What's Tech?

A little over a month after the events of September 11th, 2001, an Act of Congress called the USA Patriot Act was signed into law by then President George W. Bush. Despite its controversial expansion of government power pertaining to domestic surveillance, law enforcement, and border security, President Obama signed an extension of what were key provisions in 2001. That extension expired this past summer, but parts of the extension were renewed for another four years under a new name, the USA Freedom Act. Arguments for the continuation of the Patriot Act typically pivot on the belief that citizens who aren't committing crimes have nothing to fear, but the role and impact of national government surveillance is more complex. With the USA Freedom Act in its first year, I invited The Verge's Colin Lecher to explain the original law, how it has evolved, and in what ways it could effect the average person, like you and me. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"There's too much television," said FX CEO John Landgraf at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. Landgraf, whose in part responsible for the success of shows like Fargo, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Archer, and The Americans, painted a landscape in which a mountain of good programs impede a wandering audience from discovering the truly great shows. Landgraf has firsthand experience: FX alone produces the aforementioned critical hits, along with The Strain, American Horrors Story, Louie, the upcoming American Crime Story, and plenty of other shows. And that's just one cable channel. Today, Landgraf and his peers compete in battle royal of network, cable, premium, and streaming series, along with additional media like video games and YouTube videos. To break down what TV has become, I invited The Verge's entertainment editor Emily Yoshida to the show. I've been following her reporting on television long before we began working together, and she does an excellent job of keeping Landgraf's claim and the changing world of television in perspective. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As someone whose paycheck in some part comes from ad revenue, talking about online advertising can feel complicated. At their worst, digitals ads are annoying, intrusive, and for those of us with modest data plans, costly. Ads also provide revenue for the majority of websites — including this one — allowing visitors to read, watch, and listen to news and entertainment free of cash payment. This month, a conversation about the merits and value of online ads came to a boil when Apple began allowing the sale of apps that block ads from appearing in Safari on mobile devices. Plenty of people have discussed whether ad blockers are morally dubious or ethically mandatory, but I want to learn more about how online ads work and why — like editorial — they range in quality and purpose. So, I invited Vox Media's CEO Jim Bankoff to explain online ads, and how we handle them at The Verge and our other sites. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I have ASMR. Or maybe the correct phrasing is that I'm susceptible to ASMR. It's tough to talk about the phenomenon, because ASMR lacks the mandatory scientific evidence that proves, well, its existence. And if it does exist, what the hell is it anyway? A group of people have taken to the internet to discuss, examine, and enjoy a shared pleasurable sensory experience triggered by specific sounds. Not every person has the same stimulants. Some people get a tingle on their neck when they hear a soft whisper, others feel a tickle on their brain when the sound of scissors clipping hair gets close to their ear. Much of the evidence of ASMR is anecdotal, so consider this episode one of the least scientifically sound of the bunch. But the more people learn about ASMR, the more people might discover they share this unusual attribute. That's why I invited my pal, The Verge Senior Editor Ross Miller, to explain the rise in awareness of autonomous sensory meridian response. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The electric car isn't a newfangled idea birthed from the neck of a generation of idealists jaded by the economic, cultural, and atmospheric cost of oil. Our grandparents' grandparents' generation dreamed of electric cars. Some of them actually built the clear, quiet vehicles. And yet, the crop of electric cars feel, over a century later, futuristic. What changed between the 1830s and today? What took the electric car so long? This week, I invited The Verge's car lover Sean O'Kane to talk about electric cars and the most popular electric car manufacturer, Tesla Motors. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After 16 games, dozens of touchdowns, and countless hits, the Dallas Cowboys 2014 season came to an end in January when officials, reviewing an instant replay, decided a mind-imploding reception by all-star wide receiver Dez Bryant was in fact not a reception at all. The decision seemed illogical at the time. How had officials used such powerful technology to make such a seemingly asinine call? This year, instant replay will continue to play a pivotal, if not maddening, role in professional football, along with the other major league sports that have adopted to technology into their officiating. To explain the history of instant replay, and its current role inside of sports, I invited SB Nation’s Dan Rubenstein to the show. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Destiny became so popular, so quickly that it’s success seems almost like, well, it’s destiny. But that wasn’t the case. Developer Bungie’s road to making the massive first-person shooter is strange and storied. This week, nearly a year after its release, the game will receive a substantial update, making the experience more accessible for even more players. And next week, the largest expansion to the game, The Taken King, will be released. Now is the perfect time to learn what this game is and how it instantaneously rivaled the top competitors in one of gaming’s most crowded genres. I invited Polygon’s Samit Sarkar, who handles reviews for the game’s expansion, to the show. Sarkar isn’t just a Destiny expert; he’s also a fantastic karaoke sing. Unfortunately, that will have to be discussed on another episode. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The transformation of the fan-made greeting "May the 4th be with you" into the foundation of an annual Star Wars publicity storm had the sharp smell of cynicism. But this week it seems quaint. Force Friday, a new, wholly corporate creation, will close this work week on September 3rd. The day is an announcement and celebration of the toys and merchandise fans will see by this holiday. I'm thrilled to see The Force Awakens, but I'm already exhausted by the Star Wars hype that could continue indefinitely. To get some healthy perspective on Star Wars as films, not the centers of promotional vortexes, I invited longtime fan Bryan Bishop onto the show. We chat about how technology has allowed the actual films to be changed over the decades, both by director George Lucas and a collection of dedicated fans. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A Forbes article from last years cited 33 million annual players of fantasy football. More shocking, much of fantasy football’s growth has happened in just the past 15 years thanks the to advent of online leagues. To explain fantasy football, and fantasy sports in general, I invited SB Nation host and contributor Susannah Collins to the show. Collins covers the NFL at Vox Media, and will be premiering a new show on the site later this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

My earliest memories of the internet are in AOL chat rooms. I’d spend the summer of 1998 in chats dedicated to games, James Bond movies, baseball, and whatever else interested my ten-year-old mind. Each conversation was unique, but they always began the same way. I would say, “Hello.” And a strange somewhere across the world would respond, “a/s/l/. Age. Sex. Location. “I am thirteen,” I’d explain. “Male, and from Missouri.” If they were my age, the conversation would continue. If they older, they’d disappear. As an adult, I now understand that while I was in AOL chats to talk about pop culture, a large chunk of the folks were just looking for digital hook-ups. The range, scope, and prevalence of sex technology in 2015 makes the AOL chatrooms of 1997 seem quaint. Snapchat, Tinder, and even Facebook double as social networks, dating platforms, and subtle messaging systems for sexual missives. This week, I invited sex tech consultant Lux Alptraum to explain the culture around digital sex, and how technology is influencing int Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We have a few cyborgs on staff. Ben Popper is arguably the reporter best known for peeling back his skin to insert a piece of technology, which he chronicled in his feature, Cyborg America. But others have gone under the knife. I wanted to know why. You know, because I have crippling FOMO. This week I invited my friend and co-worker Adi Robertson, a biohacker herself, to explain what biohacking is and how it works. With a little time and money, you can be ever so slightly more advanced than the human race. Just try not to get infection please. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a light night spent skimming the Interstellar Wikipedia page, I began to wonder about some of the bigger questions of humankind: Will we live on Mars? Will we inhabit the moon? Will we just build our own giant space home away from home? Will Matthew McConaughey ever have another year like 2014? Rather than phone Christopher Nolan, I invited The Verge's Loren Grush to tell us about space colonization. While the episode doesn't have any mind bending twists, I promise it has more scope than even the grandest summer blockbuster. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I am nostalgic for internet videos in the time before YouTube. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, I remember watching strange, absurd, hideous shorts — shot on home camcorders or animated with cheap software — on websites I’m no longer sure exist. What’s strange is to think series like Teen Girl Squad, Stella, and Homestar Runner charted the path for internet television programs like House of Cards and Burning Love. To reminisce about the early days of internet television, I invited The Verge’s entertainment reporter Jamieson Cox to the show. It’s possible you missed out on the joys of these odd early days of web video, but Cox will get you caught up. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you named a video game, I could probably tell you who made it, when, and how it was received. I've reported on the medium in some capacity for seven years, and in that time I've acquired an encyclopedic-like understanding of the industry. But knowing the details doesn't mean I fully comprehend video games. The medium is so new and has tended to defy expectations, limitations, and labels. To help explain video games and the power they have, I invited my good friend and former boss, Chris Grant, the Editor-in-Chief of Polygon, to unpack things. Hopefully this is a helpful entry point for people who haven't lived and breathed video games for half a decade. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Sometimes I’m ashamed by the pockets of the internet I overlook until a friend holds them right in front of me. I knew beauty vlogging was a thing, for example, but I didn’t grasp that the video format attracts millions of viewers. Nor had I considered positive impact beauty logging has had both on its stars and its fans. To learn about beauty vlogging, I spoke with Racked Features Editor Julia Rubin. Her work is some of my favorite across Vox Media, including features on Hello Kitty, American Girl, and Barbie’s Instagram account. Maybe you’re like me, and beauty vlogging is one of your tech blindspots. If so, then we’re both lucky to have someone nice enough to not laugh us out of the room, and provide some overdue enlightenment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Will Bitcoin make me rich? That was my first question about Bitcoin when I heard the term years ago. I didn’t know a thing about cryptocurrency, or why or how a Bitcoin might be used, but it sounded like an internet gold rush. I never invested in Bitcoin, and that may have been the right decision. But sometimes I think of the life that could have been. This week, I invited my brilliant pal Russell Brandom to explain Bitcoin. He has a skill for making complex things like this digestible, and he delivers yet again explaining the numbers behind the madness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The selfie gets a bad wrap. Labeled shallow and self-centered by its critics, self-portraiture has a rich history, dating back to humanity’s earliest works of art. What changed between artists painting themselves last century, and people snapping photos of themselves today? I invited The Wall Street Journal’s Joanna Stern to explain the selfie. Stern and I bonded at CES over our mutual love of the selfie stick — something we discuss late in the episode. Sadly, right after recording the episode, Disney announced a blow to the future of the greatest photo-snapping accessory. This one’s for you, selfie stick. You will be missed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Emoji have become such an everyday part of my life that I can't remember my iPhone keyboard without the adorable icons. The tiny cartoon characters have been my go-to solution for Poe's Law, a way for me to express that my text messages should be read with the sobriety of a smiley face farting a stack of flying money. As is a recurring theme on What's Tech, I know little about the emoji despite relying on them. Are emoji the descendants of the ASCII art of the 1990s, or do they stem from the emoticons of AOL Instant Messenger? I invited The Verge Senior Editor Ross Miller to explain the origin of emoji, how they became so ubiquitous, and what I must do to create an emoji of my own. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We're taking this week off because Chris is deep in the throes of E3. We'll be back with a brand new episode next Tuesday/ But today, we have a special bonus! Verge ESP is a brand new podcast from the Verge where Emily Yoshida and Elizabeth Lopatto find the place where entertainment and science meet. Every two weeks, they discuss the news and interview important people from the worlds of science and entertainment. If you want to hear more of Verge ESP, be sure to subscribe. iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/verge-esp/id999108706 SoundCloud: http://www.soundcloud.com/vergeesp RSS: http://feeds.podtrac.com/0v0iJdmvtGTS Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Uber is an ideal topic for an episode of What's Tech. It's a ubiquitous piece of technology that millions of people use across the planet. But even intelligent veteran tech executives throw around the name without really knowing what it represents. We've heard about "the Uber for tailors," "the Uber for trucking," and "the Uber for alcohol," along with countless other wannabes. Sometimes it seems all Uber lacks is a white cat and secret lair. And despite all of this, I now and then use the service. What is it about Uber that has me coming back, even while knowing about the company's less savory method? I invited The Verge's Uber expert Casey Newton to explain. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In two weeks, I will fulfill one of my childhood dreams for the sixth time over by attending E3. The Electronic Entertainment Expo, held every June in Los Angeles, is no longer the biggest video game convention on the planet, but it’s the most important. I should say importance, in this case, is a measurement of money and sweat. At E3, the biggest video game publishers announce and promote their newest games, often produced with more developers at a greater expense than their predecessors. The gathering is a chance at national exposure for games that, despite their million dollar budgets, struggle to appear in national newspapers or mainstream magazines. Whether or not E3 is culturally relevant is less clear. Pop culture-wise, the latest Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed are presented like annual reports on the industry’s latest trends. You like multiplayer now? Or Horde modes? Or asynchronous co-op? They’ll have it, just tell them how to please you! But the tip of the creative spear, the games that establish what’s new and interesting and daring, they don’t have a reputation for appearing at the bombastic event. In the past, those games, made on small budgets by small teams, couldn’t afford to show up. This year may be the first E3 in which indie and PC games make a big splash. It’ll be nice to see some newcomers mingling with the familiar faces, Farming Simulators in the same room as Mario and Forza. I realize all of this may sound like nonsense to you. That’s why I invited Polygon’s Griffin McElroy to explain E3. McElroy has attended the show more times than I have, and remains enthusiastic about the spectacle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I want to visit space before I die. I have no practical reason to do so, and surely I'm not alone. I just want to. There's something about the concept of exploration that I pine to achieve. Which is a little silly, considering I haven't seen most of the planet I live on. And yet, I look up at night, and there waits space. I invited The Verge's Science Editor and space expert Elizabeth Lopatto to provide odds on my tentative trip to space. Liz has as an astonishing grasp on the history and science of space travel. Her recounting of humanity's efforts to see what is beyond this planet is inspiring. This was one of my favorite episodes to record, and I hope it's one of your favorites to hear. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

While traveling from New York City to my new home in Austin, I downloaded Twitter onto my phone. I have a sordid history with the social media platform, particularly when its stream of opinions is accessible all day, every day. But I wanted something to distract me on the long road trips, and help pass the time in an unfurnished house. Twitter is nothing if not a competent distraction. At first, the app did its job, keeping me updated on current events and interesting stories. Eventually, though, it once again tapped into an inner depression. For me, this happens every time I let the app become an addiction. I deleted Twitter again. It wasn't the first time, certainly won't be the last. How Twitter came to be is almost as interesting to me as the platform itself. To learn more about my frienemy, I invited The Verge's Silicon Valley Editor Casey Newton to explain the platform's origin and speculate on its future. Newton understands social media better than anyone I know — his Snapchat game is strong — and his analysis of Twitter is illuminating as it is accessible. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Every day I practice the same routine: I hop out of bed, take a shower, get dressed, and drink a cup of coffee. The process is so repetitive, it's become this uninspired dance I do with my eyes half closed. I never stop and consider how I could make these moments I repeat every day even a little better. That needs to change. So, I've invited The Verge's William Savona to tell me about how he improved his morning (and afternoon, and possibly evening) cup of coffee. Brewing coffee can be quite technological. Savona explains the origins of crafting the perfect cup, and what futuristic tech allows for him to fill his mug every day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If you watched Avengers: Age of Ultron this weekend, you're in good company. The film had one of the strongest openings of all time. As the credits rolled, though, I wondered about the sustainability of this behemoth franchise. I invited The Verge's Kwame Opam to explain the rise of the Marvel film universe, and where its characters — which span a variety of multimedia — will go in the next decade, with or without the actors who play them. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

I love my new camera, even though I have little understanding of how it works. I recently wrote about the Fuji X100T, which I swear is less complicated than its Terminator-esque name would have you believe. I love how it looks, how it feels, how its pictures look like the photographs I used to take on my mother's SLR. Plus, the X100T is so easy to use, that my not knowing much about its inner workings, or even some assumed photography basics, doesn't prevent me from enjoying the experience of photography. In fact, it's been a belated re-entry point. Now, I want to know the nitty-gritty — even if I don't have to. To learn about the scope of cameras, I invited resident photography expert Sean O'Kane to this week's episode of What's Tech. But beware, this week's episode begins with a particularly spooky story. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If only new episodes of What's Tech appeared on Mondays, we could have run this week's explanation of the Singularity on 4/20. That would have been appropriate. This is, after all, the strangest thing we've recorded — and our pilot involved a man almost crashing a drone into a woman and her child. This week, I invited The Verge's video, binaural audio, and singularity expert Ryan Manning to discuss a possible future in which a technological singularity occurs. Will we achieve a higher form of consciousness? Or will artificial intelligence view humanity as a bump on its infinite road of self-improvement? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Don't smoke. At least, don't start smoking because of this episode. Vaping has become a niche of tech culture, to the point that I can't attend a press event without getting lost in a plume of root beer flavored vapors. I don't particularly enjoy the stench, but I am curious to know how electronic cigarettes became so popular, so fast. On this week's episode of What's Tech, The Verge's Executive Editor and resident smoker explains vaping. Is it healthier than smoking? Can it be used to fight nicotine addictions? Is vaping a sport? We'll get to the heart of a probably unhealthy habit. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When Gary Schteyngart wrote about the äppärät, an iPhone-like device that could stream our thoughts and conversations while monitoring our popularity, the idea seemed like an extreme parody of real life. The gizmo plays a central role in his 2010 novel Super Sad True Love Story; at the time, I found it distracting, seemingly cynical and implausible. I never thought the iPhone would come so close to the äppärät, let alone so within half a decade, but with Meerkat and Periscope, it seems the truth is even stranger than fiction. I invite The Verge's live streaming expert Ben Popper to tell me about the origins of live streaming, and what our future looks like on and off camera. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our future will involve driverless cars. At this year's CES, car companies and graphics card manufacturers alike featured the technology that they believe will power the vehicles of tomorrow. But how soon will we be driving hands-free? Is the country ready for driverless vehicles? This week, The Verge's car expert Chris Ziegler explains the history of the driverless car, and the incremental improvements that have led us to this moment. Strap in your seat belts! It's going to be a very smooth and safe automated ride. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recently, VR's made a striking comeback. Last year, Facebook acquired Oculus, the frontrunner in VR hardware, for $2 billion. Since then, we've seen aggressive movement in the industry from Samsung, Sony, and Valve, to name only a few of the companies that see potential in VR headsets. How has VR risen from the dead? On this week's episode, The Verge's VR expert Adi Robertson explains the history of the VR and what circumstances led to the crop of VR projects in development at many of the world's biggest tech companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You might not Snapchat, but chances are your niece or nephew loses hours each week to the increasingly popular social media app. The Verge's Sam Sheffer explains the app once known for nude pics, and how it's become a respectable competitor amongst communication services worth billions of dollars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hacks, exploits, and system security are regularly in the news, most notably with the hacking of Sony Pictures. Russell Brandom illuminates a culture that's more complex than how it's often portrayed, and explains the nitty-gritty in layman terms. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Verge's Editor-in-Chief explains net neutrality. The recent historic vote by the FCC in favor of net neutrality will have a decisive impact on the future of the internet. But when did the pursuit of net neutrality began? And what exactly is it? Portions of this episode are excerpted from the State of the Net conference. http://www.stateofthenet.org Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Verge's Executive Editor Dieter Bohn explains smartphones. The iPhone and Android have made smartphones ubiquitous. But when did cell phones become smartphones? And what makes them so smart anyway? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Verge's Entertainment Editor Emily Yoshida explains fan fiction. This past week's Fifty Shades of Grey film adaptation made a staggering amount of money, but did you know the series began as Twilight fan fiction? And that fan fiction owes its prominence to technology? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Verge's smartwatch expert Dan Seifert explains smartwatches. People have been clamoring for something like the smartwatch since the days of Dick Tracy, but will the new crop of smartwatches meet our futuristic expectations? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Verge's Business Editor and drone expert Ben Popper explains drones, the flying unmanned aerial devices flying over battlefields, metropolises, and Popper's own backyard. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices