Best Annalee Newitz Podcasts (2024)

1
Immigration law in space, with Victor Manibo 44:32

2d ago44:32

44:32

What is the point of absurdist storytelling in a world that feels absurd? We talk about science fiction that gets silly, satirical, and weird -- and why we need it desperately. From The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy to The Onion, we analyze absurdism as readers and writers. Then we're joined by Victor Manibo, author of the brilliant new novel Es…

1
Episode 35: AI Overviews and Google's AdTech Empire (feat. Safiya Noble), June 10 2024 1:01:42

10d ago1:01:42

1:01:42

You've already heard about the rock-prescribing, glue pizza-suggesting hazards of Google's AI overviews. But the problems with the internet's most-used search engine go way back. UCLA scholar and "Algorithms of Oppression" author Safiya Noble joins Alex and Emily in a conversation about how Google has long been breaking our information ecosystem in…

1
Secrets of the Planet of the Apes with Josh Friedman 54:54

16d ago54:54

54:54

The Planet of the Apes franchise spans decades and formats: it started as a French novel in 1963, and then jumped the Atlantic to become a long-running series of movies, TV shows, a cartoon, and even videogames. We talk about the politics of the story, and why some versions succeed while others fail. Then we're joined by Josh Friedman, who wrote Ki…

1
Episode 34: Senate Dot Roadmap Dot Final Dot No Really Dot Docx, June 3 2024 1:03:57

23d ago1:03:57

1:03:57

The politicians are at it again: Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer's series of industry-centric forums last year have birthed a "roadmap" for future legislation. Emily and Alex take a deep dive on this report, and conclude that the time spent writing it could have instead been spent...making useful laws. References: Driving US Innovation in Arti…

1
Romancing the Dragon, with Moniquill Blackgoose 47:18

1M ago47:18

47:18

We’re obsessed with dragons, and for good reason. These gigantic creatures soar through many cultures and genres — and they feel more relevant than ever today. We talk to author Moniquill Blackgoose about why, and discuss her Nebula-award winning novel To Shape A Dragon’s Breath. Then we have a completely non-awkward conversation about dragons and …

1
Episode 33: Much Ado About 'AI' 'Deception', May 20 2024 1:00:30

1M ago1:00:30

1:00:30

Will the LLMs somehow become so advanced that they learn to lie to us in order to achieve their own ends? It's the stuff of science fiction, and in science fiction these claims should remain. Emily and guest host Margaret Mitchell, machine learning researcher and chief ethics scientist at HuggingFace, break down why 'AI deception' is firmly a featu…

1
Summer Entertainment Guide: What to Watch and Read this Summer! 55:18

2M ago55:18

55:18

The summer entertainment season is upon us! Many of our favorite TV shows are back, and there are a few movies we're excited about as well. Not to mention a flood of truly incredible books by many of our favorite authors. Here's our select guide to the stuff we're most pumped about this summer, and all the latest trends in entertainment.…

1
Episode 32: A Flood of AI Hell, April 29 2024 57:48

2M ago57:48

57:48

AI Hell froze over this winter and now a flood of meltwater threatens to drown Alex and Emily. Armed with raincoats and a hastily-written sea shanty*, they tour the realms, from spills of synthetic information, to the special corner reserved for ShotSpotter. **Lyrics & video on Peertube. *Surveillance:* Public kiosks slurp phone data Workplace surv…

1
How Surveillance Dystopias Came True (with Wole Talabi) 1:05:15

2M ago1:05:15

1:05:15

You are being watched. Pop culture used to be full of vivid warnings about Big Brother watching you. What does it mean that we're now under constant surveillance for real? Plus we talk to Wole Talabi about his new story collection Convergence Problems.

1
Episode 31: Science Is a Human Endeavor (feat. Molly Crockett and Lisa Messeri), April 15 2024 1:02:57

2M ago1:02:57

1:02:57

Will AI someday do all our scientific research for us? Not likely. Drs. Molly Crockett and Lisa Messeri join for a takedown of the hype of "self-driving labs" and why such misrepresentations also harm the humans who are vital to scientific research. Dr. Molly Crockett is an associate professor of psychology at Princeton University. Dr. Lisa Messeri…

1
How to turn a story into a deadly weapon 53:34

2M ago53:34

53:34

Psyops are used by the military against foreign enemies, but now these dangerous weapons of demoralization and chaos are being used in culture wars between Americans. In this episode, Annalee tells us about their new book Stories Are Weapons, a history of psychological warfare in the U.S. (yes, it includes scifi!) -- and an exploration of the ways …

1
Episode 30: Marc's Miserable Manifesto, April 1 2024 1:00:45

3M ago1:00:45

1:00:45

Dr. Timnit Gebru guest-hosts with Alex in a deep dive into Marc Andreessen's 2023 manifesto, which argues, loftily, in favor of maximizing the use of 'AI' in all possible spheres of life. Timnit Gebru is the founder and executive director of the Distributed Artificial Intelligence Research Institute (DAIR). Prior to that she was fired by Google, wh…

1
Fascism and Book Bans (with Maggie Tokuda-Hall) 56:59

3M ago56:59

56:59

Science fiction has been warning us about fascism for decades — so why haven't we listened? How did Nazis become just another monster in our stories, like werewolves or cyborgs? Plus we talk about the new wave of book censorship with Maggie Tokuda-Hall, co-founder of the new organization Authors Against Book Bans. Show notes: www.ouropinionsarecorr…

1
The Turing Test is bullsh*t (w/Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender) 48:21

3M ago48:21

48:21

We're talking about the Turing Test, the grandmother of all tests for AI sentience. Joining us are AI researchers Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender, hosts of the Mystery AI Hype 3000 podcast. We discuss why the Turing Test is so influential in both fiction and reality – and why it is completely wrong. Later in the episode, we’ll talk about another thi…

1
Episode 29: How LLMs Are Breaking the News (feat. Karen Hao), March 25 2024 1:02:30

3M ago1:02:30

1:02:30

Award-winning AI journalist Karen Hao joins Alex and Emily to talk about why LLMs can't possibly replace the work of reporters -- and why the hype is damaging to already-struggling and necessary publications. References: Adweek: Google Is Paying Publishers to Test an Unreleased Gen AI Platform The Quint: AI Invents Quote From Real Person in Article…

1
Queer Horror! (with Dr. Chuck Tingle) 50:48

4M ago50:48

50:48

It's a scary time for LGBTQIA+ folks — and many of us are turning to horror stories that take our real-life terrors and make them even more monstrous. To find out why, we talk to Dr. Chuck Tingle, the author of Camp Damascus and Bury Your Gays, and we geek out about why queers love to be scared. Also, we talk about horror movie soundtracks — and th…

1
Episode 28: LLMs Are Not Human Subjects, March 4 2024 1:00:57

4M ago1:00:57

1:00:57

Alex and Emily put on their social scientist hats and take on the churn of research papers suggesting that LLMs could be used to replace human labor in social science research -- or even human subjects. Why these writings are essentially calls to fabricate data. References: PNAS: ChatGPT outperforms crowd workers for text-annotation tasks Beware th…

1
Videogame movies are officially better than comic book movies 52:36

4M ago52:36

52:36

At last, videogame movies have defeated comic book movies. We learn about why from Evan Narcisse, who writes for comic books and videogames, as well as being a journalist and critic. Then we rant about why so many people are obsessed with psychoanalyzing villains, and are flocking to stories that reveal the innermost traumas of bad guys. Why do we …

1
Encore Episode: Let's Obsess Over the Politics of Dune! 44:33

4M ago44:33

44:33

The long-awaited Dune sequel is in theaters now — and it's a huge hit. To celebrate, we're resurfacing one of our favorite episodes from the past. Is Dune a white savior fantasy? A subversive eco-parable? To find out, we talk to Haris Durrani, author of an influential essay about Dune.

1
Episode 27: Asimov's Laws vs. 'AI' Death-Making (w/ Annalee Newitz & Charlie Jane Anders), February 19 2024 1:04:42

5M ago1:04:42

1:04:42

Science fiction authors and all-around tech thinkers Annalee Newitz and Charlie Jane Anders join this week to talk about Isaac Asimov's oft-cited and equally often misunderstood laws of robotics, as debuted in his short story collection, 'I, Robot.' Meanwhile, both global and US military institutions are declaring interest in 'ethical' frameworks f…

1
We Don't Give a F*ck About Canon 45:48

5M ago45:48

45:48

Science fiction and fantasy fans love to argue about canon — both meanings of the word. Which stories in a fictional universe really "happened"? Which stories deserve to be enshrined as the best of the genre? We don't think either of those things is worth yelling about! Also, did you know that tsunamis can happen in lakes, rivers and even creeks? W…

1
Episode 26: Universities Anxiously Buy in to the Hype (feat. Chris Gilliard), February 5 2024 59:52

5M ago59:52

59:52

Just Tech Fellow Dr. Chris Gilliard aka "Hypervisible" joins Emily and Alex to talk about the wave of universities adopting AI-driven educational technologies, and the lack of protections they offer students in terms of data privacy or even emotional safety. References: Inside Higher Ed: Arizona State Joins ChatGPT in First Higher Ed Partnership AS…

1
The world's humblest heroes, from plumbers to tardigrades 46:43

5M ago46:43

46:43

Inspired by The Super Mario Bros Movie, we're talking about a humble class of heroes whose lives are devoted to infrastructure maintenance and repair. There are heating engineer rogues and space janitors and, of course, plumbers. Later in the episode we’ll head down to Antarctica, where our guest Ariel Waldman spent her summer vacation studying the…

1
Episode 25: An LLM Says LLMs Can Do Your Job, January 22 2024 56:29

6M ago56:29

56:29

Is ChatGPT really going to take your job? Emily and Alex unpack two hype-tastic papers that make implausible claims about the number of workforce tasks LLMs might make cheaper, faster or easier. And why bad methodology may still trick companies into trying to replace human workers with mathy-math. Visit us on PeerTube for the video of this conversa…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Annalee Newitz Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

1
Our Opinions Are Correct

Our Opinions Are Correct

1
Mystery AI Hype Theater 3000

Emily M. Bender and Alex Hanna

1
Periodic Talks

Gillian Jacobs & Diona Reasonover

1
The SF in SF Podcast

SF in SF

1
Immigration law in space, with Victor Manibo 44:32

1
Episode 35: AI Overviews and Google's AdTech Empire (feat. Safiya Noble), June 10 2024 1:01:42

1
Secrets of the Planet of the Apes with Josh Friedman 54:54

1
Episode 34: Senate Dot Roadmap Dot Final Dot No Really Dot Docx, June 3 2024 1:03:57

1
Romancing the Dragon, with Moniquill Blackgoose 47:18

1
Episode 33: Much Ado About 'AI' 'Deception', May 20 2024 1:00:30

1
Summer Entertainment Guide: What to Watch and Read this Summer! 55:18

1
Episode 32: A Flood of AI Hell, April 29 2024 57:48

1
How Surveillance Dystopias Came True (with Wole Talabi) 1:05:15

1
Episode 31: Science Is a Human Endeavor (feat. Molly Crockett and Lisa Messeri), April 15 2024 1:02:57

1
How to turn a story into a deadly weapon 53:34

1
Episode 30: Marc's Miserable Manifesto, April 1 2024 1:00:45

1
Fascism and Book Bans (with Maggie Tokuda-Hall) 56:59

1
The Turing Test is bullsh*t (w/Alex Hanna and Emily M. Bender) 48:21

1
Episode 29: How LLMs Are Breaking the News (feat. Karen Hao), March 25 2024 1:02:30

1
Queer Horror! (with Dr. Chuck Tingle) 50:48

1
Episode 28: LLMs Are Not Human Subjects, March 4 2024 1:00:57

1
Videogame movies are officially better than comic book movies 52:36

1
Encore Episode: Let's Obsess Over the Politics of Dune! 44:33

1
Episode 27: Asimov's Laws vs. 'AI' Death-Making (w/ Annalee Newitz & Charlie Jane Anders), February 19 2024 1:04:42

1
We Don't Give a F*ck About Canon 45:48

1
Episode 26: Universities Anxiously Buy in to the Hype (feat. Chris Gilliard), February 5 2024 59:52

1
The world's humblest heroes, from plumbers to tardigrades 46:43

1
Episode 25: An LLM Says LLMs Can Do Your Job, January 22 2024 56:29

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