Hack Friday

11/22/17 • 42 min

What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

On this week’s If Then, Slate’s April Glaser and Will Oremus talk about changes to net neutrality that were announced this week. They also talk a little about the digital media bubble and if it’s real, and April will also tell us about how living with a robot is going. We also have Black friday special for you - the hosts will talk with Brian Krebs, an expert on cybercrime - about everything retailers and consumers should know before the big day.

And lastly, Don’t Close My Tabs - Will and April’s picks for best on the web this week.

April’s Tab:https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/12/the-making-of-an-american-nazi/544119/

Will’s Tab - https://www.thedailybeast.com/ceo-of-hq-the-hottest-app-going-if-you-run-this-profile-well-fire-our-host

You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April is @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment for us, you can email as well at [email protected].

If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter.

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And lastly, Don’t Close My Tabs - Will and April’s picks for best on the web this week.

April’s Tab:https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/12/the-making-of-an-american-nazi/544119/

Will’s Tab - https://www.thedailybeast.com/ceo-of-hq-the-hottest-app-going-if-you-run-this-profile-well-fire-our-host

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Previous Episode

Leaving Zen on the Table

On this week’s If Then, Slate’s April Glaser and Will Oremus discuss some recent tech news, like the head-scratching revelation that WikiLeaks actually sent Donald Trump, Jr. Direct Messages on Twitter before and after the election, and a speech by Senator Al Franken that suggests we should regulate big tech companies more like utilities. The hosts are also joined by T. Dalton Brown from Dopamine Labs, the cofounder of an interesting and controversial startup whose mission is to help other companies make their apps and online platforms more addictive, by playing on our cognitive biases and psychological weaknesses.

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Next Episode

Antitrust Superstar

On this week’s If Then, Slate’s April Glaser and Will Oremus discuss how bots messed up the net neutrality comment process and whether that gives advocates a last chance to preserve an open Internet. They also examine YouTube’s ongoing problems airing disturbing videos involving children and why its moderation algorithms don’t work. Then the hosts speak with Lina Khan, legal policy director of the Open Markets Institute and a fellow at Yale Law school, about AT&T’s now-troubled attempt to merge with Time Warner, and the DoJ’s unusual antitrust challenge. Lastly, as always, Don’t Close My Tabs: April and Will’s picks for best tech stories on the web this week.

If Then’s “Don’t Close My Tabs” recommendations:

NY Mag : Tumblr Founder David Karp is Stepping Down

Stanford Politics: How Peter Thiel and the Stanford Review Built a Silicon Valley Empire

Podcast production by Max Jacobs.

You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will at @WillOremus, and April is @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment for us, you can email as well at [email protected].