On this week’s If Then, Slate’s April Glaser and Will Oremus discuss some recent tech news, like the head-scratching revelation that WikiLeaks actually sent Donald Trump, Jr. Direct Messages on Twitter before and after the election, and a speech by Senator Al Franken that suggests we should regulate big tech companies more like utilities. The hosts are also joined by T. Dalton Brown from Dopamine Labs, the cofounder of an interesting and controversial startup whose mission is to help other companies make their apps and online platforms more addictive, by playing on our cognitive biases and psychological weaknesses. You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April is @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment for us, you can email as well at ifthen@slate.com.If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On this week’s If Then, Slate’s April Glaser and Will Oremus discuss the news that YouTube has been showing disturbing videos to kids and why this might be a symptom of a much deeper problem for Internet companies. They also talk about the recent revelations from the Paradise Papers and how new details pertain to companies like Twitter and Apple. The hosts are also joined by Mercer University Professor Whitney Phillips. She’s the author of “This Is Why We Can't Have Nice Things: Mapping the Relationship between Online Trolling and Mainstream Culture.” You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April is @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment for us, you can email as well at ifthen@slate.com.If Then is presented by Slate and Future Tense, a collaboration among Arizona State University, New America, and Slate. Future Tense explores the ways emerging technologies affect society, policy, and culture. To read more, follow us on Twitter and sign up for our weekly newsletter. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hosts and Slate journalists April Glaser and Will Oremus are excited to bring you this new weekly podcast: If Then. The hosts start by talking through some of the most interesting tech news of the week (we promise it's not just tech geeks fawning over their smart watches). They dig into the big story this week - how Facebook, Twitter, and Google all took a trip to congress this week to testify at three different hearings about how russian operatives used their platforms to interfere in the 2016 election--and help secure Trump’s victory. What did these companies know was happening, and what they could have done to stop it?The hosts are also joined by author and former Facebook Product Manager Antonio García Martínez (@antoniogm) to talk about what he thinks the role of these powerful tech companies is now that we know more about what happened in the run up to the presidential election.And to end the show - "Don't Close My Tabs" - a look into some of the best things seen online this week, as recommended by your show hosts.Please hit that subscribe button if you don't so already! And...maybe leave us a comment? We're trying to spread word of the show and that will help us out!You can get updates about what’s coming up next by following us on twitter @ifthenpod. You can follow Will @WillOremus and April is @Aprilaser. If you have a question or comment for us, you can email as well at ifthen@slate.com.See you back here next Wednesday! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

If Then: a podcast about technology, society, and power. Each week, Slate‘s April Glaser and Will Oremus take you on a lively tour of the tech news that actually matters, from fake news in your Facebook feed to the algorithms that want your job to the Uber drivers who want a job with benefits. With news-making interviews of key tech-industry figures, fascinating academics, and top tech journalists, they explore not only how the technology that’s shaping our world works, but the ideas, ideologies, incentives, and biases that underlie it. And guess what: They don’t always agree. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices