CYBER

This summer, a movie called The Sound of Freedom took America by storm. The hero was Tim Ballard, the founder of an organization called Operation Underground Railroad. The movie depicted Ballard as an avenging hero who rescued trafficked children from a life of slavery. The truth, we’re all finding out, is something more complicated and a lot less heroic.Ballard left the organization around the time Sound of Freedom premiered, following an investigation into his sexual misconduct. It’s a wild story involving the The Church of Latter Day Saints, a psychic channeling the Prophet Nephi, and serious criminal investigations.Here to tell us about it are Vice’s own Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman.Stories discussed in this episode:Mormon Church Denounces Tim Ballard’s “Morally Unacceptable” ActivitiesTim Ballard’s Departure From Operation Underground Railroad Followed Sexual Misconduct Investigation‘Sound of Freedom’ Producer Felt the Naked Breasts of Apparently Underage Trafficking VictimOperation Underground Railroad Child-Rescue Missions Were Based on Psychic IntelligenceWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

It’s time for a new history of the internet, one that focuses on the recent revolutions that define the world we all live in. Social media has changed the way many of us live and work. It’s a world defined by a new economy of creators and influencers. The new media is here and it’s Extremely Online.That’s the title of the new book from Taylor Lorenz, which is the untold story of fame, influence, and power on the internet. Lorenz is a columnist for The Washington Post and she joined us to answer all our questions about why Vine failed, Tumblr was the best social network, and what the future holds for everyone who lives and works in the era of social media-powered capitalism.In the back half of the episode, Motherboard science reporter Becky Ferreira stops by to talk about UFOs and radioactive boars.Pre-order Taylor's book here.Stories discussed in this episode:The Original 'Avocado Toast' Millionaire Is Back, And He Wants 'Pain In the Economy''Avocado Toast' Millionaire Very Sorry for Saying 'Arrogant' Workers Should Lose Jobs After OutrageHere Is NASA's 36-Page Report Investigating UFOs'The Truth Is Out There': The Emails NASA's UFO Investigators Got From Scientists and the PublicWTF Is Going On With 'Alien Corpses' Being Shown to Mexico's Congress?We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

The heat is still here, but the summer will soon be over. Here at the precipice of fall I wanted to take a moment to reflect on one of the big stories that Motherboard covered this season: labor, strikes, and unions.Here to tell us all about it is Motherboard labor reporter Jules Roscoe.Stories discussed in this episode:Instacart Tells Shoppers in Hurricane ‘Bad Weather = Good Tips’'It Feels Horrible': Amazon Workers Delivered Packages During Destructive Tropical StormAmazon Told Drivers Not to Worry About In-Van Surveillance Cameras. Now Footage Is Leaking OnlineOhio Man Charged for Shooting Amazon Driver Delivering to His HouseAmazon Says It Doesn't 'Employ' Drivers, But Records Show It Hired Firms to Prevent Them From UnionizingTeamsters UPS Union Wins Historic Contract, Likely Avoiding Gigantic StrikeWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

It’s part two of our bittersweet episode of Cyber where we bid farewell to Motherboard editor-in-chief Jason Koebler. This week we do a deep dive into the Motherboard lore. The stories that broke us, the controversies that made us who we are. Come find out which popular web comic wrote a strip about us that’s aged like milk, how much horse shit you can buy for $10 in Bitcoin, why the director of Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story hates Motherboard, and why you should never bowl with someone who has ebola.Vox Something Or OtherThe Shitexpress videoBowling with EbolaThe Chinese Mystery Seed SagaNeil Blomkamp destroys his computersWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

It’s a bittersweet episode of Cyber as we bid farewell to Motherboard editor-in-chief Jason Koebler. It’s a long episode so we’ve split it into two parts. This week you get some discussions about the topics of the day including Planet of Bass, Oliver Anthony, and the vibes-based economy. After that we start dishing all of Motherboard’s secrets, including how Jason came to work there and what it’s like to walk out of a meeting with 8 missed calls from Disney on your phone.Next week we’re talking about a webcomic, comments sections, and how much horseshit $10 in Bitcoin could buy a few years ago.We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

Room-temperature superconductors are here! Maybe! Look, science is a liar sometimes, especially in the internet age. Motherboard science reporter Becky Ferreira is here to help us parse the truth from fiction of LK-99. It’s either one of the biggest science stories of our entire lives or … just another science hoax.Later in the show, Joseph Cox is stopping by to tell us about another group of researchers who’ve uncovered a backdoor in police radios.Stories discussed in this episode:DIY Scientists and Institutions Are Racing to Replicate the Room-Temperature SuperconductorResearchers Find ‘Backdoor’ in Encrypted Police and Military RadiosDefense Lawyers Push Judge to Reveal Secret Country that Helped FBI Wiretap the WorldWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

We’ve got a super sized Cyber for you today that’s all about the two hottest movies in theaters. One is a mythological take on the creation of the modern world and the devastating weapons that ushered it in. The other is about an idol forged from plastic that came to dominate that world.That’s right. It’s Barbenheimer time. Emily Lipstein is co-hosting with me and we’re joined by nuclear historian and master of secrets, Alex Wellerstein as well as journalist and critic Gita Jackson.We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

It’s a brutally hot summer, a great time to cool off in an air conditioned movie theater or to catch up on some of those TV shows you’ve had on your list forever. But did you know the people who make the fine entertainment you know and love are on strike? Both writers and actors are picketing, trying to get a fair shake out of the studios and companies that bet big on streaming and used the shift to screw over the workers who keep us all entertained.With us today to talk about it is standup comedian and consummate host and presenter Adam Conover. If you’ve been following the strike at all you’ve probably seen some of his videos. If you’re a fan of great TV or podcasts, you may have seen his various TV shows or listened to his Factually! Podcast.Stories discussed in this episode:SAG Files Unfair Labor Practice Against Universal After It Trimmed Trees on Picket Line Without a PermitStriking Writers Are on the Front Line of a Battle Between AI and WorkersHow Long Will the Writers’ Strike Last? An Expert ExplainsThe Hollywood Strike Will Affect Way More Than Movies and TVWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show.Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.

A movie about a Mormon anti-trafficking activist made headlines when it beat Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny at the box office. But Sound of Freedom’s box office numbers aren’t all they’re cracked up to be and the group behind the movie, Operation Underground Railroad (OUR) has a long and troubled history.Motherboard Senior Staff Writer Anna Merlan joins us this week on Cyber to explain OUR and Sound of Freedom.Stories discussed in this episode:Tim Ballard Has ‘Stepped Away’ From Operation Underground Railroad, Org SaysAnti-Trafficking Group With Long History of False Claims Gets Its Hollywood MomentA Famed Anti-Sex Trafficking Group Has a Problem With the TruthInside a Massive Anti-Trafficking Charity's Blundering Overseas MissionsAnti-Trafficking Charity Operation Underground Railroad Has Another Murky Rescue StoryOperation Underground Railroad’s Carefully Crafted Public Image Is Falling ApartWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts.