Shows
TechdirtThe Fictional Censorship Cinematic UniverseLast year, Renée DiResta joined us on an episode of the podcast to talk about her book, Invisible Rulers: The People Who Turn Lies Into Reality, all about the people who have crafted a massive fictional narrative about the state of social media and government's involvement in content moderation. Now that Jim Jordan is celebrating Google's recent letter about the Biden administration and spreading all sorts of false claims about what it says, Renée joins us again to talk about maddening irony and overall craziness of this narrative that just won't go away.
Last year's episode: https://www.te...
2025-09-301h 01TechdirtThe Many Problems With The FTC's Pornhub SettlementLast week, we published three separate posts that looked at the FTC's recent settlement with Aylo, the parent company of multiple adult websites including, most famously, Pornhub. Those posts, written by Stanford HAI policy fellow Riana Pfefferkorn, examined the legally complicated but very important issues that arise from the settlement forcing Aylo to scan for CSAM. This week, Riana joins us on the podcast alongside TechFreedom president Berin Szoka, to go even deeper into the legal weeds and explain how this settlement could doom criminal CSAM cases.
Posts on Techdirt:
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/15/the-trump-ftcs-war-on-porn-just-ensured-that-accused-csam-offenders-will-walk-free/
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/15/the-ftcs-settlement-with-aylo-this-isnt-really-about-fighting-csam-and-revenge-porn/
...
2025-09-231h 06TechdirtCopyright And The First Amendment Collide At The Supreme CourtIn what feels like something of a throwback to much earlier days of Techdirt, the Supreme Court is getting into the weeds of the DMCA. Cox v. Sony is a case centered around questions of repeat infringers and intermediary liability, and we've submitted an amicus brief from the Copia Institute, written by Cathy Gellis. This week, Cathy joins the podcast to discuss the Supreme Court's opportunity to fix the first amendment problems with platform copyright liability.
Copia Institute brief: https://www.techdirt.com/2025/09/05/something-good-the-supreme-court-could-do-finally-fix-the-first-amendment-problems-with-platform-liability-for-copyright-infringement/
2025-09-0945 min
TechdirtWhat's Next For Ctrl-Alt-SpeechWe've got a bunch of brand new episodes of the Techdirt podcast coming over the next few weeks, but first we've got one special cross-post from our other podcast made in partnership with Ben Whitelaw from Everything in Moderation: Ctrl-Alt-Speech. As we take a little break from that podcast for the month of August, we're posting a few special episodes, starting with this conversation about how it got started, how we create the episodes, our philosophy about sponsorship, and what we need to make Ctrl-Alt-Speech sustainable in the long run. We're cross-posting it here on the Techdirt podcast feed, and...
2025-08-0738 minTechdirtA History Of Techdirt, And MoreThis week, we've got a cross-post episode of Mike's appearance on Kevin Williamson's How The World Works podcast. Kevin conducted a wide-ranging interview that covers some of the earliest days of Techdirt, the blog's evolution, and many of the important topics we cover today — and you can listen to the whole conversation here on this week's episode.
2025-06-241h 07
TechdirtCtrl-Alt-Speech Minisode: The Supreme Court’s NetChoice RulingThe hosts of Ctrl-Alt-Speech are both on vacation this week, but we didn’t want to leave our listeners waiting too long for an update on today’s big news about online speech: the Supreme Court’s ruling in the NetChoice cases, which sends the Texas and Florida laws that would limit the ability of online platforms to moderate political speech back to the lower courts. So Mike Masnick has stepped briefly back to the microphone to join our producer, Leigh Beadon, for a quick mini episode of Ctrl-Alt-Speech, which we’re also posting to the Techdirt podcast feed. In this sho...
2024-07-0219 minTechdirtThe Challenges Facing NCMEC's CyberTiplineThe National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's CyberTipline is a central component of the fight against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online, but there have been a lot of questions about how well it truly works. A recent report from the Stanford Internet Observatory, which we've published two recent posts about, provides an extremely useful window into the system. This week, we're joined by two of the report's authors, Shelby Grossman and Riana Pfefferkorn, to dig into the content of the report and the light it sheds on the challenges faced by the CyberTipline.
Stanford Report: https://purl.stanford.edu...
2024-05-0750 minTechdirtCognitive Liberty Is The End Goal Of DecentralizationLast year in September, we released a cross-post episode of Mike's appearance on the DWeb Decoded podcast with Danny O'Brien. If you listened to that episode, you know that Mike and Danny go way back, and Danny played an important role in the founding of Techdirt. This week, we've got the inverse counterpart to that episode, with Danny joining Mike here on the Techdirt podcast for a discussion about decentralization and "cognitive liberty" (and a bunch of other topics).
2024-03-261h 04TechdirtChecking In On Bluesky With Jay GraberAnyone who follows Techdirt knows we're very interested in the progress of Bluesky, the decentralized social network that embraces our concept of protocols over platforms. Bluesky recently ended its invite-only beta and opened its doors to the public, so it seems like a great time for a check-in, and who better to check in with than Bluesky CEO Jay Graber? Jay joins us on this week's episode for a discussion about Bluesky's progress and what the future holds.
2024-03-0557 minTechdirtIs the Internet Killing Culture? (No. Don’t Be Stupid.)A couple weeks ago, we released the 2024 edition of our Sky Is Rising report about the state of the entertainment industries. Last week, Mike and I joined Corbin Barthold on Techfreedom's Tech Policy Podcast for a discussion about the report and, more broadly, the state of culture in the internet era and the conversations that surround it. You can listen to the whole conversation here on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
2024-02-061h 02TechdirtBeeper And The Power Of ProtocolsLast month, we wrote about Apple's nonsensical attack on Beeper, a universal messaging app that exemplifies many of the things we talk about here on Techdirt, like adversarial interoperability and the value of embracing open protocols over walled platforms. This week, Beeper CEO Eric Migicovsky joins us on the podcast to talk about the app, the fight with Apple, and the power of protocols.
2024-01-1747 minTechdirtCould A Design Code Help Social Media Serve Society Better?We're back from the holidays, and it's time for a new episode of the Techdirt Podcast! This week, we're joined by Ravi Iyer, Research Director for the USC Marshall School's Neely Center and Managing Director of the Psychology of Technology Institute, to discuss a proposed "design code" that aims to make social media better serve society. Mike isn't entirely convinced by the approach, leading to a long discussion about all its ins and outs.
2024-01-0957 minTechdirtContent Moderation GamesMany of you might know Andrew "K'Tetch" Norton as a Techdirt commenter, or from his work at TorrentFreak or for the Pirate Party, and some of you might know that he also runs his own podcast, Tetch Talk. Recently, Andrew asked Mike and I to join him on the podcast for a discussion about our content moderation games Moderator Mayhem and Trust & Safety Tycoon, and today we're posting a mirror of the full discussion for our last podcast of the year. See you in 2024!
2023-12-191h 14TechdirtYour Face Belongs To Us, With Kashmir HillWe've written plenty about facial recognition here on Techdirt, and especially the infamous Clearview AI. Now, journalist Kashmir Hill, who wrote the original New York Times story that told the story about the company's inception, has written a new book all about the subject: Your Face Belongs To Us. This week, she joins us on the podcast to discuss the whole story of Clearview AI, the rise of facial recognition, and the impact on privacy.
Your Face Belongs To Us: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691288/your-face-belongs-to-us-by-kashmir-hill/
2023-10-2448 minTechdirtLiability, Speech & MarketplacesWe've got a slightly unusual (at first glace) crosspost episode for you this week! Recently, Mike joined Dave Cooper, CEO and Founder of brand protection agency IPSecure, on the company's Owning The Buy Box podcast. As you probably know, we're pretty skeptical of brand protection companies here at Techdirt, but Dave has a history of heeding our criticisms and being thoughtful about policy and court rulings, enabling an interesting and insightful discussion about a recent legal decision and the brand protection space as a whole.
2023-09-1953 minTechdirtLink Taxes Are (Still) BadEarlier this year, we had an episode looking at Canada's proposed social media link tax and the many ways it would be terrible. Since then, that link tax has become law (though not yet come into effect), and unsurprisingly proven that the dire predictions were correct. Also since then, the Cato Institute's Paul Matzko published an excellent paper on link taxes in general, and Paul joins us on this week's episode to discuss the many reasons that a link tax won't save the newspaper industry.
Read the paper: https://www.cato.org/policy-analysis/link-tax-wont-save-newspaper-industry
Listen to our previous episode on...
2023-09-1257 minTechdirtThinking About DecentralizationWe've got a another cross-post episode for you this week, on a subject near and dear to our hearts: protocols over platforms, and restoring decentralization online. Mike recently joined Danny O'Brien on the DWeb Decoded podcast to talk all about these topics, as well as tell a little story about Danny's role in the founding of Techdirt, and you can listen to the whole conversation here on this week's episode.
2023-09-0556 minTechdirtGigi Sohn On Community BroadbandIf you didn't know who Gigi Sohn was before her stalled-out FCC nomination and the ridiculous smear campaign that came with it, you surely do by now. And if you read Techdirt, you know she's one of the most experienced and passionate experts around when it comes to broadband. This week, she returns to the podcast after quite some time to discuss her new role at the American Association for Public Broadband and the fight for more community-owned broadband in the US.
2023-08-1551 minTechdirtRed Team Blues, Part OneIf you're a Techdirt reader, you're surely familiar with Cory Doctorow: we've written about him often, he's appeared on the podcast several times and, of course, he's a prolific science fiction author whose books brilliantly engage with many of the subjects we cover. Next week, if all goes according to plan, Cory will be joining us on the podcast once again to talk about his latest novel, Red Team Blues — so if you haven't read it yet, now's the time! And today we've got a special podcast feature to get you started: a chapter-long excerpt from the audiobook, available to li...
2023-07-1123 minTechdirtFutureCastRecently, we announced our latest game project: FutureCast, created in partnership with the United Nations' Global Pulse group. It's a highly adaptable strategic forecasting tool that aims to explore "pathways of change" for different future scenarios by bringing together groups of stakeholders for a fun, insight-generating exercise. This week, we're joined by Minke Meijnders and Tiina Neuvonen from UN Global Pulse, as well as our game design partner Randy Lubin from Leveraged Play, to discuss how the game came to be and the many things you can do with it.
Read about FutureCast: https://www.techdirt.com/2023/06/14/announcing-futurecast-a-new-game-framework-for-exploring-pathways-of-change/
Get the...
2023-06-2743 minTechdirtThe Reddit MeltdownIf you're a Techdirt reader, a Reddit user, or both, then you probably know all about the chaos engulfing the site as users and moderators of popular subreddits protest CEO Steve Huffman's recent changes to the site's API. This week, we're joined by Jay Peters from The Verge to talk about the situation, the protests, and Huffman's disastrous responses.
2023-06-2249 minTechdirtSave The Children (From State Social Media Laws)We've featured lots of coverage of the frankly insane deluge of "protect the children" type social media laws popping up in several states, and recently Mike was a guest on TechFreedom's Tech Policy Podcast, hosted by Corbin K. Barthold. You can listen to the whole conversation right here on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
2023-04-181h 00TechdirtGaming Like It's 1927Last week, we announced the winners of the fifth annual public domain game jam, Gaming Like It's 1927! We strongly encourage everyone to go check out all the submissions, but as in past years, I sat down with Mike and our game design partner Randy Lubin for an episode of the podcast all about the winning games in all six categories, as well as some of our favorite entries that didn't quite make the cut.
Read about the winners: https://www.techdirt.com/2023/02/28/announcing-the-winners-of-the-5th-annual-public-domain-game-jam/
Check out all the entries: https://itch.io/jam/gaming-like-its-1927/entries
2023-03-0747 minTechdirtThe DoNotPay Story, With Kathryn TewsonIf you've been reading Techdirt recently, you probably know all about supposed "AI Lawyer" service DoNotPay and the tireless investigation of the company undertaken by Kathryn Tewson, who has written a couple of Techdirt posts about the saga. This week, Kathryn joins us on the podcast for a long and entertaining discussion about the entire story (so far).
2023-02-211h 12TechdirtIn Defense Of The Global, Open InternetThere have long been attacks on the global, open nature of the internet. Traditionally these came from authoritarian regimes looking to wall off portions of the internet and exert greater control of them, but lately we've also been seeing growing threats from democratic countries in the form of problematic laws and regulations. Recently, we wrote about an article by Global Network Initiative executive director Jason Pielemeier and Annenberg Public Policy Center research fellow Chris Riley that made a case in defense of the global, open internet, and this week both Jason and Chris join us on the podcast to look...
2023-01-1051 minTechdirtThe New Abnormal On TwitterIt seems the madness just never stops on Elon Musk's Twitter, and it's almost impossible to keep up. Recently, Mike joined the Daily Beast's podcast, The New Abnormal, for a discussion with host Andy Levy about just what exactly is going on with Twitter under Musk's erratic leadership. The conversation first appeared as part of The New Abnormal's latest episode, and now you can listen to Mike's segment here on the Techdirt Podcast.
The New Abnormal episode: https://www.thedailybeast.com/watching-the-last-jan-6-hearing-was-utterly-heartbreaking
2022-12-2023 minTechdirtWalled CultureOne of the oldest and most important topics on Techdirt is copyright, and the many problems with the law both here and abroad. One of the best voices on the subject, here and in many other publications, is Glyn Moody, who recently released his book Walled Culture, that goes through the history of how legacy copyright industries have tried to harm the internet and gain ever greater control over the work of artists and creators. It's available as a free e-book under a Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication, and today Glyn joins the podcast to discuss the book and...
2022-10-1251 minTechdirtCelebrating 25 Years Of TechdirtAs you probably already know, Techdirt recently marked its 25th anniversary and celebrated the occasion with an online party for our Insider subscribers. At the event, Mike was joined by Techdirt co-founder Dennis Yang for an interview conducted by Alex Feerst of Murmuration Labs, in which they looked back on the history of the site and took some questions from the audience. Now, you can listen to the full conversation on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
2022-10-041h 13TechdirtThe Problems With The California Kids' CodeWe've got one more cross-post episode this week. If you've been following Techdirt recently, you've surely heard about California's recently-passed bill, the Age Appropriate Design Code, and all its massive problems. Recently, Mike appeared on This Week In Google to discuss these problems, and you can listen to the whole conversation on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
2022-09-0638 minTechdirtWalled Culture InterviewWe've got a cross-post episode for you this week! Recently, Mike appeared on the Walled Culture podcast to discuss a wide range of topics including reflections on the SOPA/PIPA fight, ways to support creators, and the world of NFTs. You can listen to the entire interview on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
2022-08-301h 00TechdirtWhat Is Web5?As advocates of decentralization and a protocols-not-platforms approach to the web, there's a lot about the concept of Web3 that sounds appealing to us at Techdirt — but the details usually leave a lot to be desired. A new project called TBD from Block aims to move beyond all that, and while its invocation of "Web5" understandably invites skepticism, it's actually a lot more interesting. This week, we're joined by project lead Mike Brock to discuss how TBD and the concept of Web5 aims to grapple with the true potential of decentralization.
2022-07-1256 minTechdirtRevisiting The Question Of Proprietary Platforms For Media CompaniesWe've got some great new discussions for the Techdirt Podcast... coming in a few weeks. But at the moment, amidst a very busy schedule on a variety of fronts, we're taking a short break to look back on a very old conversation: our 14th episode ever, from 2015, about media companies rolling out proprietary content management systems. Since we recently completed our own migration to Wordpress (the popular platform that was also a major component of that seven-year-old discussion) we thought it might be fun to revisit the question. So on this week's episode, Mike and I open with a bit...
2022-06-2241 minTechdirtThere Are Both Smart & Dumb Ways To Improve CopyrightThe problems with copyright have been a subject of coverage here at Techdirt since the beginning, and for most of that time it has been largely a non-partisan subject. At the moment, however, that isn't so much the case thanks to Josh Hawley's war with Disney, which has created a situation where some copyright reform ideas that are conceptually good are mired in culture war issues, partisan politics, and unconstitutional nonsense. This week, we're joined by the Niskanen Center's Daniel Takash to discuss the problems with Hawley's copyright bill and copyright law in general.
2022-05-2447 minTechdirtThe Real Beneficiaries Of Section 230So much of the debate about Section 230 is based on an incorrect understanding of its procedural benefits, and the completely false idea that it's a special gift to "big tech". A new paper (which we wrote about yesterday) by Elizabeth Banker from the Chamber of Progress dives deep into the real benefits and beneficiaries of Section 230, and this week she joins us on the podcast to discuss how the law protects small companies, individuals, and free speech.
Research Paper: https://progresschamber.org/new-report-details-impact-of-section-230-litigation-onsmall-online-providers/
Our Coverage: https://www.techdirt.com/2022/04/18/new-study-shows-section-230-protects-small-companies-much-more-than-big-ones/
2022-04-1942 minTechdirtPredicting The FutureRecently, Mike joined Jason Feifer on the Build for Tomorrow podcast for a discussion about predicting the future — and specifically about a prediction that Mike got very wrong. The episode includes interviews with several other guests on the subject, and we're featuring the whole thing this week on the Techdirt Podcast.
2022-04-0544 minTechdirtGaming Like It's 1926It took a little longer than usual, but we've finally announced the winners of the fourth annual public domain game jam, Gaming Like It's 1926! In this episode, Mike and I are joined by Randy Lubin (our partner in running the jam) to discuss the winners in all six categories, as well as some of our favorite entries that didn't quite make the cut.
The Winners: https://www.techdirt.com/2022/03/09/announcing-the-winners-of-the-4th-annual-public-domain-game-jam/
The Entries: https://itch.io/jam/gaming-like-its-1926/entries
2022-03-0939 minTechdirtRemembering The SOPA Fight, With Rep. Zoe LofgrenAs many of you know, last week we hosted an online event for the latest Techdirt Greenhouse edition, all about looking back on the lessons learned from the 2012 protests against SOPA and PIPA. Our special guest was Rep. Zoe Lofgren, one of the strongest voices in congress speaking out against the disastrous bills, who provided all kinds of excellent insight into what happened then and what's happening now. In case you missed it, for this week's episode of the podcast (yes, we're finally back with new episodes!) we've got the full conversation and Q&A from the event.
The Techdirt...
2022-02-0158 minTechdirtHow Our Views Have Changed Over 300 EpisodesLast week, we celebrated 300 episodes of the Techdirt Podcast with a live stream, for which we brought back original co-hosts Dennis Yang and Hersh Reddy. You can watch the stream on YouTube, but now it's time to release the episode as normal! The subject was simple, but led the conversation in all kinds of interesting directions: how have our views on technology issues changed and evolved since the podcast started?
YouTube Stream: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYOzagdwfkI
2021-10-0558 minTechdirtThe Misinformation About DisinformationDisinformation continues to be a major topic of discussion across many fields, but a lot of what people believe about the subject is... questionable at best. One of the more thoughtful writers on the subject is Joe Bernstein from Buzzfeed News, whose recent cover story in Harper's brings a very different and valuable perspective to the debate. This week, he joins us on the podcast to discuss the glut of misconceptions and misinformation about disinformation.
Harper's Article: https://harpers.org/archive/2021/09/bad-news-selling-the-story-of-disinformation/
Additionally, as we recently announced, we'll be celebrating our upcoming 300th episode of the podcast with a live...
2021-09-2841 minTechdirtFree Speech, Elections, Vaccines, And Social MediaFreedom of speech sits at the intersection of so many of the topics we write about here on Techdirt, and some of our favorite podcast guests are true experts on the subject. One such guest is UCI Law Professor and former UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye, who joins us again for this weeks episode and a wide-ranging discussion about some of the most pressing and current free speech issues.
2021-07-2748 minTechdirtPatent Quality WeekAlthough it's taken a bit of a back seat lately, the topic of patents has long been important here at Techdirt. Now that we're in the first ever Patent Quality Week, it's time to dig back in and talk about changing the patent system and turning it into something that enables good patents without allowing so many bad ones. So for this week's episode, we're joined by Engine's IP Counsel Abby Rives to talk about the inception and goals of Patent Quality Week, and how to fix our broken approach to patents.
2021-07-2041 minTechdirtRegulating Amplification Is A Lot Harder Than You ThinkEven among people who recognize the problems with holding platforms liable for user speech, there's an understandable temptation to treat the act of content amplification and recommendation differently, since that's something the platforms do themselves. While you can see the logic to this idea, the fact is it's just as difficult and fraught with problems as other intermediary liability proposals. This week, we're joined by frequent guest Daphne Keller, Director of the Program on Platform Regulation at Stanford's Cyber Policy Center, to discuss her recent paper on the subject and why regulating amplification isn't the simple solution it might sound...
2021-06-2347 minTechdirtHow Rights Went WrongAfter a few cross-post episodes, we're back with a brand new conversation, and it's all about a big subject that intersects with the majority of what we cover here at Techdirt: rights. In his book How Rights Went Wrong, Columbia Law professor and Constitutional scholar Jamal Greene proposes a new way of thinking about rights and how they interact, and he joins this week's episode to discuss this paradigm-shifting idea that challenges many preconceptions about the subject.
2021-04-2055 minTechdirtSection 230 Matters, With Ron Wyden & Chris CoxLast week, we hosted Section 230 Matters, a virtual Techdirt fundraiser featuring a panel discussion with the two lawmakers who wrote the all-important text and got it passed 25 years ago: Chris Cox and Senator Ron Wyden. It was informative and entertaining, and for this week's episode of the podcast, we've got the full audio of the panel discussion about the history, evolution, and present state of Section 230.
2021-03-0250 minTechdirtA Section 230 RoundtableWe've got one more cross-post from another podcast this week, and the subject is still the law that's dominating the tech policy discourse: Section 230. Mike recently joined R Street's Shoshana Weissmann on the Daily Tech News Show hosted by Tom Merritt, for a roundtable discussion about the all-important online liability shield and its many, many vital applications that people typically fail to consider. You can listen to the whole discussion on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
2021-01-2632 minTechdirtIn Defense Of Section 230 & A Decentralized InternetThe podcast went on pause over the holidays and amidst the deluge of... events — but now we're back! And to kick things off, we've got a cross-post from Nick Gillespie's Reason podcast. Mike recently joined Nick for an interview about Section 230 and why a decentralized internet is better than a heavily-restricted one, and you can listen to the whole thing on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
2021-01-191h 22TechdirtAn Open Protocol For Web MonetizationRecently, Techdirt began a new monetization experiment with Coil. It's a system for making payments on the web, but it's not just another micropayment service layered on top of existing technology — it's part of a broader effort to create an open standard for web monetization based on the Interledger network protocol. This week, we're joined by Coil founder and Interledger co-creator Stefan Thomas to explain how an open protocol for payments could change business models on the web.
2020-11-111h 05TechdirtA New Model For Independent Journalism, With Casey NewtonThe origins of Techdirt lie in a newsletter that Mike started over 20 years ago, and in all that time, the business models for online journalism have never stopped evolving and changing, especially when it comes to independent reporting. Now, newsletters are making a comeback with a new model, driven especially by writers flocking to the Substack platform. One such person is technology journalist Casey Newton with his new Platformer newsletter, and this week Casey joins the podcast to discuss his experience and what it can teach us about the future of independent journalism online.
2020-10-2040 minTechdirtLittle Brother vs. Big Audiobook, With Cory DoctorowThe third book in Cory Doctorow's Little Brother series is coming soon — but as usual, Cory is doing something different as part of the release. Fans and Techdirt readers know he's an outspoken opponent of DRM who makes sure all his work is available DRM-free, but that isn't so easy when it comes to audiobooks, where Audible's market dominance forces DRM onto everything. So while publishers eagerly picked up Attack Surface for printing, he retained the audio rights and is running his first-ever Kickstarter to release a nice non-DRM version. This week, Cory joins Mike on the podcast to discuss wh...
2020-09-2254 minTechdirtThe Greenhouse Privacy WrapupAt the end of May, we launched the Techdirt Greenhouse — a new project to foster long-form conversations with a wide variety of experts about the most challenging and nuanced tech policy questions of our time. Since then we've been focusing on our first topic: privacy. Now we're wrapping that up and getting ready to launch a series of posts on our next subject, but first we wanted to sit down with one of our Greenhouse editors, Karl Bode, to look back on all the excellent pieces that we've published over the past few weeks. Check out the Greenhouse page here on...
2020-07-1446 minTechdirtSection 230 & Trump's Executive OrderThis week, we've got a special cross-post from 16 Minutes On The News — an excellent tech podcast by a16z that's well worth subscribing to. For the latest episode, host Sonal Chokshi interviewed Mike all about Section 230 and Trump's recent executive order about social media — and as you might imagine, it took a lot longer than 16 minutes! We've got the complete interview here on the Techdirt Podcast.
2020-06-0242 minTechdirtLarry Lessig Defends His 'Clickbait Defamation' LawsuitLast month I wrote a long post explaining why I could not support Larry Lessig's new lawsuit against journalists and the New York Times for what he referred to as "Clickbait Defamation." Lessig argued that a NY Times headline and lede was false, while I argued that it was a different interpretation, but not "false," and thus not defamatory. I also argued that his lawsuit was a SLAPP suit, potentially harming the individuals named. Larry wished to respond to my post and I invited him on the podcast to discuss. Larry is a Harvard Law professor. I am not. This...
2020-02-111h 10TechdirtWhat's Really In The FCC's Facebook Settlement, Part TwoLast week, we featured part one of our discussion with lawyer Joshua de Larios-Heiman, about the details of the FCC's Facebook settlement, beyond the headline-grabbing fine. It was a long conversation that we cut off right in the middle, so be sure to listen to part one first and then come back for part two, in which we finish picking apart the settlement item by item.
PART ONE: https://soundcloud.com/techdirt/whats-really-in-the-ftcs-facebook-settlement-part-one
2019-08-2049 minTechdirtPublic Interest Tech, With Bruce SchneierBruce Schneier is a name most Techdirt readers are very familiar with — he's a famous computer security expert who most recently has taken up the mantle of Public Interest Technologist, and been exploring exactly what that means. This week, Bruce joins us on the podcast to discuss how technologists can dedicate themselves to the common good.
2019-07-0939 minTechdirtThe Past & Future Of Section 230Of all the laws we discuss here at Techdirt, probably none comes up as often or in relation to as many things as Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act. It's not an exaggeration to describe it the way Professor Jeff Kosseff does in the title of his new book, The Twenty-Six Words That Created The Internet, offering a detailed history of this vital piece of law. This week, Jeff joins us on the podcast for an in-depth discussion about where Section 230 came from, and where it's going.
2019-04-2359 minTechdirtA Free Speech Chat With FIREIt's time for another special cross-post from a different podcast. Mike was recently a guest on the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education's So To Speak podcast, for an interview about Techdirt, free speech, content moderation, and a range of other topics. If you didn't catch it there, you can listen to the whole interview here in this week's episode.
2019-04-161h 14TechdirtCharter Cities & Innovative GovernanceWe're pretty optimistic about innovation here at Techdirt, but it isn't an automatic good thing all by itself: implementation and intention matters, and that means political entanglements and complicated questions about governance, and that calls for big, new ideas. This week, we're joined by Tamara Winter from the Center for Innovative Governance Research to discuss new experiments in government like charter cities and special autonomous zones.
Also, learn more about:
Shenzhen - https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/2501/564470PUB0buil10Box349496B01PUBLIC1.pdf?sequen
Val D'Europe - https://www.economist.com/europe/2017/08/03/disney-has-built-a-pseudo-paris-near-paris
The original vision for Disney World...
2019-04-0239 minTechdirtThe Surveillance State, With Marcy WheelerWe've been covering surveillance and the intelligence community for a long time here at Techdirt, but if you had to limit yourself to just one source on the subject, even we'd probably recommend you choose Marcy Wheeler. Following the recent news that the NSA has apparently shut down its bulk records collection program — the first exposed by Edward Snowden — Marcy joins us on this week's episode to discuss the surveillance state and why it might abandon Section 215.
2019-03-2654 minTechdirtThe Failure Of High Tech PolicingSometimes people ask us why we write so much about the police on Techdirt. Though our coverage has grown somewhat beyond the boundaries of incidents directly involving technology, the reality is that the problems with law enforcement persistently intersect with the same technological and legal issues we've always discussed here. But this week the focus is squarely on cops and technology: Mike is joined by Matt Stroud, author of the new book Thin Blue Lie, as well as our own Tim Cushing, to talk about the failure of high-tech policing.
2019-03-1954 minTechdirtThe (Big?) Business Of PodcastingWe can hardly believe it, but as of this moment we've released 200 episodes of the Techdirt podcast! For this milestone, we've brought the increasingly-rare original team of co-hosts back together for a bit of a meta-episode all about podcasts — specifically, the recent news that Spotify has acquired Gimlet Media for the impressive and, to many, surprising sum of $230-million. Mike joined by Dennis Yang and Hersh Reddy to discuss what Spotify might be up to, and just how big the podcasting business really is.
2019-02-1953 min2018-12-1855 minTechdirtAnonymity In The Media & OnlineAnonymity is back in the news in a big way, especially since the New York Times published an explosive opinion piece by an anonymous White House official. Here at Techdirt — proudly one of the few blogs that still allows completely anonymous comments with no sign-up — we've talked about anonymity for a long time in the context of the internet. On this week's episode, Mike and regular co-hosts Dennis Yang and Hersh Reddy talk about the benefits, challenges, and overall importance of anonymous speech.
2018-09-1140 minTechdirtThe EU's Copyright Threat To The Open InternetWe've got a crossover episode this week, all about the EU's disastrous moves on the copyright front. Mike recently joined the Building Tomorrow podcast to discuss the subject with Paul Matzko and Will Duffield, and now you can listen to it here on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
2018-07-3145 minTechdirtBuilding Communities Outside FacebookOne thing we've talked about for a long time at Techdirt is the importance communities for media outlets, including our own. These days, it feels like a lot of media companies are giving up on this work altogether and outsourcing it to social media platforms — but that means foregoing some of the most powerful aspects of the internet. This week, we're joined by Josh Millard, who recently took over MetaFilter, to talk about building online communities and not relying on Facebook.
2018-07-2454 minTechdirtRob Reid's Mind-Bending PodcastWe've talked about author Rob Reid many times on Techdirt, and had him on the podcast once before. Now, in what started as a project to promote his latest novel, Reid is hosting a podcast called After On, which tackles some pretty crazy real-world topics — from alien life to mind-reading technology — befitting a science fiction writer. This week, he returns to our podcast to discuss what it's like interviewing big thinkers about mind-bending ideas.
2018-05-2946 minTechdirtAn Interview With Rep Zoe LofgrenWhen it comes to many of the legislative issues of interest to us here at Techdirt, we've always been able to count on at least one voice of reason amidst the congressional chaos: Representative Zoe Lofgren from California. In addition to playing a critical role in the fight against SOPA, she continues to be a voice of reason against bad copyright policy, expansive government surveillance, and the broken CFAA, among many other things. This week, she joins Mike on the podcast for a wide-ranging discussion about these topics and more.
2018-02-0630 minTechdirtBarbies v. BratzIf you've been reading Techdirt for more than five years, you probably remember the conclusion of Mattel v. MGA — and if you've been reading for more than thirteen years, you might even remember when it started. This epic legal battle over intellectual property went through nearly a decade of rulings and reversals, and the resulting story is a fascinating one that ties in a lot of the topics we discuss here at Techdirt. It's also the subject of the new book You Don't Own Me by law professor Orly Lobel, who joins us on this week's episode to revisit this pa...
2018-01-0955 minTechdirtTom Wheeler Reacts To Trump's FCCIf you're a Techdirt reader or just a general regular on the ol' internet, our topic this week — the current situation with net neutrality and the FCC — needs little introduction. And we've got two very special guests joining us to discuss it: former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler (author of the rules that Ajit Pai is currently undoing) and his former advisor Gigi Sohn (who joined us on the podcast in February to predict pretty much exactly what is now happening). There are few people as qualified to talk about these issues, so enjoy this week's episode looking at Trump's FCC and...
2017-11-2837 minTechdirtDonald Trump, Howard Stern... And CopyrightThis episode was supposed to come two weeks ago when the news was a little fresher, so by now you almost certainly know all about the copyright claims on Donald Trump's appearances on the Howard Stern show. Though delayed by an outage at our cloud recording provider, the episode is still an interesting listen, with frequent Techdirt contributor Cathy Gellis joining the podcast to discuss the deeper question of whether copyright truly even exists on the interviews in the first place. Sorry for the delay, and we hope you enjoy it!
2017-10-1735 minTechdirtWhen Godwin's Law Met The Streisand EffectLast Friday on Techdirt, we posted video from the World Hosting Days, in which Mike Masnick sat down for a talk with Mike Godwin — a.k.a. the originator of "the Streisand Effect" meeting the creator of "Godwin's Law". As promised, we've got the audio from the event for this week's podcast, so if you haven't watched the video (or you just want to revisit it) tune in for a fun discussion about the history and changing meaning of these now-famous terms.
Watch the video: https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20170915/16541938217/when-godwins-law-met-streisand-effect.shtml
2017-09-1927 minTechdirtPokémon Gone?Just over a year ago, when Pokémon Go was taking the world by storm, we dedicated an episode of the podcast to discussing what made it so successful, and ended up with some differing predictions about what its future would be. Now, with the hype long and truly over but the game still far from dead (though just how far is up for debate), it's time to revisit the subject and figure out who, if anyone, was right about the future of Pokémon Go.
Hear the original episode: https://soundcloud.com/techdirt/is-it-the-pokemon-or-the-go-that-matters
2017-08-2938 minTechdirt20 Years Of TechdirtCan you believe it? Tomorrow is our 20th anniversary! Techdirt has come a long way since Mike started it as a newsletter on August 23rd, 1997, and this week's episode of the podcast is a celebration and exploration of that history. Mike and Dennis are joined by Medium's Alex Feerst acting as moderator/interviewer to discuss the past 20 years of Techdirt.
2017-08-221h 09TechdirtThese Scammers Picked The Wrong GuyIf you're a fan of the Reply All podcast, then you're probably still processing the story they told in a recent two-part episode about the insane lengths that host Alex Goldman went to track down a phone scammer. If you haven't heard the story, and you think you've seen all there is to see on the "messing with scammers" front... well, you're in for a surprise. We strongly suggest you listen to the Reply All story first — then listen to our conversation with Alex about the whole saga on this week's episode of the Techdirt Podcast.
Reply All Episode 102, "Long Di...
2017-08-0836 minTechdirtIs The Economy More Important Than Democracy?The economy is important — very important. But is that because it matters in and of itself, or because it's the engine for achieving the things we really do care about? Here at Techdirt we've always been strong advocates of the free market, but we've never been absolutists about things like regulation, and we believe it's very important to explore these issues in detail. This week on the podcast we're joined by James Allworth, co-host of the Exponent podcast and author of a recent post entitled Prioritizing Economics is Crippling the U.S. Economy, to discuss entrepreneurship, democracy, the economy and mo...
2017-07-2550 minTechdirtRob Reid On Writing & Publishing A SciFi Novel In 2017If you read our post yesterday, you know that Techdirt friend Rob Reid is releasing his latest novel, After On by publishing the first near-half of the book for free on Medium ( https://medium.com/s/after-on/ ). As promised, today we're joined by Rob on the podcast for a discussion about the book, the launch, and what it's like to publish science fiction in 2017. And don't forget to get your copy of the book at http://amzn.to/2sWUBRE
2017-07-1152 minTechdirtCopyright, Music & 'Theft'This week's episode is all about copyright and culture, with a pair of the best guests you could ask for on the subject. Almost ten years ago, law professors Keith Aoki, James Boyle and Jennifer Jenkins released a comic book about copyright called Bound By Law, and now they are back with a sequel: Theft: A History of Music. This week, James and Jennifer join us to discuss the new comic and the history of copyright and music (with lots of fair use music snippets to demonstrate the legacy of 'theft')!
You should also be sure to check out the...
2017-06-2055 minTechdirtThe Future Of Internet Copyright, With TechFreedomThis week we've got a special crossover episode with our friends at TechFreedom. Mike joined their Tech Policy Podcast recently to discuss notice and takedown systems and the future of internet copyright, and we're cross-posting the conversation as an episode of the Techdirt Podcast too.
2017-05-3032 minTechdirtTruth And Fiction With Cory DoctorowMost Techdirt readers are already familiar with Cory Doctorow, whether via his EFF work, the BoingBoing blog, his novels, or all of the above. This week, he joins us on the podcast to discuss his new book Walkaway and much, much more.
2017-05-1648 minTechdirtChanging Government Starts With YouFor obvious reasons, politics and government are on just about everyone's mind at the moment, prompting a vast range of reactions and opinions. A lot of people who share a desire for change are divided not only by what form they think that change should take, but by what methods they think should be employed to achieve it. Former Senate staffer and long-time Techdirt friend Jennifer Hoelzer recently wrote a column entitled Your Government Won't Change... Unless You Do and this week she joins us on the podcast to delve further into this idea and what it means for optimists...
2017-01-3141 minTechdirtSupporting Creators, With Patreon Founder Jack ConteIt's our 100th episode! And to celebrate, we're not only talking with Patreon founder Jack Conte, we're announcing that the Techdirt Podcast is now on Patreon too!
2016-11-3039 minTechdirtDebating The Facebook Filter Bubble, With Mathew IngramThough the notion of the Facebook "filter bubble" has been around for a while, it's picked up a huge amount of steam following the election of Donald Trump — perhaps just a little too much steam. While Techdirt has long been of the opinion that pointing fingers at Facebook is misguided, there are plenty of people who disagree. This week, we're joined by one such person — long-time media commentator and senior editor at Fortune Mathew Ingram — for a lively debate about just how much of a problem the filter bubble really is, and how you'd go about solving it.
2016-11-1547 minTechdirtSenator Wyden On The Expansion Of FBI SurveillanceIt should surprise nobody that the FBI is seeking even broader digital surveillance powers by changing the warrant requirements and expanding the power of national security letters. If you're a regular Techdirt reader, it also won't surprise you to learn that Senator Ron Wyden is working hard to hold the line against this kind of expansion. This week, we're joined by Senator Wyden to discuss what the FBI is up to and what the public needs to know about it.
2016-07-1224 minTechdirtWhat Happened At The Oracle Google Trial?Over the past few weeks, a jury heard the second round of the copyright fight between Oracle and Google over whether Google's use of the Java APIs in Android constituted copyright infringement, or whether it was fair use. In the end, the jury went with fair use. Reporter Sarah Jeong watched the entire trial from the courtroom and joins us on the Techdirt podcast this week to discuss both the legal details and the various oddities of this particular trial.
2016-05-3148 minTechdirtThe Great Encryption Debate: Should There Be Back Doors?Anyone who reads Techdirt knows our opinion on encryption: stronger is better, and giving the government (or anyone else) a back door is a dangerous idea. We've decried a lot of the stupid arguments that we've heard in favor of back doors — usually coming from technologically clueless politicians and law enforcement officers — but that doesn't mean we aren't open to considering some smart ones. This week, we've invited Albert Wenger (who you may recall from a discussion about basic income way back in Episode 16) to share his pro-backdoor position and engage in some friendly debate.
2016-03-2953 minTechdirtApple, The FBI & YouI don't think I need to reiterate how important the battle over the future of encryption is. It's not new, but rather the latest clash in a fight that has been raging for years, and the high-profile example of the San Bernardino attacker's iPhone has cast a spotlight on it. This week, we're joined by longtime Techdirt friend Marvin Ammori to dig into the details of this issue, its potential consequences, and its context in the history of encryption.
2016-03-0834 minTechdirtBarry Eisler On Truth, Fiction And The Surveillance State (Part One)Those of you who've heard our previous episodes with Barry Eisler know that he has a unique insight into many of the topics we discuss here at Techdirt, stemming from the wide variety of perspectives he's had in his past: as an operative for the CIA, as a tech industry lawyer, and now as a bestselling author (his new book, The God's Eye View, explores a plausible future inspired by the Snowden revelations). Recently, Mike conducted an interview with Barry at the Commonwealth Club of California, and on this week's podcast we've got the first half of that interview, with...
2016-02-0937 minTechdirtHow Much Surveillance Is Acceptable?Welcome to the last podcast episode of 2015! For the whole year (and since long before that) Techdirt has been speaking out against surveillance and government invasion of privacy, to the point where it might seem like we give no consideration to the legitimacy of any kind of surveillance. But that's not necessarily true, so this week we're approaching things from the other side and discussing the limits of reasonable and acceptable surveillance.
2015-12-2237 minTechdirtOur Podcast About PodcastsFifty episodes! Having skipped just two weeks in the past, this marks one whole year of the Techdirt Podcast! In honor of that, we're taking on a very relevant topic that we haven't yet discussed: the medium of podcasting itself.
2015-11-1034 minTechdirtA Whirlwind Tour Of Current Policy Issues In TechToday, we've got something a little different: a podcast crossover podcast with the folks from the a16z. Last week, Mike joined Julie Samuels from Engine on the a16z Podcast hosted by Sonal Chokshi to discuss a long list of important policy issues related to technology and innovation, and for those of you who aren't already following that podcast, we're cross-posting the episode here as part of the Techdirt Podcast as well. Enjoy!
2015-11-0453 minTechdirtOur Hacking Laws Are A MessIf you're a Techdirt regular, you probably know that there are some serious problems with the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. Drafted in 1986 with extremely broad language, the CFAA has grown into an easily abused law that lets prosecutors go after people for minor activities that don't meet any reasonable definition of hacking or computer fraud. This week, we discuss the utter mess that our hacking laws have become, and look into ways they might be fixed.
2015-10-2746 minTechdirtThings We Got WrongOver the past 15+ years, Techdirt and its team has made plenty of predictions and prognoses about various aspects of the world of tech — which means we've made plenty of mistakes. This week, our podcast is dedicated to discussing some of those poor predictions and figuring out what we can learn from them.
2015-10-1341 minTechdirtHumble Bundle Deserves More Credit For Its Many InnovationsWhen people talk about today's most innovative technology and media companies, the discussion tends to orbit the usual suspects: Apple, Google, Facebook et al. But there's one small company that we've long believed deserves far, far more attention for its multitude of smart innovations: Humble Bundle. This week, we discuss the many subtle but extremely meaningful choices that have grown the Humble Bundle from a simple experiment into a revolutionary form of distribution, and wonder why the company doesn't get more credit as an innovator.
This week we're also unveiling our brand new podcast theme song written, produced and recorded...
2015-08-1136 minTechdirtKevin Smith On How To Be Yourself And Make A LivingLong-time Techdirt readers know that we're big fans of Kevin Smith, not just for his films and podcasts but also for his many innovative approaches to business, distribution and creativity in general — and we're proud to say that he is also a pretty big fan of Techdirt. This week, he joins us on the podcast to discuss the experience of striking out on your own path as a creator while countless voices from the status quo try to tear you down — and the rewards that come when you manage to ignore those voices and be unapologetically yourself.
2015-07-2851 minTechdirtClosing In On Virtual RealityThe promise of virtual reality has been teasing us since the late 60s, and yet it never seems to arrive in a fully realized form. Recently, however, VR (and its cousin, augmented reality) is back in a big way, with flagship products like the Oculus Rift and Microsoft Hololens taking the spotlight, backed up by dozens of other contributions. To discuss this exciting trend, we're joined by erstwhile Techdirt writer Carlo Longino who, along with regular co-host Dennis Yang, attended this year's E3 conference and tried out a bunch of new offerings on the VR market.
2015-06-3035 minTechdirtWhat's It Like To Drive For Uber And Lyft?Techdirt co-host Dennis Yang has been trying his hand as a driver for both Uber and Lyft. He shares his experiences, and sparks a discussion about the role and future of these services.
2015-03-0937 minTechdirtDo You Need A Proprietary Platform To Be A Serious Media Company Today?Techdirt has long operated on a homegrown content management system, but while we've been considering a switch to something open like Wordpress, many other media companies have been building their own proprietary platforms. What are the pros and cons of each approach?
2015-03-0325 minTechdirtThe Internet From Space!Mike Masnick, Hersh Reddy and Dennis Yang discuss satellite internet and other big ideas about connectivity in Episode 5 of the Techdirt Podcast.
2014-12-1834 minTechdirtIn Defense Of AdvertisingMike Masnick, Hersh Reddy and Dennis Yang look beyond the kneejerk reaction that "all advertising is bad" in Episode 4 of the Techdirt Podcast.
2014-12-1133 minTechdirtAmanda Palmer And The Art Of AskingAmanda Palmer drops by to discuss her new book The Art Of Asking with Mike Masnick, Hersh Reddy and Dennis Yang in Episode 3 of the Techdirt Podcast.
2014-12-0333 minTechdirtPrivacy And User Control, With Brad BurnhamMichael Masnick interviews Brad Burnham about strategies for solving the privacy problem in episode two of the Techdirt Podcast.
2014-11-2027 min