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
12 snips
Oct 14, 2026 • 47min
Cops Can Use AI to Pinpoint Your Home with Just One Photo
An AI tool once used to geolocate outdoor images now claims it can identify a specific home from a single interior photo, raising major privacy and surveillance concerns. The discussion also examines police use of Flock and Vigilant vehicle-tracking data, including a traffic stop a judge ruled unconstitutional. The subscriber segment explores an AI-generated video that influenced a manslaughter case.
25 snips
Oct 9, 2026 • 56min
The Social Reckoning’s Real-Life Whistleblower
Frances Haugen, the former Facebook product manager whose disclosures exposed harms linked to Facebook and Instagram, discusses Aaron Sorkin’s film about her whistleblowing journey. She explores journalism, NDAs, Meta’s dismantled civic integrity team, abandoned features, algorithmic polarization, and why employees risk everything to leak. Haugen also examines Meta’s progress and the privacy and safety threats AI may amplify.
33 snips
Oct 7, 2026 • 40min
Leak Show Cops Can Break into Locked iPhones
Leaked video claims police can bypass an iPhone security feature designed to reboot locked devices, potentially preserving access for forensic tools. A bizarre experiment placing language models in simulated torture scenarios sparks an uproar over AI consciousness and welfare. Plus, a murder appeal leans on fake witnesses generated by ChatGPT.
14 snips
Oct 6, 2026 • 1h 15min
404 Media Live! The Three Year Anniversary Show
Matthew Galt, 404 Media’s Southern correspondent, covers data centers, infrastructure, and community resistance. Science journalist Becky Ferreira, author of First Contact, explores bizarre research about aliens, animals, and the natural world. They discuss surveillance, AI-generated sludge, worker pushback, local activism, independent journalism, and the strange creatures scientists keep finding.
29 snips
Oct 5, 2026 • 38min
AI Companies Scraped the Web and Are Destroying the Human Internet
Jason Kint, CEO of Digital Content Next and a longtime digital media expert, examines how AI companies scraped publishers’ work and what that means for human creators. He discusses the New York Times’ copyright battle with OpenAI, Google’s AI Overviews, collapsing ad revenue, surveillance advertising, and resurfaced Cambridge Analytica evidence. He also explores how publishers might rebuild trust and direct relationships with audiences.
47 snips
Sep 30, 2026 • 42min
The FBI Was Hacked. We’ve Seen the Data
A massive FBI breach allegedly exposed employees, relatives, job assignments, and sensitive records, including details tied to the bureau’s own hacking unit. The discussion explores why the data has not been fully dumped and the national-security risks of its circulation. Also: a proposal to add facial recognition and automated watchlists to Flock surveillance cameras, plus Meta’s human-powered Muse AI.
49 snips
Sep 28, 2026 • 42min
The End of Privacy Is Here (with Kashmir Hill)
Kashmir Hill, a New York Times technology reporter and author of Your Face Belongs to Us, explores a future where facial recognition is everywhere. They discuss Meta’s smart glasses, Clearview AI, PimEyes, viral doxxing, and why identifying strangers could become effortless. The conversation also examines harassment risks, public backlash, and whether privacy laws can slow the spread of face-search technology.
39 snips
Sep 23, 2026 • 46min
OpenAI Admits AI is Killing the Internet
Court documents reveal how AI companies scrape copyrighted work, bypass paywalls, and threaten the web’s content pipeline. A deliberately terrible AI punk track lands on a real band’s Spotify page, exposing alarming gaps in artist verification and royalty systems. Plus, a look at license plate camera surveillance and an AI agent platform flooding inboxes with spam.
80 snips
Sep 21, 2026 • 50min
Is AI Making Us Less Human?
Sherry Turkle, MIT psychologist and technology researcher, examines what happens when chatbots become confidants, therapists, or companions. They discuss artificial intimacy, the erosion of solitude and empathy, chatbot attachment, AI’s risks during mental-health crises, and why reading, community, and difficult human conversations still matter. Turkle also explores digital avatars, grief, and the boundaries AI should never cross.
43 snips
Sep 18, 2026 • 52min
404 Media x The Intercept LIVE: How AI Is Used to Surveil and Kill
Jason Koebler, 404 Media co-founder covering surveillance and AI, joins Sam Biddle, a technology reporter at The Intercept, with Akela Lacy for a live discussion of privatized surveillance, Flock cameras, ICE data systems, predictive policing, and AI’s growing role in warfare. They also examine tech companies’ Pentagon partnerships, barriers to regulation, source security, and local resistance.
