The animation industry has long struggled to get Black hair right — from the infamous “Killmonger locs,” named after the Black Panther character and copied across video games, to the stiff, oversized afros of The Sims 4. As it turns out, hair animation tools were built almost exclusively with straight hair in mind. Two researchers, A.M. Darke and Theodore Kim, recently published a landmark paper about the physics of animating curly, coiled, and afro-textured hair. Morgan sits down with A.M. and Theodore as they discuss the surprising pushback they encountered in the animation industry, the findings of their paper, and the uphill battle they faced in getting this field of study recognized within academia.  Guests:  A.M. Darke, artist, game designer, and an associate professor of Performance, Play, & Design at UC Santa Cruz Theodore Kim, Professor of Computer Science at Yale University  Further reading:  Lifted Curls: A Model for Tightly Coiled Hair Simulation - Alvin Shi, Haomiao Wu, A.M. Darke, and Theodore Kim Curly-Cue: Geometric Methods for Highly Coiled Hair  - Alvin Shi, Haomiao Wu, A.M. Darke, and Theodore Kim The 'Killmonger Cut' Is Everywhere In Games, Here's Why the Industry Needs to Fix This — Trone Dowd, IGN We’re Much Closer to A Disney Princess With Type 4 Hair — Essence Gant, Allure Open Source Afro Hair Library  - A.M. Darke  Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also ⁠follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. This episode was edited by Chris Hambrick and Chris Egusa. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Sound design by Maya Cueva, Chris Egusa and Brendan Willard. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spotify didn’t just change how we listen to music — it changed what a genre even is. In this episode, producer and rapper Quinn reflects on being thrust into the spotlight at age 15 as one of the breakout faces of Spotify’s meteoric Hyperpop playlist.. Then, music journalist Kieran Press-Reynolds breaks down how Spotify’s made-up micro-genres—like Goblincore, Anime Drill, and Bubblegrunge—are reshaping music discovery and putting pressure on artists to conform. Guests: Quinn, independent producer and rapper Kieran Press-Reynolds, independent reporter covering music and internet culture Further reading: How to break free of Spotify's algorithm — Tiffany Ng, MIT Technology Review The Lost Promises of Hyperpoptimism — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Chris Egusa and Brendan Willard. Theme and credits music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Elon Musk and President Trump breaking up? LA protesters clashing with law enforcement? Waymos on fire (again)? Things have been moving fast the last few days — and like you, our feeds are on overload. Today, we’re bringing you a quick reaction episode to catch you up on a couple stories we’ve covered before that are suddenly back in the news. Close All Tabs producer Maya Cueva joins Morgan to break it all down. We’ve talked about a few of these stories before — if you want to go deeper, here are some past episodes to check out: The Broligarchy Pt 1: Chronicles of the PayPal Mafia | KQED The Surveillance Machine, Pt. 1: How We Got Here | KQED Waymo Robotaxis - Uneasiness and Vandalism | KQED Further reading: A timeline of the twists and turns in the Trump-Musk relationship — Nnamdi Egwuonwu, NBC News  Immigration Protests Threaten to Boil Over in Los Angeles — E. Tammy Kim, The New Yorker ICE raids tried to split LA apart, but might have made it stronger — Michael Lozano, LA Public Press  How Waymo got caught in the crossfire of Los Angeles ICE protests —  Joe Berkowitz, Fast Company  Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Maya Cueva, Chris Egusa and Brendan Willard. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Spotify has morphed from a straightforward music library and search engine into a data-driven system built to feed you songs to match your mood and optimize your time on the platform.  In this episode, Morgan is joined by music journalist and author Liz Pelly to break down how Spotify built its playlist empire, the rise of so-called “ghost artists” on the platform, and how its algorithmic approach is changing our relationship to music, artists, and the culture around them. Plus, Morgan tries to solve a personal mystery:  “Am I being haunted by Sabrina Carpenter?” Guests: Liz Pelly, independent music journalist and author of Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist Further reading: Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist — Liz Pelly The Spotify conspiracy theories about “Espresso,” explained — Rebecca Jennings, Vox  ‘Algorithm fatigue:’ Spotify Fans Say It’s Going Downhill. Company Insiders Agree. — John Paul Titlow, Business Insider   Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Chris Egusa and Brendan Willard. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Are you old enough to remember the “Magic Eye” optical illusion mania that gripped the nation in the 90’s—random patterns that you had to squint at just right for the 3D image to pop out?  It turns out it's not just our eyes that can be fooled. Our ears can play tricks on us too. There's a whole world of auditory illusions that seem to say one thing when they're really saying something else, and that matters, especially in our age of digital misinformation. In today’s episode, Morgan talks to KQED Digital Community Producer Francesca Fenzi about why we hear  what we think we hear, and how understanding the limits of our perception might actually make us better at spotting dis- and misinformation online. Guest: Francesa Fenzi, KQED Digital Community Producer  Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound Design by Maya Cueva. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Katherine Monahan and Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hentai, sexually explicit Japanese animation (anime) and comics (manga), is a genre that’s been criticized for depicting violent or ethically questionable scenarios. But some fans also see it as a space for expanding the boundaries of art, culture, and sexuality in a way that reverberates beyond its status as a niche subculture. In this episode, Morgan talks with anime marketer Drea Ramirez about how discovering hentai helped her explore her own sexual identity — and how today’s streaming platforms are stifling weirder, more experimental forms of animation. We’ll also hear from Jacob Grady, CEO of the hentai manga site Fakku, about the challenges of running a licensed and legal business in the face of content piracy, and how anti-trafficking laws like SESTA and FOSTA can make it harder forhentai artists to make a living. This episode is part of a collaboration with our friends at the podcast Never Post. While we’re digging into the culture and industry behind hentai, they’re coming at it from a completely different angle. Give it a listen wherever you get your podcasts. Guests: Drea Ramirez, social media marketing manager at Azuki Jacob Grady, founder and CEO of FAKKU Mike Rugnetta, host of Never Post Further reading: The Hentai Platform Streaming Wars — Aurélie Petit, Porn Studies  Why "The Crunchyroll of Hentai" Failed to Take Off — Jay Allen, Unseen Japan Hentai Sites Go To War, Leaving Animated Porn's Future In Doubt — Cecilia D’Anastasio, Kotaku  FOSTA-SESTA was supposed to thwart sex trafficking. Instead, it’s sparked a movement — Liz Tung, WHYY Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Original music and sound design by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Think you can opt out of surveillance? Think again. Our locations, behaviors, and images are being tracked at unprecedented levels — and private tech companies are at the center, selling that information directly to the government. In this episode, Morgan talks with Nicol Turner Lee, Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at The Brookings Institution, about why avoiding identification in public spaces is almost impossible, and how civilians are now helping do the government’s work by surveilling each other. Guests: Jalsa Drinkard, Columbia University student and an organizer for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, CUAD Don Bell, policy counsel at The Constitution Project at The Project On Government Oversight, POGO Nicol Turner Lee, Director of the Center for Technology Innovation at The Brookings Institution Further reading: This pro-Israel group keeps a blacklist. Now it’s taking credit for deportations. — Zack Beauchamp, Vox  Privacy on the Map: How States Are Fighting Location Surveillance — Rindala Alajaji, Electronic Freedom Foundation  Police surveillance and facial recognition: Why data privacy is imperative for communities of color — Nicol Turner Lee and Caitlin Chin-Rothmann, Brookings Institute It’s Possible to Track Someone’s Personal Phone to an Abortion Clinic. And It’s Legal Too. — Byron Tau, NOTUS  Planning to attend a protest? Check out the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Attending a Protest guide for practical digital security tips to help protect your privacy and data. Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Maya Cueva and Brendan Willard. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The tools of high tech surveillance are increasingly all around us: security cameras in public and embedded in doorbells, location data on your phone, online ad tracking. A lot of this has become normalized, utterly mundane. But in the year since nationwide student protests for Palestine, heightened scrutiny of and retaliation against activists in the U.S. have raised new concerns. Government surveillance, particularly on social media, has grown exponentially since the massive Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, but the precedent in this country stretches much further back. In this episode, Columbia University student organizer Jalsa Drinkard shares her experience protecting other students from invasive surveillance and targeting, and Don Bell, policy counsel for The Constitution Project at the Project On Government Oversight, walks us through the long history of government surveillance in American protest movements, and why today’s moment feels different. Guests: Jalsa Drinkard, Columbia University student and an organizer for Columbia University Apartheid Divest, CUAD Don Bell, policy counsel at The Constitution Project at The Project On Government Oversight, POGO Further reading: Protest Under a Surveillance State Microscope - Don Bell, Project On Government Oversight   Surveillance & Policing Bodily Autonomy - Don Bell, Project On Government Oversight ‘Discredit, disrupt, and destroy’: FBI records acquired by the Library reveal violent surveillance of Black leaders, civil rights organizations - Virgie Hoban, Berkeley Library  How Watergate Changed America’s Intelligence Laws - Barbara Maranzani, History   ‘Panic made us vulnerable’: how 9/11 made the US surveillance state – and the Americans who fought back - Ed Pilkington, The Guardian   Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. This episode was edited by Alan Montecillo. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Maya Cueva. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard and Katherine Monahan. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Recession indicator memes are everywhere, pointing to everything from office wear at the club to Lady Gaga’s return to pop music as signs of looming economic doom. But with the stock market sinking and tariffs piling up, the jokes are starting to hit closer to home. In this episode, KQED community reporter Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí joins Morgan to unpack how the memes might be fueling the very recession they joke about. We also hear from USC public policy professor Elizabeth Currid-Halkett on the links between culture, consumption, and the economy. Guests: Candice Lim, co-host of ICYMI from SlateCarlos Cabrera-Lomelí, community reporter at KQED Elizabeth Currid-Halkett, professor of public policy at the University of Southern California Further reading: ‘Recession Indicator’: What Memes Tell Us About How We Experience the Economy - Carlos Cabrera-Lomelí, KQED The 'recession indicator' meme, explained - Christianna Silva, Mashable  Can Strippers Really Forecast a Financial Crisis?  - Jenny Singer, Glamour Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Chris Egusa. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard and Katherine Monahan. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a divorce, KQED health reporter Lesley McClurg felt anxious over the prospect of dating again. On a whim, she turned to ChatGPT for a little emotional support — and found herself unexpectedly comforted. That experience launched her investigation into the fast-growing world of AI therapy. In this episode, Lesley joins Morgan to explore the promise and pitfalls of mental health chatbots — and what users should know before sharing their deepest feelings with an algorithm.  Guests: Lesley McClurg, KQED Health Correspondent Further reading: Can AI Replace Your Therapist? The Benefits, Risks and Unsettling Truths - Lesley McClurg, KQED The AI therapist can see you now - Katia Riddle, NPR  Woebot, a Mental-Health Chatbot, Tries Out Generative AI - Casey Sackett, Devin Harper, and Aaron Pavez, IEEE Spectrum Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Maya Cueva, Chris Egusa, and Brendan Willard. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode, tech reporter Samatha Cole shares what happened when she tried to “vape the internet” after seeing a viral post about a disposable touchscreen vape with built-in social media. We also hear from environmental philosopher and public health researcher Yogi Hale Hendlin, who says these high-tech disposables are made possible by a legal loophole — and that tackling the e-waste crisis will take a radical rethink of our relationship with the products we consume. Guests: Samantha Cole, Reporter and Co-Founder of 404 Media Yogi Hale Hendlin, Environmental Philosopher and Assistant Professor at Erasmus University Further reading: I Tried to Vape the Internet - Samantha Cole, 404 Media  Communities can't recycle or trash disposable e-cigarettes. So what happens to them? - Matthew Perrone, Associated Press How ‘Sour Raspberry Gummy Bear’ — and Other Chinese Vapes — Made Fools of American Lawmakers - Marc Novicoff, Politico  The right to repair electronics is now law in 3 states. Is Big Tech complying? - Maddie Stone, Grist   Disposable vapes thrown away quadruples to 5 M per week - Material Focus Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Original music and sound design by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard and Chris Egusa. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

We can’t cover every wild post from every corner of the internet — and not everything online warrants a full multi-tab journey. That’s where Save or Scroll comes in: our series where we team up with a guest for a rapid-fire roundup.  In this episode, Morgan is joined by ICYMI co-host Candice Lim to dig into the stories they haven’t been able to stop thinking about. From the viral Hailey Bieber 7-part series to alpha bro “get ready with me” videos, Reddit’s restrictions on Luigi Mangione discourse, and more — they’ve got plenty to scroll through.  At the end of each segment, they’ll decide: is the post just for the group chat, or should we save it for a future episode? Guest: Candice Lim, Co-Host of ICYMI from Slate Further reading: Should I Be Taking Notes From This Viral Alpha Male Morning Routine? - Annabel Iwegbue, Cosmopolitan  Hailey Bieber is seeking legal action against people who slate her - Claudia Cox, The Tab  Section 230 May Finally Get Changed as Lawmakers Prep New Bill - Paris Martineau, The Information  Luigi Mangione Sex Tapes Report Sends Internet into Meltdown - Marni Rose McFall, Newsweek Reddit Is Restricting Luigi Mangione Discourse—but It's Even Weirder Than That - Nitish Pahwa, Slate How Blueprint Founder Bryan Johnson Sought Control Via Confidentiality Agreements - Kirsten Grind, The New York Times Trinity Rodman, Ben Shelton and how high-profile relationships affect soccer careers - Tim Spires, The Athletic  Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Maya Cueva. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard and Chris Egusa. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The ”broligarchy” didn’t come together in a vacuum — this combination of extreme wealth, right wing leanings, and an anti-establishment point of view has been brewing  for decades. There are lots of names for this ideology coming up in the news: techno-fascism, techno-feudalism, tech oligarchy, cyber-populism, authoritarian technocracy. What does it all mean? As tech business leaders align with the president, and Elon Musk leads the dismantling of federal agencies, what is the best way to describe what is going on in our country right now? In the second part of our two-parter on the “broligarchy,” Morgan speaks with historian and University of Washington professor,  Margaret O’Mara, to discuss techno-fascism and other terms to see what really fits to describe our current reality.  Guest: Margaret O’Mara, Historian and Professor at the University of Washington  Further reading: “The Rise of Techno-authoritarianism” — Adrienne LaFrance, The Atlantic  “‘Techno-Optimism’ is Not Something You Should Believe In” — Jag Bhalla & Nathan J. Robinson, Current Affairs ‘Headed for technofascism’: the rightwing roots of Silicon Valley - Becca Lewis, The Guardian “Techno-Fascism Comes to America” - Kyle Chayka, The New Yorker  Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Chris Egusa. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard, Katherine Monahan, and Chris Egusa. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The term “broligarchy” refers to the Silicon Valley elite tech leaders who have accumulated vast amounts of wealth, power, and now, political control over the last quarter century. In the first of a two-part series, Morgan dives deep into one highly influential subset of this “broligarchy,” the so-called PayPal Mafia. Joined by The Guardian reporter Chris McGreal, we explore this group’s rise to political prominence, and look at some of its members' roots in an oppressive political regime.  Guest: Chris McGreal, Reporter for The Guardian Further reading: “How the roots of the ‘PayPal mafia’ extend to apartheid South Africa” — Chris McGreal, The Guardian “‘White supremacists in suits and ties’: the rightwing Afrikaner group in Trump’s ear” — Chris McGreal, The Guardian “Is South Africa ‘confiscating land’, targeting some groups as Trump claims?” — Qaanitah Hunter, Al Jazeera Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Sound design by Maya Cueva and Chris Egusa. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For decades, the Internet Archive has preserved our digital history. Lately, journalists and ordinary citizens have been turning to it more than ever, as the Trump administration undertakes an ideologically-driven purge of government websites.  But the Archive itself faces an existential threat. In this episode, Close All Tabs Senior Editor Chris Egusa joins Morgan to discuss his visit to the Internet Archive and its colorful founder Brewster Kahle, the legal battles that could shut it down permanently — and what losing it might mean for accountability and the preservation of history. Guest: Brewster Kahle, Founder of the Internet Archive Further reading: Inside the $621 Million Legal Battle for the ‘Soul of the Internet’ – Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone Open Internet, web scraping, and AI: the unbreakable link — Julius Cerniauskas, TechRadar Musicians demand music labels drop their Internet Archive lawsuit — Ian Carlos Campbell, Engadget Read the transcript here. Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Original music and sound design by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Mixing, mastering, and additional sound design by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Self-driving Waymo robotaxis have become a familiar sight in cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles, but not everyone is happy about that. These “ghost-like” autonomous vehicles have made a lot of people uneasy, some even going as far as to vandalize the cars. But what’s behind this hostility? In this episode, Morgan speaks with Bloomberg journalist Ellen Huet and robot law professor Ryan Calo to explore the rise of Waymo vandalism and its roots in our collective anxiety over artificial intelligence.  Guests: Ellen Huet, Features writer at Bloomberg News Ryan Calo, Professor of Law at University of Washington Further reading: Waymo’s Expansion Provokes Anxieties of AI Takeover – Ellen Huet, Bloomberg The next big robotaxi push is almost here — Harri Weber, Quartz  The Courts Can Handle the Deadly Uber Self-Driving Car Crash. But that doesn’t mean the law is ready for autonomous vehicles. — Ryan Calo, Slate Good Robot, Bad Robot: Dark and Creepy Sides of Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, and AI — Jo Ann Oravec, Professor at the University of Wisconsin Read the transcript here. Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. It was produced and sound designed by Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Additional editing by Jen Chien. Original music by Chris Egusa, with additional music from APM. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer.

The world of family vlogging is under scrutiny after the release of two new documentaries: HBO’s “An Update on Our Family” and Hulu’s “Devil in the Family: The Fall of Ruby Franke.” The attention around Myka Stauffer and Ruby Franke has brought up questions about the dark side of family channels, and whether child influencers should have more say in their internet presence. In this episode, Morgan takes us through the family channel industry and the lack of legal protections for children online. We’ll hear from a former “mommy blogger kid” who’s fighting for the next generation of internet child stars, as well as Fortesa Latifi, a journalist who covers the industry. Together we’ll explore how posting and consuming this kind of content impacts the children growing up on our screens.  Further reading: Influencer Parents and The Kids Who Had Their Childhood Made Into Content Read the transcript of the episode here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org You can also follow us on Instagram

On January 18, 2025, TikTok went down for U.S. users. After just 14 hours, it was back. Since then, questions have been swirling online. Has the algorithm changed? Was the ban just a ruse? Has TikTok gone… conservative? In this episode, internet culture expert Taylor Lorenz joins Morgan to break down the answers to those questions. They’ll dig into the real reasons for the ban and what the future holds for progressive speech on an internet that has been drifting steadily to the right.  Read the transcript here. Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at CloseAllTabs@KQED.org

New episodes drop weekly starting February 26!  Tech journalist Morgan Sung spends most of her day online—so you don’t have to. Each week, Morgan tackles a new topic that might seem niche on the surface but is destined to impact our lives—both online and off. She pulls from experts, creators, and history to add context to the trends and depth to the memes. And she’ll wrestle with as many browser tabs as it takes to explain the cultural moment we’re all collectively living. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This episode was originally published November 2, 2024. In this final episode of the Close All Tabs miniseries, host Morgan Sung examines the increasing power of social media influencers in politics. Joined by WIRED senior tech and politics writer Makena Kelly, Morgan dives into the growing tensions between influencers and traditional journalists and explores how “shadow money” is quietly flowing to influencers for political endorsements, keeping the public in the dark about who’s funding content. Read the transcript of this episode here. Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at podcasts@KQED.org