this is the wellness wild west

The wellness and health tech space is more crowded and confusing than ever – influencers are selling dubious health and beauty products and tech companies are developing wearables that track everything, from your sleep to your blood. Victoria Song, senior reviewer at The Verge, calls it the “wellness wild west.” Dexter talks to Victoria about the growing wellness trends online, the gray area between medical devices and wellness devices, and the mental health consequences of it all that no one talks about. Hit us up: [email protected], or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:  Victoria’s newsletter, Optimizer: https://www.theverge.com/optimizer-newsletter kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI agents can do stuff for you: like organize meetings or, accidentally delete your hard drive. Is this the future Silicon Valley wants for us? To get a preview of what it might be like, Evan Ratliff launched a startup with almost exclusively AI employees and documented the whole thing in his podcast Shell Game. Dexter talks with Evan about what it feels like to have a robot apologize for interrupting your lunch, why Clawdbot and Moltbook weren’t as groundbreaking as you might think, and why he thinks fellow journalists should consider using AI agents.  Hit us up: [email protected], or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:  Shell Game on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/shell-game/id1753117762  kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Direct File promised a free and easy way for Americans to file their taxes, but after two successful tax seasons, it was shut down. Dexter talks with Merici Vinton, who helped build Direct File, about the project's development, why it was an example of a good government program, and how lobbying from private tax companies and DOGE’s involvement ultimately led to its downfall. Could Direct File make a comeback, or has the opportunity for free tax filing already passed?  Hit us up: [email protected], or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:  Merici’s Direct File story: https://fas.org/publication/end-of-irs-direct-file/   kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Wartime propaganda isn’t new – but the use of AI slop in churning out propaganda videos is. And in this proxy war, Iran is winning. Dexter talks to Matthew Gault, who recently wrote about the Iran-US slopaganda war for 404 Media, about the strategy behind Iran’s videos, why the US is losing online, and how AI has amplified an age-old war tactic. Read Matthew’s piece for 404: https://www.404media.co/iran-is-winning-the-ai-slop-propaganda-war/ Hit us up: [email protected], or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. This episode was livestreamed on YouTube. Catch the next one live by subscribing to our channel: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_podSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Mostly Human is a weekly podcast that explores technology through the most important lens: the human one. Hosted by award-winning tech journalist Laurie Segall, the immersive interview and investigative show tackles some of the defining questions of our time with headline-making tech titans and the people you don't know yet, but should. Mostly Human will leave you with a sense of agency over fear, and a clearer view of how tech can actually work for you. Listen here and subscribe to Mostly Human with Laurie Segall on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ethan Zuckerman helped design the amateur web as we know it. In the 90s, he worked at Tripod, providing free web space for anyone to build their own site. His invention, pop-up ads, helped make that possible. The industry ran with it, and the Internet was never the same.Since then, Ethan’s been on a mission to fix the Internet and bring it back to what he hoped it would be – he even sued Facebook over it. Dexter talks to Ethan about how to make advertising less surveillant, a “free-trade coffee” model of the web, and why ad blockers might hint at a way to make Facebook a better place. Hit us up: [email protected], or @killswitchpod and @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Links:  Ethan Zuckerman and Chand Rajendra-Nicolucci’s proposal on Forgetful Adveritising: https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/area/center/isp/documents/zuckerman.pdf Ethan’s op-ed in the New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/05/opinion/facebook-court-internet-meta.html Ethan and Isaac Brickman’s proposal for middleware: https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/JMYZ3GJKPE7UTCN8ZR3K/full kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

India’s tech industry was supposed to be a ticket to the middle class, a way out of poverty. Instead, for many workers, it’s become something else: long hours, intense competition, and a growing mental health crisis. Dexter talks to journalist Parth MN about the mounting pressure inside India’s tech workforce, the rise in suicides among engineers, and how a system built for relentless growth leaves little room for failure.  Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch:  Parth’s article, “Death of an Indian tech worker” - https://restofworld.org/2026/india-tech-workers-crisis-suicide/  VICE’s video, “ The Women Behind the Indian Farmers Protest” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knMUaiBiw4U  kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Do you know what Palantir does? Don’t feel bad: neither do a lot of their employees. In fact, WIRED senior writer Makena Kelly recently uncovered company chat logs showing how angry and confused Palantir workers are about the company’s involvement with ICE. Dexter talks to Makena about this new reporting, what exactly the company is providing ICE, and how the company creates mystery behind everything from Partiful rumors to skyrocketing stock price. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch:  Makena’s reporting about Palantir employees: https://www.wired.com/story/palantir-ice-dhs-alex-pretti-killing-workers-slack-minneapolis/ 404 Media’s zine on ICE: https://www.404media.co/icezine/ kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

kill switch went live on March 4th to cover one of the newsier topics of the week: the fight between the US government and Anthropic, the company behind Claude. Dexter talked to WIRED senior writer, Will Knight, to discuss what exactly is happening, why, and the stakes for all of us. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch our next live episode: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch:  Will’s articles on WIRED: https://www.wired.com/story/trump-moves-to-ban-anthropic-from-the-us-government/ https://www.wired.com/story/anthropic-supply-chain-risk-shockwaves-silicon-valley/ Will’s AI Lab newsletter: https://www.wired.com/newsletter/exclusive/ai-lab See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The 1997 science fiction film Gattaca depicts a dystopian future where genetic technology creates a two-tier society: people who were born with the “best” genes selected vs. people who were conceived naturally. This was a cautionary tale, showing us a future we don’t want. But now, Silicon Valley is heavily investing in making this technology real. Dexter talks to Amanda Gerut, West Coast editor at Fortune, about the rise of polygenic screening companies, the investment in gene editing of embryos, and how close we are to creating designer babies. Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up [email protected], or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky. Read + Watch:  Amanda’s article, “Silicon Valley sets its sights on building the perfect baby” - https://fortune.com/2025/11/29/ivf-silicon-valley-billionaire-baby/ WSJ's reporting, “Genetically Engineered Babies Are Banned. Tech Titans Are Trying to Make One Anyway.” - https://www.wsj.com/tech/biotech/genetically-engineered-babies-tech-billionaires-6779efc8 kill switch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@killswitch_pod See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.