#internet
18 episodes
#5942: Service Workers: The Proxy That Never Sleeps
A JavaScript file with no tab, no DOM, and the power to intercept every request your site makes — and why refreshing never updates it.
#5826: The Thread That Outlived Its Authors
A Debian bug filed in 1997 got its second reply 24 years later. What happens when a conversation outlives everyone who started it?
#5818: 46,434 Mailing Lists That Still Work
Daniel wants a public town hall. Turns out the oldest tool on the internet — the mailing list — might be the right one.
#5710: Tristan da Cunha: Life on the World's Most Remote Island
222 people, one village, and a dialect that conjugates like a single person — what life is actually like on the world's most remote inhabited island.
#5700: Did the Internet's Pioneers Know What They Were Building?
Vint Cerf says they didn't know — and they did. How early internet subculture formed, where it lived, and whether it survived.
#5582: Who Invented the Internet? Actually, Seven People
The first message ever sent was "LO" — then the system crashed. The real story of the internet is a stack of seven layers, not one genius.
#5484: When Governments Own the Pipes: Telecom's Open-Access Model
Could the state own all telecom infrastructure while private companies compete on top? New Zealand and Stockholm already tried it.
#4737: Inside the Internet's Physical Junctions: IXPs and PoPs Explained
How the internet actually connects at physical locations, and why the biggest exchange points are non-profit associations.
#4642: What Net Neutrality Actually Means for Your Internet
ISPs can see your traffic and shape it. Net neutrality is the only thing stopping them — and right now, the rules are blank.
#4423: The Cookie That Changed the Web
Third-party cookies are dying, but first-party cookies aren't going anywhere. Here's what actually happens when you browse.
#4418: Where Is the Internet Still Missing?
96% coverage, but 2.6 billion people are offline. Where are the truly dark spots on Earth?
#2532: When the Internet Goes Dark: Censorship's Unseen Consequences
From Iran’s historic blackout to UK age verification laws — the global picture on pornography regulation is more complex than you think.
#2301: Inside Podcasting's Simple, Powerful Infrastructure
Explore the elegant simplicity of podcasting’s RSS backbone and how it empowers creators with independence and control.
#2292: Inside the Walled Garden: China's Parallel Internet
Explore China’s parallel internet ecosystem—how the Great Firewall works, the apps that dominate it, and the surprising innovations it fosters.
#855: The Agentic Internet: Google’s New Web MCP Standard
AI agents are moving beyond "looking" at websites. Discover how Google’s Web MCP creates a programmatic map for the agentic future.
#173: The Illusion of Redundant Internet
Tired of outages? Discover how to build a "five nines" internet setup using fiber, satellite, and bonding tech to stay connected no matter what.
#138: When Your Router Light Turns Red: The Fragile Chain of Glass
From living room routers to deep-sea cables, Herman and Corn explore the massive, hidden engineering that keeps our digital world connected.
#112: Why Your Smart Bulbs Fail and Airports Don't
Why do airports stay lit while your smart home fails? Herman and Corn dive into industrial-grade tech and the physics of beaming internet.