Stupid Sexy Privacy

This week, BJ examines 404 Media's bombshell coverage of Proton's CEO and his alleged AI psychosis—and whether activists can still trust their products. Our book excerpt also covers how to film ICE safely. Given that an ICE agent held a gun to a bystander's head in North Hollywood the day before we recorded this, the timing couldn't be any better for you to hear this.

This week on Privacy Tips, co-author of How to Protect Yourself From Fascists & Weirdos, BJ Mendelson, explains how to figure out what your threat vector is. AKA the big bullseye that'll be on you when you use your voice and want to fight the fascists and weirdos. Also this week we'll talk about the behind the scenes development of the brand new .pdf version of the book that's out, and more. Do people even read these things? If so ... Bah Weep Granah Weet Nini Bon!

What's the difference between a journalist and an influencer? How about someone who's a jerk and someone who's a fascist? In this week's book excerpt, co-author of How to Protect Yourself From Fascists & Weirdos, BJ Mendelson, explains. We also take a moment to talk about Meta (Facebook) being accused of messing with both Indivisible's No Kings event on October 17th and the elections in Brazil.

The problem in our current era is that we've turned spending money into passively clicking and tapping on stuff. Great for the tech companies. Real bad for your wallet. We explain why this week, and BJ is also joined by David Gerard from Pivot to AI to talk about Palmer Lucky's sketchy trip to the West Point Military Academy.

This week on Privacy Tips, Co-author of How to Protect Yourself From Fascists & Weirdos, B.J. Mendelson, finishes up his reading of chapter two, which covers why you should freeze your credit asap, how to spot phishing emails, and a future world where people can use AI to video chat with you and pretend they're a celebrity. We wish we were kidding. All this and more ...

This week on Privacy Tips, Ohio State University professor, Dr. Viet Trinh, joins BJ to talk about Flock Safety cameras, how everyone is basically under surveillance all the time by the police thanks to them, and what we can do about it. No book excerpt this week, we'll be back doing those next Thursday!

This week on Privacy Tips, host BJ Mendelson walks through Chapter 2's essential security checklist from How to Protect Yourself from Fascists and Weirdos— including why a simple sticky note over your laptop camera matters more than you think, yes even in 2026 ten years after we first gave that advice in our original book on privacy, and how LinkedIn is used as a resource by fascists and weirdos to get "dirt" on their enemies. All this and more, including odd duck sounds, are waiting for you to enjoy.

Your phone isn't secure by default—and neither are you. So today, BJ Mendelson walks you through 15 easy privacy moves that separate people who are actually protected from those who think they are. Come take a listen.

This week on Privacy Tips, the authors of "How to Survive Authoritarianism," Dan Storyev and Masha Kuznetsov, discuss with BJ how to recognize and resist authoritarian tactics, including troll factories, misinformation, and political repression, with insights applicable to both Russia and the United States. If you think American democracy is guaranteed to last forever, you're wrong, and this episode will help show you why.

This week on the show, host BJ Mendelson discusses how to properly secure Firefox, why you shouldn't use Google Chrome and Apple's Safari, and what to do about your Internet Service Provider creeping on you. All this and more as we get ready for the launch of our new book, How to Protect Yourself From Fascists & Weirdos next month.