Podcasts by IRL: Online Life is Real Life

The Care and Feeding of Your Troll from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.913625

Trolls. You'll find them in every corner of the Internet. During this episode, explore the landscape of trolling online, its impact on individuals, and its impact on the Web. Some people are fig...

All Access Pass from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.908982

What is life like without fast Internet, and how does life change once a person has it? Should Internet access be a right, rather than a luxury? Listen

Bot or Not from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.902478

Most website visitors aren’t human. They’re bots. And these automated accounts are having serious, real-world impact; from the 2016 election to the FCC’s re...

Face Value from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.897570

From Snapchat filters to Google’s art selfies, biometric technology plays a growing role in our everyday lives. What do we actually give up when we upload our face to these apps? Steven Talley s...

Algorisky from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.892463

From Google search to Facebook news, algorithms shape our online experience. But like us, algorithms are flawed. Programmers write cultural biases into code, whether they realize it or not. Auth...

Ctrl+Alt+Facts from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.887212

From campaign bots to conspiracy videos, it’s harder than ever to discover the truth online. In conversation with The New York Times’ Sheera F...

The Grand Bargain from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.882717

We’re told from a young age to “accept the things we cannot change.” But should this be the case online as well? We click “Accept” every day, but often don’t know what we’re giving away. Is it a...

What to Expect When You're Electing from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.872807

The 2016 U.S. presidential election blew up our ideas about influence campaigns in the age of screens. Two years later, Veronica Belmont and Listen

TL;DR from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.862093

TL;DR: We have access to more things to read than ever before. Too much, in fact. Our reading habits have shifted. We skim a lot. We look for full stories baked into headlines. Our eyes bounce a...

The Surveillance Economy from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.855821

In her new book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism, Harvard Business School’s Shoshana Zuboff argues that tech companies — like Google and Face...

What if Women Built the Internet? from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.849810

All the things we love on the internet — from websites that give us information to services that connect us — are made stronger when their creators come with different points of view. With this...

“The Weird Kids at the Big Tech Party” from ZigZag from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.845590

Season 4 of ZigZag is about examining the current culture of business and work, figuring out what needs to change, and experimenting with new ways to do it. Listen

Democracy and the Internet from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.840069

Part of celebrating democracy is questioning what influences it. In this episode of IRL, we look at how the internet influences us, our votes, and our systems of government. Is democracy in trou...

Privacy or Profit - Why Not Both? from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.787396

Every day, our data hits the market when we sign online. It’s for sale, and we’re left to wonder if tech companies will ever choose to protect our privacy rather than reap large profits with our...

Introducing IRL Season 6: AI in Real Life from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.782238

AI is everywhere now. It’s part of healthcare, social media, maps, and even killer robots. But who has power over AI? And who is shifting that power? Join IRL’s new host, Bridget Todd, as...

When an Algorithm is Your Boss from 2023-12-12T18:58:51.773896

Gig workers around the world report directly to algorithms in precarious jobs created by secretive corporations. We take you to the streets of Quito, Ecuador where delivery workers are protestin...

Lend Me Your Voice from 2023-11-21T05:00

Big tech’s power over language, means power over people. Bridget Todd talks to AI community leaders paving the way for open voice tech in their own languages and dialects.

In this episode:...

The Humans in the Machine from 2023-10-24T04:00

They’re the essential workers of AI — yet mostly invisible and exploited. Does it have to be this way? Bridget Todd talks to data workers and entrepreneurs pushing for change.

Millions of ...

With AIs Wide Open from 2023-10-10T04:00

Are today’s large language models too hot to handle? Bridget Todd digs into the risks and rewards of open sourcing the tech that makes ChatGPT talk.

In their competitive rush to release po...

We’re Back! IRL Season 7: People Over Profit from 2023-09-26T04:00

This season, IRL host Bridget Todd meets people who are balancing the upsides of artificial in...

We’re Back! IRL Season 7: People Over Profit from 2023-09-26T04:00

This season, IRL host Bridget Todd meets people who are balancing the upsides of artificial in...

The AI Medicine Cabinet from 2022-09-12T07:05

Life, death and data. AI’s capacity to support research on human health is well documented. But so are the harms of biased datasets and misdiagnoses. How can AI developers build healthier system...

The Truth is Out There from 2022-08-29T07:05

Murky political groups are exploiting social media systems to spread disinformation. With important elections taking place around the world this year, who is pushing back? We meet grassroots gro...

AI from Above from 2022-08-15T07:05

An aerial picture can tell a thousand stories. But who gets to tell them? From above the clouds, our world is surveilled and datafied. Those who control the data, control the narratives. We expl...

The Tech We Won’t Build from 2022-07-18T04:05

Where should tech builders draw the line on AI for military or surveillance? Just because it can be built, doesn’t mean it should be. At what point do we blow the whistle, call out the boss, and...

Making Privacy Law from 2019-08-26T07:05:01

The word “regulation" gets tossed around a lot. And it’s often aimed at the internet’s Big Tech companies. Some worry that the size of these companies and the influence they wield is too much. O...

The 5G Privilege from 2019-08-12T07:05:21

‘5G’ is a new buzzword floating around every corner of the internet. But what exactly is this hyped-up cellular network, often referred to as the next technological evolution in mobile internet ...

The Tech Worker Resistance from 2019-07-29T07:05:01

There's a movement building within tech. Workers are demanding higher standards from their companies — and because of their unique skills and talent, they have the leverage to get attention. Wal...

The Internet's Carbon Footprint from 2019-07-15T07:05:13

Manoush Zomorodi explores the surprising environmental impact of the internet in this episode of IRL. Because while it’s easy to think of the internet as living only on your screen, energy deman...

The "Privacy Policy" Policy from 2019-06-17T07:05:23

Privacy policies: most apps and websites have them, buried away somewhere. These legal documents explain how the company collects, uses, and shares your personal data. But let's be honest, few o...

Decentralize It from 2019-02-18T08:05

Some people believe that decentralization is the inevitable future of the web. They believe that internet users will start to demand more privacy and authenticity of information online and that ...

The Human Costs of Content Moderation from 2019-01-21T08:05

What, if anything, should be banned from online media? And who should review violent and explicit content, in order to decide if it’s okay for the public? Thousands of people around the world ar...

Your Password is the Worst from 2018-12-10T08:30

Look, we agree with you: passwords are the worst. But you know what else is the worst? Someone hacking your account, or big security breaches that expose your email, your credit card information...

Checking Out Online Shopping from 2018-11-26T08:15

When you shop, your data may be the most valuable thing for sale. This isn’t just true online — your data follows you into brick and mortar stores now as well. Listen

Introducing Season 4 of IRL - Online Life is Real Life from 2018-11-12T08:40

Can ‘ethical tech’ be a thing? We think so. Season 4 of Mozilla’s IRL podcast will explore all the ways tech can have a more positive influence on people, communities, and societies at large. An...

Kids These Days from 2018-09-10T07:15

Today’s teens are the first humans who have spent their entire lives online. Join Veronica Belmont and Manoush...

Bullying and Bonding Online from 2018-08-27T07:05

It’s a problem when tribalism divides us, online or in real life. Join Veronica Belmont and Franchesca Rams...

Virtual Connections from 2018-08-13T07:05

:'-) Ever wonder why emoticons exist? They popped up in the 1980s to make online connections feel a little less digital and a little more personal :D. In this episode of IRL, host Listen

Paid Attention from 2018-07-30T07:05

There’s a new currency in town (and no, we’re not talking about Bitcoin). We’re talking about attention. In this episode of IRL, Veronica Belmont and s...

Press Play from 2018-07-16T07:01

One of the most successful recruitment tools the U.S. Army ever made was…a video game? Sometimes without even knowing it, gaming elements in technology — often designed for addiction — are ince...

Introducing Season 3 of IRL: Because Online Life is Real Life from 2018-06-18T07:01

In Season 3 of IRL, we're exploring the bargains we make online every day, and how we might approach striking better deals with the powers that be. You'll find out what happened when the U.S. Ar...

Social Bubble Bath from 2018-03-19T05:50

We’ve long heard that the ways the web is tailored for each user—how we search, what we’re shown, who we read and follow— reinforces walls between us. Vero...

Cloak of Invisibility from 2018-02-16T08:01

On the Internet no one knows you’re a dog, as the old joke goes. But does anonymity truly exist on the web anymore? And when it’s taken from us, what else do we lose? Listen

Digital Overload from 2018-01-22T06:00

What does it mean to grow up online? Veronica Belmont investigates how the www is changing us: our personalities, our bodies, and our brains. A college...

Net Neutrality Emergency from 2017-12-11T06:00

The battle for the open Internet isn’t over. In the days leading up to the FCC’s net neutrality vote, we investigate what’s next in the fight. We Rate Dogs’ Matt Nelson talks about trolling Ajit...

Status Update from 2017-11-15T06:00

In this bonus episode, we check in on some of Season One’s stories and see how they’ve evolved. Activist Amanda Werner talks about their turn as the Monopoly Man at the Equifax hearings, and how...

Free Speech, Limited? from 2017-09-18T05:00

In our final episode of season 1, we break from our usual format to host a big conversation. Recent events like the Charlottesville, VA rally have revealed the Internet’s role in helping spread ...

I Spy With My Digital Eye from 2017-08-21T05:00

We react against the idea of surveillance, but it turns out that we’ve invited it into our homes through devices like digital assistants, connected toys, and baby monitors. Are you comfortable w...

Hack Jobs from 2017-07-24T05:00

Have you been hacked, or been the victim of malware or ransomware? Humans make the internet vibrant, but we're also the weakest link — we're predictable and often easily fooled. This episode of ...

The Neutral Zone: The Future of Net Neutrality from 2017-07-10T05:00

The Internet (at least in the US) is at a crossroads as the FCC is considering rolling back the net neutrality regulations it adopted in 2015. If net neutrality is abolished, the Internet could...

All Your Data Are Belong To Us from 2017-06-26T05:45

You’ve heard the expression, “When something is free, you’re the product.” And, while you may think it’s no big deal to give away your personal data in exchange for free online services, how can...

Introducing IRL: Because Online Life is Real Life from 2017-06-12T19:00

Our online life is real life. We walk, talk, work, LOL and even love on the Internet – but we don’t always treat it like real life. Host Veronica Belmont Listen