Note To Self

This Father's Day, one dad on his role as lead parent, and what it means for his career, psyche, and marriage. With Andrew Moravcsik, an accomplished author, academic, and husband to Anne-Marie Slaughter (yeah, the one who literally wrote the book on women in the workplace). This bonus episode is one of our favorites from the Note to Self archive, and was first released as part of our now award-winning series Taking the Lead. We thought it fitting to return to today. 

Besides investigating Russian election interference, Sen. Wyden is tackling government hacking, email surveillance, border device searches, and fighting for your rights online. How did a basketball-playing former gerontologist become your digital champion in Congress? Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Today, Sen. Wyden hears testimony from former FBI Director James Comey. Next week, he’ll be here on Note to Self. Here’s a sneak peek at our chat about cybersecurity and your digital rights. 

Rochelle LaPlante keeps horrifying images off the internet, screening photos for four cents a click. Content moderators do an important job. So why don’t employers like Facebook hold them up as heroes? Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.     

Our producer discovered an FBI file on her grandfather. Back then, the big threat was communists. Today, it's terrorists, Occupy and BLM. Maybe even you. And the surveillance methods are a lot less analog.  Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

With all the news of leaks, national security, and hacking, who better to talk to than Ed Snowden? So yes, Manoush and Ed tackle the NSA, privacy, and ransomware. But also identity, the self, and the “quantified spiderweb of all our worst decisions.” It’s a very Note to Self chat with a very smart man. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Who among us hasn’t wondered, maybe in a stoned haze, if the colors you see aren’t even the same colors that I see? How do we know we’re even in the same reality, man?  That’s what the world has been feeling like, except not so chill. This week, we dissect reality itself, with our friend Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC’s On the Media. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

This Mother's Day, a surprise. To celebrate working moms, we're re-releasing all four episodes of our award-winning series, Taking the Lead. The story of two Brooklyn women and their tech idea to help harried working mothers - like themselves.  Start here, with Episode 1: The Pain Point. And happy Mother's Day, ladies. You rock. 

Episode two of Mother's Day series is The Paradox. Rachael and Leslie test a prototype of their app on one very eager participant: Manoush. And they run into an ironic challenge. Turns out, it's tough to build a work/life balance app without one.  

Faced with financial barriers, Rachael and Leslie join a startup accelerator. But while honing their pitch, different goals emerge. Rachael is focused on social change, while Leslie wants to create a giant woman-led company.

The last episode in our Mother's Day special. Rachael Ellison and Leslie Ali Walker face difficult choices: Should they drop the feminist mission behind the company when they make their pitch to investors? Does Rachael need to give up entrepreneurship so she can remain the kind of mom she wants to be? 

Bot armies are taking aim at our democracies, spreading garbage on Twitter from last November to Brexit to this weekend’s French election. But what do they want with Manoush? Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Uh, mom, the eggplant emoji is not about food. The crying-laughing emoji is not appropriate for funerals. And dad, just texting 'K' is super passive-aggressive. This week, a real live therapist tackles your intergenerational tech dilemmas. And we try to stop copping out of tough conversations with a text. Admit it, you do it too. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

We count on robots to do more and more stuff. Drive cars, water crops, diagnose disease. What happens when the robots are racist? This week, a look back at one terrible AI mistake. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Your selfies are sharing way more than your smiling face. They’re full of data. Which is being used by stores. And banks. And police. And, well, everyone. This week, you sent us your photos. We gave them to data scientist Andreas Weigend, to see what he could deduce. A lot, it turns out. Date and time. Location, down to where in a building you were. Your name, education, employment history. Your hopes and dreams. Well, not quite. But close.  Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

Information overload has reached an all time high. Is there a way to stay-up-to-date without losing your mind? Yes. We call it “single-tasking.” Here’s a reminder of what multi-tasking does to your brain plus a proven way to find focus. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

How one revolting, racist, sexist word emerged from the dark corners of 4chan and Reddit. And why we should care. With slang lexicographer Jonathon Green, writer Dana Schwartz of the Observer, and Derek Thompson of the Atlantic. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

The story goes: the Trump campaign hired consultants called Cambridge Analytica. Cambridge uses data to target voters' personalities and emotions. Trump wins. But it's not so simple.  Did the Trump campaign have a secret sauce? Or just more ketchup? This week, some answers. With Matt Oczkowski of Cambridge Analytica, psychometrics pioneer Michal Kosinski, and Nicholas Confessore of the New York Times. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

After building the social network’s ad system, Antonio García Martínez tried to set his career on fire with a tell-all. An inside view on Face-versaries, terrifying emails from Zuck, and the cult of changing the world. Turns out, it takes a lot to get shunned in the Valley. Especially when you write a bestseller. The author of Chaos Monkeys, on the fallout from his attempt to commit career suicide. Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.    

So, the C.I.A. has a back door to your phone. At least, according to the Vault 7 data dump from WikiLeaks. This week, when are these tactics really making our lives safer? Support Note to Self by becoming a member today at NotetoSelfRadio.org/donate.