The 404 Media Podcast
Episodes
Former Flock Employee Speaks Out: Says He Was ‘Lied To’
Host Joseph Cox interviews Jonathan Pass, a former Flock government affairs manager and congressional candidate, about his insider experience with the license plate reader company.
Flock Came to My Town. Here’s What I Did
This Man Bought Phone Location Data from Around the World
Host Joe Bates interviews Mike Yeagley, a former government contractor who pioneered the use of commercial location data for intelligence.
Flock is Tracking People, Not Just Cars
Hosts Joseph, Sam, Emmanuel, and Jason discuss Flock’s “free form” searches, revealing how police use vague descriptors to track people and cars, leading to wrongful arrests.
404 Media Live: How AI Is Destroying the Internet
Hosts Jason and Sam join guests Dexter Thomas and Gita Jackson for a live discussion at the LA Public Library on how AI is flooding the internet with low-effort content.
We Are Living in a ‘ChatGPT Flyer Pandemic’
The 404 Media Podcast explores the rise of generic, AI-generated flyers that small businesses are using, sparking backlash from designers and customers who view them as lazy.
Liberation, Eroticism, and Sex in Public (with Angela Jones)
The 404 Media Podcast hosts Dr.
How Influencers Fake Being Rich
Host Sam and co-founders Emmanuel and Jason discuss the rise of "LARPing," where influencers fake wealth to sell courses.
Is the Best Game of the Year a Failure?
Host Joseph Cox and guest Robert Zachary analyze Bungie’s extraction shooter *Marathon*, discussing its genre roots and unique design.
The Tokenpocalypse Is Here
The 404 Media Podcast explores the "token apocalypse," where companies like Accenture, Uber, and Walmart are scrambling to curb soaring AI costs after employees wasted tokens on trivial tasks.
How Brands Use Reddit to Poison AI Search
Jason Kebler interviews Cornell researchers Hal Triedman and Tingwei Zhang about their study on poisoning AI search results via user-generated content.
If AI Is Sentient Then So Is ‘Age of Empires II
The 404 Media Podcast discusses a satirical paper arguing that if LLMs are sentient, so is Age of Empires 2, using goat-based logic gates to critique anthropomorphism.
Stopping Tech Company Censorship (with Jake Hanrahan)
Jake Hammerhan, founder of Popular Front and Away Days, discusses the challenges independent journalists face with platform censorship and monetization.
The Government Wants to End Anonymity on Phones
The 404 Media Podcast discusses the FCC’s proposal to mandate government ID for all phone purchases, aiming to curb scams but threatening anonymity and privacy for vulnerable groups.
Meet Me at the Opsec Rave (with Imani Thompson)
Host Imani Thompson discusses her "Catch Me Outside" workshops, which teach digital security and privacy through community events like self-doxing exercises and de-googling parties.
Google Employees Meme About How Bad Their AI Is
404 Media hosts discuss Google employees mocking AI coding tools via internal memes, highlighting a disconnect between corporate claims and worker sentiment.
It’s So Not Over for Hollywood (with Devindra Hardawar)
Hosts discuss the integration of AI in film with Devendra Hardwar, critiquing Darren Aronofsky’s AI shorts as soulless "slop" while remaining open to Steven Soderbergh’s experimental use.
Hackers Asked Meta AI To Let Them In. It Worked
The 404 Media Podcast discusses hackers exploiting Meta’s AI support chatbot to steal high-profile Instagram accounts by tricking the bot into resetting credentials.