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From The Big Story: Billions Registered

Listen to more of The Big Story here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://swap.fm/l/wi-bigstorypod-feeddrop Right now, there are no rules to keep you from owning a bitchin’ corporate name as you

From The Big Story: Why the Future Doesn't Need Us

Listen to more of The Big Story here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://swap.fm/l/wi-bigstorypod-feeddrop Our most powerful 21st-century technologies—robotics, genetic engineering, and nanotec

From The Big Story: Choke Points

Listen to more of The Big Story here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://swap.fm/l/wi-bigstorypod-feeddrop Lost time. Lost jobs. Lost friends. Lost family. Lost Lives. How Israeli checkpoin

From The Big Story: How a Research Blog Took on Big Surveillance in China—and Won

Listen to more of The Big Story here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://swap.fm/l/wi-bigstorypod-feeddrop Digging through manuals for security cameras, a group of gearheads found sinister deta

From The Big Story: Greetings From Burning Man!

Listen to more of The Big Story here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://swap.fm/l/wi-bigstorypod-feeddrop Dispatches from the New American Holiday: Writer Bruce Sterling takes the kids to the

From The Big Story: She's 28, Loves God and Her Family, and Might Be the Reason You Can't Have Kids

No IVF. No surrogacy. No polygenic tests. Emma Waters is leading a national fight against fertility tech—with her hot husband’s permission, of course.For more of the most

From The Big Story: Sayaka Murata Inhabits a Planet of Her Own

Listen to more of The Big Story here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠http://swap.fm/l/wi-bigstorypod-feeddrop The novelist makes the Earthly rituals of sex, marriage, childbirth—and all of human l

Open Source AI Has Founders—and the FTC—Buzzing

DC went to YC to talk OS. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Bitcoin Bros Go Wild for Donald Trump

At the Bitcoin 2024 conference in Nashville, Trump told crypto enthusiasts exactly what they want to hear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com

Polluted Lakes Are Being Cleansed Using Floating Wetlands Made of Trash

Platforms combining plants and recycled garbage could offer a cut-price solution for reviving polluted bodies of water. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podca

At The Olympics, AI Is Watching You

A controversial new surveillance system in Paris foreshadows a future where there are too many CCTV cameras for humans to physically watch. Learn more about your ad

Here's What Happens When You Give People Free Money (They Get Poorer)

OpenResearch released the first results of the most comprehensive study on giving unrestricted cash grants to impoverished Americans. Researchers say it will flame both s

RealPage Says Rental Pricing Tech Is Misunderstood, but Landlords Aren’t So Sure

The software company has pushed back hard against claims that its algorithms helped make rent in the US too damn high. Property owners and managers aren't entirely convin

Waymo Is Suing People Who Allegedly Smashed and Slashed Its Robotaxis

The Alphabet-owned driverless car service is getting aggressive against alleged vandals after a series of violent incidents in San Francisco. Learn more about your a

J.D. Vance Left His Venmo Public. Here’s What It Shows

The Republican VP nominee's Venmo network reveals connections ranging from the architects of Project 2025 to enemies of Donald Trump—and the populist's close ties to the

Spotify, Stop Trying to Become a Social Media App

The music streaming service has added a comment function under podcasts. Who is it for, anyway? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Paris Mayor Defies Poo Threats to Swim in Seine, and Prove a Point

French politicians’ pledge to make swimming possible in the iconic river is a way to ward off criticism about the cost of the clean up operation. Learn more about yo

Tiny Texas Village Seeks Billion-Dollar Bitcoin Miner to Pave Potholes, Scare Dogs Away

In a roundabout bid to win public opinion (and a juicy tax abatement,) Riot Platforms is preparing for its prized bitcoin mine to be annexed by a miniscule village in rur

Pressure Grows in Congress to Treat Crypto Investigator Tigran Gambaryan, Jailed in Nigeria, as a Hostage

A new resolution echoes what 16 members of Congress have already said to the White House: It must do more to free one of the most storied crypto-focused federal agents in

How Watermelon Cupcakes Kicked Off an Internal Storm at Meta

Arab and Muslim workers at Meta allege that its response to the crisis in Gaza is one-sided and out of hand. “It makes me sick that I work for this company,” says one emp