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IRL: Online Life is Real Life

Latest episodes

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Jun 3, 2019 • 45min

“The Weird Kids at the Big Tech Party” from ZigZag

Season 4 of ZigZag is about examining the current culture of business and work, figuring out what needs to change, and experimenting with new ways to do it. Sign up for their newsletter and subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you get your podcasts.
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Mar 4, 2019 • 25min

What if Women Built the Internet?

All the things we love on the internet — from websites that give us information to services that connect us — are made stronger when their creators come with different points of view. With this in mind, we asked ourselves and our guests: "What would the internet look like if it was built by mostly women?" Witchsy founders Kate Dwyer and Penelope Gazin start us off with a story about the stunt they had to pull to get their site launched — and counter the sexist attitudes they fought against along the way. Brenda Darden Wilkerson recalls her life in tech in the 80s and 90s and shares her experience leading AnitaB.org, an organization striving to get more women hired in tech. Coraline Ada Ehmke created the Contributor Covenant, a voluntary code of conduct being increasingly adopted by the open source community. She explains why she felt it necessary, and how it's been received; and Mighty Networks CEO Gina Bianchini rolls her eyes at being called a "lady CEO," and tells us why diversifying the boardroom is great for business and innovation. IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla, maker of Firefox and always fighting for you. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org Help us dream up the next season of IRL. What topics should we cover? Who should we talk to? Let us know by filling out this survey. Coraline Ada Ehmke has been an open source programmer for over 20 years and created the Contributor Covenant. You can also learn about Mozilla's own community participation guidelines. Meritocracy as an open source practice is briefly mentioned in this episode. Mozilla has taken steps to discontinue using the word “Meritocracy” as a way to describe our governance and leadership structures. Here's why. Mozilla is dedicated to fostering both an inclusive web and also inclusive working places. Learn more. Firefox is open source and driven by a community of volunteers and contributors. However, in the past decade, representation of women in open source has inched up merely 1.5 percentage points to a shockingly low 3%. Read about the importance of — and efforts to realize — open source gender inclusion. Like society, the Internet grows stronger with every new voice. What's healthy and unhealthy on the web when it comes to inclusion? Mozilla Foundation's Internet Health Report has some of the answers. And, check out this article from Common Sense Media, on kids and technology use.
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Feb 18, 2019 • 25min

Decentralize It

Host Manoush Zomorodi discusses decentralization with Eugen Rochko of Mastodon and Justin Hunter of Graphite docs, exploring the potential benefits and challenges. They also touch on the concept of building a decentralized internet, the role of decentralization in news organizations, and the vision of MadeSafe in creating a safer internet. The podcast emphasizes the need to re-decentralize the web and overcome cultural barriers for a user payment model.
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Feb 4, 2019 • 28min

The Surveillance Economy

The podcast discusses the concept of surveillance capitalism and its impact on the economy and our way of life. It explores the trade-offs involved in using services like Pokemon Go as behavior modification experiments. The implications of the surveillance economy are explored, including the power shift to private companies and the impact on democracy. The podcast also discusses the challenges and reasons for users not leaving Facebook, and shares a personal experience of successfully quitting Facebook and Google.
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Jan 21, 2019 • 28min

The Human Costs of Content Moderation

The podcast discusses the human costs of content moderation, including the psychological trauma faced by content moderators. It explores Facebook's content moderation policies and the challenges of relying on artificial intelligence. The episode also raises questions about censorship and free expression online, highlighting the difficulty of getting content moderation exactly right.
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Jan 7, 2019 • 24min

TL;DR

This podcast explores how our reading habits have changed in the digital age. It discusses the prevalence of skimming, headline-only reading, and the fear of missing out on reading. It also explores the value of printed books, introduces the Pocket app for managing content overload, and emphasizes the significance of reading and sharing stories for personal growth.
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Dec 10, 2018 • 27min

Your Password is the Worst

Explore the flaws of passwords and the future of authentication. Learn about the impact of individual experiences and the concept of herd immunity in online security. Discuss the frustration with passwords and potential alternatives for authentication. Discover the importance of password hygiene and the use of password managers to enhance online security.
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Nov 26, 2018 • 30min

Checking Out Online Shopping

When you shop, your data may be the most valuable thing for sale. The podcast explores the hidden costs of online and offline shopping. Meta Brown, a data scientist, reveals the information Amazon captures about you. Joseph Turow discusses how retailers strip us of privacy. Alana Semuels talks about becoming a hoarder with online shopping. The podcast also explores a college coffee shop where you can buy a drink with your data.
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Nov 12, 2018 • 2min

Introducing Season 4 of IRL - Online Life is Real Life

Can ‘ethical tech’ be a thing? We think so. Season 4 of Mozilla’s IRL podcast will explore all the ways tech can have a more positive influence on people, communities, and societies at large. And, we’re delighted to welcome our new host Manoush Zomorodi, who will keep the season nerdy, human, and — importantly — fun, for all of us as we listen in. IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org. Here's more about IRL Season 4, Manoush, and the Mozillians who make the IRL podcast.
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Oct 4, 2018 • 48min

What to Expect When You're Electing

The 2016 U.S. presidential election blew up our ideas about influence campaigns in the age of screens. Two years later, Veronica Belmont and Baratunde Thurston examine how the internet is changing our minds, our votes, and our democracies – all over the world. Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times reporter Scott Shane details the United States' long history with election meddling. Paris correspondent for the Washington Post, James McAuley, shines a light on how other countries are managing the changing dynamics of online political campaigns. And speculative fiction authors Malka Older and Genevieve Valentine describe what elections may look like in the future, with advances in technology. IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla. For more on the series go to irlpodcast.org. Baratunde Thurston has worked for The Onion and produced for The Daily Show. He’s the host of the iHeartMedia podcast Spit, and wrote the New York Times bestseller How To Be Black. Scott Shane is a reporter in the Washington bureau of The New York Times. Have a look at his recent reporting, The Plot to Subvert an Election. Malka Older is a writer and humanitarian aid worker. Her latest fiction book State Tectonics is about how the future of democracy can be purchased. Go here to check out Candidate Y, her speculative fiction that premiered on this episode of IRL. Genevieve Valentine is a novelist. Her most recent book is a near-future political thriller called ICON. Go here to read her short story “Hello, I’m Your Election” featured in this IRL podcast episode. For more on telling fact from falsehood leading up to election cycles, watch Mozilla’s original short film, Misinfo Nation: Misinformation, Democracy, and the Internet. This article discusses how fair elections require responsible tech. Mozilla Foundation Advocacy Lead Ashley Boyd suggests that for democracy to thrive in the internet era, we need technology that respects privacy. And, really: it shouldn't be hard to participate in politics. Mozilla is out to make it a little easier. Go to mozilla.org/vote to get Firefox features to help you counter misinformation as you browse the Web and lessen the ability for those behind political ads to microtarget you on Facebook. Leave a rating or review in Apple Podcasts so we know what you think.

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