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Behind every innovation is a new kind of power. TechStuff unpacks how technology reshapes influence, creativity, and control, from Silicon Valley’s rising moguls to the cultural forces they create. Because tech is the new religion, economy, and entertainment, all at once.

Each week, Oz Woloshyn and Karah Preiss dig into the weird, funny, and sometimes unsettling ways technology, AI, and the internet shape our daily lives. From AI and social media to privacy, digital burnout, and the creator economy, they ask how all this innovation is changing who we are, how we work, love, and make meaning. Smart talk, strange stories, and the questions everyone’s Googling: why AI feels human, why social media feels broken, and what it all says about us.

Get in touch here: techstuffpodcast@gmail.com

TechStuff

Theatre and tech don't usually share the same stage. But that's changing. This season, two plays caught our eye: Data, a play about the inner workings of a data mining company, and Marjorie Prime, a play where grief, family, and AI collide. Karah interviews both playwrights: Matthew Libby (Data) and Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime). They discuss the origins of their plays, from failed collabs with AI chatbots to the internship with Palantir that never was. And how plays about technology can teach us about our humanity. 
 
Data runs through March 29th. Tickets are at lortel.org 
 
Marjorie Prime runs through February 15th. Buy Tickets at 2st.com

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Theatre Explores the Moral Quandaries of Tech - The Story

It’s been two months since Australia’s social media ban went into effect for kids under 16. But Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer at The New Yorker, doesn’t think America will follow suit. Jay sits down with Karah to unpack why a U.S. ban is unlikely, what Australia’s move does change, and how cultural pressure — not legislation — may be the most powerful tool we have to protect kids online.
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 Americans Won’t Ban Kids from Social Media. What Can We Do Instead? | The New Yorker • 
 The Case for Banning Children from Social Media | The New Yorker • 
 If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books? | The New Yorker • 
 Gen Z are arriving to college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates | Fortune 
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America Won’t Ban Kids from Social Media, So Now What? - The Story

Oz is at the Web Summit in Qatar this week, and he’s taking you with him. This episode was recorded live on stage with Wired’s global editorial director Katie Drummond. Katie and Oz talk about what it’s like to cover this moment, from DOGE and tech titans in the White House to AI’s rapid ubiquity. Katie also shares why Americans need to wake up to what is happening outside the US to discover the future of technology.

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Tech Skepticism, AI and Why China's Innovations Matter - w/ Wired’s Katie Drummond

If the 20th century was defined by oil, journalist and author Nicolas Niarchos bets that the 21st century will be defined by batteries. In his book, The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth, Niarchos unpacks the hidden costs behind the world’s battery boom. In this episode, he and Oz trace how the race for cobalt and other critical metals is reshaping global power—why China dominates refining and battery innovation, what the U.S. would actually have to build to compete, and whether trade deals can realistically “clean up” the system.
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 The Elements of Power by Nicolas Niarchos| PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books 
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The Future is Battery-Powered - The Story

How do you feel about AI in your art, your music, and your video games? Oz is joined by Kill Switch host, Dexter Thomas, to discuss Switchbot's AI Art Frame and the video gamers who are holding developers to account. But will the anti-AI outrage continue to make change? Then, Oz updates us on last week’s World Economic Forum — one Davos attendee spent the night in jail and Canada’s PM says there’s a rupture in the world order. Europe is listening and threatening to part ways with American tech companies.
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 An entrepreneur’s 13 hours in Davos jail: ‘The food was phenomenal’ | Semafor • 
 Europe Prepare For A Nightmare Scenario: The US Blocking Access to Tech | Wall Street Journal • 
 SwitchBot AI Art Frame Now Officially Available | Corporate - EQS News Angry gamers are forcing studios to scrap or rethink new releases | Washington Post 
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Gamers Fight AI Art, For Now - Week in Tech

Audrey Tang’s path to government had very unusual origins: she is a hacker, an anarchist and the world’s first non-binary government minister. She now serves as Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador and continues to advocate for greater internet freedom and civic participation globally. Audrey sits down with Oz to discuss Taiwan’s AI chip manufacturing and how it impacts their contentious relationship with China, how she stopped deepfake scams head on, her opinion on social media bans and why radical transparency heals polarization.

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Can Taiwan Keep China Out? - The Story

You’re meeting us at a ‘very Chinese time in our lives’ and today’s episode is no exception — it’s all about China. First, Oz explains China’s attempt to claw a Singaporean AI company, Manus, back from Meta. And why Chinese customs are rejecting NVIDIA H200 chips. Is China fighting back? Then, Karah fills us in on why everyone on TikTok is saying they are Chinese. Finally, humans fold laundry for hours while humanoid robots just watch, TikTok launches a new app for microdramas and Silicon Valley is hiring ‘cracked’ engineers. 
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 China Is Investigating Meta’s Acquisition of the AI Start-Up Manus | The New York Times • 
 China blocks Nvidia H200 AI chips that US government cleared for export | The Guardian • 
 TikTok Shows Americans In Their ‘Chinese Era’ of Health Habits | Bloomberg In Chinese data factories, workers teach humanoid robots boring tasks | Rest Of World TikTok quietly launches a microdrama app called 'PineDrama' | TechCrunch • 
 Forget Vibe Coders: ‘Cracked Engineers’ Are All the Rage in Tech | The Information 
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Why Everyone Is ‘Becoming Chinese’ On TikTok - Week in Tech

Ever wonder why Gen Z is so obsessed with Millennial culture? Casey Lewis can tell you. She’s a trend researcher and author of “After School,” a Substack newsletter about youth and internet culture. Casey joins Karah to discuss why Gen Z is doubling down on nostalgia and buying up analog products. She runs through the latest trends you may have seen, but didn’t understand… And she unpacks why Gen Alpha might not feel the need to get away from their screens. 
 
Additional Reading: 
 
 Nostalgia Economy and Analog Awakening | After School 
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Why Gen Z Loves 2016 Nostalgia - The Story

What would you do if AI took your clothes off? Elon Musk’s AI model, Grok, will strip women of their clothes when prompted and the results are all over X.com. “Nudify” apps and communities have been doing this for years, but now it’s trending on one of the biggest social media platforms out there. And no one is protected—even children. Karah sits down with Samantha Cole from 404 Media to discuss how X and authorities are responding, the societal implications of this trend and why it’s so concerning. 
 
Additional Reading: 
 
Grok's AI Sexual Abuse Didn't Come Out of Nowhere | 404 Media

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TechSupport: What Happens When AI Undresses You?

Eliot Peper gets paid to dream about the future. He’s a science fiction writer who has stumbled into an unusual position: writing speculative fiction for Fortune 500 companies. He is also the Head of Story at Portola, which is an AI-companion company. Eliot is responsible for developing a whole new alien culture and forming the personalities of your new favorite AI creature. Karah and Eliot discuss the overlap between art and AI, what science fiction reveals about our current reality, and how he uses storytelling to help create ethical AI companions.

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The Story: How Science Fiction Changes the Real World

What is overclocking? What is a clock cycle? Why would you want to overclock a computer? In this episode, Chris and Jonathan explore the pros and cons of overclocking computers.

 
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TechStuff Classic: TechStuff Overclocks a CPU

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