Codebreaker is a podcast that dares to ask – and answer – the fundamental questions about technology that consume us every day. From “is it evil?” to “can it save us?” – it’s up to you to listen, decode and decide. In partnership with Tech Insider.
Produced by Marketplace in partnership with Tech Insider, Codebreaker is a podcast that dares to ask — and answer — the fundamental questions about technology that consume us every day. In season one, we’re starting with three deceptively simple words: Is it evil? In each episode, host Ben Johnson applies this question to a different technology. Codebreaker launches November 11, 2015.
A woman answers a mysterious email and finds herself on a plane, spam buries our inbox, and a band falls apart over the send button. Listen, decode, and decide: Is email evil?
A man whose job is scrubbing porn from the web; adult film star Stoya’s battle against free, pirated porn; and the dirty history of tagging. Listen, decode and decide: Is internet porn evil?
A couple is forced onto the dark web to buy life-saving medicine; Ben buys a drug scale; and a researcher who says the dark web might make the illegal drug trade safer. Listen, decode, and decide: Is the dark web evil?
A software update that almost brought down the International Space Station with astronauts inside, updating software inside your body, and the days when even geeks dreaded installing new programs. Listen, decode, and decide: Is the software update evil?
A guy who thinks machines can prevent crime, another who thinks machines could destroy humanity and a machine-learning algorithm outsmarted by squirrels. Listen, decode and decide: Is the decisive machine evil?
How people-rating app Peeple drew rage and put its co-founders in danger, how a 16-year-old embraced identity through virality, and the funny video that threatened to put its makers into crushing debt. Listen, decode, and decide: Is going viral evil?
How targeted ads for a pair of men’s sandals broke up one relationship, the researchers trying to keep data tracking honest, and the casualties of ad blockers. Listen, decode, and decide: Is data tracking evil?