Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch joins Mikah Sargent this week on Tech News Weekly! A Stanford graduate built a matchmaking algorithm that's sweeping across the Stanford campus. Is social media "clinically addictive"? Discord announced an age-verification process that sparked privacy concerns among users. And the Virtual Boy is back?

• Amanda talks about an AI-powered dating app that was developed by a Stanford graduate and how dating for young adults is becoming more driven by tech.
• Mikah talks about the social media addiction trial and comments made by Instagram's CEO, Adam Mosseri.
• Emma Roth of The Verge joins the show to talk about Discord's age verification mandate that has sparked huge user privacy concerns, especially following a data breach the company suffered last year.
• And Scott Stein of CNET stops by to share his thoughts and time with Nintendo's revival of Virtual Boy as a replica accessory for the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Amanda Silberling

Guests: Emma Roth and Scott Stein

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Abrar Al-Heeti of CNET joins Mikah Sargent on Tech News Weekly this week! Abrar has her hands on the new Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold phone! More people are pirating TV through rogue streaming boxes. The newest social media platform has launched, but it's only for AI bots. And Apple's Lockdown Mode prevented the FBI from accessing a reporter's iPhone.

• Abrar got her hands on the Samsung Galaxy Z TriFold phone and shares her initial thoughts on the device so far.
• Mikah talks about how more people are straying away from streaming services and looking towards streaming boxes that allow one to access pirated content that mirrors live TV.
• Mikah and Abrar chat about Moltbook, a new social media platform that is just for AI bots.
• And Mikah shares how Apple's Lockdown Mode helped a Washington Post reporter stop the FBI from accessing their seized iPhone.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti

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Jacob Ward joins the show this week! Big Tech is brewing up a battle for your kids. Scientists are using AI to identify dinosaur footprints. Looking into Apple's Creator Studio. And TikTok USDS blames Sunday's outages on a power outage.

• Jacob Ward talks about recently released documents in lawsuits against big tech that showcase how social media companies are aggressively recruiting teens to their platforms.
• Mikah Sargent gets very excited about scientists using AI in identifying dinosaur footprints.
• Dan Moren of SixColors stops by to talk about the Apple Creator Studio collection that makes Final Cut Pro, Logic Pro, and other creative apps available for users for a single subscription.
• And Emma Roth of The Verge joins the show to talk about the outage the US side of TikTok suffered earlier this week following the finalization of the new TikTok USDS Joint Venture.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jacob Ward

Guests: Dan Moren and Emma Roth

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Mikah Sargent and Emily Forlini dive into some of tech's strangest new challenges: AI wearables causing psychological meltdowns, mobile games turning to casino-style tactics, and a viral EMF theory targeting NFL injuries. Get fresh perspectives on tech's impact from mental health to big-money gaming, plus a skeptical look at conspiracy theories in sports.

• Meta AI Glasses & Mental Health: Emily discusses the case of a tech exec whose constant use of AI glasses led to financial trouble and delusions, highlighting unseen risks of wearable AI.
• Gaming Industry's VIP Secrets: Mikah digs into how mobile games reward and track their top spenders with perks and personal attention, raising questions about ethics and addiction.
• 49ers EMF Injury Conspiracies: Mikah breaks down the sudden popularity of blaming football injuries on electromagnetic fields, with experts pushing back against the science behind the claims.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Emily Forlini

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Jennifer Pattison Tuohy shares some of the cooler tech she saw at this year's CES. A warning for those using some wireless audio devices. And what happens when you swap the nosebleed sets for a virtual front row experience at a NBA game?

• Jennifer was on the show floor at CES last week! From smart mirrors to smart locks and robotic pets, she shares some of the exciting and fun tech she saw at the convention.
• Mikah warns us about patching your wireless audio devices, as a new vulnerability was discovered that leaves devices open for others to eavesdrop on your conversations.
• And Kerry Wan of ZDNet joins the show to share his experience watching a NBA game within Apple's Vision Pro.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Guest: Kerry Wan

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Jacob Ward of The Rip Current joins Mikah Sargent on the show this week! Lego unveils its Smart Brick. Jacob kvetches about AI's overwhelming presence at CES. We get some on-site reporting from CES. And Utah becomes the first state to allow artificial intelligence to renew medical prescriptions.

• Mikah talks about Lego's new Smart Brick technology that allows you to interact and play with your Lego sets more directly.
• Jacob shares his thoughts about the overall theme of AI that has become front and center at this year's CES event.
• Stephen Robles of beard.fm joins the show live from CES to talk about what he saw at the event.
• And Ruth Reader of POLITICO stops by to talk about Utah being the first state to allow artificial intelligence to begin renewing medical prescriptions for patients.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jacob Ward

Guests: Stephen Robles and Ruth Reader

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Take a look back at some of our favorite interviews from the past year on Tech News Weekly!

• Eric Migicovsky, founder of the smartwatch company Pebble, joins Mikah to talk about exciting news with Pebble.
• Bloomberg antitrust reporter Leah Nylen returns to unpack the latest in the DOJ's case against Google. She explains the three proposed remedies—including a possible Chrome browser divestiture—and what testimony from tech competitors like DuckDuckGo, Perplexity, and OpenAI revealed about Google's dominance in search and AI.
• Leila Zia, Head of Research at the Wikimedia Foundation, outlines their new AI roadmap, which focuses on supporting Wikipedia's volunteer editors rather than replacing them. She details how AI will assist with moderation, multilingual knowledge expansion, and mentorship—all while upholding values of transparency and human agency.
• Scott Stein of CNET is staying busy as he joins the show to share his hands-on impressions of Nintendo's Switch 2 console, Mario Kart World, and its new features.
• And Consumer Reports' Derek Kravitz details Instacart's AI pricing practices.

Host: Mikah Sargent

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Jennifer Pattison Tuohy from The Verge joins Mikah Sargent for the final episode of Tech News Weekly for 2025! Are AI health coaches the future for wearables? A look back at smart home news and devices in 2025. And how AI image generators have changed over time.

• Mikah talks about an article written by CNET's Vanessa Hand Orellana about AI health coaches in wearables and how it showcases innovation within healthcare, but also the data concerns if data breaches or unauthorized access to the data occur.
• Jennifer reflects on the smart home news and smart home devices highlighted in the past year and shares her excitement about news such as IKEA releasing Thread-supported devices, but also laments on companies like iRobot filing for bankruptcy.
• And Allison Johnson of The Verge joins the show to talk about how AI image generators are improving as various models have learned from their mistakes & fumbles that occurred in their early beginnings.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Guest: Allison Johnson

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Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch joins Mikah Sargent on Tech News Weekly this week! The former CEO of Hinge left his position this week to launch an AI-powered dating app. Pebble is coming out with its take on a smart ring. What is the AI Model Context Protocol? And could grocery delivery services be using AI to charge different prices for groceries to consumers?

• Amanda talks about a new AI-powered dating app called Overtone that the former CEO of Hinge, Justin McLeod, has founded.
• Pebble is coming out with its own smart ring with a built-in microphone, and Mikah has some quarrels with the device.
• Mikah talks about the Model Context Protocol, or MCP: an approach companies like Google and OpenAI have adopted that would allow AI agents to access information online in a standardized manner easily, and now Anthropic has donated the protocol to the Linux Foundation.
• And Derek Kravitz of Consumer Reports joins the show to talk about its investigation into Instacart utilizing artificial intelligence that would offer different prices of the same product to consumers.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Amanda Silberling

Guest: Derek Kravitz

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Jacob Ward of The Rip Current is hosting Tech News Weekly this week, joined by Abrar Al-Heeti of CNET as well! Samsung unveils its upcoming tri-folding phone. OpenAI declares a "code red" to improve the quality of ChatGPT. How do you feel about the idea of ChatGPT being a dating coach for you? And Scott Weiner's work on shaping AI regulation.

• Abrar chats about Samsung's unveiling of its upcoming tri-folding phone, the Galaxy Z TriFold.
• Jacob shares how, after Google and Anthropic have made considerable strides in their own AI models, Gemini 3 and Claude Opus 4.5, respectively, OpenAI has declared a 'code red' to divert all resources into improving its ChatGPT model.
• Journalist Rita Omokha joins the show to chat about her recent article talking about how slowly more women are utilizing AI in providing advice towards aspects of their lives, such as relationship advice.
• And reporter Adam Rogers stops by to chat with Jacob about California Senator Scott Weiner and the work the senator has done on AI regulation and what could be next down the road.

Hosts: Jacob Ward and Abrar Al-Heeti

Guests: Rita Omokha and Adam Rogers

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