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kill switch

kill switch

By: Kaleidoscope
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About this listen

Were we sleeping when everything changed? Seems like the technologically driven future is already here. On kill switch, we explain the right NOW of our super charged technological lives. New host Dexter Thomas answers questions big and small – like who’s behind Shrimp Jesus, and could you get arrested by a computer?

kill switch also brings the DIY back to tech – “How to Now” on everything from how to run your own LLM to tips to keep your data safe. Because the more “user-friendly” our devices get, the less we understand how they work, and the less control we have. We’re here to help you take back control. And if we can’t… Well, maybe we need to look for the kill switch.

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Episodes
  • how an editor uncovered an AI journalist

    how an editor uncovered an AI journalist
    Jan 28 2026

    When an editor at a local magazine in Toronto received a pitch from a promising new freelancer, he didn’t expect it to spiral into an obsessive investigation. What followed was a deep dive into a web of fake interviews, impossible bylines, and fake reporting. Dexter talks with Nicholas Hune-Brown to trace how he uncovered an AI journalist and what it reveals about journalism today.

    Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

    Read:

    Nick’s articles:

    • “Investigating a Possible Scammer in Journalism’s AI Era” https://thelocal.to/investigating-scam-journalism-ai/
    • “The Fallout From Our AI Freelancer Investigation” https://thelocal.to/fallout-from-ai-freelancer-investigation/

    The Local’s recent issue, “The Cost of Care” https://thelocal.to/winter-2026/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    33 mins
  • the hack that broke myspace

    the hack that broke myspace
    Jan 21 2026

    In 2005, Myspace pages were flooded with the saying “Samy is my hero” and then suddenly, the platform went dark. Dexter talks with Jack Rhysider, host of the podcast Darknet Diaries, about Samy Kamkar, how he accidentally took down the biggest social media platform at the time, and how it changed the modern Internet.

    Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

    Listen:

    • Jack’s Darknet Diaries episode with Samy: https://darknetdiaries.com/episode/61/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    35 mins
  • everything’s a game… even baptisms

    everything’s a game… even baptisms
    Jan 14 2026

    From language learning to investments to Amazon leaderboards, it seems like everything has become a game. But are these gamified things actually fun, or are we the ones being played? Dexter talks to philosopher C. Thi Nguyen, who recently wrote a book about why gamification can suck the life out of things called The Score. They talk about why the same mechanism in games and gamified metrics – the scoring system – works so differently, why gamification can trick you into caring about the wrong thing, and how this phenomenon hits everything… even baptisms.

    Got something you’re curious about? Hit us up killswitch@kaleidoscope.nyc, or @killswitchpod, or @dexdigi on IG or Bluesky.

    Read:

    • C. Thi Nguyen’s book, The Score: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735252/the-score-by-c-thi-nguyen/

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    33 mins
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