Technology
Hardware, software, networking, and development
#2094: The Accidental Trillion-Dollar Loophole: 401k
Discover how a 1980s tax loophole accidentally replaced pensions and shifted retirement risk to workers.
#2091: Solving Problems That Don't Exist
From a $400 juicer that can't run without Wi-Fi to a toaster with more computing power than Apollo 11, we explore absurd gadgets.
#2090: Who Decides What Generation You Are?
We trace the history of generational labels from the Lost Generation to Gen Alpha, exploring who invents these names and why.
#2087: Why Refill Stations Haven't Gone Mainstream
We explore the technical and economic friction preventing refill-on-the-go from replacing single-use packaging in Western supermarkets.
#2080: The Silent Failure of Emergency Alerts
Why your phone might sleep through a siren, and how traffic lights could save your life.
#2079: The Geopolitics of Grey Boxes
Why factories still run on ladder logic, VxWorks, and rugged grey boxes instead of cloud servers.
#2002: Brainstorming a Stable-by-Design Smart Home
We explore why Home Assistant is so fragile and brainstorm a stable-by-design future for the platform.
#1989: Your Cloud Photos Vanish If You Miss a $5 Bill
Is your data safe in the cloud, or is it one missed payment away from oblivion?
#1988: The Eternal Storage That Can't Escape the Lab
Quartz glass promises 10,000-year data storage, but can it scale before 180 zettabytes make it obsolete?
#1983: Why Your Digital Photos Are Slowly Disappearing
Physical paper from the 1700s is more durable than a Word doc from 1994. Here's why digital data is fragile and how archivists fight bit rot.
#1982: The Impossible Task of Controlling a Living Language
How a government board tries to standardize Hebrew while the public invents words on the fly.
#1978: The Ingenious Fail-Safe Engineering of Emergency Beacons
From 98% false alarms to pinpoint rescue: how a tiny plastic device saves lives across oceans and mountains.
#1975: The Global Choreography of Weather Balloons
Why we still launch 1,000 balloons daily into the stratosphere—and why satellites can't replace them.
#1965: Where Do We Go When We Say "We Have to Go"?
A listener asked where we go after the mics cut. The answer is a masterclass in low-burn living.
#1960: The Microscopic Venetian Blinds in Your Screen
A coffee shop glance reveals a black slab, not your data. Discover the microscopic Venetian blinds making it possible.
#1958: Why Is Being Late Respectful?
We traded natural rhythms for the factory clock. Here’s how the Industrial Revolution rewired our relationship with time.
#1955: The Hadza Way: Parenting Without Performing
Discover why the Hadza hunter-gatherers don't entertain babies—and how letting your child observe real life can reduce parental burnout.
#1954: The Inuit Trick to Stop Yelling at Babies
Discover the "Kigiq" sound and the "Calm Captain" role from ancient Arctic strategies for raising emotionally regulated children.
#1953: My Dad Wasn't Abducted, He's a Monkey Treasurer
After 30 years, a "seance" reveals dad is alive, well, and handling finances for a monkey colony.
#1950: The Maya Secret to Calm, Helpful Kids
Discover how a 3,000-year-old Maya village upbringing can replace modern parenting stress with calm, cooperative kids.