/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/17/elon-musk-x-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-actual-truth/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/29/elon-musk-says-go-fuck-yourself-to-advertisers-leaving-x/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/elon-musk-says-all-premium-subscribers-on-x-will-gain-access-to-ai-chatbot-grok-this-week/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/05/secretaries-of-state-urge-x-to-stop-its-grok-chatbot-from-spreading-election-misinformation/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/14/meet-black-forest-labs-the-startup-powering-elon-musks-unhinged-ai-image-generator/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/04/x-is-hiring-staff-for-security-and-safety-after-two-years-of-layoffs/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/03/black-forest-labs-the-startup-behind-groks-image-generator-releases-an-api/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/10/x-is-testing-a-free-version-of-ai-chatbot-grok/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/07/elon-musks-x-gains-a-new-image-generator-aurora/ https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/08/xai-is-testing-a-standalone-ios-app-for-its-grok-chatbot/ https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/18/grok-says-its-skeptical-about-holocaust-death-toll-then-blames-programming-error/ https://time.com/6260185/elon-musk-ai-culture-wars/ https://venturebeat.com/ai/doomer-advisor-joins-musks-xai-the-4th-top-research-lab-focused-on-ai-apocalypse 

Grok is here to seek truth and tell lies… and we're all out of truth. Join me and my guest Matt Johnson to find out:What Grok has in common with turn-of-the-20th-century tsarist propagandaThe 3 Jewish-adjacent facts that make it okay for Elon Musk to joke about JewsWhy LLMs sometimes become MechaHitler, but never CyberMaoReferences:Arendt, Hannah. The Origins of Totalitarianism. Penguin Classics, 2017.https://academictorrents.com/details/5f96d43576e3d386c9ba65b883210a393b68210e https://anewz.tv/science/artificial-intelligence/3045/elon-musks-xai-releases-grok-3-its-latest-flagship-ai-mode/news https://apnews.com/article/parody-ad-ai-harris-musk-x-misleading-3a5df582f911a808d34f68b766aa3b8e https://archive.ph/pLqkg https://blog.x.com/en_us/topics/company/2023/supporting-peoples-right-to-accurate-and-safe-political-discourse-on-x1 https://counterhate.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Toxic-Twitter_FINAL.pdf https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/18/tech/grok-3-release-elon-musk/index.html https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/ai-principles/ https://futureoflife.org/open-letter/pause-giant-ai-experiments/ https://github.com/xai-org/grok-1 https://github.com/xai-org/grok-prompts/blob/main/grok4_system_turn_prompt_v8.j2 https://github.com/xai-org/grok-prompts/commit/82a9ce73bcd1422d2abd899ee7340e545f729e0b https://gizmodo.com/most-embarrassing-blunders-elon-musks-grok-ai-news-1851416945 https://gizmodo.com/round-them-up-grok-praises-hitler-as-elon-musks-ai-tool-goes-full-nazi-2000626156 https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/intimate-media https://help.twitter.com/en/rules-and-policies/manipulated-media https://help.x.com/en/using-x/x-premium https://mashable.com/article/elon-musk-x-twitter-ai-chatbot-grok-fake-news-trending-explore https://mashable.com/article/twitter-ad-share-revenue-creators-elon-musk-favorites-eligibility https://mashable.com/article/twitter-x-creator-fund-ad-revenue-sharing https://observer.co.uk/news/international/article/how-the-hitchhikers-guide-inspired-elon-musk https://observer.com/2024/07/openai-founders-career/ https://spectrum.ieee.org/open-source-ai-grok-llm https://techcrunch.com/2022/10/27/elon-musk-fired-top-twitter-execs-including-ceo-reports-say/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/11/03/twitter-layoffs-elon-musk/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/17/elon-musk-x-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-actual-truth/ https://techcrunch.com/2023/11/29/elon-musk-says-go-fuck-yourself-to-advertisers-leaving-x/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/03/26/elon-musk-says-all-premium-subscribers-on-x-will-gain-access-to-ai-chatbot-grok-this-week/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/05/secretaries-of-state-urge-x-to-stop-its-grok-chatbot-from-spreading-election-misinformation/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/08/14/meet-black-forest-labs-the-startup-powering-elon-musks-unhinged-ai-image-generator/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/09/04/x-is-hiring-staff-for-security-and-safety-after-two-years-of-layoffs/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/10/03/black-forest-labs-the-startup-behind-groks-image-generator-releases-an-api/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/11/10/x-is-testing-a-free-version-of-ai-chatbot-grok/ https://techcrunch.com/2024/12/07/elon-musks-x-gains-a-new-image-generator-aurora/ https://techcrunch.com/2025/01/08/xai-is-testing-a-standalone-ios-app-for-its-grok-chatbot/ https://techcrunch.com/2025/05/18/grok-says-its-skeptical-about-holocaust-death-toll-then-blames-programming-error/ https://time.com/6260185/elon-musk-ai-culture-wars/ https://venturebeat.com/ai/doomer-advisor-joins-musks-xai-the-4th-top-research-lab-focused-on-ai-apocalypse 

Marty is a fully automated dipshit that wanders around the Stop & Shop getting in everyone's way and posing for selfies. Sometimes it hugs a cancer kid.References:https://bjsantiago.focalpointcoaching.com/about-mehttps://books.google.com/books?id=aTHFDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA95#v=onepage&q&f=falsehttps://doi.org/10.1108/09590550310507731https://economics.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2022-09/Consumer%20Benefits%20from%20Increased%20Competition%20in%20Shopping%20Outlets%20Measuring%20the%20Effect%20of%20Wal-Mart.pdfhttps://embed.documentcloud.org/documents/6602016-5600-Troconis/https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahold_Delhaizehttps://jabil.com/industries/defense-and-aerospace.htmlhttps://m.youtube.com/watch?v=f0XXRYKkAHYhttps://marketing.taskus.com/A185QmFkZ2U=https://mashable.com/article/stop-and-shop-marty-robots-birthdayhttps://mashable.com/feature/marty-grocery-store-stop-and-shop-robot-covid-pandemichttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/supply-chain-lead-podcast/id1495371611?i=1000669925351https://stores.foodlion.com/https://stores.giantfood.com/https://stores.hannaford.com/https://stores.stopandshop.com/https://techinformed.com/spillage-on-aisle-12-the-rise-of-the-retail-robot/https://thecounter.org/supermarket-robot-automation-ai-organized-labor-stop-and-shop/https://web.archive.org/web/20200919083640/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/woodmans-markets-rolls-out-badger-technologies-grocery-robots.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20200919090310/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/badger-technologies-introduces-patrolbot.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20200919094018/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/att-and-badger-technologies-working.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20201002074857/https://apnews.com/article/19a0e615c7fe4a5c8fd754a85f509cb1https://web.archive.org/web/20210917171846/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/badger-technologies-uv-disinfect-robot.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20211016171338/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/badger-technologies-and-stcr.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20240721224646/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/stop-and-shop-nrf-promo.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20240806144745/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/stop-and-shop-upgrade-marty-the-robot.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20240912023036/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/mccoys-building-supply-deploys-badger-robots.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20250615184221/https://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/badger-technologies-deploys-patrolbot-autonomous-security-robot-at-the-national-veterans-memorial-and-museum.htmlhttps://www.aholddelhaize.com/brands/https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/why-sticking-a-pair-of-eyeballs-on-a-sign-actually-changes-behaviorhttps://www.automate.org/robotics/blogs/who-is-marty-the-robot-and-why-do-we-need-retail-service-robotshttps://www.badger-technologies.comhttps://www.badger-technologies.com/dam/jcr:178f5552-ef38-4e31-8965-7ef2055115d8/Woodmans%20Case%20Study_Final.pdfhttps://www.badger-technologies.com/dam/jcr:20adf450-23a7-47d5-89ed-e4dea4c4a201/Badger-Robot-ROI-Whitepaper.pdfhttps://www.badger-technologies.com/dam/jcr:765f7259-97cb-4ff1-a0fb-86f5eedbf403/Badger-Data_Monetization_5_Ways.pdfhttps://www.badger-technologies.com/news/press-releases/stop-and-shop-upgrade-marty-the-robot.htmlhttps://www.badger-technologies.com/platform/badger-in-the-store.htmlhttps://www.badger-technologies.com/resource/badger-resources.html

Suit up, jack in, and Zuck out. I'm joined by guest Anderson Gronvold as we abandon meatspace for metaspace. Find out why you can't afford to miss out on Meta's flagship VR experience. Legs optional! 🦵References:Harris, Blake J. (2019). The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality. Dey Street Books.https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/creating-jobs-europe-metaverse/ https://apnews.com/article/the-facebook-papers-maid-abuse-94909f43c725af09522704348e35bd25 https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/09/facebook-reveals-staffing-plan-to-be-your-vr-chat-concierge-service/ https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/01/25/mark-zuckerberg-under-fire-after-hiring-trumps-former-adviser-as-meta-president/ https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.mit.edu/dist/0/833/files/2020/05/ST_Construc-and-reconstruc-of-self.pdf https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/joeroganexperience/episodes/1863---Mark-Zuckerberg-e1mu8n0 https://epublications.marquette.edu/zuckerberg_files_videos/250/ https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/07/28/snoop-dogg-metaverse-nfts-sandbox-price-declines/ https://games.slashdot.org/story/99/10/15/1012230/John-Carmack-Answers https://gizmodo.com/meta-horizon-worlds-sees-10x-growth-since-december-1848562017 https://kotaku.com/facebook-metaverse-horizon-worlds-vr-oculus-quest-2-cha-1848436740 https://kotaku.com/fortnites-latest-crossover-is-martin-luther-king-1847563562 https://kotaku.com/meta-connect-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-vr-feet-legs-1849643784 https://kotaku.com/the-metaverse-is-already-here-for-cows-and-it-s-very-sa-1848335331 https://medium.com/@gobblegobble/mocap-the-money-part-c16b78de6170 https://medium.com/the-lab-apply-digital/metaverse-review-horizon-worlds-b9f003ea84af https://observer.ug/business/facebook-and-content-moderation-why-its-always-under-attack/ https://patents.google.com/patent/US10192403B2/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US10909405B1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US10976826B1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US3050870A/en https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/09/vr-zuckerberg-shares-details-on-some-of-facebooks-ai-aid-to-the-red-cross-in-puerto-rico/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/10/zuckerberg-apologizes-for-his-tone-deaf-vr-cartoon-tour-of-puerto-rico-devastation/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/13/facebook-mulled-multi-billion-dollar-acquisition-of-unity-book-claims/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/06/meta-integrating-venues-into-horizon-worlds/ https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/jordan-peele-nope-meta-virtua-reality-horizon-worlds-1235313750/ https://washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/07/facebook-metaverse-horizon-worlds-kids-safety/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220216143908/https://www.vox.com/recode/22776461/facebook-meta-metaverse-monopoly https://web.archive.org/web/20220817170129/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mark-zuckerberg-metaverse-selfie-horizon-worlds/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230921175333/https://ai.meta.com/blog/powered-by-ai-oculus-insight/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240912192513/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/11/4/hot-or-not-website-briefly-judges/?page=1 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/09/myanmar-facebooks-systems-promoted-violence-against-rohingya-meta-owes-reparations-new-report/ https://www.androidcentral.com/quest-2-2021-most-sold https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-15/the-metaverse-via-oculus-is-awkward-if-you-re-a-woman-and-beware-of-griefers https://www.businessinsider.com/stolen-data-of-533-million-facebook-users-leaked-online-2021-4 https://www.buzzfeednews.c...

Suit up, jack in, and Zuck out. I'm joined by guest Anderson Gronvold as we abandon meatspace for metaspace. Find out why you can't afford to miss out on Meta's flagship VR experience. Legs optional! 🦵References:Harris, Blake J. (2019). The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality. Dey Street Books.https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/creating-jobs-europe-metaverse/ https://apnews.com/article/the-facebook-papers-maid-abuse-94909f43c725af09522704348e35bd25 https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/09/facebook-reveals-staffing-plan-to-be-your-vr-chat-concierge-service/ https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/01/25/mark-zuckerberg-under-fire-after-hiring-trumps-former-adviser-as-meta-president/ https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.mit.edu/dist/0/833/files/2020/05/ST_Construc-and-reconstruc-of-self.pdf https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/joeroganexperience/episodes/1863---Mark-Zuckerberg-e1mu8n0 https://epublications.marquette.edu/zuckerberg_files_videos/250/ https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/07/28/snoop-dogg-metaverse-nfts-sandbox-price-declines/ https://games.slashdot.org/story/99/10/15/1012230/John-Carmack-Answers https://gizmodo.com/meta-horizon-worlds-sees-10x-growth-since-december-1848562017 https://kotaku.com/facebook-metaverse-horizon-worlds-vr-oculus-quest-2-cha-1848436740 https://kotaku.com/fortnites-latest-crossover-is-martin-luther-king-1847563562 https://kotaku.com/meta-connect-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-vr-feet-legs-1849643784 https://kotaku.com/the-metaverse-is-already-here-for-cows-and-it-s-very-sa-1848335331 https://medium.com/@gobblegobble/mocap-the-money-part-c16b78de6170 https://medium.com/the-lab-apply-digital/metaverse-review-horizon-worlds-b9f003ea84af https://observer.ug/business/facebook-and-content-moderation-why-its-always-under-attack/ https://patents.google.com/patent/US10192403B2/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US10909405B1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US10976826B1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US3050870A/en https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/09/vr-zuckerberg-shares-details-on-some-of-facebooks-ai-aid-to-the-red-cross-in-puerto-rico/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/10/zuckerberg-apologizes-for-his-tone-deaf-vr-cartoon-tour-of-puerto-rico-devastation/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/13/facebook-mulled-multi-billion-dollar-acquisition-of-unity-book-claims/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/06/meta-integrating-venues-into-horizon-worlds/ https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/jordan-peele-nope-meta-virtua-reality-horizon-worlds-1235313750/ https://washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/07/facebook-metaverse-horizon-worlds-kids-safety/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220216143908/https://www.vox.com/recode/22776461/facebook-meta-metaverse-monopoly https://web.archive.org/web/20220817170129/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mark-zuckerberg-metaverse-selfie-horizon-worlds/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230921175333/https://ai.meta.com/blog/powered-by-ai-oculus-insight/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240912192513/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/11/4/hot-or-not-website-briefly-judges/?page=1 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/09/myanmar-facebooks-systems-promoted-violence-against-rohingya-meta-owes-reparations-new-report/ https://www.androidcentral.com/quest-2-2021-most-sold https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-12-15/the-metaverse-via-oculus-is-awkward-if-you-re-a-woman-and-beware-of-griefers https://www.businessinsider.com/stolen-data-of-533-million-facebook-users-leaked-online-2021-4 https://www.buzzfeednews.c...

Suit up, jack in, and Zuck out. I'm joined by guest Anderson Gronvold as we abandon meatspace for metaspace. Find out why you can't afford to miss out on Meta's flagship VR experience. Legs optional! 🦵References:Harris, Blake J. (2019). The History of the Future: Oculus, Facebook, and the Revolution That Swept Virtual Reality. Dey Street Books.https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/creating-jobs-europe-metaverse/ https://apnews.com/article/the-facebook-papers-maid-abuse-94909f43c725af09522704348e35bd25 https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2019/09/facebook-reveals-staffing-plan-to-be-your-vr-chat-concierge-service/ https://atlantablackstar.com/2026/01/25/mark-zuckerberg-under-fire-after-hiring-trumps-former-adviser-as-meta-president/ https://bpb-us-e1.wpmucdn.com/sites.mit.edu/dist/0/833/files/2020/05/ST_Construc-and-reconstruc-of-self.pdf https://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/joeroganexperience/episodes/1863---Mark-Zuckerberg-e1mu8n0 https://epublications.marquette.edu/zuckerberg_files_videos/250/ https://fortune.com/crypto/2023/07/28/snoop-dogg-metaverse-nfts-sandbox-price-declines/ https://games.slashdot.org/story/99/10/15/1012230/John-Carmack-Answers https://gizmodo.com/meta-horizon-worlds-sees-10x-growth-since-december-1848562017 https://kotaku.com/facebook-metaverse-horizon-worlds-vr-oculus-quest-2-cha-1848436740 https://kotaku.com/fortnites-latest-crossover-is-martin-luther-king-1847563562 https://kotaku.com/meta-connect-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-vr-feet-legs-1849643784 https://kotaku.com/the-metaverse-is-already-here-for-cows-and-it-s-very-sa-1848335331 https://medium.com/@gobblegobble/mocap-the-money-part-c16b78de6170 https://medium.com/the-lab-apply-digital/metaverse-review-horizon-worlds-b9f003ea84af https://observer.ug/business/facebook-and-content-moderation-why-its-always-under-attack/ https://patents.google.com/patent/US10192403B2/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US10909405B1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US10976826B1/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US3050870A/en https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/09/vr-zuckerberg-shares-details-on-some-of-facebooks-ai-aid-to-the-red-cross-in-puerto-rico/ https://techcrunch.com/2017/10/10/zuckerberg-apologizes-for-his-tone-deaf-vr-cartoon-tour-of-puerto-rico-devastation/ https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/13/facebook-mulled-multi-billion-dollar-acquisition-of-unity-book-claims/ https://techcrunch.com/2022/05/06/meta-integrating-venues-into-horizon-worlds/ https://variety.com/2022/digital/news/jordan-peele-nope-meta-virtua-reality-horizon-worlds-1235313750/ https://washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/02/07/facebook-metaverse-horizon-worlds-kids-safety/ https://web.archive.org/web/20220216143908/https://www.vox.com/recode/22776461/facebook-meta-metaverse-monopoly https://web.archive.org/web/20220817170129/https://www.dailydot.com/debug/mark-zuckerberg-metaverse-selfie-horizon-worlds/ https://web.archive.org/web/20230921175333/https://ai.meta.com/blog/powered-by-ai-oculus-insight/ https://web.archive.org/web/20240912192513/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2003/11/4/hot-or-not-website-briefly-judges/?page=1 https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/09/myanmar-facebooks-systems-promoted-violence-against-rohingya-meta-owes-reparations-new-report/ https://www.androidcentral.com/quest-2-2021-most-sold https://www.businessinsider.com/stolen-data-of-533-million-facebook-users-leaked-online-2021-4 https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/meghara/how-fake-news-and-online-hate-are-making-life-hell-for https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/ryanmac/mark-zuckerbeg-apology-myanmar-ngos-insufficient<...

Give the gift of convenient garbage, with Keurig. This week, Xiao Yu joins us as we explore:How Keurig was born out of antisocial office culture and a deep ambivalence for qualityThe fascinating career of hippie-turned-billionaire-asshole-turned-has-been Bob StillerHow digital rights management disrupted the beverage industryReferences:Campbell's soup in a Keurig: https://youtu.be/N46K2CDoD0Mhttps://abcnews.go.com/Business/mr-coffee-inventor-convinced-joe-dimaggio-pitchman/story?id=32871845 https://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2011/08/07/the_inside_story_of_keurigs_rise_to_a_billion_dollar_coffee_empire/?page=full https://babelniche.com/2012/03/10/keurig-dumps-inventor-builds-millions-of-junk-coffee-makers/ https://commercial.keurig.com/content/sustainability https://cornercoffeestore.com/who-invented-the-keurig-coffee-machine/ https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/delaware/dedce/1:2010cv00841/44982/337/ https://patents.google.com/patent/US5325765A/en?assignee=keurig&oq=keurig&sort=old https://patents.google.com/patent/WO2019046361A1/en https://slate.com/technology/2017/05/the-supreme-court-says-third-parties-can-sell-printer-cartridge-ink.html# https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.nysd.427726/gov.uscourts.nysd.427726.1937.1.pdf https://topclassactions.com/lawsuit-settlements/consumer-products/beverages/keurig-agrees-to-settle-indirect-buyers-antitrust-class-action-lawsuits-for-31m/ https://translate.google.com/?sl=nl&tl=en&text=keurig&op=translate https://web.archive.org/web/20141227222021/http://www.keurig.com/content/oops https://web.archive.org/web/20150427124823/http://investor.keuriggreenmountain.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=899238 https://web.archive.org/web/20151006153447/http://investor.keuriggreenmountain.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=930847 https://web.archive.org/web/20160315033607/http://m.consumergoods.edgl.com/MagazineDetailPage.aspx?article=46137 https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/k-cup-creator-john-sylvan-regrets-inventing-keurig-coffee-pod-system-1.2982660 https://www.coffeehabitat.com/2011/09/k-cups-recycling/ https://www.coffeehabitat.com/2014/03/greenwashing-at-keurig-green-mountain/ https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/keurig-20-machines-to-feature-rfid-limited-k-cups-030314.html https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/4353695/1937/in-re-keurig-green-mountain-single-serve-coffee-antitrust-litigation/ https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2014/keurig-recalls-mini-plus-brewing-systems https://www.forbes.com/sites/luisakroll/2012/05/10/why-green-mountain-coffee-founders-woes-are-a-cautionary-tale-for-the-suddenly-stock-rich/ https://www.keurigdrpepper.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Keurig-Green-Mountain-Sustainability-Report-2013.pdf https://www.motherjones.com/food/2014/03/coffee-k-cups-green-mountain-polystyrene-plastic/ https://www.npr.org/2025/08/25/g-s1-85104/dr-pepper-keurig-peets-purchase-merger-split https://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/business/energy-environment/04coffee.html https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/08/dining/single-serve-coffee-brewers-make-convenience-costly.html?ref=dining https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/17/business/energy-environment/keurigs-new-k-cup-coffee-is-recyclable-but-hardly-green.html https://www.rockpapercoffee.com/news/details/get-around-the-keurig-20-drm-restrictions.html https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352550921001160 https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1418135/000141813522000005/R27.htm https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/03/the-abominable-k-cup-coffee-pod-environment-problem/386501/ https://www.theguardian.com/l...

The web didn't have to be this way. Friend-of-the-pod CJ Horton joins us for a look at cookies: the completely reasonable web protocol that became host to the parasitic ad industry.References:"Lou Montulli: Sexiest Internet Mogul." People. 15 November 1999.https://adtech.org/best-demand-side-platforms/https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-agencies-use-cellphone-location-data-for-immigration-enforcement-11581078600http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/07/undeletable-cookie/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/google-delays-third-party-cookie-death-again-now-scheduled-for-2025/https://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0105018https://blog.chromium.org/2020/04/temporarily-rolling-back-samesite.htmlhttps://blog.google/products/ads/next-steps-transparency-choice-control/https://blog.google/products/chrome/building-a-more-private-web/https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2109https://digiday.com/uk/all-you-need-to-know-about-europes-data-privacy-regulations/https://github.com/w3c/web-advertising#ideas-and-proposals-links-outside-this-repohttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/OnlineAdvertisingParticipants.mdhttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/rtb-use-case.mdhttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/understanding-privacy-advocates.mdhttps://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/investing-in-mobile-future-with-admob.htmlhttps://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/general-information/why-should-i-register-on-imdb/GHB62T7USTMYMCDC?ref_=helpart_nav_3#https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/1995OctDec/0458.htmlhttps://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/1995OctDec/0501.htmlhttps://privacysandbox.google.com/blog/privacy-sandbox-next-stepshttps://privacysandbox.google.com/cookies/storage-access-apihttps://privacysandbox.google.com/protections/privacy-budgethttps://safety.google/safety/ads-data/https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol1/iss1/4/https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/9560818?hl=enhttps://techcrunch.com/2009/11/09/google-acquires-admob/https://thehistoryoftheweb.com/your-privacy-policy-doesnt-mean-a-thing-regulating-privacy-on-the-web/https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2965https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265https://w3cping.github.io/privacy-threat-model/https://web.archive.org/web/19991127212505/http://www.networkadvertising.org/https://web.archive.org/web/20000815060418/http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/#2.3https://web.archive.org/web/20090627105722/http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/#2.3https://web.archive.org/web/20100830143434/http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/article.php/3895466https://web.archive.org/web/20110530020518/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/25/microsoft-security-idUSN2517397120110525https://web.archive.org/web/20120119215316/http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/article.php/3877261https://web.archive.org/web/20131209210402/http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-9918582-57.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20141127185609/http://www.computerworld.com/article/2510494/data-privacy/microsoft-disables--supercookies--used-on-msn-com-visitors.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20170906230653/http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/M/magic-cookie.htmlhttps://webkit.org/blog/10218/full-third-party-cookie-blocking-and-more/https://webkit.org/blog/9661/preventing-tracking-prevention-tracking/https://www.baekdal.com/thoughts/the-original-cookie-specification-from-1997-was-gdpr-compliant/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/computer-internet/computer-use-1984-2009.htmlhttps://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/google-finds-apple-safari-anti-tracking-feature-actually-enabled-tracking/

The web didn't have to be this way. Friend-of-the-pod CJ Horton joins us for a look at cookies: the completely reasonable web protocol that became host to the parasitic ad industry.References:"Lou Montulli: Sexiest Internet Mogul." People. 15 November 1999.https://adtech.org/best-demand-side-platforms/https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-agencies-use-cellphone-location-data-for-immigration-enforcement-11581078600http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/07/undeletable-cookie/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/google-delays-third-party-cookie-death-again-now-scheduled-for-2025/https://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0105018https://blog.chromium.org/2020/04/temporarily-rolling-back-samesite.htmlhttps://blog.google/products/ads/next-steps-transparency-choice-control/https://blog.google/products/chrome/building-a-more-private-web/https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2109https://digiday.com/uk/all-you-need-to-know-about-europes-data-privacy-regulations/https://github.com/w3c/web-advertising#ideas-and-proposals-links-outside-this-repohttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/OnlineAdvertisingParticipants.mdhttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/rtb-use-case.mdhttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/understanding-privacy-advocates.mdhttps://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/investing-in-mobile-future-with-admob.htmlhttps://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/general-information/why-should-i-register-on-imdb/GHB62T7USTMYMCDC?ref_=helpart_nav_3#https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/1995OctDec/0458.htmlhttps://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/1995OctDec/0501.htmlhttps://privacysandbox.google.com/blog/privacy-sandbox-next-stepshttps://privacysandbox.google.com/cookies/storage-access-apihttps://privacysandbox.google.com/protections/privacy-budgethttps://safety.google/safety/ads-data/https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol1/iss1/4/https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/9560818?hl=enhttps://techcrunch.com/2009/11/09/google-acquires-admob/https://thehistoryoftheweb.com/your-privacy-policy-doesnt-mean-a-thing-regulating-privacy-on-the-web/https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2965https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265https://w3cping.github.io/privacy-threat-model/https://web.archive.org/web/19991127212505/http://www.networkadvertising.org/https://web.archive.org/web/20000815060418/http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/#2.3https://web.archive.org/web/20090627105722/http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/#2.3https://web.archive.org/web/20100830143434/http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/article.php/3895466https://web.archive.org/web/20110530020518/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/25/microsoft-security-idUSN2517397120110525https://web.archive.org/web/20120119215316/http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/article.php/3877261https://web.archive.org/web/20131209210402/http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-9918582-57.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20141127185609/http://www.computerworld.com/article/2510494/data-privacy/microsoft-disables--supercookies--used-on-msn-com-visitors.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20170906230653/http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/M/magic-cookie.htmlhttps://webkit.org/blog/10218/full-third-party-cookie-blocking-and-more/https://webkit.org/blog/9661/preventing-tracking-prevention-tracking/https://www.baekdal.com/thoughts/the-original-cookie-specification-from-1997-was-gdpr-compliant/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/computer-internet/computer-use-1984-2009.htmlhttps://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/google-finds-apple-safari-anti-tracking-feature-actually-enabled-tracking/

Kalshi: is it "the first federally regulated prediction market," or just a shittier FanDuel? Join me and friend-of-the-pod Jeff Bonhag to learn:What modern science has in common with rolling fox knucklesHow Kalshi DOSed the Commodity Futures Trading CommissionWhy Donald Trump Jr is so interested in making prediction markets a thingReferences:https://blockworks.co/podcast/empire/fbd446de-a7e3-11f0-8d81-6380135dcd93 https://businesslawreview.uchicago.edu/print-archive/event-contracts-are-step-too-far-derivatives-regulation https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/281/1784/20133305/77153/Decision-accuracy-in-complex-environments-is-often https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ViewComment.aspx?id=70788https://epicwins.io/2025/10/12/kalshi-raises-300m-and-expands-to-over-140-countries/ https://frontofficesports.com/kalshi-hit-with-nationwide-class-action-over-illegal-sports-betting/ https://gamblingharm.org/kalshi-college-ambassadors-program/ https://german.yale.edu/sites/default/files/hayek_-_the_use_of_knowledge_in_society.pdf https://mickbransfield.com/2025/08/11/summary-of-legal-actions-involving-kalshis-sports-event-contracts/https://news.kalshi.com/p/kalshi-cnn-prediction-market-partnership https://nexteventhorizon.substack.com/p/kalshi-and-tareks-not-so-excellent-pr-adventure https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empire/id1554930038?i=1000731608313 https://readwrite.com/kalshi-sued-massachusetts-illegal-sports-gambling/ https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/07/why-political-betting-markets-are-failing.html https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.41256/gov.uscourts.cadc.41256.1208669739.0.pdf https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2023/11/kalshi-sues-cftc-over-election-betting-bid-denial-00124658 https://time.com/7095708/financial-scam-political-prediction-election/ https://users.wfu.edu/strumpks/papers/JEP_2004.pdf https://web.stanford.edu/~csimoiu/doc/wisdom-of-crowds.pdf https://www.axios.com/2024/04/10/us-legal-betting-prediction-market-events-kalshi https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-05-26/kalshi-s-stock-market-of-the-world-let-s-you-bet-on-anything https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-02/kalshi-s-top-lawyer-quits-to-become-leader-of-doge-team-at-sec https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-20/kalshi-pulls-announcement-of-xai-tie-up-hours-after-touting-deal https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-20/hedge-funds-are-wooed-by-startup-to-bet-millions-on-real-events https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/29/this-new-exchange-lets-investors-vote-yes-or-no-on-major-events-to-hedge-their-portfolios.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/09/kalshi-expands-election-betting-options-cftc-complains.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/13/kalshi-names-donald-trump-jr-as-strategic-advisor-to-prediction-market-firm.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/04/cnbc-and-kalshi-strike-exclusive-partnership.html https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/12/04/on-kalshi-there-is-no-house-anybody-can-win-says-ceo-tarek-mansour.html https://www.covers.com/industry/kalshi-faces-class-action-over-alleged-unlicensed-sports-betting-nov-28-2025 https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/02/19/will-prediction-markets-live-up-to-the-hype https://www.fastcompany.com/91399289/kalshi-prediction-markets-sports-gambling https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciapark/2025/12/02/how-kalshis-luana-lopes-lara-cofounder-went-from-professional-ballerina-to-worlds-youngest-self-made-woman-billionaire/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/12/01/from-fintechs-crypto-top-...

This week we're joined by Brandon Romano to learn about Scantron: the company that made ubiquitous standardized testing possible. Find out:How standardized tests were graded in the 1500s (hint: it involved throwing corpses over walls)Why the hideous pseudoscience of eugenics is weirdly load-bearing for the SATHow Scantron uses infrared light to transmute those little number-2 pencil marks into college rejection lettersReferences:https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/schools-standardized-testing-assessment-ai-future/675366/ https://blog.collegeboard.org/everything-you-need-know-about-digital-sat https://edscoop.com/scantron-how-colleges-handle-old-unwanted-tech/ https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2016/12/scantron-technology-creates-more-efficient-testing https://gizmodo.com/5908833/the-birth-of-scantrons-the-bane-of-standardized-testing https://patents.google.com/patent/US3050248A/en https://patents.google.com/patent/US3900961A/en https://scantron.com/ScanToolsPlus/Help/v8/LINK/content/apicontent/overview/scanner_technology_overview.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20120403020015/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/testscore/ https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/10/LazarinOvertestingReport.pdf https://www.cxomagazine.com/reimagining-data-intelligence-through-human-centered-innovation-and-ethical-ai/ https://www.edutopia.org/blog/dark-history-of-multiple-choice-ainissa-ramirez https://www.ipmetrics.net/blog/litigation/case-law/scantron-patent-marking/ https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/william-sanders-obituary?id=17291417 https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/orangecounty/name/michael-sokolski-obituary?id=8415721&fhid=3071 https://www.newspapers.com/image/402857246/?match=1&terms=Scantron https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/BdPM5tl48r https://www.reddit.com/r/fgcu/comments/320qqk/whats_up_with_having_to_buy_our_own_scantron/ https://www.scantron.com/blog/meet-mary-michael-sellers/ https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300026399/chinas-examination-hell/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85gAfiJGpVM https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqRdrXUaESg 

This week and last, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Rachel Kiel to talk about Shazam: the massive data analytics platform that occasionally tells you the names of songs. Find out:How they use computers to turn all your favorite songs into constellationsWhat other things you can Shazam, if you're not a music personWhat Shazam likes to do in its spare time, when you think it's not listening anymoreReferences:https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/11/24/shazam-for-ios-will-listen-to-songs-for-longer-before-giving-uphttps://appleinsider.com/articles/24/05/22/shazam-can-now-run-in-the-background-with-live-activitieshttps://daniellenewnham.medium.com/fostering-innovation-and-choosing-the-right-founding-team-6287f7eed9fhttps://d3.harvard.edu/platform-digit/submission/shazam-predictive-analysis-for-the-music-industry/https://patents.justia.com/inventor/avery-li-chun-wanghttps://profwurzer.com/shazams-ip-fortress-layered-protection-built-a-billion-dollar-app/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/12/the-shazam-effect/382237/https://venturebeat.com/social/shazam-american-idol/https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/14/shazam-names-that-tune-drawing-in-money-and-users.htmlhttps://www.computerweekly.com/news/450409644/How-Shazam-handles-its-data-reserveshttps://www.ee.columbia.edu/~dpwe/papers/Wang03-shazam.pdfhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/averywang08/https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/s/uX3Gjl7FUmhttps://www.seti.org/people/avery-wang/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3hNkU03sLAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0m-G6iwrCw

This week and next, I'm joined by singer-songwriter Rachel Kiel to talk about Shazam: the massive data analytics platform that occasionally tells you the names of songs. Find out:How they use computers to turn all your favorite songs into constellationsWhat other things you can Shazam, if you're not a music personWhat Shazam likes to do in its spare time, when you think it's not listening anymoreReferences:https://appleinsider.com/articles/21/11/24/shazam-for-ios-will-listen-to-songs-for-longer-before-giving-uphttps://appleinsider.com/articles/24/05/22/shazam-can-now-run-in-the-background-with-live-activitieshttps://daniellenewnham.medium.com/fostering-innovation-and-choosing-the-right-founding-team-6287f7eed9fhttps://d3.harvard.edu/platform-digit/submission/shazam-predictive-analysis-for-the-music-industry/https://patents.justia.com/inventor/avery-li-chun-wanghttps://profwurzer.com/shazams-ip-fortress-layered-protection-built-a-billion-dollar-app/http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/12/the-shazam-effect/382237/https://venturebeat.com/social/shazam-american-idol/https://www.cnbc.com/2015/06/14/shazam-names-that-tune-drawing-in-money-and-users.htmlhttps://www.computerweekly.com/news/450409644/How-Shazam-handles-its-data-reserveshttps://www.ee.columbia.edu/~dpwe/papers/Wang03-shazam.pdfhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/averywang08/https://www.reddit.com/r/apple/s/uX3Gjl7FUmhttps://www.seti.org/people/avery-wang/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3hNkU03sLAhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0m-G6iwrCw

It looks like you're trying to listen to a podcast. Would you like some help with that? Join me and my guest Dana Vannen Anderson for the bizarre and frequently cringe story of Clippy, the paperclip that us helped write a thousand letters. Find out:Where we got the notion that your computer should act like a personWhy Microsoft ditched the idea of Clippy ever shutting the fuck upWhat celebrated actor brought the paperclip to life for Office XP's mortifying launch campaignReferences:https://arxiv.org/pdf/1301.7385https://jesse.cafe/blog/packard-bell-navigator/https://guidebookgallery.org/tutorials/packardbellnavigator39/gettingstarted https://web.archive.org/web/20110504005120/https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2008/04/-quot-clippy-quot-update-now-with-organizational-anthropology/8006/ https://web.archive.org/web/20110124023627/http://blogs.msdn.com/b/chris_pratley/archive/2004/01/31/65479.aspx https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHgzgbLwhKM#t=1m41s https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/nov/07/chatgpt-lawsuit-suicide-coach https://web.archive.org/web/20070212204645/http://lis.dickinson.edu/Technology/Training/Tutorials/MsOffice/assistant.htmhttps://web.archive.org/web/20010812061222/http://www.microsoft.com/office/clippy/https://web.archive.org/web/20190214194638/https://blogs.msdn.microsoft.com/techtalk/2005/12/16/pm-at-microsoft/https://web.archive.org/web/20121024125147/http://news.cnet.com/2100-1001-255671.htmlhttps://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/2022/08/origin-story-of-clippy-the-microsoft-office-assistant https://magnus919.com/2025/05/the-rise-and-fall-of-clippy-from-microsofts-bold-vision-to-internet-legend/ https://spir.aoir.org/ojs/index.php/spir/article/view/10923/9596 https://www.newspapers.com/image/1143853682/https://www.newspapers.com/image/295620970/https://www.newspapers.com/image/770293367/https://www.newspapers.com/image/658114957/https://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/news/2001-05-03-clippy-campaign.htm https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/191666.191703https://archive.org/details/g4tv.com-video4080 https://hardcoresoftware.learningbyshipping.com/p/042-clippy-the-fcking-clown 

Come with me, and you'll be, in a world of squeezing/agitation! This week, Rit Breisler and I discuss washing machines. Learn:What fluid the ancient Romans used instead of detergent (hint: you're not gonna like it)What your washing machine's onboard computer is for (hint: computers don't wash clothes)Why washing machines have gotten so much more efficient in the last half century (hint: it's not the smartphone apps)References:https://eaglesanddragonspublishing.com/ancient-everyday-pee-and-laundry-in-the-roman-world/https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/washing-machines-vintage-photos/https://patents.google.com/patent/US966677A/enhttps://www.vox.com/future-perfect/374286/degrowth-economic-growth-washing-machines-electricity-global-povertyhttps://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-one-how-the-catholic-church-84227953/https://www.iheart.com/podcast/105-behind-the-bastards-29236323/episode/part-two-how-the-catholic-church-84310436/https://appliance-standards.org/blog/new-spin-clothes-washer-efficiency-coming-january-2018https://home.howstuffworks.com/washer7.htmhttps://automaticwasher.org/threads/when-did-ge-start-using-electronics.62935/https://www.embedded.com/the-role-of-mcus-and-psocs-in-making-home-appliances-smarter/http://www.oldandinteresting.com/history-of-washing-clothes.aspxhttps://www.encyclopedia.com/science-and-technology/technology/technology-terms-and-concepts/washing-machine#2896500105https://www.gracesguide.co.uk/1862_London_Exhibition:_Catalogue:_Class_VIII.:_Richard_Lansdalehttps://patents.google.com/patent/US921195 https://patents.google.com/patent/US2165884https://web.archive.org/web/20130523165728/http://gogd.tjs-labs.com/show-picture?id=1129064419 https://ifdesign.com/en/winner-ranking/project/national-na-v81/2264 https://www.whitegoodshelp.co.uk/how-long-should-a-washing-machine-last/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/225802892_Electricity_and_water_consumption_for_laundry_washing_by_washing_machine_worldwide https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090312150735.htm https://www.ted.com/talks/hans_rosling_the_magic_washing_machinehttps://academic.oup.com/book/10245

Jira: the bloated tick gorging itself on the software industry. Join me and CJ Horton to learn about:Henry Gantt, the absolute chart simp who gave your boss the idea to ask you about your progress every half hourInfinite backlogs: where hope goes to quietly dieThe heartbreaking story of a billionaire's impostor syndromeReferences:https://www.seangoedecke.com/seeing-like-a-software-company/https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/atlassian-mike-cannon-brookes-and-scott-farquhar/id1150510297?i=1000508150130https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNBmHXS3A6Ihttps://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/inside-the-atlassian-fallout-between-mike-cannonbrookes-and-scott-farquhar/news-story/ed90506fec79ee023d6f856592893c21https://www.realestate.com.au/news/37yearold-scott-farquhar-pays-more-than-70-million-for-derelict-fairfax-mansion-elaine/https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/project-management/history-of-project-management-software/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21573727.2011.609558https://confluence.atlassian.com/jira064/jira-3-0-release-notes-720413090.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jira064/jira-4-0-release-notes-720413371.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jira064/jira-5-0-release-notes-720413987.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jira064/jira-6-0-release-notes-720413895.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftware/jira-software-8-0-x-release-notes-957981626.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftware/jira-software-9-0-x-release-notes-1142227613.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftware/jira-software-10-0-x-release-notes-1416825224.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftware/jira-software-11-0-x-release-notes-1587939582.html

Jira: the bloated tick gorging itself on the software industry. Join me and CJ Horton to learn about:Henry Gantt, the absolute chart simp who gave your boss the idea to ask you about your progress every half hourInfinite backlogs: where hope goes to quietly dieThe heartbreaking story of a billionaire's impostor syndromeReferences:https://www.seangoedecke.com/seeing-like-a-software-company/https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/atlassian-mike-cannon-brookes-and-scott-farquhar/id1150510297?i=1000508150130https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zNBmHXS3A6Ihttps://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/inside-the-atlassian-fallout-between-mike-cannonbrookes-and-scott-farquhar/news-story/ed90506fec79ee023d6f856592893c21https://www.realestate.com.au/news/37yearold-scott-farquhar-pays-more-than-70-million-for-derelict-fairfax-mansion-elaine/https://thedigitalprojectmanager.com/project-management/history-of-project-management-software/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/21573727.2011.609558https://confluence.atlassian.com/jira064/jira-3-0-release-notes-720413090.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jira064/jira-4-0-release-notes-720413371.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jira064/jira-5-0-release-notes-720413987.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jira064/jira-6-0-release-notes-720413895.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftware/jira-software-8-0-x-release-notes-957981626.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftware/jira-software-9-0-x-release-notes-1142227613.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftware/jira-software-10-0-x-release-notes-1416825224.htmlhttps://confluence.atlassian.com/jirasoftware/jira-software-11-0-x-release-notes-1587939582.html

Is the world ready for a mattress that snaps shut like a Venus fly trap whenever Amazon AWS is down? Jeff Bonhag and I decide!- The Bourbons: France's sleepiest monarchs- What kind of animal Peter Thiel sleeps inside- The $5000 AI-powered bed that saved DOGE, and also sometimes pisses itselfReferences:https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140416-chimpanzees-trees-sleep-beds-animals-science/https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abc7239https://www.reddit.com/r/EightSleep/s/x1GIkFiHglhttps://aws.amazon.com/message/101925/https://www.404media.co/the-aws-outage-bricked-peoples-2-700-smartbeds/https://nymag.com/strategist/article/eight-sleep-pod-4-review.htmlhttps://www.eightsleep.com/science/https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/aws-crash-causes-2000-smart-beds-to-overheat-and-get-stuck-upright-3272251/https://www.reddit.com/r/EightSleep/s/0HKiHcCUDjhttps://www.uniladtech.com/news/tech-news/elon-musks-doge-sleep-pods-513132-20250205https://www.reddit.com/r/EightSleep/s/3gM13Pw8Wohttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/legends-n-leaders/id1696212935?i=1000708827712

Remember those little strips that used to be on batteries, where you'd pinch it with your fingers and it'd say how much power it had left? This episode is about those! Join me and my buddy Manuel Wudka-Robles as we talk about:Why rivals Duracell and Energizer both announced versions of this feature on the same exact dayHow it workedWhy they're not around anymoreReferences:https://tedium.co/2021/01/20/on-battery-power-meter-history/https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-miami-herald-duracell-competing-pate/68078245/https://patents.google.com/patent/US5015544A/enhttps://patents.google.com/patent/US5059895A/enhttps://www.wsj.com/articles/SB884214290310763000https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB933034516816675358https://www.newspapers.com/article/democrat-and-chronicle-duracell-battery/68078674/https://www.supermarketnews.com/grocery-operations/testing-the-chargehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsA3X40nz9w

I sit down with my good friend Stephen Lauck to talk about wireless headphones – or, as we like to think of them, headphones with invisible wires.We cover:Mark Zuckerberg's stupid glassesNathan Baldwin, the theoretical polygamist who invented headphonesThe first stereo headphones, made by KossThe 1/8" audio jackThe WalkmanThe regulation of the radio spectrum (chart)Ether landlordsBluetoothThe iPhone 7 (the first iPhone without an 1/8" audio jack)References:https://hifisoundgear.com/blogs/basics-and-beyond/when-was-the-headphone-jack-inventedhttps://www.headphonesty.com/2021/05/when-were-headphones-invented/https://patents.google.com/patent/US454138A/enhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090911070726/http://www.historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/history_matters/070801.htmlhttps://www.millcreekut.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/695?fileID=27840 https://www.phonographia.com/FOTP%20MM/Koss.htmhttps://koss.com/pages/watch-the-history-of-kosshttps://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00726/walkman-story-the-early-years-of-the-iconic-personal-cassette-player.htmlhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/853362https://flypaper.soundfly.com/discovery/short-history-18-inch-headphone-jack/https://web.archive.org/web/20080624025103/http://www.iep.gmu.edu:80/UnlicensedWireless.phphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS0txu_Kzl8https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/03/real-reason-apple-killed-headphone-jack/https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/1dbj7ee/the_thickness_of_every_iphone_and_screen_sizeCredits:Our theme music is by Magic AL

I sit down with my good friend Stephen Lauck to talk about wireless headphones – or, as we like to think of them, headphones with invisible wires.We cover:Mark Zuckerberg's stupid glassesNathan Baldwin, the theoretical polygamist who invented headphonesThe first stereo headphones, made by KossThe 1/8" audio jackThe WalkmanThe regulation of the radio spectrum (chart)Ether landlordsBluetoothThe iPhone 7 (the first iPhone without an 1/8" audio jack)References:https://hifisoundgear.com/blogs/basics-and-beyond/when-was-the-headphone-jack-inventedhttps://www.headphonesty.com/2021/05/when-were-headphones-invented/https://patents.google.com/patent/US454138A/enhttps://web.archive.org/web/20090911070726/http://www.historytogo.utah.gov/salt_lake_tribune/history_matters/070801.htmlhttps://www.millcreekut.gov/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Item/695?fileID=27840 https://www.phonographia.com/FOTP%20MM/Koss.htmhttps://koss.com/pages/watch-the-history-of-kosshttps://www.nippon.com/en/japan-topics/g00726/walkman-story-the-early-years-of-the-iconic-personal-cassette-player.htmlhttps://www.jstor.org/stable/853362https://flypaper.soundfly.com/discovery/short-history-18-inch-headphone-jack/https://web.archive.org/web/20080624025103/http://www.iep.gmu.edu:80/UnlicensedWireless.phphttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NS0txu_Kzl8https://www.headphonesty.com/2025/03/real-reason-apple-killed-headphone-jack/https://www.reddit.com/r/iphone/comments/1dbj7ee/the_thickness_of_every_iphone_and_screen_sizeCredits:Our theme music is by Magic AL