Since the start of the pandemic, usage of apps like BetterHelp and Talkspace has skyrocketed. These apps might make mental health care more accessible, but are the products they sell really the same as therapy?Guest:  Molly Fischer, features writer for the Cut at New York MagazineHostLizzie O’Leary  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ICYMI is Slate’s new podcast about internet culture. It’s a show for people who have a healthy relationship with the internet, made by people who really, really don’t. It’s hosted by Slate’s Madison Malone Kircher and Rachelle Hampton. Twice a week they’ll explore what’s trending at the top of your feeds, investigate the ghosts of internet past, and help you sound like the smartest person in your group chat.In the episode you’re about to hear, they take you on an all-access tour of Clubhouse, the invite-only audio app that already has millions of users, including everyone from Elon Musk and Drake to Oprah and Joe Rogan. Madison somehow ends up taking a shower with hundreds of other users? The app also doesn’t allow people to record and publish audio, so this episode will probably get them banned.If you like what you hear, or you want to be the first to know whether Madison gets kicked off Clubhouse, subscribe to ICYMI wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There are at least 17 different “vaccine passport” initiatives underway in the United States. And leaked documents reveal that the Biden administration fears that “a chaotic and ineffective vaccine credential approach could hamper our pandemic response by undercutting health safety measures, slowing economic recovery, and undermining public trust and confidence.” Without coordination, a chaotic and ineffective approach seems likely. So, what can, and what should, the Biden administration do to avoid this outcome? And what are the risks and rewards of coordinating an effort that divides Americans along the lines of vaccination status?Guest:  Dan Diamond, health policy and politics reporter for the Washington PostHostLizzie O’Leary  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in April 2020, AstraZeneca was hailed as a frontrunner in the race to get an effective vaccine to market. A year later, after a series of trial pauses, communication blunders, and PR problems, the vaccine is on the cusp of FDA approval. By all accounts, the company succeeded in making a safe, effective vaccine. So why has there been so much confusion about its rollout?Guest:  Peter Aldhous, science reporter at Buzzfeed NewsHostLizzie O’Leary  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook’s failure to contain the spread of dangerous misinformation is no secret. For years, the company has pledged publicly to fix the problem. But in the wake of the Capitol riots, it’s clear that there’s more work to be done. So, why isn’t the social media giant using its powerful AI to contain hate and lies?Guest: Karen Hao, senior AI reporter at MIT Technology ReviewHostLizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Back in 2014, Google released in-depth diversity data for its workforce for the first time. 1.1 percent of its tech team identified as Black. Six years later, after millions of dollars spent and a much-hyped partnership program with historically Black colleges and universities across the country, that number is up to 2.4 percent. How did such a promising effort yield such incremental change?Guest: Nitasha Tiku, tech culture reporter at the Washington PostHostLizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The federal Lifeline program was intended to bridge the gap between Americans who could comfortably pay for phone and internet service, and those who couldn’t. But in the midst of the pandemic, Lifeline is falling woefully short.How did a program meant to help connect low-income Americans with phone and internet service ended up making them second-class digital citizens at the worst possible moment? Guest: Tony Romm, senior tech policy reporter at the Washington Post, author of“How the Federal Lifeline Program Failed Amid the Coronavirus Pandemic”HostLizzie O’Leary Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last year, the Australian government has been waging a quiet war against Facebook and Google. Through a new law, it plans to force the big tech companies to pay news outlets in exchange for linking to their sites.Will this new law have the intended effect? Or will it set a dangerous precedent that cedes even more power over to the tech giants?Guest: JR Hennessy, editor at Business Insider AustraliaHostLizzie O’Leary  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Over the last week, millions of Texans have been forced to live without power or heat. At least 16 have died since Monday. In a state that’s no stranger to extreme weather and high power demand, how did it all go so wrong?Guest: Josh Rhodes, research associate at the Webber Energy Group at the University of Texas at Austin HostLizzie O’Leary  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For most of the last year, Clubhouse—the audio-only social media app—has been dominated by conversations about business, branding, and Elon Musk. But as users picked up the app around the globe, something extraordinary happened.  Censors in mainland China overlooked it. And for two weeks in February, it hosted a series of unusual, unfiltered conversations. Han Chinese, Hong Kongers, Taiwanese, and Uighurs all flooded to the app to speak freely about authoritarianism, democracy, and propaganda. Here’s what happened when the censors looked the other way. Guest: Melissa Chan, journalist with the Global Reporting CentreHostLizzie O’Leary  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices