The 404 Media Podcast
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.
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- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 45 minutes
- Episodes
- 119
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Inside a $7 Million Airbnb Scam
We are back for 2024! We hit the ground running this week with a story about charges against a man for allegedly orchestrating a massive, nationwide Airbnb scam. Then Sam speaks about how Pornhub is …
00:36:51 |
Thu 04 Jan 2024
These Companies Say They're Using Microphone Audio to Target Ads
In this week's show, we start with a couple of articles about how companies might *actually* be listening to conversations through smart device microphones to target ads. Plenty of questions remain, …
00:45:33 |
Thu 21 Dec 2023
How Did a 'Russian Economist' Fly into LAX With No Ticket, No Passport, No Memory of How He Got There?
A really bizarre mystery this week. We broke the news that a man somehow flew into LAX without a ticket or passport and DHS is totally stumped. Who knows how he got there? No one, apparently. Then Sa…
00:37:58 |
Wed 13 Dec 2023
a16z Funded AI Platform Generated Images That “Could Be Categorized as Child Pornography,” Leaked Documents Show
A content warning for the free section of this episode. Emanuel explains a massive investigation of his into how Civitai, the a16z funded AI platform, generated images that “could be categorized as c…
00:46:26 |
Wed 06 Dec 2023
Male Tech Conference Founder Runs Popular Woman-in-Tech Account (???)
So much drama this episode but with an important message behind it all. For the first half, Sam and Jason break down their stories about Eduards Sizovs, a tech conference founder who listed a fake, "…
00:48:39 |
Wed 29 Nov 2023
OpenAI, Harry Potter Fanfic, and Hackers Who Gamble
Well that was a lot of drama in the world of OpenAI. Fear not, we have a unique angle on how the person in the running to be OpenAI's new CEO was a character in a Harry Potter fanfic that was written…
00:41:11 |
Thu 23 Nov 2023
Venture Capitalists a16z Fund Nonconsensual Deepfake Porn
We recorded this immediately after publishing some breaking news: we discovered that venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) is funding Civitai, an AI marketplace we've repeatedly shown is an…
00:36:57 |
Wed 15 Nov 2023
How AI-Powered Cameras Took Over One Small American Town
This week goes in all sorts of directions. First, Joseph runs through his in-depth article on Fusus, a surveillance company that took over one small American town with AI-powered cameras. Now, they'r…
00:35:31 |
Wed 08 Nov 2023
YouTube Profiting from a Drug Market, and SIM Swappers Working with Ransomware Gangs
We're shaking things up with a new format! As well as the two stories available to all listeners, we have a third discussion at the end which is only for paying subscribers. We explain why at the top…
00:45:44 |
Wed 01 Nov 2023
OSINT, Twitter, and a $30 Million Bitcoin Ring
For the first half of the show, we talk about a couple of stories around the Israel-Palestine conflict. First, Instagram "sincerely apologizes" to Sam for its auto-translations which added the word "…
00:40:55 |
Wed 25 Oct 2023
AI is Muddying the Horrors of War, and a Film Community Implodes
Content warning for the first half of the episode because it touches on violent themes. Emanuel takes us through how so-called AI detectors are, instead of clearing up the fog of misinformation aroun…
00:43:53 |
Wed 18 Oct 2023
SpongeBob, AI, and a Crisis Among Ticket Sellers
This episode is a fun one. First, Sam takes us through her story about generating images of SpongeBob and 9/11 with Bing's AI. Why? Because a bunch of people found a way to create similar images even…
00:41:07 |
Wed 11 Oct 2023
A Glitch Is Hiding Porn on YouTube, and Food Delivery Robots Feed Footage to the LAPD
This week we start with a super interesting set of stories about how a small community has found a glitch in YouTube. It lets the group upload basically anything it wants to the platform with little …
00:40:30 |
Wed 04 Oct 2023
Ticket Scalpers, The New Frontier of AI Chat Bots, and Mass Doxing on TikTok
Holy moly that's a big ol' episode. Jason is back and tells us how ticket scalping actually works on a technical level, and how Ticketmaster benefits from scalping. Sam then explains how AI chatbots …
00:55:03 |
Wed 27 Sep 2023
The Tool That ICE Can Use to Track Pregnancy Websites and Fortnite
On this week's episode you won't hear Jason because he is out on location reporting from a right to repair conference in New Orleans! Before that, he was in Las Vegas reporting on the ongoing ransomw…
00:38:47 |
Wed 20 Sep 2023
We Reveal One of the FBI's Most Closely Guarded Secrets
On this week's episode Joseph, Jason, Emanuel and Sam first talk about something that sounds like a Harry Styles story, but it's actually an artificial intelligence one. We also play a few rounds of …
00:40:48 |
Thu 14 Sep 2023
Amazon Is Selling AI-Generated Books That Are a Matter of 'Life or Death'
On this week's episode Joseph, Jason, Emanuel and Sam first talk about how Amazon is selling mushroom foraging books that appear to be AI-generated. Not great when foraging can be a matter of life or…
00:39:26 |
Wed 06 Sep 2023
Instagram's Rampant Ads-for-Crime Problem
On this week's episode Joseph, Jason, Emanuel and Sam first talk about how Instagram is profiting from a vast network of adverts for crime. Instagram even throttled our reach on the platform while co…
00:47:11 |
Tue 29 Aug 2023
Welcome to 404 Media
Welcome to 404 Media! On this special introductory episode, 404 Media co-founders Joseph Cox, Sam Cole, Emanuel Maiberg, and Jason Koebler explain what's in store for this new, journalist-founded med…
00:36:31 |
Tue 22 Aug 2023
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