Info
Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New...
show more
Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New host Dexter Thomas answers questions big and small – like who’s behind Shrimp Jesus, and could you get arrested by a computer? kill switch also brings the DIY back to tech – “How to Now” on everything from how to run your own LLM to tips to keep your data safe. Because the more “user-friendly” our devices get, the less we understand how they work, and the less control we have. We’re here to help you take back control. And if we can’t… Well, maybe we need to look for the kill switch.
show less
Episodes & Posts
Episodes
Posts
Transcribed
4 AUG 2026 · When an astrologer tells Mangesh that he’ll (probably) die early, he takes it in stride. But his family and friends (not to mention all the Don’t Die longevity influencers on his FYP) feel differently… and besides, if science can keep his brain sharp and his tennis game strong for longer, why not take advantage? So he visits Dr. Nir Barzelai, the world’s leading aging researcher, and Dr. Ron Primas, an elite longevity doctor, to figure out what he should do. Plus: A chat with Ken Reid from TV Guidance Counselor about age in pop culture, from the Golden Girls to “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Disclosure: The experts we spoke with want to be clear that although they have some minor quibbles with Bryan Johnson, they’re grateful for the fact that he’s started the conversation on longevity. Any insinuation that he’s got weird vibes is ours.
- Listen to Ken Reid’s podcast, https://tvguidancecounselor.com/
- Learn more about Nir Barzelai’s https://einsteinmed.edu/centers/geroscience/research/human-longevity-studies and his book, https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250413536/agelater/
- Learn more about Ron Primas’s https://drprimas.com/
- Read Cynthia Kenyon’s groundbreaking https://www.nature.com/articles/366461a0
- Check out the https://www.thekurzweillibrary.com/
Special thanks to https://azadirecords.com/ and https://linktr.ee/blisssamsa?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPOTM2NjE5NzQzMzkyNDU5AAGnAk6C4DXTX6m8NeOWJ0-skDMYgx5opCMGwkZ9tasSTyomtzXcE_krGMqkmfY_aem_lOvLBI_4bT1Th12lEIu5oA for their beautiful tracks, and https://botany.bandcamp.com/music for the score. Episode collage art by https://www.vahinishori.com/.See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
18 MAY 2026 · Here’s a recent favorite of ours from our friends at the Uncanny Valley podcast. Actor Ben McKenzie (The O.C.) is out with a new documentary, Everyone Is Lying to You for Money, which follows his journey into becoming an anti-cryptocurrency advocate. He says we should all stop trying to unmask the presumed original developer(s) of bitcoin known as Satoshi Nakamoto because it benefits only the mysterious inventor. The actor-director talks with Katie about why he thinks crypto is a scam, and why he says people are falling for it. Listen and subscribe to Uncanny Valley here: https://swap.fm/l/wired-uv-dropSee https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
6 MAY 2026 · Your brain is the last place companies don’t have access to… yet. But that’s changing fast. Nita Farahany, professor of law and philosophy at Duke University and author of The Battle for Your Brain, explains why the sci-fi future of mind-reading technology is here, and already sitting on the shelves at Best Buy. Dexter talks to Nita about how AI is learning to decode your mental state, how employers are using neurotechnology to monitor workers, and why this might be our last chance to protect the one thing that’s still private: what’s actually going on inside your head. And be sure to listen through the end of the episode for a note from Dexter. Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod on IG, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
29 APR 2026 · Discord announced it would start scanning users' account data to guess their age and if it couldn't figure out how old you were, it would ask for your government ID or a face scan. Gamers lost it, and within weeks, Discord backed down. But the fight isn't over. Dexter talks with Rin Alajaji of the Electronic Frontier Foundation about why age verification doesn't actually protect kids, how California's new Digital Age Assurance Act means your next laptop might card you before you can turn it on, and why a policy that started with gamers is quietly becoming everyone's problem. Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:
- EFF’s Age Verification and Age Gating: Resource Hub: https://www.eff.org/issues/age-verification
See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
27 APR 2026 · This week, we’re sharing a clip from another podcast we’re excited about. Two Percent with Michael Easter is a deep dive into the science of living better, balancing rigorous evidence with a healthy dose of skepticism to cut through the noise of the modern wellness industry. In this episode, Michael takes a nuanced look at vices and whether some of them might actually enhance your life when you use them the right way. We don't have to live like monks to live a good life. We’re sharing the first segment of the episode featuring Dean Stattmann, a GQ reporter who spent three months sober and wrote a now-viral piece titled "Why My 2026 Resolution Is to Start Drinking Again." His Whoop scores got better, but his friendships, his marriage, and his mood got worse. Dean explains what alcohol actually does for human connection, what anthropologists call "costly signaling," and why moderate drinking might not be the villain the internet has made it out to be. Check out the rest of the episode and the show, Two Percent with Michael Easter, wherever you get your podcasts and on YouTube. Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
22 APR 2026 · The wellness and health tech space is more crowded and confusing than ever – influencers are selling dubious health and beauty products and tech companies are developing wearables that track everything, from your sleep to your blood. Victoria Song, senior reviewer at The Verge, calls it the “wellness wild west.” Dexter talks to Victoria about the growing wellness trends online, the gray area between medical devices and wellness devices, and the mental health consequences of it all that no one talks about. Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:
- Victoria’s newsletter, Optimizer: https://www.theverge.com/optimizer-newsletter
- kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod
See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
15 APR 2026 · AI agents can do stuff for you: like organize meetings or, accidentally delete your hard drive. Is this the future Silicon Valley wants for us? To get a preview of what it might be like, Evan Ratliff launched a startup with almost exclusively AI employees and documented the whole thing in his podcast Shell Game. Dexter talks with Evan about what it feels like to have a robot apologize for interrupting your lunch, why Clawdbot and Moltbook weren’t as groundbreaking as you might think, and why he thinks fellow journalists should consider using AI agents. Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:
- Shell Game on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shell-game/id1753117762
- kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod
See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
8 APR 2026 · Direct File promised a free and easy way for Americans to file their taxes, but after two successful tax seasons, it was shut down. Dexter talks with Merici Vinton, who helped build Direct File, about the project's development, why it was an example of a good government program, and how lobbying from private tax companies and DOGE’s involvement ultimately led to its downfall. Could Direct File make a comeback, or has the opportunity for free tax filing already passed? Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:
- Merici’s Direct File story: https://fas.org/publication/end-of-irs-direct-file/
- kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod
See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
1 APR 2026 · Wartime propaganda isn’t new – but the use of AI slop in churning out propaganda videos is. And in this proxy war, Iran is winning. Dexter talks to Matthew Gault, who recently wrote about the Iran-US slopaganda war for 404 Media, about the strategy behind Iran’s videos, why the US is losing online, and how AI has amplified an age-old war tactic. Read Matthew’s piece for 404: https://www.404media.co/iran-is-winning-the-ai-slop-propaganda-war/ Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. This episode was livestreamed on YouTube. Catch the next one live by subscribing to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_podSee https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribed
25 MAR 2026 · Ethan Zuckerman helped design the amateur web as we know it. In the 90s, he worked at Tripod, providing free web space for anyone to build their own site. His invention, pop-up ads, helped make that possible. The industry ran with it, and the Internet was never the same.
Since then, Ethan’s been on a mission to fix the Internet and bring it back to what he hoped it would be – he even sued Facebook over it. Dexter talks to Ethan about how to make advertising less surveillant, a “free-trade coffee” model of the web, and why ad blockers might hint at a way to make Facebook a better place. Hit us up: killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:
- Ethan Zuckerman and Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci’s proposal on Forgetful Adveritising: https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/center/isp/documents/zuckerman.pdf
- Ethan’s op-ed in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/05/opinion/facebook-court-internet-meta.html
- Ethan and Isaac Brickman’s proposal for middleware: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/JMYZ3GJKPE7UTCN8ZR3K/full
- kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod
See https://omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New...
show more
Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New host Dexter Thomas answers questions big and small – like who’s behind Shrimp Jesus, and could you get arrested by a computer? kill switch also brings the DIY back to tech – “How to Now” on everything from how to run your own LLM to tips to keep your data safe. Because the more “user-friendly” our devices get, the less we understand how they work, and the less control we have. We’re here to help you take back control. And if we can’t… Well, maybe we need to look for the kill switch.
show less
Information
| Author | How Stuff Works |
| Organization | iHeart Podcasts |
| Categories | Technology |
| Website | - |
| - |
Copyright 2026 - Spreaker Inc. an iHeartMedia Company
