Best Internet Watch Foundation Podcasts (2025)

1
Love the Internet Before You Hate On It 39:08

29m ago39:08

39:08

There’s a weird belief out there that tech critics hate technology. But do movie critics hate movies? Do food critics hate food? No! The most effective, insightful critics do what they do because they love something so deeply that they want to see it made even better. The most effective tech critics have had transformative, positive online experien…

1
Digital Autonomy for Bodily Autonomy 39:46

12d ago39:46

39:46

We all leave digital trails as we navigate the internet – records of what we searched for, what we bought, who we talked to, where we went or want to go in the real world – and those trails usually are owned by the big corporations behind the platforms we use. But what if we valued our digital autonomy the way that we do our bodily autonomy? What i…

1
Coming Soon: How to Fix the Internet Season Six 1:33

26d ago1:33

1:33

Now more than ever, we need to build, reinforce, and protect the tools and technology that support our freedom. EFF’s How to Fix the Internet returns with another season full of forward-looking and hopeful conversations with the smartest and most creative leaders, activists, technologists, policy makers, and thinkers around. People who are working …

1
Vote for “How to Fix the Internet” in the Webby Awards People's Voice Competition! 0:38

2M ago0:38

0:38

EFF’s “How to Fix the Internet” podcast is a nominee in the Webby Awards 29th Annual People's Voice competition – and we need your support to bring the trophy home! Voting ends on April 17, so if you like what we do here by trying to envision a better digital future—please take a moment to go to eff.org/webby to cast your vote.…

1
Rerelease - Dr. Seuss Warned Us 30:59

2M ago30:59

30:59

This episode was first released on May 2, 2023. Dr. Seuss wrote a story about a Hawtch-Hawtcher Bee-Watcher whose job it is to watch his town’s one lazy bee, because “a bee that is watched will work harder, you see.” But that doesn’t seem to work, so another Hawtch-Hawtcher is assigned to watch the first, and then another to watch the second... unt…

1
Episode 2: Empowering online safety 34:52

5M ago34:52

34:52

"We need technical interventions that can work at scale to prevent or make it harder for people to view and access websites and platforms that are carrying images and videos of child sexual abuse.” – Dan Sexton, Chief Technology Officer at the Internet Watch Foundation. Episode 2 of the Protech podcast gives listeners an understanding of the machin…

1
Rerelease - So You Think You're a Critical Thinker 43:51

8M ago43:51

43:51

This episode was first released on March 21, 2023. The promise of the internet was that it would be a tool to melt barriers and aid truth-seekers everywhere. But it feels like polarization has worsened in recent years, and more internet users are being misled into embracing conspiracies and cults. From QAnon to anti-vax screeds to talk of an Illumi…

1
Episode 1: Prevention is child protection 35:10

9M ago35:10

35:10

Child sexual abuse material is rampant on the internet and efforts to remove the imagery can seem like a drop in the ocean when faced with the sea of criminal content that is being actively viewed and distributed on the open web. This can be devastating for survivors, who are repeatedly victimised every time images of their abuse are shared online.…

1
Fighting Enshittification 39:15

11M ago39:15

39:15

The early internet had a lot of “technological self-determination" — you could opt out of things, protect your privacy, control your experience. The problem was that it took a fair amount of technical skill to exercise that self-determination. But what if it didn’t? What if the benefits of online privacy, security, interoperability, and free speech…

1
AI in Kitopia 38:19

11M ago38:19

38:19

Artificial intelligence will neither solve all our problems nor likely destroy the world, but it could help make our lives better if it’s both transparent enough for everyone to understand and available for everyone to use in ways that augment us and advance our goals — not for corporations or government to extract something from us and exert power…

1
AI on the Artist’s Palette 38:38

12M ago38:38

38:38

Collaging, remixing, sampling—art always has been more than the sum of its parts, a synthesis of elements and ideas that produces something new and thought-provoking. Technology has enabled and advanced this enormously, letting us access and manipulate information and images in ways that would’ve been unimaginable just a few decades ago. For Nettri…

1
Chronicling Online Communities 35:47

1y ago35:47

35:47

From Napster to YouTube, some of the most important and controversial uses of the internet have been about building community: connecting people all over the world who share similar interests, tastes, views, and concerns. Big corporations try to co-opt and control these communities, and politicians often promote scary narratives about technology’s …

1
Building a Tactile Internet 33:11

1y ago33:11

33:11

Blind and low-vision people have experienced remarkable gains in information literacy because of digital technologies, like being able to access an online library offering more than 1.2 million books that can be translated into text-to-speech or digital Braille. But it can be a lot harder to come by an accessible map of a neighborhood they want to …

1
Right to Repair Catches the Car 34:53

1y ago34:53

34:53

If you buy something—a refrigerator, a car, a tractor, a wheelchair, or a phone—but you can't have the information or parts to fix or modify it, is it really yours? The right to repair movement is based on the belief that you should have the right to use and fix your stuff as you see fit, a philosophy that resonates especially in economically tryin…

1
Anti-Trust/Pro-Internet 38:37

1y ago38:37

38:37

Imagine an internet in which economic power is more broadly distributed, so that more people can build and maintain small businesses online to make good livings. In this world, the behavioral advertising that has made the internet into a giant surveillance tool would be banned, so people could share more equally in the riches without surrendering t…

1
About Face (Recognition) 36:28

1y ago36:28

36:28

Is your face truly your own, or is it a commodity to be sold, a weapon to be used against you? A company called Clearview AI has scraped the internet to gather (without consent) 30 billion images to support a tool that lets users identify people by picture alone. Though it’s primarily used by law enforcement, should we have to worry that the eavesd…

1
"I-Squared" Governance 36:39

1y ago36:39

36:39

Imagine a world in which the internet is first and foremost about empowering people, not big corporations and government. In that world, government does “after-action” analyses to make sure its tech regulations are working as intended, recruits experienced technologists as advisors, and enforces real accountability for intelligence and law enforcem…

1
Open Source Beats Authoritarianism 39:22

1y ago39:22

39:22

What if we thought about democracy as a kind of open-source social technology, in which everyone can see the how and why of policy making, and everyone’s concerns and preferences are elicited in a way that respects each person’s community, dignity, and importance? This is what Audrey Tang has worked toward as Taiwan’s first Digital Minister, a posi…

1
9. How online predators use privacy apps 30:10

1+ y ago30:10

30:10

The future we want for the internet? Child sexual abuse, offenders, and the apps they use to avoid detection. New research shows online offenders are choosing end-to-end encrypted messaging apps to contact children and to spread child sexual abuse material amid renewed calls for Meta to rethink its planned roll out of end-to-end encryption on Faceb…

1
Coming Soon: How to Fix the Internet Season Five 1:48

1+ y ago1:48

1:48

We cannot build a better future unless we can envision it. EFF’s How to Fix the Internet returns with another season full of inspiring conversations with some of the smartest and most interesting people around who are thinking about how to make the internet – and the world – a better place for all of us. Co-hosts Executive Director Cindy Cohn and A…

1
8. Too Close for comfort: Understanding 'self-generated' child sexual abuse material 29:09

1+ y ago29:09

29:09

The increase in self-generated child sexual abuse content is alarming. In 2022, more than three quarters (78%) of the webpages IWF identified as containing child sexual abuse material were tech-enabled, ie created via smartphones or webcams without the offender being physically present in the room with the child. As we release the Talk Trust Empowe…

1
7. AI – the power to harm and to help 28:29

1+ y ago28:29

28:29

In Conversation With Thorn’s Head of Data Science Rebecca Portnoff and IWF Chief Technology Officer Dan Sexton. This episode explores what needs to be done to try and control the explosion in harmful AI-generated child abuse imagery and how other AI or machine-learning tools could be used to counter the phenomenon. Support the show…

1
6. What next for online safety laws? 34:26

1+ y ago34:26

34:26

As the Online Safety Bill becomes the Online Safety Act, the Internet Watch Foundation looks at what is next. In this podcast, children’s online safety expert Natalia Greene and IWF Head of Policy and Public Affairs Mike Tunks explain this landmark piece of legislation and the effect it may have on all our lives. Support the show…

1
Rerelease: Securing the Vote 31:02

1+ y ago31:02

31:02

This episode was first published on May 24, 2022. Pam Smith has been working to secure US elections for years, and now as the CEO of Verified Voting, she has some important ideas about the role the internet plays in American democracy. Pam joins Cindy and Danny to explain how elections can be more transparent and more engaging for all. U.S. democra…

1
5. Nowhere to Hide? 13:44

2y ago13:44

13:44

Nowhere to Hide is part of the IWF’s In Conversation With series exploring the technological and political issues surrounding the global spread of child sexual abuse material. This episode looks at how end-to-end encryption goes further than standard encryption, meaning even the service providers themselves can’t see what has been shared between tw…

1
Who Inserted the Creepy? 34:36

2y ago34:36

34:36

Writers sit watching a stranger’s search engine terms being typed in real time, a voyeuristic peek into that person’s most private thoughts. A woman lands a dream job at a powerful tech company but uncovers an agenda affecting the lives of all of humanity. An app developer keeps pitching the craziest, most harmful ideas she can imagine but the tech…

1
People with Disabilities are the Original Hackers 33:25

2y ago33:25

33:25

People with disabilities were the original hackers. The world can feel closed to them, so they often have had to be self-reliant in how they interact with society. And that creativity and ingenuity is an unappreciated resource. Henry Claypool has been an observer and champion of that resource for decades, both in government and in the nonprofit sec…

1
Dr. Seuss Warned Us 29:34

2y ago29:34

29:34

Dr. Seuss wrote a story about a Hawtch-Hawtcher Bee-Watcher whose job it is to watch his town’s one lazy bee, because “a bee that is watched will work harder, you see.” But that doesn’t seem to work, so another Hawtch-Hawtcher is assigned to watch the first, and then another to watch the second... until the whole town is watching each other watch a…

1
Safer Sex Work Makes a Safer Internet 33:52

2y ago33:52

33:52

An internet that is safe for sex workers is an internet that is safer for everyone. Though the effects of stigmatization and criminalization run deep, the sex worker community exemplifies how technology can help people reduce harm, share support, and offer experienced analysis to protect each other. But a 2018 federal law purportedly aimed at stopp…

1
Losing Until We Win: Realistic Revolution in Science Fiction 37:21

2y ago37:21

37:21

When a science-fiction villain is defeated, we often see the heroes take their victory lap and then everyone lives happily ever after. But that’s not how real struggles work: In real life, victories are followed by repairs, rebuilding, and reparations, by analysis and introspection, and often, by new battles. Science-fiction author and science jour…

1
So You Think You're a Critical Thinker 42:49

2y ago42:49

42:49

The promise of the internet was that it would be a tool to melt barriers and aid truth-seekers everywhere. But it feels like polarization has worsened in recent years, and more internet users are being misled into embracing conspiracies and cults. From QAnon to anti-vax screeds to talk of an Illuminati bunker beneath Denver International Airport, A…

1
Making the Invisible Visible 35:41

2y ago35:41

35:41

What would the internet look like if it weren't the greatest technology of mass surveillance in the history of mankind? Trevor Paglen wonders about this, and he makes art from it. To Paglen, art is a conversation with the past and the future – artifacts of how the world looks at a certain time and place. In our time and place, it’s a world dogged b…

1
The Right to Imagine Your Own Future 25:22

2+ y ago25:22

25:22

Too often we let the rich and powerful dictate what technology’s future will be, from Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse to Elon Musk’s neural implants. But what if we all were empowered to use our voices and perspectives to imagine a better world in which we all can thrive while creating and using technology as we choose? That idea guides Deji Bryce Oluk…

1
When Tech Comes to Town 31:57

2+ y ago31:57

31:57

When a tech company moves to your city, the effects ripple far beyond just the people it employs. It can impact thousands of ancillary jobs – from teachers to nurses to construction workers – as well as the community’s housing, transportation, health care, and other businesses. And too often, these impacts can be negative. Catherine Bracy, co-found…

1
Don’t Be Afraid to Poke the Tigers 38:06

2+ y ago38:06

38:06

What can a bustling electronic components bazaar in Shenzhen, China, tell us about building a better technology future? To researcher and hacker Andrew “bunnie” Huang, it symbolizes the boundless motivation, excitement, and innovation that can be unlocked if people have the rights to repair, tinker, and create. Huang believes that to truly unleash …

1
Coming Soon: How to Fix the Internet Season 4 2:16

2+ y ago2:16

2:16

It seems like everywhere we turn we see dystopian stories about technology’s impact on our lives and our futures — from tracking-based surveillance capitalism to street level government surveillance to the dominance of a few large platforms choking innovation to the growing pressure by authoritarian governments to control what we see and say — the …

1
4. Disturbing New Trend: In Conversation With IWF Hotline Manager 15:50

2+ y ago15:50

15:50

Our analysts in the Hotline have discovered a disturbing new trend, what they’ve called iCAP sites or “invite child abuse pyramid” sites. These sites encourage users to share links to criminal child sexual abuse material, spamming social media platforms with them and increasing the risk of accidental exposure to this content by the public. Our Hotl…

1
3. Join our Hotline Team: In Conversation With IWF Internet Content Analysts 14:52

2+ y ago14:52

14:52

Protecting children is at the heart of everything we do. Our team of expert analysts do one of the most difficult, yet crucial, jobs in the world - searching for and seeking the removal of online child sexual abuse imagery. It’s a tough job. Our Analysts are amongst the best in the world. The children in the pictures are real. Their abuse and suffe…

1
It can happen in any home (Bonus Episode 7) 34:08

2+ y ago34:08

34:08

Parents think their children are safe. At home, in their own bedrooms, with loving families around them, how could they possibly fall victim to sexual predators? But there is an open door into children’s lives. Criminals are reaching out and ensnaring their victims with nothing more than an internet connection. It can happen in any home. This new b…

1
2. The Hidden Crimes in our Children’s Bedroom: In Conversation With IWF Senior Analyst, Rosa 22:00

3y ago22:00

22:00

New data released by the IWF today shows that almost 20,000 webpages identified by our team in the first half of 2022 included 'self-generated' child sexual abuse imagery of 7-to-10-year-old children - a 360% increase on the first half of 2020 when the UK entered its first Covid lockdown. The rapid growth of this material, showing primary-aged chil…

1
Trailer: In Conversation With. A new IWF Podcast. 0:58

3y ago0:58

0:58

A series of short podcasts, or shortcasts, from the Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) about our leading work tackling online child sexual abuse. In our first episode, Encryption Vs. Privacy, we speak exclusively to Professor Hany Farid, image analysis expert at the University of California, Berkeley, who says privacy does not have to come at the expe…

1
1. Encryption Vs. Privacy: In Conversation With Professor Hany Farid and IWF Head of Policy & Public Affairs Mike Tunks 19:41

3y ago19:41

19:41

“The introduction of end-to-end encryption technologies has led to a debate around the apparent dichotomy of good child safety and good general user privacy and security,” reads a new report by Dr Ian Levy and Crispin Robinson, respectively the technical heads of the UK’s National Cybersecurity Centre and GCHQ. The report made headlines last week a…

1
Wordle and the Web We Need 33:21

3y ago33:21

33:21

Where is the internet we were promised? It feels like we’re dominated by megalithic, siloed platforms where users have little or no say over how their data is used and little recourse if they disagree, where direct interaction with users is seen as a bug to be fixed, and where art and creativity are just “content generation.” But take a peek beyond…

1
Securing the Vote 30:18

3y ago30:18

30:18

U.S. democracy is at an inflection point, and how we administer and verify our elections is more important than ever. From hanging chads to glitchy touchscreens to partisan disinformation, too many Americans worry that their votes won’t count and that election results aren’t trustworthy. It’s crucial that citizens have well-justified confidence in …

1
An AI Hammer in Search of a Nail 33:06

3y ago33:06

33:06

It often feels like machine learning experts are running around with a hammer, looking at everything as a potential nail - they have a system that does cool things and is fun to work on, and they go in search of things to use it for. But what if we flip that around and start by working with people in various fields - education, health, or economics…

1
The Philosopher King 32:49

3y ago32:49

32:49

Computer scientists often build algorithms with a keen focus on “solving the problem,” without considering the larger implications and potential misuses of the technology they’re creating. That’s how we wind up with machine learning that prevents qualified job applicants from advancing, or blocks mortgage applicants from buying homes, or creates mi…

1
Teaching AI to Its' Targets 29:19

3y ago29:19

29:19

Too many young people – particularly young people of color – lack enough familiarity or experience with emerging technologies to recognize how artificial intelligence can impact their lives, in either a harmful or an empowering way. Educator Ora Tanner saw this and rededicated her career toward promoting tech literacy and changing how we understand…

1
Making Hope 37:17

3y ago37:17

37:17

The joy of tinkering, making, and sharing is part of the human condition. In modern times, this creative freedom too often is stifled by secrecy as a means of monetization - from non-compete laws to quashing people’s right to repair the products they’ve already paid for. Adam Savage—the maker extraordinaire best known from the television shows Myth…

1
Your Tax Dollars at Work 29:11

3y ago29:11

29:11

Democracy means allowing everyday people to have their voices heard on public matters involving their communities. One of the goals of civic technology is to allow a more diverse group of people to have input on government affairs through the use of technology and the internet. Beth Noveck, author of Solving Public Problems and Director of the Gove…

1
Securing the Internet of Things 27:30

3y ago27:30

27:30

Today almost everything is connected to the internet - from your coffeemaker to your car to your thermostat. But the “Internet of Things” may not be hardwired for security. Window Snyder, computer security expert and author, joins EFF hosts Cindy Cohn and Danny O’Brien as they delve into the scary insecurities lurking in so many of our modern conve…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Internet Watch Foundation Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen