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
Apr 1, 2026 • 52min
Inside the AI Slop Propaganda Wars
Matthew Gault, journalist who reported on Iran’s AI-generated propaganda, explains the rise of ‘AI slop’ and why Lego imagery became a viral vehicle. He breaks down the origins, platforms, and cultural strategy behind the videos. The conversation highlights how content is tailored for American audiences and why these simple visuals evade usual AI detection.
10 snips
Mar 30, 2026 • 44min
The Journalist Who Tracked Epstein Island Visitors’ Phones
Dhruv Mehrotra, journalist and technologist who builds tools for investigative reporting, discusses using location data, IMSI catcher detection, and AI-assisted workflows. He recounts building community GSM networks abroad. The conversation highlights computational reporting methods and high-profile investigations like tracking visitors to Epstein’s island.
46 snips
Mar 25, 2026 • 46min
The Company Secretly Turning Your Zoom Meetings into Podcasts
A creepy tale about a service that finds private Zoom meetings and turns them into AI-generated podcast content. A wild billionaire plot involving homemade submersible drones and a bid to enter the cocaine trade. A nostalgic send-off to the failed metaverse and its vanished hype.
87 snips
Mar 23, 2026 • 50min
The Marketing Tricks of "Artificial Intelligence"
Dr. Alex Hanna, sociologist of technology and DAIR research director, and Dr. Emily M. Bender, linguist and computational linguistics professor, debate the marketing ploys behind “artificial intelligence.” They explore why ridicule can puncture tech hype. They trace the term’s history, unpack claims of democratized creativity, and highlight solidarity and student resistance as reasons for hope.
39 snips
Mar 18, 2026 • 47min
The Disappearing DOGE Depositions
They unpack public deposition videos about DOGE that went viral and were later ordered removed, and how those recordings were archived across the web. They spotlight AI data labelers in Kenya organizing for labor rights and legal fights against tech contractors. They also touch on torrents, archiving, and the cultural impact of AI work on local economies.
16 snips
Mar 16, 2026 • 17min
Google Street View's Unmappable City
Chris Parr, documentary filmmaker and YouTuber known for short tech documentaries, mapped North Oaks, Minnesota to probe why it is missing from Google Street View. He discusses private property tricks that keep roads off maps. He also explains using a 360° drone from public airspace, community pushback, legal threats, and what this says about wealth and privacy.
33 snips
Mar 11, 2026 • 44min
How to Talk to Your Friend Experiencing 'AI Psychosis'
A conversation about how people can pull loved ones back from convincing chatbot-driven delusions and a practical communication method to use. A look at how ProtonMail provided payment and backup-email data that helped identify an anonymous account tied to protest reporting. A subscriber story about a viral app that leaked extremely sensitive user data.
29 snips
Mar 9, 2026 • 48min
Understanding Roblox’s Grooming Problem
Cecilia D'Anstasio, a Bloomberg video games reporter known for investigative work on Roblox controversies. She explains what Roblox is, why it draws massive young audiences, and how its economy and social features can enable predator behavior. The conversation covers moderation challenges, troubling real-world cases, and why the platform matters to gaming culture.
48 snips
Mar 4, 2026 • 57min
The Depravity Economy
They unpack real-time prediction markets that let people bet on wars and political events. They debate platforms that may profit from death and where ethics end. They cover reports of Middle East strikes hitting cloud data centers and the risks of targeting infrastructure. They explore how AI-powered translations are introducing hallucinated citations into Wikipedia and how editors are responding.
113 snips
Mar 2, 2026 • 55min
How to Detect Phone Spying Tech (with Cooper Quintin)
Cooper Quintin, a senior public interest technologist at the Electronic Frontier Foundation who helped build Rayhunter. He explains IMSI-catchers and how they trick phones into revealing IDs. He compares cheap DIY rigs to law enforcement gear. He describes how Rayhunter detects suspicious towers and why dedicated hardware is safer than phone apps.
