The 404 Media Podcast cover art
Podcast · 164 episodes

The 404 Media Podcast

by 404 Media · English

Welcome to the podcast from 404 Media where Joseph, Sam, Emanuel, and Jason catch you up on the stories we published this week. 404 Media is a journalist-owned digital media company exploring the way technology is shaping–and is shaped by–our world. We bring you unparalleled access to hidden worlds both online and IRL through investigative reporting, smart blogging, and breaking news. At 404 Media you’ll read, and hear, stories you can’t find anywhere else written by journalists who are leading experts on their beats. Subscribe to 404 Media at 404media.co to gain access to an ad-free version of this podcast, as well as a bonus podcast episodes. Subscribers are the bedrock of building a sustainable business for our journalism. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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The FBI Was Hacked. We’ve Seen the DataThe episode covers two stories. First, hackers linked to Shiny Hunters claim they “hacked the FBI” and obtained data from an FBI jobs portal, including 5,000 FBI officials and their spouses (and…30 Sep 2026 · 42 min · 12 chapters
The End of Privacy Is Here (with Kashmir Hill)The episode argues that facial recognition is moving from limited law-enforcement use to everyday life via Meta’s Ray-Ban “smart glasses,” enabling near-instant identification and making public…28 Sep 2026 · 42 min · 18 chapters
OpenAI Admits AI is Killing the InternetTwo-part episode. First, a report on the New York Times v. OpenAI/Microsoft copyright case, arguing that LLMs are “killing the web” by scraping paywalled news and siphoning clicks away from…23 Sep 2026 · 46 min · 14 chapters
Is AI Making Us Less Human?Whether generative AI chatbots are making people less human by replacing empathy, conversation, solitude, and real relationships with “machine empathy” and attention-grabbing products.21 Sep 2026 · 50 min · 21 chapters
404 Media x The Intercept LIVE: How AI Is Used to Surveil and Kill“Killer tech” and mass surveillance—how AI and data-driven tools enable lethal autonomous/AI-assisted strikes abroad and help U.S.18 Sep 2026 · 51 min · 22 chapters
Humans Are Reading Your ChatGPT ConversationsOpenAI’s “Project Lily” reportedly uses human contractors to read real ChatGPT user prompts and conversations to improve model responses.16 Sep 2026 · 51 min · 13 chapters
Fighting for the Future of Libraries (With Jennie Rose Halperin)The episode argues that public libraries are losing control of digital collections due to vendor “renting” models, restrictive contracts, privacy risks, and a flood of low-quality AI-generated…14 Sep 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 20 chapters
DHS’ Secretive ‘Predictive Policing’ Unit Pulling People Over404 Media’s Uncanny Valley episode discusses DHS/Border Patrol “Predictive Intelligence Targeting Teams” (PITT) that use law-enforcement-sensitive databases to flag Americans based on financial…9 Sep 2026 · 43 min · 16 chapters
This Innocent Woman Spent 13 Days in Jail Because of a False Flock HitA false Flock license-plate reader “hit” led Florida Highway Patrol to misidentify Lindsay Isaacs’s black Dodge Durango as the vehicle in a triple fatal hit-and-run, resulting in her 13-day jail…7 Sep 2026 · 37 min · 18 chapters
We Spoke to an Amazon Worker Destroying Books for AIAmazon worker describes how books are bulk-shipped to a Las Vegas warehouse (VGT3), de-spined, scanned (barcode images), and then destroyed/recycled for AI training data; episode also covers “AI…2 Sep 2026 · 41 min · 14 chapters
How Cyber Sleuths Tracked Down a Nigerian ScammerErin West (Operation Shamrock) and scam expert Paul Raphael describe their fact-finding trip to Nigeria to see whether sextortion “yahoo boys” can be tracked down after extortion attempts, and what…31 Aug 2026 · 42 min · 14 chapters
Cops Are Making Fake Flock Cameras and Amazon PackagesThe episode covers two linked stories about surveillance tech and policing tactics.26 Aug 2026 · 33 min · 13 chapters
Your AI Companion Doesn’t Love You with Bridget ToddBridget Todd argues that AI companions can feel emotionally helpful but lack human reciprocity, and that the bigger risk is institutional: tech companies profit from intimate data and can change or…24 Aug 2026 · 47 min · 26 chapters
Amazon is Destroying Rare Books to Train AI404 Media investigates claims that Amazon buys large quantities of books, scans them for AI training, and destroys the physical books.19 Aug 2026 · 53 min · 20 chapters
The Future of Deepfakes and the Decline of Reality with Hany FaridHow deepfakes and AI-manipulated media are changing trust and reality online, and what technical and legal approaches can limit harm—especially non-consensual imagery and fraud.17 Aug 2026 · 46 min · 13 chapters
Mark Zuckerberg’s 'Superintelligent' AI Future That No One WantsThe episode criticizes Mark Zuckerberg’s “The Future is for Everyone” AI manifesto, arguing it pitches unwanted “superintelligent” personal agents that will work 24/7 on users’ behalf (relationships,…12 Aug 2026 · 49 min · 14 chapters
How to Surveil the Police (with William Gude)Police accountability through filming in Los Angeles, plus “watching the watchers” of surveillance tech (ALPRs, delivery robots, Waymo-style cameras) and the resulting lack of accountability.10 Aug 2026 · 53 min · 24 chapters
This Man Might Go to Prison for Wiping His PhoneEpisode 404 Media covers two main stories.5 Aug 2026 · 50 min · 19 chapters
Former Flock Employee Speaks Out: Says He Was ‘Lied To’Former Flock government affairs manager Jonathan Pass says he was “lied to” about Flock’s involvement with ICE and describes how license-plate-reader camera rollouts are influenced by police…3 Aug 2026 · 50 min · 20 chapters
Flock Came to My Town. Here’s What I DidA 404 Media episode connecting two stories about surveillance and “going offline.” First, it recounts a small-town fight over expanding Flock automatic license plate reader cameras.29 Jul 2026 · 52 min · 17 chapters
This Man Bought Phone Location Data from Around the WorldMike Yeagley explains how commercially purchased smartphone location data became usable for U.S.27 Jul 2026 · 42 min · 13 chapters
Flock is Tracking People, Not Just CarsThe episode has two main stories. First, it argues that Flock surveillance systems are used to track people, not just vehicles, via “freeform” natural-language searches that police can run across…22 Jul 2026 · 47 min · 14 chapters
404 Media Live: How AI Is Destroying the InternetA live 404 Media panel on how AI-generated content (“AI slop”) is flooding the internet, making reality harder to verify, and reshaping industries from social media to Hollywood, books, games, and…20 Jul 2026 · 1 h 2 min · 23 chapters
We Are Living in a ‘ChatGPT Flyer Pandemic’The 404 Media Podcast discusses (1) “ChatGPT flyer pandemic” AI-generated posters used by small businesses and (2) a separate news item: Waymo allegedly reporting two teens to police after they were…15 Jul 2026 · 46 min · 14 chapters