The 404 Media Podcast
404 Media
Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats. Subscribe to 404 Media at 404media.co to gain access to an ad-free version of this podcast, as well as a bonus podcast episodes. Subscribers are the bedrock of building a sustainable business for our journalism.Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books
8 snips
May 13, 2026 • 1h 4min
The Chinese Deepfake Software Powering Scams
Matthew Galt, a journalist who covered the bizarre Yu-Gi-Oh. uncut-sheet dumpster saga, joins to unpack provenance and marketplace drama. They also dive into Haotian AI, a Chinese realtime deepfake tool and how it can be bought, installed, and misused. Short, sharp stories about tech, trust, and online communities.
16 snips
May 11, 2026 • 49min
How the World Became a Casino (With Natasha Schüll)
Natasha Schüll, anthropologist and NYU professor who wrote Addiction by Design, explores how slot-machine logic migrated into apps, prediction markets, and social feeds. She traces digital design choices that extend play, normalize betting, and reshape attention. Short, sharp conversations connect gambling design to media, regulation, and everyday tech.
25 snips
May 6, 2026 • 58min
Flock Used Cameras at a Children’s Gymnastics Center for a Sales Pitch
They unpack a FOIA that showed a surveillance company used children’s gymnastics cameras as a sales demo and the city’s heated decision to keep the contract. They cover a high-profile retraction of research claiming ChatGPT helps education and debate industry-backed plans to fund AI literacy in schools. They also discuss a major digital rights conference canceled amid international pressure.
41 snips
May 4, 2026 • 53min
The New Luddites: Why People Are Destroying Surveillance and AI Infrastructure
Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine and chronicler of tech backlash, links modern attacks on surveillance and AI to Luddite history. He recounts torched Waymos, smashed delivery robots, and Flock camera scandals. Conversations focus on labor displacement, democratic failures, and rising conflicts over AI data centers and surveillance infrastructure.
25 snips
Apr 29, 2026 • 47min
How This Trippy Image Started A Massive Conspiracy Theory
A wild conspiracy around a psychedelic stock image and how it morphed into a time-traveling AI theory. The origins of the image are traced back to stock sites and misread research projects. A university’s AI tool is revealed to have scraped professors’ lectures to auto-generate low-quality course modules. A separate segment debates machine consciousness in light of new research.
41 snips
Apr 27, 2026 • 51min
Government Hacking Tools Are Now in Criminals' Hands (with Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai)
Lorenzo Franceschi-Bicchierai, TechCrunch cyber reporter who investigates spyware and zero-day markets. He unpacks a trench of stolen hacking tools from a government vendor, how those iPhone exploits surfaced in Russia and China, and why powerful offensive tech can spiral beyond intended buyers. Short, wild stories about leaks, forensic clues, and the dangerous ripple effects.
37 snips
Apr 22, 2026 • 58min
How Algorithms Make Us Feel Bad and Weird
They unpack how social media algorithms funnel you from engagement rings to baby content and warp life milestones. The conversation digs into bridal content types, styled shoots, and creeping wedding budgets driven by algorithmic pressure. A satirical AI tool that automates cleanroom reimplementations and the legal risks to open source gets examined.
16 snips
Apr 20, 2026 • 55min
Why Journalists Are Leaving Big Media (with Maddy Myers)
Maddy Myers, games journalist and co-founder/editor-in-chief of Mothership, known for feminist games criticism and leadership at Kotaku and Polygon. She recounts leaving big outlets to start an indie, early print-journalism roots, building a queer, women-owned site, decisions around ownership and pay models, and the challenges of sustainable growth and fair freelance budgets.
42 snips
Apr 16, 2026 • 45min
How the FBI Extracted Deleted Signal Messages
Matthew Gould, infrastructure and data center reporter, breaks down how deleted Signal messages were recovered from an iPhone notification database. He also covers Maine’s proposed moratorium on large data centers and local backlash to secretive projects. Short takes on town hall arrests and nationwide resistance to rapid data center expansion.
63 snips
Apr 13, 2026 • 1h 5min
How the Internet Became Hell (with Whitney Phillips)
Whitney Phillips, professor of information politics and media ethics and author on internet culture, unpacks how platform shifts and culture converged to make online life feel worse. She traces Musk-era Twitter and AI as accelerants. She maps anti-liberal demonology, the 2020 amalgamation of conspiracies, and practical ethics for calming online life.
