Understood: Deepfake Porn Empire

CBC

Episodes

Mentioned books

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Mar 10, 2026 • 35min

Episode 4: The Fake Porn Pharmacist

Eric Szeto, a CBC Visual Investigations reporter who tracked and confronted the alleged operator of MrDeepFakes, takes listeners through the on-the-ground hunt in Toronto. He describes in-person confrontations, a long stakeout, tracing travel and an Airbnb, and the immediate shutdown of the site. The episode also covers legal gaps, proposed laws, takedown tradeoffs, and the ongoing threat of easy deepfake tools.
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Mar 3, 2026 • 34min

E3: The Notorious D.P.F.K.S.

Ida Herskind, a Danish journalist who exposed non-consensual deepfake porn, recounts uncovering a major site and its toxic forum culture. She describes tracing usernames, linking leaked credentials, and working with OSINT investigators to identify the operator. The conversation follows the hunt from early discoveries to confronting the person behind the operation.
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Feb 24, 2026 • 32min

E2: So You’ve Been Deepfaked

A woman discovers her face in nonconsensual deepfake porn and begins a hunt to find who made it. She teams up with another target and uncovers a network of anonymous accounts and archives. Their search leads to a massive repository that reveals a systematic campaign targeting women from their school.
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10 snips
Feb 17, 2026 • 38min

E1: The Dawn of Fake Porn

Walter Schreier, engineering professor and author who traces image fakery through history. QTCinderella, streamer and creator who survived non-consensual deepfake porn and shares her firsthand discovery and response. They explore the rise of manipulated images, how GANs and open code enabled realistic porn, the gendered harms of fake sexual content, and the struggle to hold creators accountable.
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Feb 13, 2026 • 3min

Introducing Understood: Deepfake Porn Empire

A deep dive into how non-consensual AI-made porn spread across platforms and online subcultures. The reporter traces the industry back to a single notorious website and the person behind it. Stories from targets reveal the personal harm and violation caused. An international journalistic hunt follows clues that lead to an unexpected Canadian connection.
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12 snips
Oct 28, 2025 • 45min

The Making of Elon Musk | E4: The Great Trek

In this intriguing discussion, Robert Zubrin, founder of the Mars Society, and Adam Becker, a science journalist and Mars colonization skeptic, dive into Elon Musk’s ambitious vision for Mars. Zubrin shares his early connections with Musk and advocates for incremental approaches to colonization. Becker critiques the ethics and feasibility of settling on the red planet, highlighting dangers like radiation and potential psychological impacts on humans. Together, they explore whether Musk’s plans represent visionary progress or a reckless leap into the unknown.
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12 snips
Oct 21, 2025 • 50min

The Making of Elon Musk | E3: The Legion

Julia Black, an investigative journalist known for her exposé on Elon Musk's hidden children, delves deep into Musk’s controversial views on parenting. She explores the ideological underpinnings of his pronatalism and his quest for genetic optimization, including embryo screening. The episode also touches on the emotional impact of Musk's public remarks on his trans daughter, Vivian Wilson, and the ethical dilemmas surrounding emerging technologies like Neuralink. It's a thought-provoking exploration of family, society, and future technologies led by the tech elite.
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24 snips
Oct 14, 2025 • 48min

The Making of Elon Musk | E2: Technocracy, Inc.

Geoff Leo, a senior investigative journalist for CBC, delves into the intriguing life of Joshua Haldeman, Elon Musk’s grandfather, who made waves in the 1930s Technocracy movement. They discuss how Haldeman's controlling personality and technocratic ideals might have influenced Musk’s own worldview. From the historical context of the Great Depression to the complexities of Musk's early career and his ties to the 'PayPal Mafia', the conversation explores the delicate line between techno-optimism and authoritarianism, raising questions about the legacy of the past in today's tech landscape.
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9 snips
Oct 7, 2025 • 39min

The Making of Elon Musk | E1: Escape from Pretoria

Rudolph Pienaar, childhood friend of Elon Musk and biomedical researcher, shares unique insights into Musk's early life in apartheid South Africa. He discusses Musk’s privileged upbringing and participation in fantasy role-playing games that shaped his identity. The conversation touches on the complexities of apartheid's impact, the cultural dynamics of Pretoria's elite, and the motives behind Musk's emigration. Was it a moral stance against conscription or a calculated leap toward opportunity? These questions add depth to Musk's formative years.
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Sep 26, 2025 • 3min

Introducing Understood: The Making of Elon Musk

What explains Elon Musk? Could his most outlandish ambitions and most toxic qualities trace back to his youth in Apartheid South Africa? Understood: The Making of Musk explores his seemingly insatiable drive for dominance, which connects everything from his birthrate obsession (and fourteen children) to his fixation with colonizing Mars.  This four-part series, hosted by Jacob Silverman, reveals a little known side of the polarizing billionaire. Silverman tells the vital beginnings of this story — because the Elon era is far from over.New episodes drop weekly, starting October 7, wherever you get your podcasts.

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