BoingBoing.net
Technology-culture journalist and co-editor of BoingBoing.net; contributor to Wired magazine and NPR's Day to Day; breast cancer survivor
PROFILE
Xeni Jardin
Guest
FROM Xeni Jardin
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
What Uber's downfall means for Lyft Ride-sharing giant Uber is making (mostly negative) headlines every week, and CEO Travis Kalanick just resigned. Is this just what Lyft’s been waiting for: Uber’s implosion? From its start, Lyft presented itself as different from Uber, and it’s been quietly growing.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Uber executive fired after revelations that he shared a rape victim's medical records Uber’s President of Business in the Asia Pacific, Eric Alexander was fired Tuesday after reports surfaced that he had obtained the medical records of a woman who was raped by an Uber driver in India. The company also announced it had recently fired 20 other employees.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Can Waze Carpool fix LA traffic? Navigation app Waze is expanding its carpool feature across California next week. The feature connects drivers with riders heading to the same place so they can ride together and save on gas. However, it’s not intended to be the next Lyft Line or Uber Pool. There’s also a legal fight between Uber and Waymo, in which Waymo says Uber stole its self-driving car secrets.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
After 7 years in prison, what will Chelsea Manning do with her freedom? Chelsea Manning was released from prison Wednesday . She was originally sentenced to 35 years for leaking thousands of military and diplomatic documents to WikiLeaks. But Barack Obama commuted most of her sentence before leaving office. Manning has posted photos on social media to celebrate -- her first steps of freedom, enjoying pizza and wine.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
French President Macron fights back against hackers Russians are suspected of interfering in the recent French election. The campaign of now President-elect Emmanuel Macron was hacked. But Macron’s technology team saw it coming and launched a counteroffensive. Also, LA-based Snapchat has lost more money in the past three month that the company has made, ever.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
New tech can mimic your voice with eerie accuracy Part of Facebook’s anti-violence plan is hiring 3000 more people to monitor content and pull down harmful or violent posts. Families of the victims of the San Bernardino terrorist attack are suing Facebook, Twitter, and Google for knowingly supporting terrorism. And some companies are developing technology that can mimic any voice.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
FCC threatens net neutrality, and Amazon judges your clothes FCC chair Ajit Pai outlined his plans to undo Obama-era net neutrality rules, which require internet companies to treat all internet traffic equally. Amazon just introduced Echo Look, which lets its original voice assistant, Alexa, judge what you wear and help you pick your outfit.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Facebook wants to read your mind, and turn your thoughts into status updates Days after a man posted a video to Facebook of him randomly shooting and killing another man, Mark Zuckerberg said his company will keep doing all they can to prevent similar tragedies from happening again. He then talked about unveiling ambitious new features that will allow users to augment reality.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Uber reportedly gains advantage over Lyft through 'Hell' On our weekly web and tech segment...News surfaced this week that Uber may have engaged in unfair business practices to beat its biggest competitor, using software called “Hell.” The company has also faced allegations of systemic harassment and seen a number of executives resign.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
With facial recognition tech, will it be impossible to be unrecognizable? Amazon will have to pay $70 million to parents for their kids buying extra goodies on free games without permission. Samsung’s new Galaxy S8 phone will let you scan your face to pay for things. Facebook is expanding its use of photo-matching technology to curb revenge porn.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Activists target Congressmen who repealed internet privacy rules Congressional Republicans voted to let internet service providers track you on the web and sell that information. Privacy advocates have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars so far to buy the web histories of Congress members who voted to repeal the protections. We get tips on how you can maintain your privacy now.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Political lines scrambled when it comes to surveillance and the NSA Rep. Devin Nunes says Trump’s campaign may have been caught up in foreign surveillance. There’s a provision in the FISA Act that allows communication between foreigners and Americans to be monitored. We talk about that provision and whether it’ll survive.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
US to get more money to fight hackers President Trump’s budget proposes $1.5 billion for Homeland Security, specifically for cybersecurity. Two Russian intelligence officers are charged with hacking Yahoo. McDonald’s claims its official Twitter account was hacked as well.
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
How freaked out should we be over CIA hacking? Wikileaks released CIA documents claiming that the government agency can hack civilians’ phones, computers, TVs, and anything “smart.”
Recommended
Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.
The Business
Revisiting showrunner Steven Bochco on his memoir Steven Bochco, the writer-producer behind record-breaking Emmy winners Hill Street Blues, LA Law and NYPD Blue, fought battles with everyone from out-of-control actors to network censors in his long career. He isn’t afraid to tell those tales in his memoir, Truth Is a Total Defense. This week we revisit the conversation where he shared some of his favorite stories with us.