Slate Technology

ICYMI | AI Is Changing How We Have Sex

On today’s episode host Kate Lindsay is joined by porn historian Noelle Perdue [https://www.instagram.com/all_day_breakfast_/?hl=en], author of the Porn World [https://noelleperdue.substack.com/] newsletter. OpenAI announced that they’d allow adult users to have erotic conversations with ChatGPT, just one more way AI and porn are becoming intertwined. As sex becomes more online, not only does it become more solitary, but also more surveilled. Both of these things are intended to divide us, but Noelle is confident that AI’s attempted sex-takeover will fail.  This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

What Next: TBD | Crypto Keeps Criming

Trump promised to stop the “persecution” of the cryptocurrency industry. He did call off the SEC investigations that began under Biden, and pardoned Binance cofounder and ex-CEO Changpeng Zhao. But is the crypto industry ultimately better off because of that?  Guest: David Yaffe-Bellany [https://www.nytimes.com/by/david-yaffe-bellany], tech reporter for the New York Times. 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]

ICYMI | The Two Internet Villains Staging a Comeback

On today’s episode host Kate Lindsay is joined by New York Magazine feature writer, Rebecca Jennings [https://nymag.com/author/rebecca-jennings/], to discuss the two internet villains currently trying to get back in the internet’s good graces. First, there’s former Try Guy Ned Fulmer, who was ousted from the group after having an affair with an employee, and has now relaunched his YouTube channel as well as his own podcast. Then, Colleen Ballinger, also known as MirandaSings, appeared on Tea Time with Raven Symone and Miranda Maday to discuss allegations that she had interacted inappropriately with her fans. In both cases, fans have rejected their attempts to return. So why do they keep coming back? This podcast is produced by Vic Whitley-Berry, Daisy Rosario, and Kate Lindsay. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

What Next: TBD | How Meta Profits Off Fraud

The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, doesn’t (just) have a scam problem—with 10 percent of its revenue coming from scam ads, and a third of all successful scams in America using a Meta platform at some point, it’s more an interdependence with scammers. Guest: Jeff Horwitz [https://www.reuters.com/authors/jeff-horwitz/], tech reporter for Reuters. 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]

ICYMI | Yes, Having a Boyfriend Is Embarrassing

On today’s episode host Kate Lindsay is joined by writer and content creator Josh Lora, who also goes by TellTheBees [https://www.tiktok.com/@tellthebeees?lang=en]. Josh’s Substack essay, Boyfriendland [https://tellthebeees.substack.com/p/boyfriendland], was cited in the viral Vogue article written by Chanté Joseph, “Is Having a Boyfriend Embarrassing Now? [https://www.vogue.com/article/is-having-a-boyfriend-embarrassing-now]” Many women are hiding their boyfriends online, or losing followers if they hard-launch. Some go as far as to say having a boyfriend “feels republican.” Is this heterofatalism gone too far, or a long-overdue correction to the patriarchy? 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]