Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner recently said that beautiful women are “usually not funny.” Is there anything to that? On The Gist, TV producer Mike Schur reacts to that statement and discusses the role of funny but attractive unicorns on hit comedies Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine. For the Spiel, Mike offers a guiding principal for all: “Don’t be horrible.”
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On The Gist, Ian Bremmer from the Eurasia Group has explored three options for what kind of country America should be: independent, moneyball, or indispensable. He defines these terms on the show, and in his book Superpower: Three Choices for America’s Role in the World. For the Spiel, Jet.com’s sky-high valuation.
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Death Cab for Cutie released Kintsugi, their 8th album, on March 31, 2015. The song El Dorado, like other songs on the record, was written in the wake of the divorce between the band's lead singer Ben Gibbard and actress Zooey Deschanel. In this episode, Ben talks about the metaphor of the city of El Dorado and how it fit the story he wanted to tell, about separation, unrealized dreams, and Culver City. Plus, he explains how a few pieces of equipment - a Fender Mustang, a Rhythm Master drum machine, and the VoiceLive unit - ended up shaping the creative process.
The guys are back! Well, we intended to talk about the Tim Hunt stuff, and its implications on free expression, etc, BUT we got a little sidetracked. I thought the recording was comedy gold, but in case anyone disagrees, you get a 2 for 1 deal on Thursday, during which time we ACTUALLY talk about … Continue reading AS155: Cognitive Dissonance →
Many people are conflicted about the need for “cyber mercenaries” like Hacking Team to exist. Blind idealism might contend that it is simply not right for corporatised hacking syndicates with dodgy ethical standards to secretly assist government intelligence agencies (and well-heeled private clients) to snoop on targets.
However, living in a world where the modern wonders of the internet and mobile devices are harnessed to conduct criminal activities in increasingly devious ways may demand that we hold a far more pragmatic attitude towards the need for “hackers for hire” firms to stay in business.
This week, iAfrikan Startups Editor and Content Producer for the African Tech Round-up, Peter Peele joins me to discuss how Kenya and Ethiopia have been implicated in Hacking Team’s recent embarrassing hacking incident, and explain how the alleged incompetence of those countries’ intelligence officials-- as evidenced in leaked documents archived on WikiLeaks, could mean that companies like Hacking Team will not be short of clients any time soon.
As always, be sure to catch up on all the weeks biggest digital, tech and innovation news from across the African continent:
-- Get an update on the headcount at PRASA in the wake of the company's multi-million dollar locomotive procurement scandal,
-- Find out which three big international players have announced major plays for Africa's growing money remittance and online payments market,
-- Discover which recent infrastructural development at SEACOM has led to their claim of being Africa's leading "telecom enabler and network provider", and what has given rise to Liquid Telecoms promising its clients "near 100 percent server uptime at much faster speeds than any other ISP in Africa",
-- Learn more about the Nigerian government's new SIM card registration rules-- aimed at curbing fraud, and
-- Get the low-low on which African countries Vodafone services never ask them to intercept communications either for for law enforcement or national security purposes?
Music Credits:
All Music by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Music licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
On The Gist, Strokes guitarist Albert Hammond Jr. shares his journey from a 19-year-old rock star with massive hair, to a sober 35-year-old with a solo side project (and less hair). His new album, Momentary Masters, is available for preorder, and out officially on July 31. For the Spiel, it’s time to name our new lobstar of the antentwig.
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Google has its best week in more than ten years. Will the tech giant overtake Apple in the race to a trillion dollar market cap? Our analysts tackle that question and delve into big earnings from Dominos, eBay, and Netflix. And Motley Fool analyst Tim Beyers talks Comic Con 2015 and the battle for the living room.
