#social-engineering
41 episodes
#2611: Saturday Drums vs Quiet Homes: Protest Rights in Residential Areas
When weekly protests become a permanent neighborhood soundscape, how do democracies balance assembly rights with residents' quiet enjoyment?
#2586: Pseudo-Personalized Emails: The New Spam Uncanny Valley
How to detect and filter AI-generated outreach emails that fake personal connection without nuking legitimate messages.
#2579: Why You Feel Watched (And Why You're Not)
Why sitting alone in public feels so awkward — and what the research says you can do about it.
#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.
#2414: Is Love on the Spectrum Helping or Hurting?
A deep dive into the debates around Netflix's dating show: is it warm representation or a deficit lens?
#2223: Ten Cults Nobody Made a Documentary About
From a Scientology splinter with four deities to a drug rehab that became a paramilitary religion, these high-control groups shaped history while s...
#2047: Why Video Calls Feel Like a Workout for Your Brain
Remote work is draining our "social radar," but new science shows how to rebuild it.
#2045: Anonymity Isn't the Problem, The Architecture Is
Why does Reddit amplify toxicity while other anonymous spaces stay healthy? It's not the mask—it's the room's shape.
#2042: Gifted, Stigmatized, and Seeking Real Community
Why do online communities for the gifted become toxic, and how can you find real-world connections?
#1887: The Lone Wolf Is a Myth
The Las Vegas 2025 incident wasn't a lone wolf—it was the terrifying new face of digital radicalization.
#1886: Spies Are Middle Managers, Not Action Heroes
Forget Bond and Bourne—real espionage is a logistical nightmare of spreadsheets, coffee, and psychological manipulation.
#1883: From Juicero to Yik Yak: Startup Graveyard
We revisit 10 failed startups, from a $700 Wi-Fi juicer to an anonymous social app that turned toxic.
#1862: Hacker News: The Orange Site That Runs Silicon Valley
It loads in milliseconds, has no ads, and looks like a spreadsheet from 1995. Here’s why Hacker News still dictates what the tech elite thinks ever...
#1803: Why Hostages Defend Their Captors
A tech exec was brainwashed in 2025. The neurochemistry is the same as Stockholm Syndrome.
#1660: How Hostage Negotiators Really Work (Not Like the Movies)
Forget the lone hero with a headset. Real crisis negotiation is a team sport built on psychology and timing.
#1549: Why Your Next GitHub Notification Could Be a Trap
Attackers are weaponizing GitHub notifications to bypass security filters. Learn how to spot the latest phishing lures before you click.
#1524: The Consensus Machine: Inside the New Era of AI Botnets
Discover how AI-powered botnets are moving beyond spam to simulate organic debates and manufacture public opinion at a global scale.
#1339: The Human Protocol: Social Engineering's New Frontier
Forget the technical exploits; the real vulnerability is the human layer. Discover how attackers use psychology to bypass modern security.
#1321: The New Face of Cyberbullying: AI Botnets & Semantic Mimicry
"Don't feed the trolls" is dead. Discover how AI botnets use semantic mimicry to weaponize psychology and hijack social media algorithms.
#1292: The Visibility Trap: Dissent in the Digital Age
In the digital age, we have the right to speak but not the right to be heard. Discover the new architecture of algorithmic censorship.
#1150: Digital Chains: The Evolving Psychology of Modern Cults
From desert communes to Discord servers, explore how modern high-demand groups use sophisticated psychological tools to exert coercive control.
#1043: The Last Monoglot: Why One Language is Better Than Two
Is the monoglot a language's ultimate guardian? Explore the tragic end of Irish Gaelic and the miraculous, engineered rise of modern Hebrew.
#1018: The Spy Myth vs. Reality: Life Beyond James Bond
Forget the martinis and car chases. Discover why real espionage is more about spreadsheets and "friend-making" than gadgets and shootouts.
#987: Reputation Laundering: How the Ultra-Wealthy Edit History
Discover how the world’s elite use massive philanthropy and SEO tactics to bury scandals and literally rewrite their digital history.
#966: The Silence of Damascus: Eli Cohen and the Physics of Spycraft
Was Eli Cohen’s capture a failure of tradecraft or a mathematical certainty? Explore the physics of signals and Soviet radio tracking.
#959: The Infinite Content Problem: AI’s War on Truth
Explore how AI is scaling disinformation to an industrial level and what the "liar's dividend" means for the future of shared reality.
#958: The 2FA Fallacy: Why Your Security Shield is Cracking
Think your accounts are safe because of 2FA? We dive into the rise of session hijacking and why SMS codes are no longer enough to stop hackers.
#957: The Shadow Mechanics of Modern Regime Change
Explore the hidden tradecraft of subversion and why external attempts to topple entrenched regimes like the IRGC often lead to disaster.
#950: The LinkedIn-ification of Modern Espionage
From CIA resumes to LinkedIn branding, explore how modern intelligence agencies are fighting Big Tech for the world’s top digital talent.
#811: The Gig Economy of Treason: Iran's Digital Recruitment
How does a "side hustle" turn into high treason? Explore how Iranian agents use social media and crypto to recruit unsuspecting citizens.
#778: How Your Pizza Order Could Start a War
Discover how smartphones and social media have turned the "digital exhaust" of daily life into a major tactical vulnerability in modern conflict.
#738: How Israel Smuggled an Entire War Inside Iran
Discover how local cells and "Ghost Maintenance" paralyzed Iran’s defenses during the Twelve Day War of 2025.
#704: Why Your Bank Still Trusts 40-Year-Old Text Messages
Why do we still rely on 1980s tech to secure our bank accounts? Explore the dangerous paradox of SMS-based two-factor authentication.
#703: The Spam Explosion: Why Your Phone Won't Stop Buzzing
Why is your inbox overflowing? Explore the technical and economic reasons behind the relentless rise of digital and physical spam.
#702: Why a Fake Job Interview Could Steal Your Face
Could a 30-second clip of your voice be used to steal your identity? Explore the terrifying reality of digital twins and LoRA.
#659: The Voice Biometric Dilemma: Security in the Age of AI
Explore why voice biometrics hasn't replaced Face ID and how generative AI is making "voice prints" a massive security risk.
#626: Inside the Interrogation Room: The Psychology of Shin Bet
Explore the chilling contrast of high-stakes interrogations, where psychological mastery and the "illusion of knowing" replace physical force.
#593: Manufacturing Consent: How AI Scales Digital Deception
Is your feed real? Herman and Corn explore how AI is turning simple botnets into indistinguishable, high-stakes digital personas.
#416: The Rise of the Hybrid Army: Professionalizing Insurgency
Herman and Corn explore how non-state actors are emulating conventional militaries to bridge the gap in asymmetric warfare.
#382: The Wolves of Tel Aviv: Unmasking a Global Scam
Discover the dark side of the Startup Nation as Herman and Corn dive into the billion-dollar binary options industry that targeted victims worldwide.