Best Mike Masnick Podcasts (2025)

1
090: Podcasting's Political Power (w/ Landry Ayres) 40:44

1d ago40:44

40:44

Today's episode gets a bit meta. I've done something like ninety ReImagining Liberty shows, and hundreds more on other podcasts, but I've never done one on the place of podcasting itself in the political environment. This even though podcasting has been one of the big themes of politics lately, in many ways blamed for the rise, or at least persiste…

1
What's Next for Ctrl-Alt-Speech 37:06

10d ago37:06

37:06

We're taking a little break from our regular weekly news roundups this month, but we've got a couple special episodes lined up in the mean time, starting with a conversation all about the past and future of Ctrl-Alt-Speech. This week, Mike and Ben talk about how the podcast got started, how we create the episodes, our philosophy about sponsorship, …

1
089: AI, Cultural Tools, and Pluralism (w/ Ted Underwood) 50:30

13d ago50:30

50:30

We sometimes talk about technology on ReImagining Liberty, in the context of how it interacts with a liberal society, or how technology can help us defend and advance liberal. The big technology everyone's talking about right now is, of course, artificial intelligence. It's a topic I've written about, but not one I'd yet done an episode about speci…

1
How the World Works with Adam Bellow 1:13:26

18d ago1:13:26

1:13:26

Kevin D. Williamson is joined by Adam Bellow, a leading figure in conservative publishing for more than 30 years. Together, they discuss the contemporary publishing landscape, literary controversies, and the complexities of publishing in today’s hyperpolitical climate.By Kevin D. Williamson

1
Live at TrustCon 2025 1:09:13

24d ago1:09:13

1:09:13

Our second annual live at TrustCon recording of Ctrl-Alt-Speech! Ben was unable to make the trip halfway around the world, but Mike was joined by trust & safety influencer Alice Hunsberger from Musubi and Ashken Kazaryan, a Senior Legal Fellow at the Future of Free Speech at Vanderbilt University. They cover: As millions adopt Grok to fact-check, m…

1
088: Liberalism's Radical Future (w/ Andy Craig) 50:36

1M ago50:36

50:36

It's difficult to be optimistic about liberalism's future. Certainly in the short to medium term. We're in an acute period of democratic backsliding and authoritarian ascendency. The opposition party, or at least its leadership, has been largely supine in response. A backlash is rising, but it's an open question whether it'll be enough, and soon en…

1
The UK Wants Us To Ask Your Age Before You Listen 1:02:24

1M ago1:02:24

1:02:24

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: a16z-Backed AI Site Civitai Is Mostly Porn, Despite Claiming Otherwise (404 Media) Hugging Face Is Hosting 5,000 Nonconsensual AI Models of Real People (404 Media) Ofcom head says age checks are ‘really big moment’ for childr…

1
Move Fast and Mistake Things 47:32

1M ago47:32

47:32

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: Jack Cable calls out Cluely over bogus DMCA (X) The cofounder of the viral AI 'cheating' startup Cluely says he only hires people for 2 jobs (Business Insider) Missouri AG: Any AI That Doesn’t Praise Donald Trump Might Be “Co…

1
Don't Believe What This Podcast Says About Misinformation 53:59

2M ago53:59

53:59

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: The Misleading Panic over Misinformation (Cato Institute) Claims that Online Misinformation Fears Are Overblown ‘Radically Understates’ the Scale of the Threat (Byline Times) EU Disinformation Code Takes Effect Amid Censorshi…

1
087: Classical Liberalism and Michel Foucault (w/ Mark Pennington) 54:17

2M ago54:17

54:17

Liberals, particularly classical liberals and libertarians, have too narrow a view of power. They focus on government force, or the threat of government force, and ignore all the other ways power is exercised in society. And the way classical liberals and libertarians imagine the fully autonomous self is at odds with our deep cultural embeddedness …

1
Teen But Not Heard 46:09

2M ago46:09

46:09

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Bridget Todd, a technology and culture writer, speaker and trainer and host of two great podcasts, There are No Girls on the Internet and IRL: Online Life is Real Life. Together, they cover: AI Models And Parents Don’t…

1
How the World Works with Matthew Polstein 48:18

2M ago48:18

48:18

Kevin D. Williamson is joined by Matthew Polstein, owner and operator of the New England Outdoor Center in Millinocket, Maine. The NEOC, founded in 1982, has progressed from a whitewater rafting operation on the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers, to a full-fledged, year round outdoor adventure resort featuring rafting, snowmobiling, Nordic skiing, cano…

1
Outsourced But Not Out Of Mind 1:09:17

2M ago1:09:17

1:09:17

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Mercy Mutemi, lawyer and managing partner of Nzili & Sumbi Advocates. Together, they cover: Meta can be sued in Kenya for human trafficking and for algorithmic amplification of harm (Open Democracy) Billy Perrigo on in…

1
086: Reclaiming the Internet (w/ Mike Masnick) 56:13

2M ago56:13

56:13

What's happened to Twitter, or now X, is the clearest example of why it's actually not great that so much of our digital communication is controlled by just a few firms and, through them, the whims of guys like Elon Musk or Mark Zuckerberg. These single points of control not only mean a product we love today can be unlovable, or just gone, tomorrow…

1
Outrage For The Machine 50:55

2M ago50:55

50:55

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: He’s a Master of Outrage on X. The Pay Isn’t Great. (NY Times) The vulnerable teen drawn into far-right extremism online (Financial Times) X, Bluesky and Reddit in France’s crosshairs amid porn clampdown (Politico) EU sideste…

1
How Trump is Using the Surveillance State Against Us (w/ Patrick G. Eddington) 38:02

2M ago38:02

38:02

The government's power to see is its power to oppress. The more the state knows about us, the more levers it has to control us. Understanding that connection, its history and its application, is critical if we are to secure our liberties in the face of authoritarian threats, such as the illegal and unconstitutional actions of the federal government…

1
Liberty Means Taking Equality Seriously (w/ Jonathan Blanks) 50:35

3M ago50:35

50:35

Equality is central to the liberal project. Thomas Jefferson failed, dramatically and unforgivably, to live up to this ideal, but he stated in correctly when, in a letter, he wrote that "the mass of mankind has not been born with saddles on their backs, nor a favored few booted and spurred, ready to ride them legitimately." Liberalism views us as e…

1
Algorithm Shrugged 1:01:41

3M ago1:01:41

1:01:41

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Zeve Sanderson, the founding Executive Director of the NYU Center for Social Media & Politics. Together, they cover: If algorithms radicalize a mass shooter, are companies to blame? (The Verge) Large Language Models A…

1
How the World Works Podcast with Mike Masnick 1:06:53

3M ago1:06:53

1:06:53

Kevin D. Williamson is joined by Mike Masnick, founder and editor of Techdirt. They discuss the evolving challenges of content moderation, the day-to-day realities of running an independent tech publication, and how the internet has changed over time from its early decentralized roots to a more complex and structured environment.…

1
What the Right Gets Wrong About Men (w/ Toby Buckle) 58:52

3M ago58:52

58:52

The Trumpist right has a very clear picture of what they imagine masculinity to be, and are quite upset that it's not a picture all men find all that appealing. It's one of violence, belligerence, and professions of heavy labor. Anything else, including the whole of the knowledge economy that has made the developed world rich, is inauthentically ma…

1
Moderation Without Representation 53:43

3M ago53:43

53:43

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Hank Green, popular YouTube creator and educator. After spending some time talking about being a creator at the whims of platforms, they cover: Crash Course Coin (Complexly) Everyone Is Cheating Their Way Through Coll…

1
Hypocritical Infrastructure 53:05

3M ago53:05

53:05

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike is joined by guest host Cathy Gellis, an internet and First Amendment lawyer. Together, they cover: The Copyright Office Issues A Largely Disappointing Report On AI Training, And Once Again A Major Fair Use Analysis Inexplicably Ignores The …

1
Why the Far-Right Pretends to Like Democracy (w/ Zack Beauchamp) 56:50

3M ago56:50

56:50

The authoritarian right loves to talk about how they're upholding democracy. Trump didn't lose the 2020 election, because if he had, democracy would've been against him. So instead it was stolen from him, his loss a subversion of the democratic process. Now, as a deeply unpopular second-term president, he and his loyalists pretend they are executin…

1
Forging an Opposition to Trump (w/ Adam Gurri) 57:24

3M ago57:24

57:24

The first few months of the Trump administration have proven not just how willing much of America was to embrace and celebrate fascism, but how crucial careful, clear-eye, and thoughtful reporting and analysis are to building and sustaining a resistance movement. Few publications have been as essential in this moment as Liberal Currents, which has …

1
Look What The Chat Dragged In 53:45

4M ago53:45

53:45

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: The group chats that changed America (Semafor) Curtis Yarvin Says Democracy Is Done. Powerful Conservatives Are Listening (New York Times) Meta faces Ghana lawsuits over impact of extreme content on moderators (The Guardian) …

1
How the World Works Podcast with Miranda Rinaldi 48:49

4M ago48:49

48:49

Kevin D. Williamson is joined by Miranda Rinaldi, owner and head baker of Nino’s Bakery in Washington, D.C., and a former Foreign Service Officer who served in Afghanistan and Milan. They discuss Miranda’s journey from diplomacy to pastries, her training in Italy and Chicago, and how her dachshund Nino inspired the beloved neighborhood bakery, reno…

1
Episode 8: Prescriptions to Save the Internet 42:25

4M ago42:25

42:25

Our panel of experts — Charles C.W. Cooke from the National Review, trust and safety expert Dave Willner, Mike Masnick from Techdirt, and CEI’s Jessica Melugin — dissect this podcast’s raison d'être. What have we learned? Where are we now? And where are we going?

1
The Crank Theory of Everything (w/ Alysia Ames) 46:38

4M ago46:38

46:38

As we've talked about a fair amount on the show, gender is at the center of the ideological clashes defining our political moment. Trumpism is, at its heart, a misogynistic movement, and the fractious coalition of philosophies within the Trumpist tent all agree that increased freedom and opportunities for women have been very upsetting for right-wi…

1
Red Pills & Blue Checks 53:12

4M ago53:12

53:12

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: 4chan is dead. It's Toxic Legacy is everywhere (Wired) Wide-Ranging Decisions Protect Speech and Address Harms (Oversight Board) Meta’s oversight board rebukes company over policy overhaul (Reuters) Why Techdirt Is Now A Demo…

1
Episode 7: The Future of Speech Online 31:11

4M ago31:11

31:11

The rise of A.I. has ushered in a new era for the internet, right when Section 230 and its protections have never been more threatened. Today’s innovators look to the past for guidance.

1
Why Can't We De-Friend 53:38

4M ago53:38

53:38

In this week's round-up of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Mike and Ben cover: Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s Failed Negotiations to End Antitrust Case (Wall Street Journal) Mark Zuckerberg once suggested wiping all Facebook friends lists to boost usage (The Verge) Would You Give PornHub Your ID? (The Atlanti…

1
Episode 6: The Rest of the World 24:29

4M ago24:29

24:29

The web gets big enough to impact presidential elections. And the rest of the world grapples with speech on the internet.

1
Ayn Rand Would've Hated Elon Musk (w/ Paul Crider) 57:49

4M ago57:49

57:49

Many very rich men who support Trump fancy themselves heroes from the novels of Ayn Rand. I've never done an episode of this show on Rand's ideas, because I'm not a Randian, and don't think about political questions through anything like an Objectivist perspective. But the fact that so many men breaking the country believe they are Randian archetyp…

1
Can't Take(down) A Joke? 49:52

4M ago49:52

49:52

In this week’s roundup of the latest news in online speech, content moderation and internet regulation, Ben is joined by guest host Prateek Waghre, former executive director at the Internet Freedom Foundation and currently a fellow at Tech Policy Press. Together, they cover: BookMyShow Restores Kunal Kamra’s Profile After Controversy (Medianama) Ku…

1
Episode 5: Blowback, and the Dust Settles 30:05

4M ago30:05

30:05

The first real attempt to regulate the internet goes down in flames. But what remains is a structure to support the new, more interactive world of Web 2.0.

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