#surveillance-technology
29 episodes
#5402: Amazon Go and the Humans Behind the AI
Amazon promised a store with no checkout. The Information reported 700 of every 1,000 sales needed human review in 2022.
#5294: Inside North Korea's Scripted Tourist State
Every smile is choreographed. What it's actually like inside North Korea's managed tour bubble — and why one mocking vlog closed the border.
#5177: The JCB Spy That Probably Doesn't Exist
Construction spying is real — but the documented cases are ex-employees with live logins and spy pens in bid rooms, not paid excavator operators.
#5129: Reality TV's Strangest Shows: Nasubi, Fishtank & Total Surveillance
From a naked man in a room to live-streamed god-mode surveillance — the strangest reality formats ever made.
#4852: The Airport That Feels Like a Mall — But Isn't
Why airports feel normal but aren't — and the engineered calm that hides invisible surveillance.
#4746: Did 9/11 Create the Security State?
How a single morning reshaped surveillance, intelligence, and daily life for a quarter century.
#4660: When a Journalist Became the Gatekeeper for AI Geolocation
GeoSpy could locate anyone from a photo. A journalist exposed it. The founder pulled it. Who's really in charge?
#4369: Spycraft Theater: The Art of Fake Counter-Surveillance
A playful guide to performing counter-surveillance theater in hotels and airports — without getting flagged by security.
#4261: The Security You Can't See at Ofer Prison
What looks like a shabby, low-tech prison is actually a high-tech fortress. Here's what you're missing.
#4225: Pigeon Eviction 101: Netting, Cameras & Israeli Law
A Jerusalem balcony pigeon problem meets wildlife law, toddler safety, and Reolink surveillance.
#3919: When Militants Want You to Watch Their Training
Hezbollah and Hamas don't hide their military drills from satellites. They broadcast them. Here's why.
#3893: The Teddy Bear That Shut Down a Daycare
How Israel's 1979 wiretapping law made a camera-stuffed teddy bear legal — and what happens next.
#3272: Can Your Walk Really Identify You?
Gait recognition is leaving the lab. But is your walk actually unique, or just a handful of patterns?
#3052: The Boring Art of Professional Surveillance
Real surveillance is boredom by design, grey man theory, and choreographed teams — not Hollywood van work.
#3036: Plainclothes Police vs Facial Recognition: Inside London's Protest Ops
How do plainclothes officers actually operate? From covert earpieces to unmarked vans, here's what happened at London's May 16 protests.
#3016: Sleeping with Strangers: Medieval Inn Life
Medieval inns weren't dirty hotels—they were legally regulated public utilities where you shared a bed with strangers.
#2760: How China's Overseas Police Stations Actually Work
MI5 footage confirms what investigators have tracked for years: a global network of unregistered Chinese police stations.
#2696: How Pegasus Silently Hijacks Your Phone's Microphone
How NSO's Pegasus achieves silent mic access on Android through zero-click exploits, kernel privilege escalation, and DMA buffer reading.
#2678: How IMSI Catchers Actually Track Your Phone
How fake cell towers intercept your phone, from GSM flaws to 5G fixes. Separating spy-thriller hype from real engineering.
#2373: How Facial Recognition Maps Your Face—And Your Rights
The same AI that organizes your photos can track you in a crowd. How does facial recognition work—and why is it so hard to evade?
#2225: The Physics of Eavesdropping: Nation-State Listening in 2026
From laser microphones to keystroke acoustics to the Great Seal Bug, what remote listening actually looks like when physics becomes the bottleneck—...
#1865: The Emergency That Never Ends
Emergency powers from 2022 are still active in 2026. Here's how wartime measures become permanent state furniture.
#1676: The State's Spiritual Filter: Controlling Faith in China
China is officially atheist, but 100 million people practice Christianity in secret. Discover the five state-approved faiths and the shadow network...
#1645: The Basij: Iran's Eyes and Ears on the Street
The Basij isn't just a militia—it's a pervasive surveillance network embedded in everyday Iranian life.