Month: May 2025

Posted on

CoinDesk Podcast Network - BITCOIN SEASON 2: The Bitcoin Attack You Haven’t Heard About

PortlandHODL reveals how "poison blocks" can paralyze Bitcoin nodes for hours, creating profitable attack vectors for malicious miners while the network relies on policy filters for protection.


You're listening to Bitcoin Season 2. Subscribe to the newsletter, trusted by over 7,000 Bitcoiners: https://newsletter.blockspacemedia.com


PortlandHODL explains Bitcoin's most dangerous vulnerability: poison blocks. These malicious blocks can freeze nodes for 11+ hours on Raspberry Pi devices and 25 minutes on enterprise hardware, creating profitable attack opportunities for miners while exposing how relay policy acts as an accidental guardian of the network.


Follow our guests: @PortlandHODL


Notes:

• Poison Blocks (denial of service)

• Raspberry Pi validation: 11 hours for poison blocks

• Enterprise hardware: 25 minutes validation time  

• Attack gives 20% effective hash rate boost

• Fix exists in Great Consensus Cleanup

• Bitcoin fees currently under $1


Timestamps:

00:00 Start

00:53 Real threats to Bitcoin

04:55 How is block made?

11:46 Nodes & DOS blocks

20:03 Making DOS blocks

29:33 Arch Network

30:05 Miners & DOS blocks

36:46 Attack response time

40:47 Fixing the problem

43:25 Why not fixed yet?

54:12 Client diversity

1:01:11 Other good soft forks

1:05:12 Are you worried?

1:10:03 "Deep Thoughts" by Portland HODL

-

👉 Brought to you by Arch Network! Arch brings the speed of Solana & the best of crypto UX to Bitcoin. Tap into the rich app ecosystem on Arch & try out the testnet while you’re still early! Visit arch.network to learn more.

-

👋Bitcoin Season 2 is produced Blockspace Media, Bitcoin’s first B2B publication in Bitcoin. Follow us on Twitter and check out our newsletter for the best information in Bitcoin mining, Ordinals and tech!


Enjoy the show? Check out our website and newsletter by clicking here.


Questions or want to sponsor? hello@blockspace.media

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Posted on

Marketplace All-in-One - ‘State of emergency’ in Panama

From the BBC World Service: The Panamanian government has declared a state of emergency in one province. It comes after U.S. banana giant Chiquita Brands laid off about 5,000 workers following a strike that had stopped production. Prosecutors in Brazil are suing the Chinese EV giant BYD, accusing it and two contractors of human trafficking and slave-like conditions at a factory site. And we take a look at Europe's biggest plant for processing the rare earth minerals a lot of modern technology relies on.

Posted on

WSJ What’s News - U.S. Pauses Visa Interviews for Foreign Students

A.M. Edition for May 28. In a State Department cable signed by Marco Rubio, the Trump Administration orders embassies and consulates to stop scheduling new student-visa interviews while officials prepare to ramp up social media screening and vetting. Plus, with its armed forces depleted, WSJ’s Matthew Luxmoore describes how Ukraine is turning to TikTok and cash incentives to bring Gen Z into the fight against Russia. And SpaceX loses control of a Starship spacecraft after making it farther than previous test flights. Luke Vargas hosts. 


Sign up for the WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Posted on

The Intelligence from The Economist - Ivy beleaguer: Harvard hung out to dry

The Trump administration’s determination to bend higher-education institutions to its will seems to know no bounds—and nowhere is getting it worse than Harvard University. The outcome of Poland’s presidential runoff matters far beyond its borders, now that it is a continental heavyweight (11:23). And a bid to elevate the humblest drink to a luxury beverage (19:25).


Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Posted on

Up First from NPR - Gaza Food Distribution Chaos, New COVID-19 Vaccine Guidelines, Children Of ISIS

Israeli forces fired shots at a food distribution site in Gaza after people, many of whom face the threat of starvation, had overrun the place. The incident happened on the first day that a new U.S.-based system distributed humanitarian aid. The U.S. government has updated its COVID-19 vaccine guidelines. The shot is no longer recommended for healthy children or healthy pregnant women. But independent health experts are voicing concerns. And thousands of children of ISIS fighters are stuck in Syrian detention camps.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today's episode of Up First was edited by Carrie Kahn, Rebecca Davis, Barrie Hardymon, HJ Mai and Alice Woelfle. It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Christopher Thomas. We get engineering support from Neisha Heinis and our technical director is Carleigh Strange.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy
Posted on

Big Technology Podcast - She Wants AI To Help You Thrive, Not Just Keep You Company — Y-Lan Boureau

Y-Lan Boureau is the founder & CEO of ThrivePal, an OpenAI-funded AI startup, and a former Meta AI researcher. Boureau joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss why the next frontier for AI should be science‑backed coaching that nudges us toward healthier habits and deeper real‑world relationships. Tune in to hear how large‑language models can push users to lift weights, regulate emotions, and support their friends’ growth.

---

---

Enjoying Big Technology Podcast? Please rate us five stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ in your podcast app of choice.

Want a discount for Big Technology on Substack? Here’s 25% off for the first year: https://www.bigtechnology.com/subscribe?coupon=0843016b

Questions? Feedback? Write to: bigtechnologypodcast@gmail.com

Posted on

Headlines From The Times - Trump Targets CA Funding, Kennedy Alters Vaccine Guidance, NPR Sues and Disney Takes CoComelon

President Trump threatens to cut California’s federal funding over transgender athletes. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says COVID vaccines are no longer recommended for healthy children and pregnant women. NPR sues the Trump administration over defunding public media. And Disney will become the new home for “CoComelon,” pulling the hit preschool show from Netflix in 2027.

Posted on

Marketplace All-in-One - Controversial Reddit AI study raises wider ethical concerns

In late April, details came to light about a covert experiment conducted by researchers from the University of Zurich on unsuspecting Reddit users on the debate forum known as r/changemyview. They used AI chatbots posing as real humans on the forum to test their powers of persuasion and invented backstories like a rape survivor or a Black man opposed to Black Lives Matter. What they didn't have was consent. The experiment violated Reddit Terms of Service, forum rules and, critics say, academic research standards. The researchers who notified Reddit of the experiment after the fact have since apologized and said they won't publish the results. Reddit says it's increasing efforts to verify users are human. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke to Mohammad Hosseini, a professor at Northwestern University's medical school, about the potential harms that could come from a study like this one.

Posted on

60 Songs That Explain the '90s - “No One Knows”—Queens of the Stone Age

It’s Queens of the Stone Age Day here at 60 Songs! Listen as Rob finds a way to juxtapose heavy metal and stand-up comedy like only he can on his journey to celebrate the song “No One Knows.” Later, Rob is joined by The Ringer’s head of content and host of The Big Picture, Sean Fennessey, to further discuss the greatness of Queens of the Stone Age.

Host: Rob Harvilla

Guest: Sean Fennessey

Producers: Bobby Wagner, Jonathan Kermah, and Justin Sayles

Additional Production Support: Olivia Crerie

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices