hearsayculture

Leo Laporte is a serial pioneer.

Already a well-loved fixture on radio and cable TV,
where he made technology both accessible and
exciting, Leo was one of the first to recognize and run
with podcasting’s potential.

In this episode of Uneven Distribution, Denise and Leo discuss:
• the relationship between passion & profession
• lessons learned from 20+ years of working & living
online
• what to expect as tech continues to shape our future.

Listen here:
https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/tech-changes-eve
rything-except-us

HCN's R&D with D&D was launched with a view of diving into complex culture, business and technology policy issues from various angles and delivering actionable insights. Denise and Dave examined algorithmic computing's questionable role in criminal sentencing with Cornell Law Prof. Jessica Eaglin in this August 2022 discussion. Is AI a dangerous nuisance in criminal sentencing, or can it be harnessed for good? Only on the Hearsay Culture Network! https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/can-ai-criminal-sentencing

In this new episode of Denise Howell's Uneven Distribution, Denise explores the future of diet, food, and agriculture with date rancher Joan Smith. Joan has pioneered a new market for high-end, high-quality dates, all while championing responsible and sustainable business practices. Tune in for a down-to-earth conversation about a delicious and sustainable superfood, as well as what Joan’s experiences mean for tomorrow’s table and diet. Only on the HC Network! https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/date-with-destiny

In recent decades, Silicon Valley has driven a rosy narrative about the benefits of technology.

Yet this mindset has blurred – and often overlooked – widespread societal inequities and marginalization.

In his book “Your Computer is on Fire,” Benjamin Peters and his co-authors elucidate how our technological infrastructure has intertwined with our daily lives, giving rise to “large-scale consequences of Silicon Valley.”

Listen to the full interview here:

https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/questioning-the-myths-of-utopian-tech

HCN's own @denise@twit.social Uneven Distribution host and R&D with D&D co-host, joined Dave on @kzsu to discuss AI and Only Fans, Sam Altman and his eyeball scanning device, podcasting, and where we are headed with AI. Listen in for this timely December 2023 discussion, only on Hearsay Culture and the Hearsay Culture Network! https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/openais-sam-altman-more

It seems as if we interact with technology endlessly. But do we consider the kinds of biases technology reflects back to us?

On this episode of R&D with D&D, Dave and Denise chat with Prof. Mar Hicks of the University of Virginia’s School of Data Science.

In this far-ranging discussion, we discuss:
• ethical AI
• the use of female voices by a variety of apps
• how technology can eliminate certain jobs and more!

Listen: https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/revealing-hidden-dynamics

CEO Mark Zuckerberg naturally receives the most attention when it comes to Facebook's launch.

Yet many unknown individuals played critical roles. And most of those individuals remained unknown until Wall Street Journal reporter Jeff Horwitz connected with Facebook whistleblower Frances Haugen.

Listen to the full interview here:

https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/facebooks-broken-code-revealed

Tonight @ 7pm pacific on KZSU Stanford: Hearsay Culture Media chats with Duke’s David Schanzer on the campus student protests and how to balance speech, safety, and the university’s role in a fraught time. Based on his excellent Substack article: https://open.substack.com/pub/perilous/p/universities-must-tolerate-anti-israel?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web. Only on HCN!

Hearsay Culture has focused on online speech since its inception. Among the most important work being done in this space is by Southern Poverty Law Center's Megan Squire. Listen in for Megan's unique (and intensely personal) experience and insights from her career as the leading data scientist in this critical field. Only on the Hearsay Culture Network! https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/fighting-online-hate-speech

Dave Sifry is a serial pioneer. From Technorati to Questy.ai, Dave is the best kind of technologist: the kind with heart, and the vision and skills to constantly make things better. We’re thrilled Dave took the time to sit down with host Denise Howell on HCN's Uneven Distribution to discuss where we’ve been, where we’re going, and what’s remarkable about both. https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/all-in-all-out

Today's storytelling has become increasingly adversarial.

In our latest episode of Hearsay Culture Radio, we discuss this problem with return guest @Annalee Newitz, author of Stories are Weapons: Psychological Warfare in the American Mind.

Dave and Annalee discuss
• the weaponization of stories throughout history
• current uses of storytelling to fuel cultural tension and
• how some stories undermine the very concept of truth.

Listen to the full interview here: https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/the-weaponized-media-storytelling

AI’s continued influence on our lives seems unstoppable – and hard to decipher.

In this discussion, join Dave and Denise, who seek to provide clarity in the day-to-day of AI. Discussions range from:
- the implications on intellectual property to
- “multi-modal” (text, images, audio, video, sensory data) systems and
- cover changes to legal practice and political developments.

Listen to the full interview here: https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/redefining-normal-rd

In the wake of multiple decisions in the past two years the Supreme Court has been under intense scrutiny.

In this April 2023 discussion on Hearsay Culture Radio, Dave and Adam Liptak of the New York Times thoroughly explore recent controversies surrounding the Supreme Court, the complexities of judicial reporting and public perception, and the impact of AI on judicial processes.

Listen to the full interview here: https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/covering-the-supreme-court-in-an-ai-age

Tech commentators tend to swerve between pessimism and utopianism but 'In The Secret Life of Data', Jesse Gilbert and Aram Sinnreich take a deep dive approach & come up with a more nuanced analysis.
Dave interviews Jesse and Aram on:
- the latest data collection practices
- the technology that is evolving to keep it private
- the nefarious work of trolls and bad actors
- and where you should be concerned, and where you shouldn’t.
Listen to the full episode: https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/what-are-datas-secrets

Our latest interview with veteran political strategist @simon@mastodon.social Rosenberg, host of the Substack “Hopium Chronicles" is now up.

In this timely interview, recorded in October 2023, Dave and Simon discuss:
• how political parties operate in our information ecosystem
• Simon’s experience when he appeared as a regular on Fox News (a couple of thousand times), and
• the sharp elbows often found in political reporting.

Listen: https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/the-political-strategist

Streaming on KZSU Stanford tonight is a #throwback Hearsay Culture episode to June 2014, where Dave is talking with his middle school Social Studies teacher, Carl Oechsner.

Dave recollects the impact that Carl had on him:

"He’s the most influential teacher I ever had and I would not have considered [the] law if it wasn’t for him. He was generous, kind, and understanding of middle schoolers - which isn’t easy!"

You can stream it tonight @ 7 pm PT/ 10 pm EST on: https://kzsu.stanford.edu/

And now for something completely different (for Hearsay Culture Network): Our interview with #allelitewrestling's #hangmanadampage. We discuss topics including the business of wrestling, #AEW's fans (you might be surprised), the name "Hangman," and what goes into drinking your opponent's blood (after stapling your son's drawing to his face) in front of 10,000 fans. A first, and only on the Hearsay Culture Network!

https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/inside-wrestling-with-aews-hangman-adam-page

Orly Lobel's influential 2022 book, The Equality Machine, came out about one month before ChatGPT was sprung on the world. Does digital technology still have the bones of an "equality machine," or should we be skeptical? In this February 2024 discussion, Dave and Orly discuss what it might take for AI to be an "equality machine," and where the pitfalls lie. Only on the Hearsay Culture Network! https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/ai-what-is-it-good-for

Generative AI in education is one of the immediate challenges of this still new (if fast moving) technology. Prof. Amy Ko of the University of Washington analyzes learning and teaching in our nascent AI world. Will we look back on this time like we do the advent of the calculator? We had a focused discussion on this critical issue with a scholar and advocate whose expertise in computing and education is rare and essential. Only on the Hearsay Culture Network! https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/ai-benefit-danger-education

Viktor Mayer-Schoenberger is a giant in technology policy, so we are delighted to share our discussion with Viktor about his new book with Urs Gasser, Guardrails: Guiding Human Decisions in the Age of AI. Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how we can create meaningful AI regulations, Guardrails makes the case that we can create "guardrails" for AI only if we understand the regulatory goals and objectives first. Listen in and let us know what you think! https://hearsayculture.com/podcast/runaway-tech-the-conditions-for