Never Post

Mike talks with Stephen Harrison about why authoritarian governments hate Wikipedia and Georgia talks with Kyle Chayka about how to have fun on the internet. Also: Kidpix! – Become a Never Post member at https://www.neverpo.st/ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/] for access to extended and bonus segments, and our side shows like “Slow Post”, “Posts from the Field” and “Never Watch” – * Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voicemail * Drop us a voice memo via airtable [https://airtable.com/appIvXY8gz5ikRbF0/pagjGcjdYg2alw8cD/form] * Or email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com * See what interstitials we need submissions for [http://neverpo.st/interstitials] – Intro Links * ubuweb.com [https://ubuweb.com/] * Poetica: Three Sound Poets: Jaap Blonk, Amanda Stewart, Christian Bok (2014)), ubuweb.com [https://www.ubuweb.com/sound/Bok_Blonk_Stewart_ABC_Radio.html] * Skilled technologists are being forced out of government, Don Moynihan [https://donmoynihan.substack.com/p/skilled-technologists-are-being-forced] * GSA eliminates 18F, NextGov [https://www.nextgov.com/people/2025/03/gsa-eliminates-18f/403400/?oref=ng-author-river] * Doppelgänger: New disinformation campaigns spreading on social media through Russian networks, Intrinsec [https://www.intrinsec.com/doppelganger-new-disinformation-campaigns-spreading-on-social-media-through-russian-networks/?cn-reloaded=1] * NEW REPORT: Russian propaganda may be flooding AI models, American Sunlight Project [https://www.americansunlight.org/updates/new-report-russian-propaganda-may-be-flooding-ai-models] * Kevin Rose, Alexis Ohanian acquire Digg, TechCrunch [https://techcrunch.com/2025/03/05/kevin-rose-and-alexis-ohanian-acquire-digg/?guccounter=1] – Authoritarians vs Wikipedia * Censorship of Wikipedia, Wikipedia.org [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Censorship_of_Wikipedia] Find Stephen: * Sourcenotes [https://www.sourcenotes.blog/] * Stephen’s novel, The Editors [https://www.stephenharrison.com/] * Stephen on Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/stephenharrison.com] – Are We Having Fun Yet? * Find Kyle: Twitter [https://x.com/chaykak?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor] Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/chaykak.bsky.social] Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/kchayka/?hl=en] * Kyle at The New Yorker [https://www.newyorker.com/contributors/kyle-chayka] * Titanium Daydream [https://www.tiktok.com/@titanium.daydream] (also on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC90b2ieXBcMOGTt33rTrF4g] and Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/titaniumdaydream/?hl=en])  * Read Kyle’s book Filterworld: How Algorithms Flattened Culture [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/695902/filterworld-by-kyle-chayka/] – Never Post’s producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show’s host is Mike Rugnetta. Oh! to be almost loquacious Rather than fatally over loquacity’s edge Excerpt of #36 the-faux-ailing-abacus by Wayne Koestenbuam Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure ★ Support this podcast ★ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/signup]

Georgia talks with Matt Pearce – journalist, former president of Media Guild of the West, and senior policy advisor for Rebuild Local News – about the info environment on Tiktok around its 12 hour ban in the US. The team asks WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. Also: Computer Whiz! – Become a Never Post member at https://www.neverpo.st/ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/] for access to extended and bonus segments, and our side shows like “Slow Post”, “Posts from the Field” and “Never Watch” – * Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voicemail * Drop us a voice memo via airtable [https://airtable.com/appIvXY8gz5ikRbF0/pagjGcjdYg2alw8cD/form] * Or email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com * See what interstitials we need submissions for [http://neverpo.st/interstitials] – Intro Links * William McFarland Pleads Guilty In Manhattan Federal Court To Defrauding Investors And A Ticket Vendor Of Over $26 Million, justice.gov [https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/william-mcfarland-pleads-guilty-manhattan-federal-court-defrauding-investors-and-ticket] * EXCLUSIVE: Fyre Festival 2: Dates, location and how to get tickets, Today [https://www.today.com/popculture/fyre-festival-2-dates-location-tickets-rcna193328] * Microsoft CEO Admits That AI Is Generating Basically No Value, Futurism [https://futurism.com/microsoft-ceo-ai-generating-no-value] * Microsoft Dropped Some AI Data Center Leases, TD Cowen Says,  Bloomberg [https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-02-24/microsoft-cancels-leases-for-ai-data-centers-analyst-says] * How Temu’s supply chain is changing, RetailBrew [https://www.retailbrew.com/stories/2025/02/24/how-temu-s-supply-chain-is-changing] * Temu Overhauls Supply Chain on Tariffs, Risking Price Hikes, Bloomberg [https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/temu-overhauls-supply-chain-after-tariffs-risking-price-hikes/ar-AA1yOgIA] * UK users are losing a key Apple security feature, raising questions about the future of privacy, CNN [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/technology/uk-users-are-losing-a-key-apple-security-feature-raising-questions-about-the-future-of-privacy/ar-AA1zM5Xc] – Tiktok’s Leftovers Hours * Matt Pearce’s substack [https://mattdpearce.substack.com/] * On Bullshit [https://annas-archive.org/md5/940bc8b28ee907c158092d12c34ece29?] - Harry G. Frankfurt – What Is Going On Here * Mike: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCNP0atyy0J/ [https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCNP0atyy0J/] * Georgia: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnBLd93cydQ [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnBLd93cydQ], https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8YqRuDF/ [https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8YqRuDF/] * Hans: https://www.reddit.com/r/Pomes/hot/ [https://www.reddit.com/r/Pomes/hot/] * Jason: https://www.tiktok.com/@aerosangels7?_t=ZT-8uF8Ot7ziWJ&_r=1 [https://www.tiktok.com/@aerosangels7?_t=ZT-8uF8Ot7ziWJ&_r=1] * Stevie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf8vqQFeH_k [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tf8vqQFeH_k] – Never Post’s producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show’s host is Mike Rugnetta. The truth is, I’ve never cared for the National Anthem. If you think about it, it’s not a good song. Too high for most of us with “the rockets red glare” and then there are the bombs. (Always, always, there is war and bombs.) Once, I sang it at homecoming and threw even the tenacious high school band off key. But the song didn’t mean anything, just a call to the field, something to get through before the pummeling of youth. And what of the stanzas we never sing, the third that mentions “no refuge could save the hireling and the slave”? Perhaps, the truth is, every song of this country has an unsung third stanza, something brutal snaking underneath us as we blindly sing the high notes with a beer sloshing in the stands hoping our team wins. Excerpt of A New National Anthem by Ada Limón Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure ★ Support this podcast ★ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/signup]

Mike talks with artist, researcher and online harassment expert Caroline Sinders about blocking people online. What’s it for, and what kinds of feeling do we have when using it? Then, friend of the show Meghal Janardan speaks to children’s book author Laura Dower about her series “From the Files of Madison Finn”, an early exploration about what it was like being young, and online, at the turn of the millennium. Also: ssshhhhhh library asmr – Become a Never Post member at https://www.neverpo.st/ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/] for access to extended and bonus segments, and our side shows like “Slow Post”, “Posts from the Field” and “Never Watch” – * Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voicemail * Drop us a voice memo via airtable [https://airtable.com/appIvXY8gz5ikRbF0/pagjGcjdYg2alw8cD/form] * Or email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com * See what interstitials we need submissions for [http://neverpo.st/interstitials] – Intro Links * Wired Establishes Itself as the Digital Thorn in Elon Musk’s Side, The Wrap [https://www.thewrap.com/wired-elon-musk-engineers-breaking-news/]  * Introducing ChatGPT Gov, OpenAI [https://openai.com/global-affairs/introducing-chatgpt-gov/] * As Trump Offers Buyout to Get Rid of as Many Government Workers as Possible, OpenAI Announces New Version of ChatGPT Designed to Do Government Work, Futurism [https://futurism.com/trump-openai-chatgpt-gov] * Union lawsuit seeks to block ‘deferred resignation’ program, Federal News Network [https://federalnewsnetwork.com/workforce/2025/02/union-lawsuit-seeks-to-block-deferred-resignation-program/] * EU sets out guidance on banning harmful AI uses, TechXplore [https://techxplore.com/news/2025-02-eu-guidance-ai.html] * The Impact of Generative AI on Critical Thinking: Self-Reported Reductions in Cognitive Effort and Confidence Effects From a Survey of Knowledge Workers, Advait.com [https://advait.org/files/lee_2025_ai_critical_thinking_survey.pdf] * Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons or surveillance, Washington Post [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/02/04/google-ai-policies-weapons-harm/] * Google scraps its diversity hiring goals as it complies with Trump’s new government contractor rules, APNews [https://apnews.com/article/google-diversity-equity-inclusion-program-trump-16a937d5d9b6447251c4c40c2ad1c915] * Vance gets the TikTok portfolio, Punchbowl [https://punchbowl.news/article/tech/vance-waltz-tiktok-portfolio/] – What If There Were Fewer Connections? Journalists’ Use of Social Media Disconnection Practices: ‘I Try Not to Block People, but…’ [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/21670811.2024.2436545] Dr Dawn Wheatley, dcu.ie [https://www.dcu.ie/communications/people/dawn-wheatley] Find Caroline: * convocation.design [https://convocation.design/] * cord_labs on IG [https://www.instagram.com/cord_labs/] – From the Files of Madison Finn Find Laura: * lauradower.com [http://lauradower.com] – Never Post’s producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show’s host is Mike Rugnetta. The soft rumor of spreading weeds. The sound of things ruined by the wind. The come to me as if I were the heart of all that exists. I would like to be dead, and also to go inside another’s heart. Summer Goodbyes, by Alejandra Pizarnik Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure ★ Support this podcast ★ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/signup]

We respond to your comments! – Become a Never Post member at https://www.neverpo.st/ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/] -- ☎️ Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voice mail 🗣️ Drop us a voice note via airtable [https://airtable.com/appIvXY8gz5ikRbF0/pagjGcjdYg2alw8cD/form] 📧 Email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com 🌐 Leave a comment at neverpo.st See what interstitials we need submissions for [http://neverpo.st/interstitials] -- Never Post's producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show's host is Mike Rugnetta.  Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure. ★ Support this podcast ★ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/signup]

Georgia talks with politics and internet reporter David Mack about whether disgraced politicians are attempting to launder their reputations on Cameo. Plus, Hans finds out what it feels like to answer an unanswerable question about how many cameras there are in the world. Also: the sounds of our collective TikTok Journey. – Become a Never Post member at https://www.neverpo.st/ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/] for access to extended and bonus segments, and our side shows like “Slow Post”, “Posts from the Field” and “Never Watch” – * Call us at 651 615 5007 to leave a voicemail * Drop us a voice memo via airtable [https://airtable.com/appIvXY8gz5ikRbF0/pagjGcjdYg2alw8cD/form] * Or email us at theneverpost at gmail dot com * See what interstitials we need submissions for [http://neverpo.st/interstitials] – Intro Links * FCC -- Carr Welcomes Court Order Invalidating President Biden’s Plan to Expand Government Control of the Internet Through Title II Regulations [https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-408580A1.pdf] * MSN -- Brendan Carr is officially in charge of the FCC [https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/brendan-carr-is-officially-in-charge-of-the-fcc/ar-AA1xxZw9] * ALA -- Net Neutrality: An Intellectual Freedom Issue [https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/netneutrality] – Cameo’s Reputation Machine Find David: * Bluesky [https://bsky.app/profile/davidmackau.bsky.social] * Slate [https://slate.com/author/david-mack] * Rolling Stone [https://www.rollingstone.com/author/david-mack/] * Buzzfeed [https://www.buzzfeed.com/davidmack] – How Many Cameras Are There? Segment Links: * Archive.org -- Opening the Era of Outer Space [https://archive.org/details/72922ATheWorldInTheCamera] * Union of Concerned Scientists -- Satellite Database [https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/satellite-database] * FAA -- Drones By the Numbers [https://www.faa.gov/node/54496] * IHS Markit -- Video Surveillance Datasheet [https://cdn.ihs.com/www/pdf/1118/service-datasheet-video%20surveillance-intelligence-service-premium-and-standard.pdf] * Allied Market Research -- Video Surveillance Market [https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/Video-Surveillance-market] * CNET -- Google Maps has now photographed 10 million miles in Street View [https://www.cnet.com/tech/tech-industry/google-maps-has-now-photographed-10-million-miles-in-street-view/] * NYC DOT -- Cameras List [https://webcams.nyctmc.org/cameras-list] * 404 Media -- Researcher Turns Insecure License Plate Cameras Into Open Source Surveillance Tool [https://www.404media.co/researcher-turns-insecure-license-plate-cameras-into-open-source-surveillance-tool/?ref=weekly-roundup-newsletter] * Electronic Frontier Foundation -- Atlas of Surveillance [https://atlasofsurveillance.org/atlas] * International Telecommunications Union -- Facts and Figures 2023 [https://www.itu.int/itu-d/reports/statistics/2023/10/10/ff23-mobile-phone-ownership/] * Business Wire -- Amazon's Ring Remained atop the Video Doorbell Market in 2021 [https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220622005023/en/Strategy-Analytics-Amazons-Ring-Remained-atop-the-Video-Doorbell-Market-in-2021] * Decision Research -- Psychic Numbing [https://www.arithmeticofcompassion.org/psychic-numbing] * Daniel Västfjäll, Paul Slovic, Marcus Mayorga, Ellen Peters -- Compassion Fade: Affect and Charity Are Greatest for a Single Child in Need [https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0100115] * The Journalist’s Resource -- The effect of CCTV on public safety: Research roundup [https://journalistsresource.org/politics-and-government/surveillance-cameras-and-crime/] * Ars Technica -- Omnipresent AI cameras will ensure good behavior, says Larry Ellison [https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2024/09/omnipresent-ai-cameras-will-ensure-good-behavior-says-larry-ellison/] – Never Post’s producers are Audrey Evans, Georgia Hampton and The Mysterious Dr. Firstname Lastname. Our senior producer is Hans Buetow. Our executive producer is Jason Oberholtzer. The show’s host is Mike Rugnetta. Slowly the fog did what fog does, eventually: it lifted, the way veils tend to at some point in epic  verse so that the hero can see the divinity at work constantly behind all things mortal, or that’s  the idea anyway, I’m not saying I do or don’t believe that, I’m not even sure that belief can change any of it, at least in terms of the facts of how,  moment by moment, any life unfurls, we can call it fate or call it just what happened… Excerpt, Sing a Darkness, by Carl Phillips Never Post is a production of Charts & Leisure ★ Support this podcast ★ [https://www.neverpo.st/#/portal/signup]