Slate Technology

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Jonquilyn Hill [https://www.vox.com/authors/jonquilyn-hill], host of Vox’s Explain It To Me [https://link.chtbl.com/explainit?sid=site] podcast. The pair chat about how the internet used to celebrate Halloween, from spooky Twitter display names to Snapchat filters, and why no one wants to be earnest online anymore. However, today’s internet is still filled with plenty of scary stuff, with r/nosleep still going strong, ghost sightings going viral on TikTok, and LinkedIn. That’s it. Just LinkedIn.  Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the ICYMI show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icymi/id1554115325] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6bo1EK9sElQV8DqzO0HLac]. Or, visit slate.com/icymiplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=ICYMI&utm_source=show_notes] for access wherever you listen. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

For years, conservatives claimed that the Biden administration was pressuring tech companies to censor conservative speech with no solid evidence.  In Trump 2.0, the administration is explicitly bragging about doing the very same thing they accused democrats of. What gives?  Guest: Renée DiResta [https://www.reneediresta.com/], Associate Research Professor at the McCourt School of Public Policy at Georgetown and author of “Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies into Reality” [https://www.amazon.com/Invisible-Rulers-People-Turn-Reality/dp/1541703375] Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus [http://slate.com/whatnextplus] to get access wherever you listen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer and streamer Laura Kate Dale [https://laurakbuzz.com/]to talk about what happened to Emiru at this year’s TwitchCon. The streamer was assaulted during a meet-and-greet, after a number of female streamers had already dropped out of the convention in fear for their safety. What is it about TwitchCon that makes creators feel unsafe, and why are female streamers, in particular, still paying the price?  Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the ICYMI show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icymi/id1554115325] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6bo1EK9sElQV8DqzO0HLac]. Or, visit slate.com/icymiplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=ICYMI&utm_source=show_notes] for access wherever you listen. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

This week’s AWS outage illustrates just how fragile and vulnerable our interconnected world really is—and how far we’ve fallen from the vision of a decentralized internet.  Guest: Samanth Subramanian [https://samanth.substack.com/], author of “The Web Beneath the Waves: The Fragile Cables That Connect Our World. [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DYHNKFL9/?tag=slatmaga-20]” Want more What Next TBD? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus [http://slate.com/whatnextplus] to get access wherever you listen. Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

On today’s episode, host Kate Lindsay is joined by Slate staff writer Luke Winkie to talk about Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, who some viewers have accused of shocking his dog on his livestream. Winkie spent time with Piker [https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/02/hasan-piker-donald-trump-news-elon-musk-jd-vance.html] and his dog, Kaya, for Slate earlier this year, and helps debunk the misinformation currently being spread by cloutchasers and right-wing media figures alike. He also answers the most important question of them all: Just how soft is Kaya’s fur, exactly? Get more of ICYMI with Slate Plus! Join for exclusive bonus episodes of ICYMI and ad-free listening on all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe from the ICYMI show page on Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/icymi/id1554115325] or Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/6bo1EK9sElQV8DqzO0HLac]. Or, visit slate.com/icymiplus [https://slate.com/podcast-plus?utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=plus_pod&utm_content=ICYMI&utm_source=show_notes] for access wherever you listen. This podcast is produced by Daisy Rosario, Vic Whitley-Berry, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]