Sick

It’s played in What Next? also, so I decided to unsubscribe, so I wouldn’t have the same episode show up on my feed. Lizzie O’Leary is awesome. I used to enjoy hearing her in Marketplace. I’m happy to here her again

There is a huge demand for deep dive podcasts into the hot topic tech issues like AI and the Metaverse etc. This podcasts taps exactly into that but fails miserably. After summarizing an issue, which basically takes the entire episode because of all the ads (funded by the same companies they critique i.e. Apple), they end each episode with a “ok so what does this all mean?” segment. Except this segment lasts 30 sec followed by more ads and then the podcast ends. So if you are looking for deep dives into tech do not come here. If you are a boomer who needs surface level explanations of what AI means and don’t mind 5 minutes of ads then this podcast is for you.

Generally enjoy the show, but just listened to

Hard to take the content seriously when guests say “like” every third word and just generally speak like middle-schoolers or sorority chicks. Cannot tell you how often I’ve stopped listening less than halfway through an episode. It’s grating. It’s great if guests are knowledgeable, but they should also be screened for their public speaking ability. This is content is AUDITORY, not written. Just because somebody can write a good article does not mean they should be engaging in longer format verbal interviews. My tolerance for this articulation issue is becoming less and less as more and more podcasts seem to focus on churning out volume and generating ad dollars over the actual quality and professionalism of their presentation. Awful. Sounds to me like a perfect formula for diminished ad revenues.

BORING

What a joke. I listened to the new twitter podcast. You call what you do reporting? Entertainment? I call it ridiculous.

This show has quickly become a favorite in my feed! I'm consistently impressed by the engaging conversations that Lizzie leads, and the insightful content in each and every episode. I truly learn something new every time I listen!

Good, informative, podcast but 1/3 of it is advertising and the conflict of interests makes certain episodes difficult to take seriously.

Oooooooooooo

The Google piece seemed unduly biased. Odd for a tech/news podcast. I want news and insight, not biased commentary.

Why have you stopped including a one- or two-sentence description of each episode? All I see now is a statement asking me to “click here to understand the Ad choices.” I listen to a lot of podcasts, so I have to be selective. I can’t listen to every single episode, just to find out what it’s about. I’ve had to demote you from four stars to two, simply because I can’t tell what each episode is actually about. Can you go back to including episode descriptions? Thanks for considering.

Constant intercession of meaningless giggles does not equal charm. Her blatant lack of regard for clear diction together with a seemingly complete indifference to a consistent sound level equals inaudible words in an otherwise irritatingly loud sentence. In short, the purportedly excellent content is not going to shine in a production of slovenly audio quality. Back to basics! How about a written transcript to accompany the sound track?

This podcast is about the ethics of technology and the discussions are absolutely necessary if not mandatory. My respect for April Glaser (?sp) has risen exponentially in the past 1-2 years ago. She has a superior intellect and the guts to challenge the filthy rich “titans of tech”. I was sad when Will Oremus (?) left. He provided a mellow balance to April’s intensity. I hope the program can find someone equally smart and relaxed. I do think they should rethink the title :-)

I generally like this podcast but I’m fairly picky about the voices I want to hear on my headset for more than a few minutes. Certain episodes bring guests on that do not have great speaking voices. This particular guest sounds like she’s whispering into the microphone. As interesting as what she is saying might be, I can’t get over hearing her whisper and extend any word with an S in it.

Read the 42 reviews (so far), and the positive reviews have covered what makes this podcast enjoyable and significant. I'm in the midst of binge listening, and as others point out, I also feel that the insight, interviews and social consciousness of this show is great. Not sure why listeners complain about the political taint - that's more important then ever and I'm still shocked at people in my life who have no understanding of what's happening in our society right now... I was nervous about the interview with the gun rights activist, and it was a true testament to April and Will in their skill to host an engaging interview that I didn't have to skip that episode.

I prefer my shows politics free and should politics is necessary to the show, you discuss both sides. It seems anyone who loves Science would know that.

April Glaser is truly terrific, and Will Oremus is also strong. Overall this is well done, very interesting, and usefully informative.

There’s a lot to keep up with in the tech world. This show goes beyond fawning reviews and looks critically at tech issues.

Good show, miss the old song

I started listening to the series before the 2018 midterms, and, for the record, I still enjoy most episodes. However, any episodes that sound like a opportunity to be partisan usually are. There’s definitely bias, but on episodes that focus entirely on technology, there’s no such issue and I love those conversations

This podcast is excellent. The hosts are very well-informed and really take their interview guests to task on important issues from the perspective of social responsibility and consumer rights. April Glaser in particular does not let non-answers or deflections slide. It is absolutely refreshing to hear in-the-know techies confront tech company representatives in (edited down) real time. Thank you for the amazing work!

There are so many stories to keep track of these days. This podcast does a thorough job of compiling the most important tech news. The guests are also fantastic. Keep it up!

I’ve learned a ton of stuff from this podcast I wouldn’t have otherwise known. I think Will & April are excellent hosts and do a great job being dynamic and keeping it entertaining.

..since earlier episodes.

I was excited about this podcast when I first heard about it. I have been a fan of Will's writing; I was not familiar with April, but really enjoyed her pieces when she joined Slate. I still like their writing; the podcast, not so much. The topics are timely, the hosts know their stuff, the format is fine (standard Slate), but the hosts have lousy chemistry. For this kind of a Slate podcast, the hosts make or break it and unfortunately these two have all the charm and faux camaraderie of a midday news broadcast ("Over to you, Person"). When they have had substitute hosts the show has been brighter, more fluid, and more natural. Also, April's subtweety snarkiness is wearing at times and sometimes it sounds like she is just reading her piece; Will often just sounds flat. I've listened to almost every episode so far (I have tried!) waiting for things to gel and get interesting, but it's time to just delete from my Slate member's feed. There are plenty of better competitors out there. Slate should have a strong podcast in this space, and they have had very interesting tech voices, but these hosts seem better suited to the written word, and I will continue to look forward to their pieces there.

On top of either lazy or startlingly biased reporting (or both) the value add is incredibly low as the observations made on various stories are shallow and unsupported. I work in tech so I have a background in most of these stories and topics. It makes me sad that this is something people will listen to and consider a valuable source of information about our industry.

Interesting topics but hosts lack charisma and chemistry. Would prefer casual, free flowing conversation while still being factual. Feels too forced and too news report like.

I’m not exactly what I would call a techie. With that being said, I am an engineer so I have a basic understanding of how most machines work today. I thoroughly enjoy how this podcast breaks down a lot of what is going on in the tech industry today and why it matters to those of us not in the industry.

Glaser isn't a great podcast host and there's little evident rapport between her and Oremus. Topics are of interest to me, but the content seems improvised, and poorly so.

Finally a tech show that’s interesting!

Smart, youthful insights into the latest news from the cyber-sphere. Virtually BS-free, but with an admirable human side that reassures us of the possibility of a decent future

As someone fascinated by the way tech is changing power, society, politics, and the way we live, this is a fantastic show. Great co-hosts. Interviews, in particular, are engaging. I don't work in the tech sector, but between reading and listening to this and to a couple of the Recode interview podcasts, I can more than keep up with friends who do. If I have one complaint, I noticed one host in particular will cut the other off, which is disappointing since I think they've got a good balance of someone who's clearly very social justice-minded and someone who, though certainly skeptical and critical of big tech companies, is more of a realist. My kind of tech and politics show.

Listened to 3 episodes of this so far. I’ve really enjoyed the content. They go down paths that I wish more people knew about (internet trust/ policies, etc). My one issue is sometimes April goes 2 or 3 steps further down an opinion path than she should. I think Will is much more controlled in his ability to stay political and just say “this is why some people could be affected”. Just my 2 cents but overall, great show and I genuinely believe people can benefit from the reporting in this

Podcast focuses on technology and its intersection with American law, politics, and society. It's a well-researched discussion about how current technology news relates to American society.

Made the implications of tech policy more accessible (and interesting) to me. Love the podcast hosts, particularly April - she is very smart and insightful, and unafraid to state her opinions and the basis for them - so refreshing when so many journalists are either so cautious or alternatively blowhards who make facts fit their pre-existing narrative. Love the way they speak truth to power - and Silicon Valley is now the power. I've been a avid follower of the Theranos story when it was still all the rage and it always reminded me of the housing bubble - too good to be true, and I'm very grateful for the reporter who did the solid and often unglamorous work of digging out the disparate details and making them into a coherent whole, demonstrating the fraud. Hunches are great but facts are always better.

I am a regular lisener (via Slate Plus, so I may not show up as a subscriber). Just listened to the Google episode. I enjoyed it, and I learned a bunch. Thanks.

Why does divisive politics have to be inserted in a tech podcast? Love the tech discussions and insightful opinions on smart home gadgets. I’m learning about smart home stuff and the 2 hosts are exceptionally knowledgeable. BUT... April seems to have to insert her political perspective way too often. Even throws in interviews with people who use the typical half truths to try to defend/push a position. Blah. I usually just unsubscribe when a podcast about a hobby turns into hatred or bashing. Too much of that going on nowadays. I’d love to see less toxicity in our society. I’m going with 3 stars. 5 stars for tech insight, minus 3 stars for the low quality political insight, add one star back because I’m still subscribed. Go positive, April. I still recommend the podcast.

The podcast talks about relevant tech policy topics. But April and Will can do a lot better than boiling most of the otherwise complex issues into overly simplified good v evil terms. Not saying that's what they do in every case, but their opinion on what's "right and wrong" is generally crystal clear. The show can yield much more valuable policy discussion if the hosts dig deeper into the nuance grey area and explore what viable solutions that works for all stakeholders may look like. I understand depth is probably less popular these days, but the lack of it is feeding the societal ill we see today.

Two plugged-in reporters snag great guests and analyze the collision of tech and politics. Really fun and requires minimal tech knowledge.

This show started off a little bumpy but I think they’ve really found their stride. It sometimes feels a *little* rushed to me, I wouldn’t mind if they extended their conversations by a few minutes for each topic. I think they strike a really good balance between talking intelligently about tech issues while also not assuming listeners know all the ins-and-outs of some of the more complex stuff; I really appreciate when they pause to briefly define or explain a term or issue before moving on with their convo. Well done, Will and April! (This is the most pet peeviest of pet peeves, but April needs to slow down and swallow more during the show! She gets a saliva build up in her mouth that you can literally hear, and as soon as she swallows you can hear the difference. I know that’s super gross, but it’s also kind of gross to listen to and it happens at least once an episode. Won’t stop me from listening but kind of drives me crazy when it happens. But I know she’ll never change it since she said she doesn’t read these reviews!).

My new fav podcast-interesting, informative and entertaining!

I really like this show, they have good guests and they talk about things I don't hear in other places. Appreciate the dynamic between the hosts.

Love this podcast. I look forward to listening to it every week."Close my tabs" always interesting and a worthwhile read follow up. Keep up the good work. Thank you!

Finally a tech show that isn’t just interviews but also isn’t just telling me about gadgets most people can’t afford. Good criticism

The shows hosts bring up great topics and I was very drawn in by the concept of the show at its inception. I was even willing to wait a few weeks while they got the kinks and the awkward jokes out of their systems and established a good rapport. Even so, I find their viewpoints to be one sided and, dare I say it, millennial in nature. All I ask is that they bring in a third host with a more conservative and long term viewpoint to add balance to the discussion.

I gave this a few episodes and then I heard heard one of the hosts claim that planned obsolescence from Apple is a good thing because it means they make more money. I’m not one to kink-shame but when your fetish is bad for consumers and the environment I have to give you one star.

So far so good! Tight design, interesting discussions about the social effects of tech. Hope the hosts will remember to regularly address issues of race as tech can seem like a very white world.

Welcome to the nexus of Tech business, political, & legal news. The commentary is great, the perspectives are nuanced, and this podcast is filling a niche that was left painfully blank on the part of other networks.

This podcast has been my new companion on morning jogs and commutes. April and Will are brilliant. I appreciate how they combine cerebral deep dives with candid emotional reactions. Both hosts are pragmatic, but they also have their “hearts in the right place,” especially on the thorny issues like privacy and net neutrality. Definitely worth checking out!