Markiplier has been entertaining millions of fans on YouTube for over a decade. But his new movie Iron Lung - which he self-financed, directed, wrote and acted in - was a smash at the box office, not on his YouTube channel. Is it proof that he’s more than a YouTuber? Or is it proof that Hollywood is thinking about the platform and its creators all wrong? 

Guest: Mark Fischbach aka Markiplier, YouTuber, filmmaker and director of “Iron Lung.”

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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Scamming attempts might seem to just come out of nowhere to suddenly appear in your WhatsApp, but a special economic zone in Laos has emerged as a hotbed of cryptocurrency schemes—where victims of human trafficking are trapped and forced to attempt more crime.

Guest: Andy Greenberg, senior writer for WIRED.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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He’s discontinuing Tesla’s signature models, taking SpaceX public, and putting more chips on A.I. and robotics. As Elon Musk prepares for his next phase, will he rein in any of his excesses? 

And in this week’s Plus segment: Elon in Epstein files.

Guest: Faiz Siddiqui, technology reporter for the Washington Post’s Business Desk, author of “Hubris Maximus: The Shattering of Elon Musk.”

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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The Iranian government cut off nearly all internet access on January 8 as part of a crackdown on protestors, an example of why authoritarians attempt internet blackouts—and why they don’t always work the way authoritarians want them to.

Guest: Steve Feldstein, political scientist and senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in the Democracy, Conflict, and Governance Program.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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In the immediate aftermath of the killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota, federal authorities presented very different accounts of what happened from what videos from witnesses showed. Did having footage from multiple angles of each shooting make the truth clear?

Guests: 

Jake Godin, researcher for Bellingcat.

Julia Angwin, investigative journalist, founder of Proof News and contributing opinion writer for New York Times.

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Having already taken over Paramount, David Ellison was vying to add Warner Bros. Discovery to his portfolio. Are his dad’s politics behind his drive to run Hollywood or is there something else going on?

Guest: Reeves Widemann, features writer at New York Magazine.

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The administration’s justification for their actions in Minneapolis owe a lot to the right-wing influencers—and they seem happy to keep this vicious cycle rolling onto California next. 

Guest: Will Sommer, journalist for the Bulwark.

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Doctors are already using artificial intelligence to take notes while with patients—but are large language models ready to consult? 

Guest: Brittany Trang, health tech reporter for Stat News.

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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Where do you turn for vaccination advice for your kids—or yourself—when the government’s own recommendations can’t be trusted anymore?

Guest: Dr. Lauren Hughes, board-certified pediatrician, science communicator, and author of “The Public Hughesletter.”

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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To kick off the new year, users on X have been asking Grok to nudify people - and kids - at an astonishing rate. And X leadership is egging them on. 

Guest: Jason Koebler, founder of 404 Media and host of the 404 Media Podcast

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

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While the U.S. was busy capturing Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, someone online was  busy placing bets on prediction markets on the ouster. And these well-timed bets may have netted a still-anonymous someone more than $400,000. Was this a case of kind-of-legal insider trading? Or is America going all-out on its efforts to make everything a casino?

We’re going to be talking to pediatrician Dr. Lauren Hughes about the major changes to the CDC vaccine schedule. We want your questions! Hit us up via email at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 646-582-0091. 

Guest: Alex Kirshner, Slate contributing writer

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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.