What Next: TBD | Tech, power, and the future

In this episode Shannon Palus talks to Victoria Fu and Gloria Lu, co-founders of Chemist Confessions. Their goal is to help us all cut through the marketing buzzwords of the skincare industry, and understand some of the actual chemistry behind the products we use. After the interview, Aaron Mak joins the show for this week’s edition of Don’t Close My Tabs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode Aaron Mak looks into Facebook’s plan to create a global cryptocurrency called Libra. For an expert opinion, he turns to Chris Brummer, a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center and the host of the podcast Fintech Beat. Brummer testified before the U.S. House of Representatives last week to explain why Facebook is jumping the gun with its proposal.  After the interview, Shannon Palus joins the show for this week’s edition of Don’t Close My Tabs.  Slate Plus members get bonus segments and ad-free podcast feeds. Sign up now. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Shannon Palus talks about the journalistic ethics of Amazon affiliate links with Jacqui Cheng, former Editor-in-Chief of Wirecutter and current Editor-in-Chief of Music at WQXR in New York. As Cheng explains, it’s possible for news organizations to make money from Amazon links without turning into a shill for a giant company.  After the interview, Shannon talks to Aaron Mak for this week’s edition of Don’t Close My tabs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Aaron Mak talks about federal law enforcement's use of facial recognition technology with Jake Laperruque. He’s Senior Counsel at The Constitution Project, which is part of the Project on Government Oversight. According to The Washington Post, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and FBI officials have been partnering with state DMVs to scan through millions of drivers license photos. Jake explains the civil liberties implications of the practice and suggests regulations that might provide some level of oversight. After the interview, Aaron talks to Slate’s own Shannon Palus for this week’s edition of Don’t Close My Tabs. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, Shannon Palus explores the growing telehealth industry, where doctors and patients connect via video chat or sometimes just a secure message system. To figure out the benefits and potential drawbacks of telehealth, Shannon talks to Roy Schoenberg, president and CEO of American Well, one of the first big players in the space. Then Shannon talks to Slate writer Aaron Mak in this week’s edition of Don’t Close My Tabs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, April Glaser catches up with her former co-host Will Oremus. Then the two of them are joined by Future Tense editor Torie Bosch and New York Times opinion writer Farhad Manjoo to discuss why tech journalism has become far more critical in recent years.Plus, April and Will discuss futuristic science fiction scenarios on this week’s edition of Don’t Close My Tabs.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, guest host Henry Grabar looks at how Zillow is trying to disrupt the real estate business—and why it might work in some cities but not others. Then Horace Dediu answers Henry’s questions about bikes, scooters, and other miniature contraptions that might replace the automobile in cities. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode April Glaser talks to Chris Urmson, CEO of Aurora, a company that builds the technology for self-driving cars. Urmson offers a timeline for when we might see autonomous vehicles on the road and lists the different hurdles the industry still needs to overcome. According to Urmson, driverless cars shouldn’t require a lot of extra infrastructure or government funding. Instead, they should work within our existing system.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, April Glaser revisits an interview with Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee who released a policy paper proposing possible regulations for U.S. social media and technology companies. In the interview, April and her former co-host Will Oremus talk to Senator Warner about what worries him most about the largely unregulated tech industry, which can’t seem to keep our data private and stop muddying our elections. They also ask him what he thinks congress can do to rein in these companies and why lawmakers haven’t been quick to act.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode April Glaser is joined by Max Read, an editor and writer at New York Magazine who writes the column Life in Pixels.First, April and Max talk to Patri Friedman, founder of the Seasteading Institute, which he started in 2008 with seed funding from PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel. Seasteading is the process of forming new societies on the open ocean, and it’s getting a lot of attention from Silicon Valley. Then Robert Vicino joins the show to talk about his company, Vivos, which designs and builds high-end bunkers to help people ride out natural disasters and other potential catastrophes. Vicino talks about his clientele and the concerns that drive people to buy fancy underground apartments.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices