252: The Arctic World Archive, a place for your data? Who misused $40,000 to fund mobile gaming addictions. Handbags using reconstructed T-Rex DNA. Gwen Way shares the "Interrupt" device, a network testing and hacking tool | Air Date: 5/13 - 5/19/2025

TechTime with Nathan Mumm

Deep beneath the frigid Arctic landscape, humanity's digital legacy sleeps in a vault carved into frozen rock. The Arctic World Archive, nestled in a decommissioned coal mine near the North Pole, represents our most ambitious attempt to preserve crucial data against time itself. With deposits from over 30 countries—including Vatican manuscripts and 3D scans of the Taj Mahal—this modern-day Library of Alexandria raises profound questions about what we choose to save for future generations.
Meanwhile, the boundaries between ancient biology and modern commerce blur as scientists develop luxury leather goods from reconstructed T-Rex DNA. By extracting collagen preserved for 80 million years and engineering it in laboratory conditions, researchers have created what might become the most exclusive fashion material ever conceived. This startling fusion of paleontology and consumer products forces us to reconsider our relationship with extinct species—are we preserving their legacy or simply commodifying them?
Digital security takes center stage with the "Interrupt" device—a portable hacking tool that puts professional-grade network testing capabilities into an affordable, Game Boy-sized unit. Priced at just $199, this powerful gadget demonstrates how cybersecurity tools have become dramatically more accessible, democratizing techniques once restricted to specialists. While marketed for ethical testing, its potential for misuse highlights our ongoing struggle to balance technological advancement with responsible usage.
From a Catholic priest who embezzled $40,000 for mobile gaming addictions to Newark Airport's frighteningly outdated air traffic control systems still running on floppy disks, we examine how technology shapes our vulnerabilities as much as our strengths. Whether preserving our past in frozen vaults or struggling with the consequences of our digital lives, one thing becomes clear: the choices we make today about technology will echo long into humanity's future.
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Chapters

1. 252: The Arctic World Archive, a place for your data? Who misused $40,000 to fund mobile gaming addictions. Handbags using reconstructed T-Rex DNA. Gwen Way shares the "Interrupt" device, a network testing and hacking tool | Air Date: 5/13 - 5/19/2025 (00:00:00)

2. Arctic Digital Archive Vault (00:02:12)

3. Dinosaur DNA Leather Handbags (00:09:55)

4. Priest Steals $40K for Mobile Games (00:16:22)

5. Gadgets and Gear Segment (00:21:50)

6. Mesmerizing Moment: Preserving History (00:37:18)

7. First Sports TV Broadcast History (00:42:30)

8. National Leprechaun Day and Whiskey (00:45:23)

9. Newark Airport Radar Outage (00:49:41)

10. Apple's $95M Siri Lawsuit (00:53:04)