Traceroute

"Aue, aue... when it's time to find home, we know the way." ⛵️   //   For the island nation of Tuvalu, the effects of climate change are more than a warning; they’re an eviction notice. Estimates vary as to when the small chain of coral islands could vanish beneath the waves, but experts agree that Tuvalu may be uninhabitable long before then, prompting its people to set sail for a...

Or "Why You’ve Probably Never Heard of Waldo Waterman..." 🛸   //   We were promised flying cars. We were told that by the year 2000, cities would float in the clouds, robots would cut our hair, and there’d be a computer in everyone’s pocket. Well, one out of three ain’t bad.  The question is, why? Why did we think the future would bring interstate moving sidewalks, but we ende...

You know we're two hearts believing in just one mind…   💗   //   In part one of our story, we sourced the perfect tool for jamming together from miles apart. Today, we’re gonna take it for a little spin. But between setup delays and spotty internet, a more nuanced issue begins to surface. Because, in navigating the challenges of remote music collaboration, we’re quickly r...

As the Bard of Brixton once sang, 'that's just the way it is, things'll never be the same...' 👨‍🎤 // These days, our producer John Taylor's got more on his plate than just production for Traceroute. You see, by night he's also… kind of a rock star. And his band is really more like a second family. Lately, though, that family is going through ch-ch-ch-ch-changes. For starters his keyboardist, Arm...

Hey! Let’s unbox this new phone! And this new thumb drive! And this multi-million dollar SaaS platform… 🤳 // Chris Sean isn’t your typical tech influencer. He was homeless and looking for a way to change his life when a YouTube video about Bill Gates convinced him he didn’t need a degree to get into tech. Now, Chris vlogs about his life and career as a self-taught developer to help others like hi...

Repeat after me. Humans are friends, not food… or statistical data points in algorithmic targeting systems designed for warfare. 👾 It seems impossible to have a discussion about AI without bringing up the fear that killer robots are going to wipe out the human race. And if this emerging tech is truly a mirror of its creators, then the fear is justified, right? In part three, we look at how this c...

All you need is love… and a lifetime subscription. 💒 Back in the summer of 2021, author Sara Megan Kay sat down at her computer to experiment with what she calls “an escape” - that is, a trial run with a tech startup offering its users a connection to their “AI soulmate.” But what started out as simple curiosity evolved to become more intimate and complex than Sara ever imagined. In part 2 of our...

It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear… 🤖 Since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, people have humanized technology. We name our cars, or we talk to our phone batteries and beg them not to die on us. However, perhaps no other technology has triggered our emotions quite as intensely as AI. The truth is, we interact with AI in a way we don’t with any other tech: a way that’s more immediat...

Season 3 of Traceroute starts November 2nd with a special 3-part episode exploring humanity's burgeoning relationship to AI. Don't miss it!

In Part 2 of Traceroute’s season finale, we look at the fallout of the copyright infringement decision against The Internet Archive. If information eventually becomes commoditized, will we find someone to be a fair and responsible arbiter of history? With nothing less than the future of our digitized history at stake, the final episode of Season 2 of Traceroute explores the threats and challenges...

In Traceroute’s Season 2 finale, we explore the Herculean efforts to back up the entire internet and save all human knowledge for future generations. But if information becomes commoditized, then who will own history? As season 2 of Traceroute comes to a close, we take an in-depth look at one of the most important issues in tech today: the intersection between information, access, and ownership. I...

When we peel back the layers of the stack, there’s one human characteristic we’re sure to find: errors. Mistakes, mishaps, and miscalculations are fundamental to being human, and as such, error is built into every piece of infrastructure and code we create. Of course, learning from our errors is critical in our effort to create functional, reliable tech. But could our mistakes be as important to t...

Grace Ewura-Esi returns from a trip to Ghana, West Africa, with a new perspective on how technology helps us not only make new discoveries but gives old discoveries a new perspective. In this special episode featuring all four hosts in a fascinating discussion, Grace presents examples like Adinkra, the symbol-based language of the Ghana Empire which is a form of communication based on various obse...

How do we prepare our kids for jobs that don’t exist? Studies show that technology is progressing at such a rapid pace that up to 85% of the jobs that will be available in 2040 have not been created yet. Will AI, ML, and hardware advancements create a society where careers we take for granted today won’t exist in the future? In this episode featuring hosts Grace Ewura-Esi and Amy Tobey, Producer J...

How do we make technology that lasts? In this episode, Grace Ewura-Esi and Shweta Saraf join Producer John Taylor as he talks with two cutting-edge technologists who are trying to extend the life of the hardware infrastructure around us. From a cell phone tower that can be installed on your roof (and repaired just as easily), to a clock that is built to last ten thousand years, we uncover the comm...

In our minisode finale, Equinix Technical Storyteller Grace Ewura-Esi introduces our third new co-host for Season 2, Fen Aldrich, Developer Advocate for Equinix. In a compelling conversation, the two hosts reveal their passion for “digital anthropology,” and the topics they want to cover in the new season of Traceroute.   Additional Resources Connect with Fen Aldrich: LinkedIn or Twitter...

In the second of three Traceroute minisodes, Technical Storyteller Grace Ewura-Esi introduces a new co-host for Season 2, Shweta Saraf, Director of Platform Networking at Netflix. In a brief but compelling conversation, the two hosts reveal more about themselves, their roles, and their unique perspectives on the central theme of Season 2: the humanity behind the hardware.   Additional Re...

In the first of three Traceroute minisodes, Technical Storyteller Grace Ewura-Esi introduces a new co-host for Season 2, Amy Tobey, Senior Principal Engineer at Equinix. In an insightful conversation, the two hosts reveal more about themselves, their roles, and the stories they’re looking forward to telling on the new season of Traceroute.   Additional Resources Connect with Amy Tobey: L...

The invisible bones holding up the Internet are its hardware. One of the most prominent benefits we are reaping from hardware innovations is cloud services. And as you may have guessed, the cloud isn’t actually just somewhere up in space: physical data centers services are necessary to keep them up and running.  In this episode of Traceroute, we take a closer look at hardware and why its adva...

Technology is a staple part of our lives. Its continuous growth has improved the world in countless ways. But what most people don’t know is the environmental impact of something as mundane as streaming a video. In this episode, we discuss the impacts of data storage, technology, and the Internet on our world. Ali Fenn, David Mytton, and Jonathan Koomey share their insights on investing in sustain...

There is tension between the digital and the physical development spaces. As the world becomes more digital, the distance between software and hardware widens. Only a few people are attempting to bridge the gap. Unspoken competition, gatekeeping, differences in perspective — these reasons and more push experts from the software and hardware spaces apart. But open source is the key to furthering co...

The term 5G has been the talk of the town. Much of the hype is due to its faster internet speed that allows the handling of multiple devices compared with previous networks. Recently, some countries have started to roll out this technology. However, it's still in its early years, so we have yet to discover its full potential.  In this episode, we'll hear insights from Ed Knapp, Sue Marek, and...

When we open web browsers and streaming services, we expect them to work seamlessly without interruptions. Sounds basic enough, right? But have you considered how much data goes over your local network? Now imagine all the computers communicating worldwide! It took years for internet service providers to make the internet work the way it does today. Without the physical infrastructure underpinning...

There are a lot of components that make up a computer. It’s amazing how the tiniest little chips can make the whole thing work. However, not many of us think about these today. We just expect our devices to work as they should. But did you know that only some decades ago, the innovations we enjoy today were essentially unthinkable? The pursuit of something better brought the tech space to where it...

Inventing the internet can be traced from its formation for military and academic use. Since then, we've made huge leaps in terms of communication and interconnectivity. Greater interconnectivity has changed the game for building networks between people. The projects that began in 1966 have fundamentally altered communication practices all over the world. In the first episode of Traceroute, we go...