#digital-privacy
50 episodes
#5103: Getting Quoted Without Regret: Source Tips
A listener's dictated email became a published quote he regrets. Here's how to handle being on the record.
#5000: Can You Trust Google Photos With Your Life's Work?
Why your Google Photos library isn't really backed up — and what actually works instead.
#4755: Why OAuth Makes You Re-Authorize Apps
Understanding delegated authority: why OAuth's consent flow is a feature, not a bug.
#4714: The 4 PM Cutoff: Why Your Card Issuer Isn't the Bank
Why does card support end at 4 PM? The answer reveals the hidden structure behind every swipe.
#4665: The Hidden Auction Where Your Data Gets Sold
How your phone's location, shopping habits, and health searches get auctioned off in milliseconds — and why paying for apps doesn't protect you.
#4641: Mozilla's Hidden Projects: Beyond the Browser
Mozilla is more than just Firefox. Discover Common Voice, Monitor, Thunderbird, and Rust — the public infrastructure projects shaping the open web.
#4624: Why Can't You Refill Vyvanse in Tokyo?
Why can't one card carry your prescriptions across borders? The data exists — but the systems don't talk.
#4597: How to Destroy Documents on the Road (Without Setting Off the Smoke Detector)
Hand-tearing techniques, mobile shredders, and the failure patterns that leave your data reassemblable.
#4596: How to Record Calls and Conversations for Evidence
The unglamorous craft of capturing audio that actually proves something — gear, technique, and steering the conversation.
#4426: Rooting's Dead End: Phone Control in 2026
Google's Titan M2 chip killed the rooting cat-and-mouse game. What now for power users?
#4423: The Cookie That Changed the Web
Third-party cookies are dying, but first-party cookies aren't going anywhere. Here's what actually happens when you browse.
#4417: How to Tell Real Security Tools From Fakes
A friend's question about SSN monitoring reveals how to spot fake security tools designed to steal what you're trying to protect.
#4403: The Rabbi You Can't Google
What does influence look like when nobody's measuring it in clicks? One rabbi's answer.
#4343: AliExpress Checkout: Dollars vs Shekels
Which currency should you pick at checkout? The hidden fees of DCC, PayPal, and credit cards explained.
#4324: How to Flip the Script on Customer Service Calls
Stop being the only one who has to prove who they are. A three-move sequence to level the playing field.
#4063: Can the Law Give You a Second Name for Privacy?
Sweden, Germany, and Japan each offer fragments of a legal second identity — but none fully solve the privacy problem.
#4010: What Happens When Everyone Votes on Everything?
Estonia, Switzerland, and Taiwan prove digital voting works. So why hasn't it replaced politicians?
#3853: When Your Name Belongs to Someone Famous
What happens when your name is algorithmically hijacked by a famous or infamous stranger?
#3834: How Celebrities Hide Their Phone Numbers
The three-layer system of tech, legal, and social defenses that keeps celebrity phone numbers private.
#3692: Authorization Holds vs. Actual Charges: How to Tell
Pending transactions look like charges but aren't. Learn the three structural tells that reveal the difference.
#3651: What Happened to the Baby Health Vault App?
A parent wants a secure way to store medical photos of their child. No app does this well.
#3216: EFF's 36-Year Fight for Digital Rights
How the Electronic Frontier Foundation has fought for internet freedom since 1990 — from the Crypto Wars to border phone searches.
#2878: How China Controls Foreign Critics and Domestic Media
China blocks foreign critics at the border while running a sophisticated domestic media control system. Here's how both work.
#2398: Your Taste, Your Data: Owning Your AI Preferences
Why can’t you describe your perfect movie—but you’d know it if you saw it? A vision for portable, user-owned AI taste profiles.