More or Less: Behind the Stats - How dead is the internet?

In the early 2020s, a conspiracy theory started circulating online known as the ?dead internet theory?.

This suggested that, instead of a vibrant digital super-community where people freely share things like cat videos and conspiracy theories, the internet was instead basically dead - an AI dystopia controlled by the deep state, where almost everything you see and interact with is generated by computers. The theory that the internet is 100% dead can be easily disproven, but the theory does hint at something real. The internet certainly is full of ?bots?, autonomous bits of software that are definitely not alive.

In this episode, we investigate one specific claim about the number of these bots on the internet - the idea that more than half of internet traffic is bots. Where does this claim come from, and is it true?

Presenter/producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Giles Aspen Editor: Richard Vadon

The Indicator from Planet Money - Brain-controlled iPhones, a Japanese asset buy-a-thon, and Trump tax cut debt

It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today's episode: Japanese asset buyers make it rain, an iPhone ... powered by the brain?! And, how are we going to pay for these Trump tax cuts? We explain!

Related episodes:
What's going to happen to the Trump tax cuts? (Apple / Spotify)
Slender Starbucks, Medicaid at risk, and the gold card visa (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Cato Daily Podcast - Best of Cato Daily Podcast: Is Strip Searching Students in a School Covered by Qualified Immunity?

Caleb O. Brown hosted the Cato Daily Podcast for nearly 18 years, producing well over 4000 episodes. He has gone on to head Kentucky’s Bluegrass Institute. This is one among the best episodes produced in his tenure, selected by the host and listeners.


Discussions of qualified immunity focus almost exclusively on police. What about when public school administrators clearly violate the rights of students? Should parents of those children be able to hold administrators accountable in civil court? Chris Kemmitt is the deputy director of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Indicator from Planet Money - Bond market nightmares

In early April, the bond market gave people a scare. Investors began selling off their historically secure U.S. Treasuries in large quantities. It reportedly encouraged President Trump to pause his flurry of liberation day tariffs. These jitters offered a glimpse into what could go wrong for U.S. Treasuries if economic uncertainty gets worse. On today's show, we take a peek at some nightmare scenarios for the bond market.

Related episodes:
Who's advising Trump on trade (Apple / Spotify)
IRS information sharing, bonds bust, and a chorebot future (Apple / Spotify)
Bond vigilantes. Who they are, what they want, and how you'll know they're coming (Apple / Spotify)
Is the reign of the dollar over? (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by
Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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