Show overview
kill switch has been publishing since 2019, and across the 7 years since has built a catalogue of 70 episodes, alongside 3 trailers or bonus episodes. That works out to roughly 40 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a roughly quarterly cadence.
Episodes typically run twenty to thirty-five minutes — most land between 32 min and 38 min — and the run-time is fairly consistent across the catalogue. It is catalogued as a EN-US-language Technology show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 1 weeks ago, with 19 episodes already out so far this year. The busiest year was 2025, with 37 episodes published. Published by Kaleidoscope.
From the publisher
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.
Latest Episodes
View all 70 episodesit's not sci-fi. mind-reading tech is here
discord’s new age verification is about to spy on every message
new from kaleidoscope: two percent with michael easter
this is the wellness wild west
why are AI agents everywhere? and how useful are they, actually?
why the IRS killed a free, easy way to file your taxes
why Iran is winning the AI propaganda war
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: [email protected], 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 omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
he monetized the web. now he has a plan to fix it
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: [email protected], 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 omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
how the tech boom is killing India’s best coders
India’s tech industry was supposed to be a ticket to the middle class, a way out of poverty. Instead, for many workers, it’s become something else: long hours, intense competition, and a growing mental health crisis. Dexter talks to journalist Parth MN about the mounting pressure inside India’s tech workforce, the rise in suicides among engineers, and how a system built for relentless growth leaves little room for failure. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: Parth’s article, “Death of an Indian tech worker” - https://restofworld.org/2026/india-tech-workers-crisis-suicide/ VICE’s video, “ The Women Behind the Indian Farmers Protest” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knMUaiBiw4U kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
who is palantir, and why are they involved with ICE?
Do you know what Palantir does? Don’t feel bad: neither do a lot of their employees. In fact, WIRED senior writer Makena Kelly recently uncovered company chat logs showing how angry and confused Palantir workers are about the company’s involvement with ICE. Dexter talks to Makena about this new reporting, what exactly the company is providing ICE, and how the company creates mystery behind everything from Partiful rumors to skyrocketing stock price. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: Makena’s reporting about Palantir employees: https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-ice-dhs-alex-pretti-killing-workers-slack-minneapolis/ 404 Media’s zine on ICE: https://www.404media.co/icezine/ kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
why is the government fighting with claude?
kill switch went live on March 4th to cover one of the newsier topics of the week: the fight between the US government and Anthropic, the company behind Claude. Dexter talked to WIRED senior writer, Will Knight, to discuss what exactly is happening, why, and the stakes for all of us. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch our next live episode: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: Will’s articles on WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/trump-moves-to-ban-anthropic-from-the-us-government/ https://www.wired.com/story/anthropic-supply-chain-risk-shockwaves-silicon-valley/ Will’s AI Lab newsletter: https://www.wired.com/newsletter/exclusive/ai-lab See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
silicon valley’s plan to make the “perfect baby”
The 1997 science fiction film Gattaca depicts a dystopian future where genetic technology creates a two-tier society: people who were born with the “best” genes selected vs. people who were conceived naturally. This was a cautionary tale, showing us a future we don’t want. But now, Silicon Valley is heavily investing in making this technology real. Dexter talks to Amanda Gerut, West Coast editor at Fortune, about the rise of polygenic screening companies, the investment in gene editing of embryos, and how close we are to creating designer babies. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: Amanda’s article, “Silicon Valley sets its sights on building the perfect baby” - https://fortune.com/2025/11/29/ivf-silicon-valley-billionaire-baby/ WSJ's reporting, “Genetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway.” - https://www.wsj.com/tech/biotech/genetically-engineered-babies-tech-billionaires-6779efc8 kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
are we all going to end up in AI relationships? [panic world special]
This week, we have a special collab episode with our friends at Panic World: From research to vibe coding to therapy to girlfriends and boyfriends, how are we using AI these days? Dexter joins Ryan Broderick on Panic World to talk about the interesting relationships people are forming with AI — for better and (mostly) worse. Check out Panic World wherever you get your podcasts, or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@panicworldpod Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: Our episode on AI therapy: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/kill-switch/id1449757372?i=1000725849687 Our episode on Only Fans chatters: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/your-onlyfans-girlfriend-might-be-a-guy-or-a-robot/id1449757372?i=1000731948555 Our episode on VTubers: https://youtu.be/8bCU8MkO420?si=RXwh0aP8_BVcYXAT kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
a tour of the year’s worst new tech
Tech companies are constantly putting out new products to chase the hype – but they’re not all winners. Each year, nonprofit consumer advocates put on an award ceremony recognizing the lousiest of the bunch, called the Worst in Show. Dexter talks with Liz Chamberlain, who runs Worst in Show, about this year’s awards, the products that earned them (spoiler: a product featured during the Super Bowl is on the list), and what we risk when we chase the hype (read: add AI to everything). Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: This year’s Worst In Show: https://www.ifixit.com/News/115344/worst-in-show-returns-at-ces-2026-calling-out-gadgets-that-make-things-worse Worst In Show website: https://www.worstinshowces.com/ kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
how the internet learned to extract
For a while, the internet felt like it might actually work. Dexter talks with legal scholar and author Tim Wu about his new book The Age of Extraction and how that early optimism faded as companies learned how to extract value from just about everything. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: The Age of Extraction, by Tim Wu: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691177/the-age-of-extraction-by-tim-wu/ kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
how an editor uncovered an AI journalist
When an editor at a local magazine in Toronto received a pitch from a promising new freelancer, he didn’t expect it to spiral into an obsessive investigation. What followed was a deep dive into a web of fake interviews, impossible bylines, and fake reporting. Dexter talks with Nicholas Hune-Brown to trace how he uncovered an AI journalist and what it reveals about journalism today. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read: “Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era” https://thelocal.to/investigating-scam-journalism-ai/ “The Fallout From Our AI Freelancer Investigation” https://thelocal.to/fallout-from-ai-freelancer-investigation/ The Local’s recent issue, “The Cost of Care” https://thelocal.to/winter-2026/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
the hack that broke myspace
In 2005, Myspace pages were flooded with the saying “Samy is my hero” and then suddenly, the platform went dark. Dexter talks with Jack Rhysider, host of the podcast Darknet Diaries, about Samy Kamkar, how he accidentally took down the biggest social media platform at the time, and how it changed the modern Internet. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Listen: Jack’s Darknet Diaries episode with Samy: https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/61/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
everything’s a game… even baptisms
From language learning to investments to Amazon leaderboards, it seems like everything has become a game. But are these gamified things actually fun, or are we the ones being played? Dexter talks to philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, who recently wrote a book about why gamification can suck the life out of things called The Score. They talk about why the same mechanism in games and gamified metrics – the scoring system – works so differently, why gamification can trick you into caring about the wrong thing, and how this phenomenon hits everything… even baptisms. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read: C. Thi Nguyen’s book, The Score: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735252/the-score-by-c-thi-nguyen/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
how to: protect yourself from online harassment
Journalists, public figures, and just about anyone with an online presence today can suddenly face harassment: ranging from nasty posts and replies to real life threats like doxxing. Dexter talks with Ramy Ghaly, a security professional, about how online harassment has gotten worse, how to respond if it happens to you, and what you can do, right now, to prepare and protect yourself. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Resources: Pen America’s Online Harassment Field Manual: https://onlineharassmentfieldmanual.pen.org/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
from ‘click here’: an illusion of control
This week, we’re sharing an episode from the podcast Click Here, from our friends at Recorded Future News and PRX: Jake Gallen was a rising star in crypto. Then, after what seemed like a routine YouTube interview, his digital world unraveled. His NFTs? Liquidated. His social accounts? Hijacked. It turns out, the hackers didn’t need phishing links or fake job offers. They needed something much simpler: a Zoom invite. Subscribe to Click Here on Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/click-here/id1225077306) or wherever you get your podcasts. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.