#social-engineering
158 episodes
#5312: Fighting Fake-Personalized Spam With AI Sinkholes
Scraped flattery, fake familiarity, and the one-sided ask — plus the tarpit history behind Daniel's sinkhole agent idea.
#5292: Ukraine's Cyber War: Hacking, Deception, and the IT Army
How Ukraine built a formidable cyber capability from almost nothing — and turned phone calls and phishing into artillery coordinates.
#5229: How Spies Actually Learn Social Engineering
The CIA spent decades not teaching its core skill. Then a case officer wrote it down — and the tradecraft got a curriculum.
#5222: How to Fill a Room With People Who Remember You
Is there a rent-a-crowd industry, and can you use it to make a 41st birthday feel like being remembered?
#5220: Malware vs. Virus: What's Actually Attacking Your Machine
Every virus is malware, but not every malware is a virus — and that distinction explains why your antivirus keeps missing things.
#5138: Who Are Taxi Drivers Really Talking To?
The earpiece isn't a fake call or a coordination tool. It's a lifeline against the profound isolation of the job.
#5006: How Undercover Units Vanish in Plain Sight
Why a vegetable truck works better than a spy car — and the razor-thin margin between success and disaster.
#4990: How to Flip an Interview in the First 5 Minutes
What happens when you stop waiting for permission and start running the interview from the opening handshake?
#4986: How to Weaponize Small Talk (Anti-Guide)
Turn "How are you?" into a weapon. An escalatory ladder from honest answers to full conversational catastrophe.
#4963: How Companies Pay Triple to Lose Court Cases on Purpose
Why some companies spend more to lose in court than they would to settle — and call it a win.
#4961: Can You Learn to Be Good at Small Talk?
Why "just be curious" fails anxious people — and what actually works for better conversations.
#4960: How Clickbait Hijacks Your Brain
The 1835 moon bison hoax, 1920s piano ads, and why you still click on pillow articles.
#4924: How Tourist Traps Actually Work
Tourist traps aren't lazy restaurants — they're rational responses to broken incentives. Here's how they form and what breaks them.
#4921: The Breakfast Detective and Other Cringe Icebreakers
Why do some icebreakers create connection while others produce cringe? A three-factor model explains it all.
#4918: Inside an ICE Deportation Flight: Restraints, Memes, and the Machinery
From arrest to ICE Air: what it feels like to be deported, and why the agency posts memes about it.
#4901: The Loneliness of Power: How Politics Kills Friendship
Can a president have real friends? The structural barriers that make genuine connection nearly impossible for public figures.
#4895: The Tuna Aisle Dilemma: Hypervigilant Prosociality Explained
Why staying with in-laws you like can still feel exhausting—and what to do about it.
#4894: How Diplomats Stay in Touch (and You Can Too)
Friendship maintenance is a learnable skill. Here's what diplomats know about keeping weak ties alive.
#4893: Redirecting Tough Conversations Gracefully
Practical techniques for steering away from topics you don't want to discuss — without making the other person feel judged.
#4889: Airport Taxi Scams: Why Official Ranks Are the Trap
Why the official taxi rank with attendants is actually the most dangerous place to get a cab.
#4887: How to Throw a State Dinner Prank for Your Friends
A deep dive into real diplomatic protocol and how to parody it for an unforgettable dinner party.
#4846: Can You Train Someone to Spot a Liar?
Israel's airport security relies on human screening. Does it actually work, or is it just better theater?
#4823: How to Disappear in Plain Sight in Conversation
Why grey rocking backfires and how beige rocking lets you set the agenda without anyone noticing.
#4769: How to Engineer an Infinite Goodbye
What if a goodbye could last three hours? The mechanics of stretching farewells by exploiting politeness norms.