Episode notes
For a while, the internet felt like it might actually work. Dexter talks with legal scholar and author Tim Wu about his new book The Age of Extraction and how that early optimism faded as companies learned how to extract value from just about everything. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected] , or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: The Age of Extraction , by Tim Wu: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/691177/the-age-of-extraction-by-tim-wu/ kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See…
Podcast
kill switch
Kaleidoscope · Tech & Science · English
Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch , we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New host Dexter Thomas answers questions big and small – like who’s behind Shrimp Jesus, and could you ge
More from kill switch All episodes →
-
11 Mar 2026 · 37 min
who is palantir, and why are they involved with ICE?
Do you know what Palantir does? Don’t feel bad: neither do a lot of their employees. In fact, WIRED senior writer Makena Kelly recently uncovered company chat logs showing how angry and confused Palantir workers are about the company’s involvement with ICE. Dexter talks to Makena about this new reporting, what exactly the company is providing ICE, and how the company creates mystery behind everything from Partiful rumors to skyrocketing stock price. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected] , or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.…
-
5 Mar 2026 · 30 min
why is the government fighting with claude?
kill switch went live on March 4th to cover one of the newsier topics of the week: the fight between the US government and Anthropic, the company behind Claude. Dexter talked to WIRED senior writer, Will Knight, to discuss what exactly is happening, why, and the stakes for all of us. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch our next live episode: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected] , or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: Will’s articles on WIRED:…
-
25 Feb 2026 · 34 min
silicon valley’s plan to make the “perfect baby”
The 1997 science fiction film Gattaca depicts a dystopian future where genetic technology creates a two-tier society: people who were born with the “best” genes selected vs. people who were conceived naturally. This was a cautionary tale, showing us a future we don’t want. But now, Silicon Valley is heavily investing in making this technology real. Dexter talks to Amanda Gerut, West Coast editor at Fortune, about the rise of polygenic screening companies, the investment in gene editing of embryos, and how close we are to creating designer babies. Got something you’re…
-
18 Feb 2026 · 1 hr 4 min
are we all going to end up in AI relationships? [panic world special]
This week, we have a special collab episode with our friends at Panic World: From research to vibe coding to therapy to girlfriends and boyfriends, how are we using AI these days? Dexter joins Ryan Broderick on Panic World to talk about the interesting relationships people are forming with AI — for better and (mostly) worse. Check out Panic World wherever you get your podcasts, or on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@panicworldpod Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected] , or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch: Our…
-
11 Feb 2026 · 35 min
a tour of the year’s worst new tech
Tech companies are constantly putting out new products to chase the hype – but they’re not all winners. Each year, nonprofit consumer advocates put on an award ceremony recognizing the lousiest of the bunch, called the Worst in Show. Dexter talks with Liz Chamberlain, who runs Worst in Show, about this year’s awards, the products that earned them (spoiler: a product featured during the Super Bowl is on the list), and what we risk when we chase the hype (read: add AI to everything). Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected] , or…
-
28 Jan 2026 · 33 min
how an editor uncovered an AI journalist
When an editor at a local magazine in Toronto received a pitch from a promising new freelancer, he didn’t expect it to spiral into an obsessive investigation. What followed was a deep dive into a web of fake interviews, impossible bylines, and fake reporting. Dexter talks with Nicholas Hune-Brown to trace how he uncovered an AI journalist and what it reveals about journalism today. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected] , or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read: “Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI…
-
21 Jan 2026 · 35 min
the hack that broke myspace
In 2005, Myspace pages were flooded with the saying “Samy is my hero” and then suddenly, the platform went dark. Dexter talks with Jack Rhysider, host of the podcast Darknet Diaries , about Samy Kamkar, how he accidentally took down the biggest social media platform at the time, and how it changed the modern Internet. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected] , or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Listen: Jack’s Darknet Diaries episode with Samy: https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/61/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy…
-
14 Jan 2026 · 33 min
everything’s a game… even baptisms
From language learning to investments to Amazon leaderboards, it seems like everything has become a game. But are these gamified things actually fun, or are we the ones being played? Dexter talks to philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, who recently wrote a book about why gamification can suck the life out of things called The Score . They talk about why the same mechanism in games and gamified metrics – the scoring system – works so differently, why gamification can trick you into caring about the wrong thing, and how this phenomenon hits everything… even baptisms. Got something…
-
7 Jan 2026 · 33 min
how to: protect yourself from online harassment
Journalists, public figures, and just about anyone with an online presence today can suddenly face harassment: ranging from nasty posts and replies to real life threats like doxxing. Dexter talks with Ramy Ghaly, a security professional, about how online harassment has gotten worse, how to respond if it happens to you, and what you can do, right now, to prepare and protect yourself. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected] , or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Resources: Pen America’s Online Harassment Field Manual:…
-
24 Dec 2025 · 22 min
from ‘click here’: an illusion of control
This week, we’re sharing an episode from the podcast Click Here , from our friends at Recorded Future News and PRX: Jake Gallen was a rising star in crypto. Then, after what seemed like a routine YouTube interview, his digital world unraveled. His NFTs? Liquidated. His social accounts? Hijacked. It turns out, the hackers didn’t need phishing links or fake job offers. They needed something much simpler: a Zoom invite. Subscribe to Click Here on Apple Podcasts ( https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/click-here/id1225077306 ) or wherever you get your podcasts. Got something…
