The Tech Policy Press Podcast
- Episodes
- 300
- Released
- weekly
- Latest episode
- Nov 8, 2026
About the podcast
Tech Policy Press is a nonprofit media and community venture intended to provoke new ideas, debate and discussion at the intersection of technology and democracy. You can find us at https://techpolicy.press/, where you can join the newsletter.
Episodes 300
Freedom House Charts 'Seismic Shifts' on the Global Internet
Each year, Tech Policy Press makes it a priority to cover the findings of the annual Freedom on the Net report from Freedom House, a nonprofit organization founded in 1941 to advance democracy and human rights …
Show notes
Each year, Tech Policy Press makes it a priority to cover the findings of the annual Freedom on the Net report from Freedom House, a nonprofit organization founded in 1941 to advance democracy and human rights. This year, Justin Hendrix was invited to moderate a panel discussion at an event to mark the launch of the report. This episode features audio from that Oct. 22 event, with experts including:
- Kian Vesteinsson, deputy director of research at Freedom House and Freedom on the Net author;
- Jennifer Brody, deputy director of policy and advocacy for Technology and Democracy at Freedom House;
- Callum Voge, director of governmental affairs and advocacy at the Internet Society;
- Mahsa Alimardani, digital rights researcher and advocate; and
- David Peterson, general manager of Proton VPN at Proton.
Assessing the Impact of the Midterm Elections on US Tech Policy
The United States midterm election season proved that tech policy is no longer a side issue in American elections. AI, data centers and the political power of Big Tech and oligarchs like Elon Musk are now …
Show notes
The United States midterm election season proved that tech policy is no longer a side issue in American elections. AI, data centers and the political power of Big Tech and oligarchs like Elon Musk are now things candidates have to take a position on — and voters are paying close attention. After the polls closed on Tuesday, Democrats posted sweeping wins up and down the ballot. If their victory speeches are any indication, efforts to hold Big Tech accountable and to address data centers and AI governance will continue to be defining issues in Washington, D.C., and in state capitols across the country.
To unpack what the election results could mean for the future of US tech policy, Tech Policy Press pulled together a live podcast discussion with guests including Alexandra Reeve Givens, CEO of the Center for Democracy & Technology; Robert Weissman, co-president of Public Citizen; and Brian J. Chen, policy director at Data & Society.
Europe's AI Ambitions Meet the Data Center Backlash
Europe says it needs more data centers to power its AI ambitions, but their rapid expansion is raising questions about energy, water, labor conditions and who gets a say in where they are built. As the European …
Show notes
Europe says it needs more data centers to power its AI ambitions, but their rapid expansion is raising questions about energy, water, labor conditions and who gets a say in where they are built. As the European Commission marks European AI Innovation Month, Tech Policy Press Deputy Editor Ramsha Jahangir speaks first with three of the organizers behind this weekend’s protests in 15 European countries: Owen Espley of Global Action Plan (UK), Aurora Gómez of Tu Nube Seca Mi Río (Spain) and Rosi Leonard of Friends of the Earth Ireland, who want a moratorium on new projects.
She then turns to two journalists investigating the industry: Mei-Ling McNamara of Investigate Europe, whose reporting with Tech Policy Press and other media partners exposed labor abuses on construction sites, and Daniel Howden of Lighthouse Reports, which has filed a legal challenge under the Aarhus Convention over EU secrecy about data centers’ environmental costs. Together they ask who gets to shape Europe’s digital future, who pays for it and who holds the industry accountable.
When, How and Why to Abandon the Internet
On Oct. 6, the Privacy Center at Georgetown Law hosted Life After Data: The Conference on De-datafication, which asked participants to imagine a future in which digital data is no longer the currency that …
Show notes
On Oct. 6, the Privacy Center at Georgetown Law hosted Life After Data: The Conference on De-datafication, which asked participants to imagine a future in which digital data is no longer the currency that mediates our social, economic and political lives — and how we might get there.
One provocation on the program asked whether it might make sense, now or someday, to abandon the internet itself. Tech Policy Press put that question to its readers, inviting two-minute voice memos in response. In this episode, produced by Rebecca Rand, you’ll hear from author and media theorist Douglas Rushkoff; Craig Newmark Center for Journalism Ethics and Security at Columbia Journalism School director Anika Collier Navaroli; Bridget Todd, author and host of iHeartRadio’s “There Are No Girls on the Internet”; Konstantinos Komaitis, resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council; Caddie Alford, associate professor of rhetoric at Virginia Commonwealth University, who shared her students’ responses; Janet Vertesi, associate professor of sociology at Princeton; Alice Marwick, director of research at Data & Society; Liz Orembo of Research ICT Africa; Robin Berjon of the Modal Foundation; and B Cavello, director of emerging technologies at the Aspen Institute.
The Edge Dialogues with Dr. Alondra Nelson
Tech Policy Press and the Privacy Center at Georgetown Law are hosting a series of events dubbed The Edge Dialogues. The goal is to discuss ideas a are upstream of typical tech policy debates. The first guest …
Show notes
Tech Policy Press and the Privacy Center at Georgetown Law are hosting a series of events dubbed The Edge Dialogues. The goal is to discuss ideas a are upstream of typical tech policy debates. The first guest in the series is Dr. Alondra Nelson, the Harold F. Linder Professor of Social Science and founding director of the Science, Technology and Social Values Lab at the Institute for Advanced Study. She joined Tech Policy Press editor Justin Hendrix and Privacy Center executive director Emily Tucker for a live discussion on October 22.
AI Hype Helped Google Dodge an Antitrust Breakup. What Comes Next?
Google is an illegal monopolist. That is the finding of two federal judges in landmark antitrust cases over the company’s dominance of online search and advertising technology. But when it came time to order …
Show notes
Google is an illegal monopolist. That is the finding of two federal judges in landmark antitrust cases over the company’s dominance of online search and advertising technology. But when it came time to order remedies, neither judge broke up the company. To discuss what the remedies mean for competition and for the broader effort to hold big tech firms accountable to democracy, particularly in the AI era, Justin Hendrix spoke with Barry Lynn, executive director of the Open Markets Institute, and Mihir Kshirsagar, who leads the Tech Policy Clinic at Princeton’s Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP).
Is Europe Ready for Advanced AI? The Growing Debate Over Liability
In this episode, Tech Policy Press deputy editor Ramsha Jahangir examines the latest developments in Europe’s AI policy debate, from the push for safe, trusted and resilient AI to renewed calls for legislation …
Show notes
In this episode, Tech Policy Press deputy editor Ramsha Jahangir examines the latest developments in Europe’s AI policy debate, from the push for safe, trusted and resilient AI to renewed calls for legislation on AI liability.
Risto Uuk, head of European policy and research at the Future of Life Institute, joins the podcast to discuss the emerging risks and the broader policy landscape. Then, Ramsha interviews Brando Benifei, a Member of the European Parliament, about the gaps left by the withdrawal of the proposed AI Liability Directive, the challenges of assigning responsibility across the AI value chain, and the case for a renewed European approach.
Natasha Singer Details Tech’s Grip on Public Schools
In the daily surge of news and headlines about technology, it can be hard for any journalist to fully contextualize the individual events they are reporting on and trace the underlying patterns, structures, and …
Show notes
In the daily surge of news and headlines about technology, it can be hard for any journalist to fully contextualize the individual events they are reporting on and trace the underlying patterns, structures, and ideas that are producing them. Today’s guest excels at just that, covering one of the most complicated beats in technology journalism. Natasha Singer is a technology reporter for The New York Times, where she has spent more than a decade investigating how tech shapes schools. Her new book is Coding Kids: Big Tech’s Battle to Remake Public Schools, published by W.W. Norton.
Steve Feldstein on Bytes, Bullets, Blood and Borders
It’s a cliché to say that technology is changing war. But today, the pace of change is severe, not only because of advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, but also because of a range of trends and …
Show notes
It’s a cliché to say that technology is changing war. But today, the pace of change is severe, not only because of advances in fields such as artificial intelligence, but also because of a range of trends and phenomena at the intersection of tech and geopolitics that are changing what it means for nations to compete, and to fight and defend themselves. Today’s guest is Steve Feldstein, a senior fellow in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the author of Bytes and Bullets: Global Rivalries, Big Tech, and the New Shape of Modern Warfare, published by St. Martin’s Press.
A Data Science Playbook for Social Justice
How can you tell if an algorithm is any good? For University of Michigan assistant professor of information and public policy Ben Green, the answer lies less in accuracy scores, fairness metrics or any other …
Show notes
How can you tell if an algorithm is any good? For University of Michigan assistant professor of information and public policy Ben Green, the answer lies less in accuracy scores, fairness metrics or any other technical measure than in what the system actually does once it’s out in the world. In his new book, Algorithmic Realism: Data Science Practices to Promote Social Justice (MIT Press), he offers data scientists a method for scoping, building and evaluating algorithms in the service of social justice.
Pennsylvania is a Swing-State Case Study for Data Center Politics
Pennsylvania offers a particular case study in which to consider the political battle over data centers that is playing out across the United States and beyond. A new report from Data & Society, "The AI …
Show notes
Pennsylvania offers a particular case study in which to consider the political battle over data centers that is playing out across the United States and beyond. A new report from Data & Society, "The AI Factory: Data Centers, Power, and Resistance in Late Industrial Pennsylvania," draws on a year and a half of fieldwork across the state. It examines how boosters sell data centers by invoking Pennsylvania's industrial past, and why so many communities aren't buying the promises made by industry and politicians. Justin Hendrix spoke with Data & Society’s Maia Woluchem and Ana Carolina de Assis Nunes and People’s Tech Project’s Hannah Sassaman about its findings.
Why Social Media Platforms Should Adopt a 'Militant Democracy' Framework
What should social media platforms do when the state itself becomes a threat to democracy? In a new paper published in the journal Information, Communication & Society, Daniel Kreiss and Lorcan Neill, both at …
Show notes
What should social media platforms do when the state itself becomes a threat to democracy? In a new paper published in the journal Information, Communication & Society, Daniel Kreiss and Lorcan Neill, both at the Hussman School of Journalism and Media and the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, borrow from "militant democracy," a framework scholars developed in the 1930s as fascists exploited democratic freedoms to seize power. They offer a framework for wedding platform policies to democratic principles.
With midterm elections just weeks away in the United States and elections playing out in Brazil and beyond, Justin Hendrix caught up with them about what the framework suggests, and what trust and safety executives can do even in a context where the interests of platform owners are fused with those of autocratic leaders.
Gil Durán Maps the Rise of the 'Nerd Reich'
On September 23, Tech Policy Press hosted an event at Betaworks in New York City with Gil Durán, the author of The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy, the New York Times bestselling …
Show notes
On September 23, Tech Policy Press hosted an event at Betaworks in New York City with Gil Durán, the author of The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy, the New York Times bestselling book published by Simon & Schuster. Alice Marwick, research director at Data & Society, joined the discussion with Justin Hendrix.
The 'Jenga Politics' Threatening the US Census
In the United States, the census touches tech policy at more points than you might realize. It's a massive data collection operation and a piece of democratic infrastructure all at once. danah boyd is the …
Show notes
In the United States, the census touches tech policy at more points than you might realize. It's a massive data collection operation and a piece of democratic infrastructure all at once. danah boyd is the author of Data Are Made, Not Found: A Story of Politics, Power, and the Civil Servants Who Saved the US Census, a new book from the University of Chicago Press that tells the story of the people who make the census, recounting how the 2020 census came together amid fractured politics and a raging pandemic. It’s a complicated story, and it has implications for the next census, which is already in planning, and is already a source of controversy and concern.
Matthias J. Becker on the Launch of Digital Hate Review
The study of how hate is expressed in digital media and its relationship to offline harassment and violence is a growing field that touches public policy, content moderation and platform policy, AI governance …
Show notes
The study of how hate is expressed in digital media and its relationship to offline harassment and violence is a growing field that touches public policy, content moderation and platform policy, AI governance, and a variety of other topics at the intersection of technology and public discourse. This week, a new journal called the Digital Hate Review launched to give a new home to research and discourse on these issues. To learn more, Justin Hendrix spoke to its editor-in-chief, Matthias J. Becker, who has spent 15 years tracking how hate speech evolves online.
AI Governance Reaches Crisis Point Ahead of Trump-Xi Summit
Amid a frenzy of headlines about AI safety and just two weeks out from a planned meeting of US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping, Justin Hendrix moderated a discussion around the question …
Show notes
Amid a frenzy of headlines about AI safety and just two weeks out from a planned meeting of US President Donald Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping, Justin Hendrix moderated a discussion around the question, what does AI governance actually demand right now? Convened by the the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C., the discussion included Amba Kak from the AI Now Institute, Kat Duffy from the Council on Foreign Relations, Miro Plueckebaum from the Oxford Martin AI Governance Initiative, and Jack Shanahan from SAIS ACF and the Center for a New American Security.
Across the US, School Districts Wrestle With Classroom AI Policy
Just ahead of the start of the new school year, districts across the United States are issuing new policies on the use of artificial intelligence applications in classrooms. Last Wednesday, New York City …
Show notes
Just ahead of the start of the new school year, districts across the United States are issuing new policies on the use of artificial intelligence applications in classrooms. Last Wednesday, New York City effectively banned most student facing AI in all K-8th grade classes while allowing a limited set of approved tools to be used for high schoolers for the upcoming school year. And on the same day, Los Angeles school officials announced the district was placing a one-year moratorium on generative AI for all of its estimated 378,000 students.
To learn more about these announcements and the politics driving them, Justin Hendrix spoke to two individuals who covered these matters for Tech Policy Press this summer: Tech Policy Press fellow Chris Mills Rodrigo and audio reporter Laura Karpas, who interned at Tech Policy Press this summer and is currently a graduate student at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY.
Rep. Zoe Lofgren on FISA, Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment
Tech Policy Press fellow Jake Laperruque, who is also the Deputy Director of Center for Democracy and Technology’s Security and Surveillance Project, spoke to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) about the the Foreign …
Show notes
Tech Policy Press fellow Jake Laperruque, who is also the Deputy Director of Center for Democracy and Technology’s Security and Surveillance Project, spoke to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) about the the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and ongoing efforts to reform it.
Virginia Eyes AI Chatbot Rules as Observable Risks Warrant Action
State legislatures across the United States are actively developing new laws on a range of issues related to artificial intelligence. In Virginia, that process is informed by an entity established by the …
Show notes
State legislatures across the United States are actively developing new laws on a range of issues related to artificial intelligence. In Virginia, that process is informed by an entity established by the Virginia General Assembly called the Joint Commission on Technology and Science. To learn more about the Joint Commission and some of its recent work on AI chatbots, Justin Hendrix spoke to its chief policy analyst, Dr. Kira Allmann.
'Technology Freedom Cooperative' To Build Infrastructure for Human Rights and Justice Groups
How can human rights and social justice advocates and investigators protect their data and technology infrastructure in an age of rising authoritarianism in the United States and abroad? Earlier this month, a …
Show notes
How can human rights and social justice advocates and investigators protect their data and technology infrastructure in an age of rising authoritarianism in the United States and abroad? Earlier this month, a coalition of human rights, justice, and data organizations launched the Technology Freedom Cooperative, a project designed to help nonprofit organizations protect evidence, reduce their dependence on big tech platforms, and "build independent capacity to work with large language models." Justin Hendrix spoke to two of its members, Maheen Khan, director of technology at the Invisible Institute, and Patrick Ball, director of research at HRDAG.
Assessing the Landmark Meta Settlement
Days into a bellwether trial brought by four states, Meta reached a settlement with a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general to resolve their claims, agreeing to pay up to ~$17 billion and to make a …
Show notes
Days into a bellwether trial brought by four states, Meta reached a settlement with a bipartisan coalition of state attorneys general to resolve their claims, agreeing to pay up to ~$17 billion and to make a series of teen-safety changes to Instagram and Facebook.
The day after the settlement was announced, Tech Policy Press convened a live podcasting recording with to assess the settlement and its implications. Expert guests included:
- Alissa Cooper, Executive Director of the Knight-Georgetown Institute (KGI)
- Meetali Jain, Executive Director of Tech Justice Law (TJL)
- Matthew B. Lawrence, Professor of Law at Emory University School of Law
How the 'Censorship-Industrial Complex' Narrative Went From Fringe to Trump Policy
This month, in partnership with Type Investigations, MIT Technology Review published a feature titled “How ideas of a vast censorship network moved from the online fringe to Trump policy.” It considers the …
Show notes
This month, in partnership with Type Investigations, MIT Technology Review published a feature titled “How ideas of a vast censorship network moved from the online fringe to Trump policy.” It considers the emergence and impact of the narrative that revolves around the idea of the “censorship industrial complex,” and how a network of aligned right wing actors collaborate to build that narrative. It also details the impact on civil society groups and independent technology researchers who have been targeted with lawsuits, investigations, visa restrictions, and various forms of harassment for their work.
This week, Justin Hendrix spoke to two of the authors of the piece about what they learned reporting it, and where the story might go next: Eileen Guo, MIT Technology Review senior reporter for features and investigations, and open source investigative reporter Gisela Perez de Acha.
How AI Is Reshaping Election Information Ahead of the 2026 Midterms
Headed into the US midterm elections season, the information environment continues to evolve. Millions of people now use AI chatbots, both to retrieve information about elections and to create it. Last week …
Show notes
Headed into the US midterm elections season, the information environment continues to evolve. Millions of people now use AI chatbots, both to retrieve information about elections and to create it. Last week, the Brennan Center for Justice put out an expert brief tackling the question, “Does AI Fight or Fuel Election Disinformation?” Justin Hendrix spoke to one of its authors, Lawrence Norden, vice president of the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center.
Here Come the Synthetic Voters
The midterm election cycle is heating up in the United States, and there are important elections set to take place soon in Brazil, Israel, Sweden, and beyond. AI will be a factor in these elections, offering a …
Show notes
The midterm election cycle is heating up in the United States, and there are important elections set to take place soon in Brazil, Israel, Sweden, and beyond. AI will be a factor in these elections, offering a new set of tools and techniques for campaigns to try to reach voters. Laura Karpas looked into one new technique that campaigns may try this cycle—focus groups among panels of synthetic voters. She spoke to one researcher who has considered the question of when and how such simulated evidence can be used in campaign research, and another who wonders what the implications may be for the complex interaction between political leaders and public opinion.
Casey Michel on Breaking the Tech Oligarchy's Grip
The rise of the tech oligarchy threatens democracy in the United States and abroad. In his new book, United States of Oligarchy, Casey Michel—author, journalist, and director of the Combating Kleptocracy …
Show notes
The rise of the tech oligarchy threatens democracy in the United States and abroad. In his new book, United States of Oligarchy, Casey Michel—author, journalist, and director of the Combating Kleptocracy Program with the Human Rights Foundation—tells the story of how a small set of extremely wealthy individuals claimed the commanding heights of American government and is making the world safe for authoritarians, and what will be necessary to break their grip.
Taking Stock of the UK Tech Policy 'Muddle'
The United Kingdom has a new prime minister, and he has already moved to put his mark on tech policy—scrapping a scheme for digital ID, shuttering the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) …
Show notes
The United Kingdom has a new prime minister, and he has already moved to put his mark on tech policy—scrapping a scheme for digital ID, shuttering the Department of Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT), shifting the Government Digital Service (GDS) to the Department of Culture, Media, and Sports, and reshuffling responsibility for AI policy.
To learn more about how the table is being set under Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Justin Hendrix spoke to three individuals who are following these matters closely:
- James Ball, a journalist and fellow at Tech Policy Press;
- Gavin Freeguard, the founder director of a new think tank called State of the Future; and
- Rachel Coldicutt, the founder and executive director of Careful Industries.
When Users Say 'Goodbye' to AI
From Tamagochis to AI companions, generations of machines have been designed to push on our “evolutionary buttons”—ones that ask us to respond to their needs. In this episode, audio reporter Laura Karpas speaks …
Show notes
From Tamagochis to AI companions, generations of machines have been designed to push on our “evolutionary buttons”—ones that ask us to respond to their needs. In this episode, audio reporter Laura Karpas speaks to researchers including the Center for Democracy and Technology's Michal Luria and Harvard Business School's Julian De Freitas to explore the dark patterns in AI companions, and what happens when users go to say “goodbye.”
How the OpenAI-Hugging Face Hack May Affect the Geopolitics of AI Governance
On July 16, Hugging Face, a company that provides a platform for AI models, datasets, and other machine learning applications, posted a “security incident disclosure” to its blog about an “intrusion” into its …
Show notes
On July 16, Hugging Face, a company that provides a platform for AI models, datasets, and other machine learning applications, posted a “security incident disclosure” to its blog about an “intrusion” into its infrastructure. But this was no typical hack. The company said “it was driven, end to end, by an autonomous AI agent system,” matching what it said is the “‘agentic attacker’ scenario the industry has been forecasting.”
A few days later, OpenAI posted to its blog that the agent was in fact “driven by a combination of OpenAI models” with “reduced cyber refusals for evaluation purposes — while being internally tested on a benchmark of cyber capabilities.”
To try to better understand these developments and their implications for the US and international debates over AI governance, Justin Hendrix spoke to two individuals who are following the details closely:
- Vinh Nguyen, a senior fellow for AI at the Council on Foreign Relations and the former chief responsible AI officer and chief data scientist for operations at the National Security Agency (NSA), and
- Graham Webster, a lecturer and research scholar in the Program on Geopolitics, Technology, and Governance at Stanford University, where he leads the DigiChina Project.
A Roadmap for Confronting the Chilling Effects of Censorship, Surveillance and New Technology
Across the world, despots and and wannabe dictators are deploying new tools, both legal and technological, to stifle dissent and oppress. Today’s guest is Jonathon W. Penney, the author of Chilling Effects …
Show notes
Across the world, despots and and wannabe dictators are deploying new tools, both legal and technological, to stifle dissent and oppress. Today’s guest is Jonathon W. Penney, the author of Chilling Effects: Repression, Conformity, and Power in the Digital Age, a book from Cambridge University Press that explores the weaponization of surveillance, censorship, and technologies of control and offers a roadmap for the reforms necessary to push back.
ICE and the Architecture of Authoritarianism
At Tech Policy Press, we’ve monitored the massive influx of money into the Department of Homeland Security to support the Trump administration’s brutal and increasingly lawless immigration crackdown. Last month …
Show notes
At Tech Policy Press, we’ve monitored the massive influx of money into the Department of Homeland Security to support the Trump administration’s brutal and increasingly lawless immigration crackdown. Last month saw the publication of a report commissioned by Mijente, Just Futures Law, and Surveillance Resistance Lab titled "The Tech Behind Ice: Oligarchs, Immigration Enforcement, and the Threat to Democracy." Tech Policy Press contributing editor Dean Jackson spoke to two of the report’s authors—Surveillance Resistance Lab founder and executive director Mizue Aizeki and Just Futures Law founding executive director Paromita Shah—about what billions in tech investment is buying DHS and its component agencies, and what is necessary to reverse the authoritarian trajectory the country is on.
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