Note to Self

The last episode in our Mother's Day special. Rachael Ellison and Leslie Ali Walker face difficult choices: Should they drop the feminist mission behind the company when they make their pitch to investors? Does Rachael need to give up entrepreneurship so she can remain the kind of mom she wants to be? 

Bot armies are taking aim at our democracies, spreading garbage on Twitter from last November to Brexit to this weekend’s French election. But what do they want with Manoush? Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Uh, mom, the eggplant emoji is not about food. The crying-laughing emoji is not appropriate for funerals. And dad, just texting 'K' is super passive-aggressive. This week, a real live therapist tackles your intergenerational tech dilemmas. And we try to stop copping out of tough conversations with a text. Admit it, you do it too. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

We count on robots to do more and more stuff. Drive cars, water crops, diagnose disease. What happens when the robots are racist? This week, a look back at one terrible AI mistake. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Your selfies are sharing way more than your smiling face. They’re full of data. Which is being used by stores. And banks. And police. And, well, everyone. This week, you sent us your photos. We gave them to data scientist Andreas Weigend, to see what he could deduce. A lot, it turns out. Date and time. Location, down to where in a building you were. Your name, education, employment history. Your hopes and dreams. Well, not quite. But close.  Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Information overload has reached an all time high. Is there a way to stay-up-to-date without losing your mind? Yes. We call it “single-tasking.” Here’s a reminder of what multi-tasking does to your brain plus a proven way to find focus. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

How one revolting, racist, sexist word emerged from the dark corners of 4chan and Reddit. And why we should care. With slang lexicographer Jonathon Green, writer Dana Schwartz of the Observer, and Derek Thompson of the Atlantic. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Nicholas Confessore, a Politics correspondent for The New York Times, joins Michal Kosinski, a Stanford psychometrics expert, to dive into the murky world of data-driven politics. They discuss the controversial strategies of Cambridge Analytica in the Trump campaign, questioning if personality profiling really swayed voters or if charisma was the true trump card. The conversation raises ethical dilemmas surrounding the manipulation of voter behavior and the fine line between effective persuasion and unethical influence in both politics and marketing.

After building the social network’s ad system, Antonio García Martínez tried to set his career on fire with a tell-all. An inside view on Face-versaries, terrifying emails from Zuck, and the cult of changing the world. Turns out, it takes a lot to get shunned in the Valley. Especially when you write a bestseller. The author of Chaos Monkeys, on the fallout from his attempt to commit career suicide. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

So, the C.I.A. has a back door to your phone. At least, according to the Vault 7 data dump from WikiLeaks. This week, when are these tactics really making our lives safer? Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.