TechCrunch Mixtape

On this week's episode of CTRL+T, it's all about flamethrowers (yes, the devices that throw flames), startups trying to get inside your mouth and education in the prison system. Later on, I chat with the one and only DeRay Mckesson, who is known for his social justice activism via #BlackLivesMatter protests in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland. He's also the host of Crooked Media's Pod Save the People and co-founder of policy platform Campaign Zero. This year, McKesson and his team are focused on two areas: the racial wealth gap and mass incarceration, Mckesson told me on CTRL+T. Specifically, Campaign Zero is trying to "create an entrance for people that's an easy entrance but also high impact" and solutions-oriented, he said. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive Producer: Yashad Kulkarni

Welcome back to another glorious episode of CTRL+T. This week, Henry Pickavet and I explore Amazon's new cashier-less stores that promise no waiting in line -- except to get in -- and Uber's newest C-level executive hire. Later in the episode, I rage with Safiya Umoja Noble, a professor at the University of Southern California and author of "Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism." Full disclosure, I went to USC but Noble was not a professor there at the time. Additional disclosure, I wish I could have had her as a teacher because she's smart as hell. Final disclosure, Henry applied to USC but was rejected. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni

We start the episode with a couple of stories out of Europe. A hospital in Sweden is blaming an app that has been approved in Europe as a contraceptive method for 37 unwanted pregnancies -- they've reported it to Sweden’s Medical Products Agency, which is asking the company questions. And in what seems like a good common-sense move, the UK is going to cap the number of hours that a driver can be logged in to the app at 10. After drivers hit that magic number, they have to take an uninterrupted six-hour break. Seems smart. And finally in the latest dumb-trend-on-the-internet news, people are popping pods of poison in their mouths. Because that sounds like a great idea! Hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni Producer and editor: Christopher Gates Guest: Raine Revere, co-founder of Maiden

If you thought last year was intense for diversity, hold on tight, because based on the way this year is unfolding, it looks like we're in for a wild ride. Already, Google was hit with a revised gender pay lawsuit that alleges Google underpaid women in comparison with their male counterparts and asked new hires about their prior salaries. Then, a white man filed a lawsuit against Google, saying the company discriminates against white men with "perceived conservative political views." Meanwhile, tech companies are making little progress around increasing the number of underrepresented minorities employed at their companies. On this episode of CTRL+T, I chat with Dr. Jennifer Cohen of the Level Playing Field Institute, an organization that aims to improve access and increase opportunity for people of color in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni

Wait, what? Yeah, this week a company called SuperMeat announced that it raised $3 million to create chicken in a lab. It requires real chicken cells, Petrie dishes probably and some patience. The benefits for fake (fake real?) chicken are numerous, not the least of which it's better for the environment. But we wonder how it will taste. Like chicken? Like fake chicken? In the lead-up to CES 2018, the topic of robots that fold laundry is on our minds. Apparently it's a thing and it costs a lot of money. Like, a lot of money. Two companies, FoldiMate and Seven Dreamers (which is working with Panasonic) don't want you to have to fold your clean clothes, which is arguably not the worst part of doing laundry (at least according to Henry). And finally, Volkswagen and Hyundai announced that, by 2021, they intend to have autonomous taxi fleets on the roads. Autonomous cars are coming, so why not start with taxis? The only thing better would be autonomous pizza-delivery vehicles. Our guest this week is Ryan Rzepecki, CEO of Social Bicycles, the startup behind Jump, a dockless, electric bike-sharing startup. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive Producer: Yashad Kulkarni

People can be lazy. So it's no wonder why on this week's episode of CTRL+T, we were drawn to some news that touched on home assistants and personal assistants for when you're out in the wild. Amazon's Echo Dot was the top-selling product on all of Amazon this holiday season and startup Fin recently launched its human/AI personal assistant. We also explored the HQ Trivia craze. This past week, HQ Trivia launched its Android app in Canada and opened up pre-registration for U.S.-based Android users. HQ plans to launch its Android app in the U.S. on January 1. In the vein of getting people or AI to do things for you, I spoke with Omni founder and CEO Thomas McLeod about his on-demand storage and rental startup. McLeod described Omni as an "operating system for things."  Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Guest: Thomas McLeod, CEO of Omni Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni Producer: Christopher Gates

This week we wondered if cell phones can adversely affect your health (or kill you), the goggles of Magic Leap and the problem Twitter has with the hateful people on its platform. Then later in the ep, Megan chats up Jeremy Burge, the Aussie founder of Emojipedia. They talk about the need for a pedia for emoji, Simpsons yellow and the skin-shade identity politics of mobile communication. It’s complicated. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Guest: Jeremy Burge, founder of Emojipedia Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni Producer: Christopher Gates

On this week's episode, hear about Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya's declaration that the social network is effectively "destroying how society works," the FCC's vote on repealing net neutrality and Netflix reminding everyone it's spying on its customers. Later in the show, MRD chats with Shonda Rhimes, the creator of network hits like Scandal, Grey's Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder. We discussed her new contract with Netflix, what we can expect to see from her on the streaming media platform, differences between network and streaming media and strong black women. Links: Facebook bats back after a second former exec accuses it of negatively impacting society Net neutrality repeal Netflix reminds everyone it's creeping on them Shonda Rhimes is bringing her award-winning talents to Netflix Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Guest: Shonda Rhimes Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni Producer: Christopher Gates

Welcome to CTRL+T, the TechCrunch podcast that looks at how technology impacts culture. Listen to TechCrunch reporter Megan Rose Dickey and Editorial Director Henry Pickavet as they dive into the week's headlines followed by interviews with influencers and innovators in the field. Premier episode launches December 16th.