Podcast
TechStuff
Hosted by iHeartPodcasts · EN
Behind every innovation is a new kind of power. TechStuff unpacks how technology reshapes influence, creativity, and control, from Silicon Valley’s rising moguls to the cultural forces they create. Because tech is the new religion, economy, and entertainment, all at once.
Each week, Oz Woloshyn and the brightest minds covering tech dig into the weird, funny, and sometimes unsettling ways technology, AI, and the internet shape our daily lives. From AI and social media to privacy, digital burnout, and the creator economy, they ask how all this innovation is changing who we are, how we work, love, and make meaning.
Smart talk, strange stories, and the questions everyone’s Googling: whether AI will replace us, how social media is affecting our kids, and what it all says about us.
Get in touch here: techstuffpodcast@gmail.com
124episodes
Episodes
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No Such Thing: Why Do Tesla Door Handles Suck?
Mar 400:52:09Tap to summarizeThis week, we’re bringing you an episode from the podcast No Such Thing. Join Manny, Noah, and Devan — three best friends and journalists — as they settle dumb arguments by actually doing the research. Each week, they start with a debate or discussion. In this episode, they ask: what’s up with Tesla door handles? And why do microwaves have so many buttons? And why are couches so expensive, but so uncomfortable? They’re joined by experts to answer these questions, including friend of the pod, Dexter Thomas, host of kill switch. For more information, please subscribe to their newsletter at www.nosuchthing.show. And if you have any questions you’d like Manny, Devan and Noah to get to the bottom of, email them at or leave a voicemail: (860) 325-0286.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Hollywood’s Afraid of Tilly Norwood. Should They Be? - The Story
Feb 2700:25:15Tap to summarizeTilly Norwood caused quite a stir when she was introduced in late 2025. Her creator, actor-producer Eline Van der Velden, said she wanted Tilly to be the “Scarlett Johansson” of AI actors. But she immediately felt the backlash from Hollywood. Emily Blunt called Tilly “really, really scary,” and agencies said they wouldn’t sign her. But Eline is pushing forward, creating a TV show around Tilly, filled with all-new AI characters. Karah sat down with Eline to talk about how she created Tilly, how she taught her to “act,” and to discuss how Eline sees the future of AI in filmmaking.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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How Soon Until AI Out-Diagnoses Your Doctor? - The Story
Feb 2500:35:03Tap to summarizeHow often do you use ChatGPT to evaluate your ailments? Did it work? More and more people are turning to chatbots to diagnose their illnesses — with varied success. But when it does work, it can be life-changing. Dr. Dhruv Khullar heard of a case where ChatGPT identified the cause of one man’s years-long gastrointestinal struggles, in seconds. Given a medical system that can fail so many, Dr. Khullar started to wonder, “If A.I. Can Diagnose Patients, What Are Doctors For?” That’s the title of a recent piece he wrote for The New Yorker. Oz sits down with Dr. Khullar to see if there is an answer to this question. Additional Reading: If A.I. Can Diagnose Patients, What Are Doctors For? | The New Yorker The Role of Doctors Is Changing Forever | The New Yorker See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →More AI in Space Than on Earth? Really!?
Feb 2000:35:46Tap to summarizeIs building data centers in space actually feasible? It may be, thanks to Ariel Ekblaw. The scientist, VC investor and co-founder and CEO of Aurelia Institute has devoted her life to democratizing space and ensuring that humans will one day be a spacefaring species. Ariel sits down with Oz to discuss self-assembling space architecture, how science-fiction influences her inventions, and why she doesn’t think billionaires investing in space is a bad thing.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →The Next 8 Months in AI Video Will Change Film Forever - The Story
Feb 1800:35:33Tap to summarizeCristóbal Valenzuela co-founded Runway to rethink how movies are made, and now his technology is spreading across Hollywood. Cristóbal sits down with Oz to discuss how far AI media tools have come in just the past six years, and why the next leap forward could happen even faster than anyone expects. He also addresses many artists' AI fears, by saying that film has always evolved alongside technological breakthroughs and that AI is simply the next chapter in that long history. And finally, Cristóbal and Oz explore Runway's next frontier after Hollywood and why video models might be the key to training humanoid robots.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Theatre Explores the Moral Quandaries of Tech - The Story
Feb 1300:24:02Tap to summarizeTheatre and tech don't usually share the same stage. But that's changing. This season, two plays caught our eye: Data, a play about the inner workings of a data mining company, and Marjorie Prime, a play where grief, family, and AI collide. Karah interviews both playwrights: Matthew Libby (Data) and Jordan Harrison (Marjorie Prime). They discuss the origins of their plays, from failed collabs with AI chatbots to the internship with Palantir that never was. And how plays about technology can teach us about our humanity. Data runs through March 29th. Tickets are at lortel.org Marjorie Prime runs through February 15th. Buy Tickets at 2st.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →America Won’t Ban Kids from Social Media, So Now What? - The Story
Feb 1100:30:33Tap to summarizeIt’s been two months since Australia’s social media ban went into effect for kids under 16. But Jay Caspian Kang, staff writer at The New Yorker, doesn’t think America will follow suit. Jay sits down with Karah to unpack why a U.S. ban is unlikely, what Australia’s move does change, and how cultural pressure — not legislation — may be the most powerful tool we have to protect kids online. Additional Reading: Americans Won’t Ban Kids from Social Media. What Can We Do Instead? | The New Yorker The Case for Banning Children from Social Media | The New Yorker If You Quit Social Media, Will You Read More Books? | The New Yorker Gen Z are arriving to college unable to even read a sentence—professors warn it could lead to a generation of anxious and lonely graduates | Fortune See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Tech Skepticism, AI and Why China's Innovations Matter - w/ Wired’s Katie Drummond
Feb 600:30:31Tap to summarizeOz is at the Web Summit in Qatar this week, and he’s taking you with him. This episode was recorded live on stage with Wired’s global editorial director Katie Drummond. Katie and Oz talk about what it’s like to cover this moment, from DOGE and tech titans in the White House to AI’s rapid ubiquity. Katie also shares why Americans need to wake up to what is happening outside the US to discover the future of technology.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →The Future is Battery-Powered - The Story
Feb 400:31:16Tap to summarizeIf the 20th century was defined by oil, journalist and author Nicolas Niarchos bets that the 21st century will be defined by batteries. In his book, The Elements of Power: A Story of War, Technology and the Dirtiest Supply Chain on Earth, Niarchos unpacks the hidden costs behind the world’s battery boom. In this episode, he and Oz trace how the race for cobalt and other critical metals is reshaping global power—why China dominates refining and battery innovation, what the U.S. would actually have to build to compete, and whether trade deals can realistically “clean up” the system. Additional Reading: The Elements of Power by Nicolas Niarchos| PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Transcribe →Week in Tech: AI-Induced Psychosis
May 16, 2025Tap to summarizeWhat kind of technology do air traffic controllers use? This week in the News Roundup, Oz and Karah discuss how AI determines your real age, why chatbots can lead to delusions and what to know about a familiar sounding blood-testing startup. On TechSupport, features writer at New York Magazine’s Intelligencer, James D. Walsh, explains how AI-fueled cheating has overtaken college campuses, what students are saying and how educators are trying to address it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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