#misinformation
34 episodes
#3855: How One Trolley Exposed a Broken Review System
A 4.3-star rating hid dozens of identical complaints. Here's how reviews get gamed and what AI could do about it.
#3853: When Your Name Belongs to Someone Famous
What happens when your name is algorithmically hijacked by a famous or infamous stranger?
#3805: How to Read a Poll Like a Pro
A deep dive into polling mechanics, margins of error, and why 3,000 respondents can represent 10 million people.
#3649: When Wikipedia Feels Less Reliable Than AI
One reader explains why he now trusts AI more than Wikipedia on contested topics like Israel and Zionism.
#3625: The Hitler Sitcom and Other TV Disasters
From a Hitler sitcom to Cop Rock, exploring TV’s most spectacular and bizarre failures.
#3593: Is the Far-Right a Movement or a Media Effect?
How a Belfast attack reveals the machinery stitching isolated crimes into a narrative of imported violence.
#3470: How Antisemitism Amplifies Online: Reality vs. Perception
Are we seeing more antisemitism, or just seeing it more? The data says both.
#3385: The Book as Stage Prop: Pay-to-Publish Unpacked
When anyone can buy a publisher's logo, what happens to the signal a book is supposed to send?
#3342: The Half-Billion Dollar Industry of Fake Crowds
How paid attendees, enthusiasm pricing tiers, and AI scoring create the illusion of organic excitement at events worldwide.
#3304: Rumble's Cloud Business: Video Site or Hosting Giant?
Rumble's $2.1B valuation is driven by cloud infrastructure, not conspiracy videos. Here's what it actually is.
#3211: How Press Freedom Erodes Without a Single Censorship Law
No courtroom, no censor — just a terms-of-service update. How press freedom gets hollowed out in plain sight.
#3209: When Algorithms Become Censors
How SLAPP suits, libel tourism, and Google's algorithm chill journalism more effectively than any law.
#3206: The Free Speech Fault Line: UK's Ban on Piker & Uygur
Why free speech absolutists defend letting controversial figures into the UK — and what history says about hate speech and violence.
#3184: The Prank That Fooled Us All
How a sophisticated hoax exploited emotional vulnerability and what it reveals about deception in the AI age.
#3129: Holden Caulfield vs. the War Briefing
What Salinger’s phoniness detector reveals about how the war with Iran is being reported.
#3087: Inside the Conspiracy Mind: History, Belief, and Harm
Why do humans fall for conspiracy theories? History, psychology, and the surprising data on who actually believes.
#2909: The Reassurance Mirage: When Moderation Fails
How the EU Digital Services Act exposes a 30-to-1 gap in appeal success rates between platforms.
#2854: What Our Analytics Dashboard Reveals About Hidden Audiences
Hilbert uncovers suspicious spikes in podcast data. Are they covert ops or just university students?
#2788: Living in Multiple Realities at Once
What film genre captures the feeling of not knowing what's real? A deep dive into ontological uncertainty.
#2613: What Makes an Election Actually Free and Fair?
From ballot secrecy to phantom voters — the real checklist election monitors use to separate genuine contests from theater.
#2531: Worst-Rated Tourism: Seeking Out Terrible Hotels & Restaurants
Exploring the subculture of travelers who deliberately seek out the lowest-rated hotels and restaurants for authentic, entertaining experiences.
#2526: How Peer Review Actually Works (and Fails)
The history of peer review, the Lancet's biggest scandals, and why arXiv is changing everything.
#2430: Where Men's Advocacy Crosses Into Misogyny
How to acknowledge real male grievances without falling into the manosphere's woman-hating fringe.
#2429: When "Believe Women" Has Exceptions
Why did feminist movements go silent on Hamas's sexual violence? A look at ideology, empathy, and whose suffering counts.