There Are No Girls on the Internet

Have you been seeing a lot of content on social media romanticizing women not working outside of the home?  Jo Piazza, host of the hilarious and insightful podcast Under the Influence, breaks down why we're seeing so much trad wife content right now.   #TradWives: sexism as gateway to white supremacy: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/countering-radical-right/tradwives-sexism-gateway-white-supremac...

Netflix’s Inventing Anna presents a flashy version of fake German heiress Anna Delvey’s scams. Rachel Deloache Williams was scammed out of $62,000 by Anna on a disastrous trip to Morocco.  Rachel discusses true crime shows like Inventing Anna and Hulu’s The Dropout and what it means for all of us when liars and scammers are elevated and amplified.   Anna ‘Delvey’ Sorokin Almost Ruined My Life. Now...

Rudy Giuliani has been ordered to pay Ruby Freeman and Shay Moss, two election workers he baselessly maligned in Georgia, almost 50 million dollars. And they might even sue him again! Here’s how we got here. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We're taking a break from our usual content to share a new podcast from iHeart's Outspoken network, Afterlives: The Layleen Polanco Story. You can check out the rest of the show here: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/1119-afterlives-the-layleen-po-127683074/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Cait Corrain is an author who had a highly anticipated book called Crown of Starlight coming out in May of 2024. But now her book has been shelved after she admitted to using Good Reads to review bomb a bunch of other writers’ forthcoming books. Most of her targets were Black or queer, while Corrain is white. This story has a LOT of twists and turns, including her inventing an obviously fake conve...

It’s a Friday news roundup! If you’re new here and looking for a deeper dive into a single topic, check out the episode on Alex Jones from Dec 12, or the (forthcoming) episode on Tuesday Dec 19 about the wild story of an author who created fake Goodreads accounts to review-bomb a bunch of other authors. It’s part scam, part Greek tragedy, and you’ll definitely want to hear it.  Want to skip the ba...

Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones has been let back on Twitter after being banned for building a media empire on the lie that the Sandy Hook school shooting wasn't real. When Elon first took over Twitter he said he would never let Jones back on, but that promise turned out to be worth as much as most of Elon’s promises. This week he rolled out the red carpet and sat down for a chit chat in Twitter sp...

To skip the banter and get straight to the news, skip to 00:04:20 VOTE FOR THE IRL PODCAST TO WIN AN ANTHEM AWARD: TANGOTI.COM/IRL   During this week’s GOP debate, Nikki Haley dropped a curious stat about TikTok making users 17% more antisemitic every 30 minutes, but is that even true? Here’s the original analysis by Goldbloom but (A) Haley misstated the findings, and (B) this study wasn’t peer re...

The tech conference Devternity has been canceled (not fake canceled, literally canceled) after allegations that the founder has been inventing fake women and catfishing on Instagram for years.  Bridget does a deep dive to get to the bottom of it, and what it says about default, dismissive attitudes about marginalized people in tech. There were real women the whole time! Why not invite one of them?...

We’re soft-launching having a little banter at the top of the episode, but to get straight to the news go to the 4:25 mark!  Wanna listen to Bridget dig into her Spotify Wrapped?5:20  Check out the Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/tangoti NameDrop is safe. The fearmongering about it is not: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/11/27/namedrop-iphone-ios17-safety/ Your Step-by-Step Guide t...

Last week, Sam Altman was abruptly fired from Open AI. Don’t worry, he’s already been reinstated.  Dr. Misty Heggeness, Associate Professor in the School of Public Affairs and Administration at the University of Kansas, talks with Bridget about what all the drama around his departure and return says about male leaders in tech and beyond.   Read Misty’s o p-ed: How the OpenAI saga illustrates tech’...

After being falsely accused of murder in a global scandal screamed from tabloid headlines, these days exoneree, activist, mom, and host of the podcast Labyrinths Amanda Knox spends her time imagining a healthier media landscape. Check out the work Amanda does alongside her husband Chris: https://www.knoxrobinson.com Read Amanda's Medium piece, Who Owns My Name: https://amandamarieknox.medium.com/w...

There’s a lot going on with Twitter! It’s been a few weeks since we’ve done an installment of our segment, “What’s Elon Done Now?” because we were sick of talking about him. But some big things happened this week, so Bridget sits down with Producer Mike to recap and talk about what it all means.  From Elon boosting antisemitic tweets and calling it “actual truth” to Media Matters releasing a damni...

Learn more about Joey’s new podcast with Raquel Willis Afterlives:  https://www.them.us/story/afterlives-layleen-polanco-trans-incarceration-podcast?utm_source=twitter&utm_brand=them&utm_social-type=owned&utm_medium=social Dear Video Game Industry, Please Name A Woman:  https://kotaku.com/pc-gamer-30th-anniversary-women-games-1851021562 FCC moves to help domestic violence victims with...

Is it just me or are ads everywhere on TikTok right now? Welcome to TikTok Shop. Is this the new normal? TikTok creator PrettyCritical joins Bridget to discuss. Follow Pretty Critical: https://www.tiktok.com/@prettycritical?lang=en Teens are trying to cash in on the TikTok Shop gold rush between classes: https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/social-media/tiktok-shop-teens-high-school-open-how-to-make-money...

“We got the yacht!”  https://www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city/season-8/episode-17/videos/sonja-we-got-the-yacht Actors strike wins concessions that will impact AI and streaming for decades: https://www.wired.com/story/hollywood-actors-strike-ends-ai-streaming/ Zuckerberg personally and repeatedly blocked efforts to make Meta's products less harmful: https://www.cnn.com/2023/11/...

In the wake of Britney Spears’ hit memoir, are social media bots changing the conversation? Bridget does a deep dive into how social media bots are changing the landscape of social media discourse. From celebrity disputes to television reviews and political discourse, the threat of bots and inauthentic accounts are shaping how we think and how we talk to each other, whether they’re real or not.  M...

Dr. Joy Buolamwini has been raising the alarm about the harm of AI for years, through her research and advocacy. People are finally starting to listen. Dr. Buolamwini is a 2020 Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards honoree and 2023 featured presenter.  Learn more about the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards: https://www.vitalvoices.org/news-articles/news/honorees-22nd-annual-global-leadership-a...

Scream was created against the backdrop of increasing anxiety about tech and media. And the film is practically screaming at all of us about it.  In this special Halloween episode, Bridget joins Annie and Sam from Stuff Mom Never Told You to examine how our collective fears about technology, fame, and the media play out in the lives (and deaths!) of the movies’ teenagers. See omnystudio.com/listen...

Calif. DMV says Cruise hid video of SF crash, suspends driverless car firm's permits: https://www.sfgate.com/tech/article/cruise-driverless-permits-suspended-dmv-18445296.php Meta and kids lawsuit from 41 state Attorneys General: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/10/24/meta-lawsuit-facebook-instagram-children-mental-health/?utm_source=reddit.com Don’t be misogynistic! Gender pay and p...

Julia Mazur, host of the great podcast Pretty Much Done, made an innocuous TikTok about how she spent her weekend as a single woman with no kids. And then a mob of right wing extremists attacked her for it.    Julia joins to tell her story, and what it tells us about being a single woman online.    Follow Julia’s podcast Pretty Much Done:  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/pretty-much-done/id1...

Last week, we looked at how Twitter is creating more chaos in the Israel / Palestine conflict. Now, a look into how things are going on Instagram (not great!):  https://www.404media.co/instagram-palestinian-arabic-bio-translation/ Why I'm not expecting my friends to make social media posts about Israel:  https://www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnbc-opinion/israel-hamas-conflict-social-media-pressure-rcna11...

On the just launched brand new season of Mozilla’s podcast IRL: Online Life is Real Life, Bridget explores the power of putting people over profit in AI. In this first episode, we look at the risks and rewards of open sourcing the tech that makes ChatGPT talk.  If you liked this episode, let us know! And be sure to subscribe to IRL:  https://irlpodcast.org/ See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy...

The changes Elon Musk has made to Twitter are making it impossible to sort out what’s happening in the Israel / Hamas conflict. From gutting the Trust & Safety team to making verification meaningless and paying for engagement, Elon Musk has systematically removed the few safeguards we had that were able to keep disinformation on the platform (somewhat) in check. Today, while the world is watch...

Sometimes it’s difficult to remember how far we’ve come in the fight for equality.  Kevin Jennings is CEO of Lambda Legal, the country’s oldest LGBTQ+ legal rights organization. He says it’s important to remember where we’ve been and how far we’ve come to have a clear sense of where we’re going, explains why he’s optimistic about young people, and shares his vision for a future where no one needs...