Podcast
Download This Show
Hosted by ABC Australia · EN
Download This Show is your weekly guide to the world of media, culture, and technology. From social media to gadgets, streaming services to privacy issues. Each week Rae Johnston and guests take a fun, deep dive into how technology is reshaping our lives.
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4d ago00:30:06Tap to summarizeExplore the latest in technology, social media, consumer electronics, digital culture and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Are we nostalgic for a 90s that didn't exist?
2w ago00:30:07Tap to summarizeMixtape is a new Australian-made video game set in the 90s featuring burned CDs, shopping trolley rides and feelings of adolescent freedom. Nostalgia for that era is trending, so what is it about those years that makes us feel so fond? And are we remembering it correctly?Plus, AI is making the internet sound like one not-quite-real person. What are the new indicators of AI writing, and is a 'human in the loop' still enough to keep it all in check?Finally, Polymarket. It's been blacklisted by Australian regulators, but companies in the United States are treating it like serious financial infrastructure.GUESTS: Mark Serrels – Editorial Director at Choice and co-founder of Continue Magazine. Phoebe Toups-Dougas – Associate Professor of Human-Centred Computing in the Exertion Games Lab at Monash University, AKA Trans Gamer Professor. NB: Phoebe mentioned a book. It's called Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We Are Wrong About AI.------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Can we force data centres to clean up their act?
3w ago00:30:06Tap to summarizeBook publishers including Hachette and Macmillan have filed a lawsuit in New York against Mark Zuckerberg and Meta. They're trying to stop AI companies from allegedly illegally copying millions of books and articles from piracy sites to train their models. How likely is it that the case will succeed?Locally, there's a NSW inquiry into data centres. Can a state government actually force some of the world's most powerful companies to clean up their act?And hard drive shortages driven by AI is making archiving the internet more expensive.If you want to learn more about whether Australia has the energy and water to power the Australian AI data centre boom, we covered it on an earlier Download This Show episode.GUESTS: Meg Coffey – founder of State of Social. Leigh Stark – the editor of Pickr.com.au. ------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Why Elon Musk is taking OpenAI to court
4w ago00:30:05Tap to summarizexAI's Elon Musk and Open AI’s Sam Altman were once on the same team, united by the belief that artificial intelligence was too important to be left to profit motives. Now, Musk is accusing Open AI of betraying its original charitable mission. How genuine are his motivations?Plus, Microsoft Xbox chief Phil Spencer has retired. Who will replace him, and how will it change how we game?GUEST: Alice Clarke – freelance tech and games journalist, co-author of Press Any Button on Substack. David Braue – technology journalist at Information Age. ------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Will you send an AI twin to work for you?
Apr 2400:30:07Tap to summarizeImagine an AI model built on everything you know, how you communicate, how you reason, how you write, trained to act and respond like you so thoroughly that it can attend meetings, answer questions, and handle tasks on your behalf while you do something else entirely. This reality isn't as far away as you might think. Mark Zuckerberg is already making one.Plus, Apple has a new CEO. What does the handover mean for the future of Apple?And, Meta has installed tracking software to harvest their employee's computer activity to train AI. What protections do workers have against it?GUESTS: Georgia Dixon -- Managing Editor at Whistleout Singapore. Chris Berg -- Professor of Economics at RMIT. ------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →The AI model “too dangerous” for the public
Apr 1700:25:45Tap to summarizeAnthropic claims its latest AI model, Claude Mythos, is “too dangerous” to release given its exceptional cyber hacking capabilities. Is it all a PR stunt, or is this a genuine threat? Plus, the FBI extracted messages from the secure messaging app Signal after exploiting a loophole involving iPhone notification databases. So how secure is Signal? And how might the loophole be closed? Meanwhile, several major global news sites are blocking the Wayback Machine, an initiative of the Internet Archive. What threat does it pose to these sites? And what will it cost us to lose this information preservation? GUESTS: Justin Hendry -- technology and business reporter and editor of Innovation Aus. Fergus Halliday -- technology & gaming journalist at reviews.org Australia ------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Artemis II isn't the only cool thing happening in space tech at the moment
Apr 1000:29:20Tap to summarizeIn this special episode, what's happening in Australia's space industry? Between Australia's first lunar rover, and putting plants on the moon (this year!), we'll take a peek behind the curtain.Space technology is having a moment right now. NASA’s Artemis mission is the first time humans have launched themselves into space since 1972. The 2026 Australian of the Year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, is an astronaut. So, what does our local space industry look like right now? And where is it headed?GUESTS: Professor Andy Koronios -- Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute. Dr Lauren Fell -- outreach and marketing specialist at Lunar Outpost Oceania, co-lead of the ELO2 industry consortium building Roo-ver. She's also a director at Lunaria One, who is putting plants on the moon. ------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Does Australia have the energy and water to power the AI data centre boom?
Apr 300:30:04Tap to summarizeThe world's biggest tech companies are scoping Australia out as a data centre hub. As they see it, we have an abundance of space, electricity and water. But do we actually have enough?About 270 data centres have already been built in Australia, and there are a whole lot more on the way.The amount of electricity and water these massive buildings are projected to consume is staggering. We'll walk through the numbers this episode, and who is likely to end up footing the bill.The MIT Technology Review article Bronwyn referenced during the episode is here.GUESTS: Petra Stock, climate and environment reporter for The Guardian Australia. Bronwyn Cumbo, lecturer at University of Technology Sydney and transdisiciplinary social researcher. Her Conversation article is here. ------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →On the down-low: Do tech companies have a duty of care when it comes to kids?
Mar 3100:15:05Tap to summarizeJohn Livingstone is the Head of Digital Policy at UNICEF Australia. He's been talking directly to students about how the Australian social media ban is affecting young people, and whether it's making their lives better.This is Rae's full conversation with John. You can hear a broader analysis of the social media ban in our recent episode.----------This is the first edition of our 'on the down-low' series -- longer standalone interviews with interesting people in the tech world.---------- Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Transcribe →Is Australia's social media ban *actually* working?
Mar 2700:30:06Tap to summarizeAustralia banned under-16s from social media at the start of summer, and the world has been watching.Today, we're doing a full audit. What the ban is doing, what it isn't, and whether we even built it on the right foundations.GUESTS: Josh Taylor -- technology reporter for The Guardian. Jocelyn Brewer -- psychologist and founder of Digital Nutrition. With a special appearance from John Livingstone, Head of Digital Policy at UNICEF Australia. You can hear Rae's full interview with him when it's released next Wednesday (25/03/2026).Rae also mentioned If Books Could Kill's analysis of The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt.This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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