Inside the Hive

Ever since the rise of social media, news publishers have always been playing an unwinnable game of catch-up, chasing the changes in Big Tech’s byzantine algorithms to ensure the clicks keep coming. But with AI now in the picture, the playing field is about to get even more lopsided, according to Wired editor in chief Katie Drummond and Axios Senior Media Reporter Sara Fischer. Joining Brian Stelter on the latest episode of Inside the Hive, the two media mavens discuss how tech companies like OpenAI have painted outlets into a corner by offering lucrative licensing deals that could later come back to bite them. “If you strike a deal, you get to experiment with the top technology in generative AI while your competitors do not,” says Fischer, but you “don’t fully understand…the risk of what you're giving up and how valuable it could be.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Steven Brill, founder of Newsguard, discusses Big Tech's moderation failures, the infiltration of 'pink slime' sites in news deserts, and the importance of regaining public trust for the 2024 election. Topics include deep fake technology, misinformation online, impact of hoax websites, loss of trust in figures like Dr. Fauci, and the rise of 'pink slime sites'. Brill emphasizes the need for journalistic integrity and accurate information during the U.S. Presidential Election.

In a special episode, host Brian Stelter discusses the Donald Trump guilty verdict with Mary Trump, a writer, psychologist, and niece of the former president and now-convicted felon. She describes how Trump has long tried to suppress feelings of humiliation and why she expects him to lash out even more after his conviction. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter is joined by veteran Democratic operative Lis Smith to examine the campaign inside the Democratic Party to stop Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from spoiling the presidential election. They discuss why the Democratic Party is "leaving nothing to chance" this election cycle and the motives behind implementing a war room to explicitly ensure that third-party candidates receive the same type of scrutiny that major-party candidates traditionally receive. They also reflect on Kennedy's affinity for conspiracy theories, his running mate Nicole Shanahan, and what it means that his rhetoric and policy positions have shifted to the far right. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

As the Trump hush money trial heads toward closing arguments, CNN's chief legal correspondent Paula Reid tells host Brian Stelter about the biggest surprises thus far and previews the range of possible outcomes from the jury. Reid also shares an inside look at day-to-day television news coverage of the trial. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

From ‘Scandal’ to social justice, Black Twitter has dominated digital discourse, a phenomenon Prentice Penny explores in his new Hulu docuseries, “Black Twitter: A People's History,” based on Jason Parham's 2021 feature for Wired. Penny and Parham, along with J Wortham of the New York Times Magazine, join host Brian Stelter to discuss Black Twitter's cultural impact, and its future. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter examines the media circus surrounding Donald Trump's hush money trial with Olivia Nuzzi, Washington correspondent for New York magazine, and Vanity Fair staff writer Dan Adler. They discuss what it's like to cover the criminal trial today while it seemingly feels like 2016 and why it's essential for journalists in the courtroom to shout every detail and talk about every aspect. They also reflect on the personalities in the room amid the controlled environment and what's to come, as the trial hasn't even touched on the alleged crime yet. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

On this week’s Inside the Hive with Brian Stelter, Vanity Fair writer Dan Adler and Hollywood Reporter special correspondent Lachlan Cartwright examine Donald Trump’s sordid relationship with David Pecker, the former National Enquirer executive at the center of the ex-president’s criminal hush money trial in Manhattan. Adler and Cartwight, both reporting from inside the courtroom, describe the “surreal” dynamics of this week's proceedings, and reveal how the back-scratching world of tabloid media ended up creating a monster. “You can’t believe this happened. You can’t believe it’s being litigated,” says Adler. “It all still is sort of like, a decade later, a little bit hard to process.” Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Host Brian Stelter checks in with Vanity Fair’s Dan Adler, who describes the strange scene at Donald Trump’s hush money trial. Then Stelter speaks with “Columbine” author Dave Cullen about the 25th anniversary of the Colorado school shooting. Cullen discusses what changed, and what didn't, about American culture, police practices and gun laws. He also reflects on his personal connection with the families intricately linked through an unending American tragedy. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

This is a preview episode of WIRED Politics Lab. Election deniers are mobilizing their supporters and rolling out new tech to disrupt the November election. These groups are already organizing on hyperlocal levels, and learning to monitor polling places, target election officials, and challenge voter rolls. And though their work was once fringe, its become mainstreamed in the Republican Party. Today, we focus on what these groups are doing, and what this means for voters and the election workers already facing threats and harassment.Listen to the full episode of WIRED Politics Lab here.Be sure to subscribe to the WIRED Politics Lab newsletter here. Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices