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Technology Blows

Technology Blows

Written by: Dan Slimmon
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 Technology: where does it come from? How does it work? And why is it so shitty? Tune in every week for true stories about the technological marvels that plague our lives, from Bluetooth to QR codes to Clippy.© 2026 Dan Slimmon Social Sciences
Episodes
  • Cookies: How Ad Platforms Steal Your Mind (Part 1)

    Cookies: How Ad Platforms Steal Your Mind (Part 1)
    Jan 14 2026
    The web didn't have to be this way. Friend-of-the-pod CJ Horton joins us for a look at cookies: the completely reasonable web protocol that became host to the parasitic ad industry.References:"Lou Montulli: Sexiest Internet Mogul." People. 15 November 1999.https://adtech.org/best-demand-side-platforms/https://www.wsj.com/articles/federal-agencies-use-cellphone-location-data-for-immigration-enforcement-11581078600http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2011/07/undeletable-cookie/https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2024/04/google-delays-third-party-cookie-death-again-now-scheduled-for-2025/https://arxiv.org/abs/cs/0105018https://blog.chromium.org/2020/04/temporarily-rolling-back-samesite.htmlhttps://blog.google/products/ads/next-steps-transparency-choice-control/https://blog.google/products/chrome/building-a-more-private-web/https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc2109https://digiday.com/uk/all-you-need-to-know-about-europes-data-privacy-regulations/https://github.com/w3c/web-advertising#ideas-and-proposals-links-outside-this-repohttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/OnlineAdvertisingParticipants.mdhttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/rtb-use-case.mdhttps://github.com/w3c/web-advertising/blob/main/understanding-privacy-advocates.mdhttps://googleblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/investing-in-mobile-future-with-admob.htmlhttps://help.imdb.com/article/imdb/general-information/why-should-i-register-on-imdb/GHB62T7USTMYMCDC?ref_=helpart_nav_3#https://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/1995OctDec/0458.htmlhttps://lists.w3.org/Archives/Public/ietf-http-wg/1995OctDec/0501.htmlhttps://privacysandbox.google.com/blog/privacy-sandbox-next-stepshttps://privacysandbox.google.com/cookies/storage-access-apihttps://privacysandbox.google.com/protections/privacy-budgethttps://safety.google/safety/ads-data/https://scholarship.law.vanderbilt.edu/jetlaw/vol1/iss1/4/https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/9560818?hl=enhttps://techcrunch.com/2009/11/09/google-acquires-admob/https://thehistoryoftheweb.com/your-privacy-policy-doesnt-mean-a-thing-regulating-privacy-on-the-web/https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc2965https://tools.ietf.org/html/rfc6265https://w3cping.github.io/privacy-threat-model/https://web.archive.org/web/19991127212505/http://www.networkadvertising.org/https://web.archive.org/web/20000815060418/http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/#2.3https://web.archive.org/web/20090627105722/http://www.cookiecentral.com/faq/#2.3https://web.archive.org/web/20100830143434/http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/article.php/3895466https://web.archive.org/web/20110530020518/http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/25/microsoft-security-idUSN2517397120110525https://web.archive.org/web/20120119215316/http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/article.php/3877261https://web.archive.org/web/20131209210402/http://news.cnet.com/8301-10789_3-9918582-57.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20141127185609/http://www.computerworld.com/article/2510494/data-privacy/microsoft-disables--supercookies--used-on-msn-com-visitors.htmlhttps://web.archive.org/web/20170906230653/http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/M/magic-cookie.htmlhttps://webkit.org/blog/10218/full-third-party-cookie-blocking-and-more/https://webkit.org/blog/9661/preventing-tracking-prevention-tracking/https://www.baekdal.com/thoughts/the-original-cookie-specification-from-1997-was-gdpr-compliant/https://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/computer-internet/computer-use-1984-2009.htmlhttps://www.cnet.com/news/privacy/google-finds-apple-safari-anti-tracking-feature-actually-enabled-tracking/
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    1 hr and 8 mins
  • Kalshi: the Betting App that's Helping to Destroy Democracy

    Kalshi: the Betting App that's Helping to Destroy Democracy
    Jan 7 2026
    Kalshi: is it "the first federally regulated prediction market," or just a shittier FanDuel? Join me and friend-of-the-pod Jeff Bonhag to learn:What modern science has in common with rolling fox knucklesHow Kalshi DOSed the Commodity Futures Trading CommissionWhy Donald Trump Jr is so interested in making prediction markets a thingReferences:https://blockworks.co/podcast/empire/fbd446de-a7e3-11f0-8d81-6380135dcd93 https://businesslawreview.uchicago.edu/print-archive/event-contracts-are-step-too-far-derivatives-regulation https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article-abstract/281/1784/20133305/77153/Decision-accuracy-in-complex-environments-is-often https://comments.cftc.gov/PublicComments/ViewComment.aspx?id=70788https://epicwins.io/2025/10/12/kalshi-raises-300m-and-expands-to-over-140-countries/ https://frontofficesports.com/kalshi-hit-with-nationwide-class-action-over-illegal-sports-betting/ https://gamblingharm.org/kalshi-college-ambassadors-program/ https://german.yale.edu/sites/default/files/hayek_-_the_use_of_knowledge_in_society.pdf https://mickbransfield.com/2025/08/11/summary-of-legal-actions-involving-kalshis-sports-event-contracts/https://news.kalshi.com/p/kalshi-cnn-prediction-market-partnership https://nexteventhorizon.substack.com/p/kalshi-and-tareks-not-so-excellent-pr-adventure https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/empire/id1554930038?i=1000731608313 https://readwrite.com/kalshi-sued-massachusetts-illegal-sports-gambling/ https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2016/07/why-political-betting-markets-are-failing.html https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cadc.41256/gov.uscourts.cadc.41256.1208669739.0.pdf https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2023/11/kalshi-sues-cftc-over-election-betting-bid-denial-00124658 https://time.com/7095708/financial-scam-political-prediction-election/ https://users.wfu.edu/strumpks/papers/JEP_2004.pdf https://web.stanford.edu/~csimoiu/doc/wisdom-of-crowds.pdf https://www.axios.com/2024/04/10/us-legal-betting-prediction-market-events-kalshi https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-05-26/kalshi-s-stock-market-of-the-world-let-s-you-bet-on-anything https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-02/kalshi-s-top-lawyer-quits-to-become-leader-of-doge-team-at-sec https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-05-20/kalshi-pulls-announcement-of-xai-tie-up-hours-after-touting-deal https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-20/hedge-funds-are-wooed-by-startup-to-bet-millions-on-real-events https://www.cnbc.com/2021/12/29/this-new-exchange-lets-investors-vote-yes-or-no-on-major-events-to-hedge-their-portfolios.html https://www.cnbc.com/2024/10/09/kalshi-expands-election-betting-options-cftc-complains.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/01/13/kalshi-names-donald-trump-jr-as-strategic-advisor-to-prediction-market-firm.html https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/04/cnbc-and-kalshi-strike-exclusive-partnership.html https://www.cnbc.com/video/2025/12/04/on-kalshi-there-is-no-house-anybody-can-win-says-ceo-tarek-mansour.html https://www.covers.com/industry/kalshi-faces-class-action-over-alleged-unlicensed-sports-betting-nov-28-2025 https://www.eesi.org/articles/view/data-centers-and-water-consumption https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2022/02/19/will-prediction-markets-live-up-to-the-hype https://www.fastcompany.com/91399289/kalshi-prediction-markets-sports-gambling https://www.forbes.com/sites/aliciapark/2025/12/02/how-kalshis-luana-lopes-lara-cofounder-went-from-professional-ballerina-to-worlds-youngest-self-made-woman-billionaire/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2021/12/01/from-fintechs-crypto-top-...
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    1 hr and 25 mins
  • Scantron: the Little Green Sheet that Ruined Education

    Scantron: the Little Green Sheet that Ruined Education
    Dec 31 2025

    This week we're joined by Brandon Romano to learn about Scantron: the company that made ubiquitous standardized testing possible. Find out:

    • How standardized tests were graded in the 1500s (hint: it involved throwing corpses over walls)
    • Why the hideous pseudoscience of eugenics is weirdly load-bearing for the SAT
    • How Scantron uses infrared light to transmute those little number-2 pencil marks into college rejection letters

    References:

    • https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/schools-standardized-testing-assessment-ai-future/675366/
    • https://blog.collegeboard.org/everything-you-need-know-about-digital-sat
    • https://edscoop.com/scantron-how-colleges-handle-old-unwanted-tech/
    • https://edtechmagazine.com/higher/article/2016/12/scantron-technology-creates-more-efficient-testing
    • https://gizmodo.com/5908833/the-birth-of-scantrons-the-bane-of-standardized-testing
    • https://patents.google.com/patent/US3050248A/en
    • https://patents.google.com/patent/US3900961A/en
    • https://scantron.com/ScanToolsPlus/Help/v8/LINK/content/apicontent/overview/scanner_technology_overview.htm
    • https://web.archive.org/web/20120403020015/http://www-03.ibm.com/ibm/history/ibm100/us/en/icons/testscore/
    • https://www.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2014/10/LazarinOvertestingReport.pdf
    • https://www.cxomagazine.com/reimagining-data-intelligence-through-human-centered-innovation-and-ethical-ai/
    • https://www.edutopia.org/blog/dark-history-of-multiple-choice-ainissa-ramirez
    • https://www.ipmetrics.net/blog/litigation/case-law/scantron-patent-marking/
    • https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/latimes/name/william-sanders-obituary?id=17291417
    • https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/orangecounty/name/michael-sokolski-obituary?id=8415721&fhid=3071
    • https://www.newspapers.com/image/402857246/?match=1&terms=Scantron
    • https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/s/BdPM5tl48r
    • https://www.reddit.com/r/fgcu/comments/320qqk/whats_up_with_having_to_buy_our_own_scantron/
    • https://www.scantron.com/blog/meet-mary-michael-sellers/
    • https://yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300026399/chinas-examination-hell/
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=85gAfiJGpVM
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqRdrXUaESg
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    1 hr and 16 mins
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