Download This Show

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239

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Jun 2026

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About the show

Download This Show is your weekly guide to the world of media, culture, and technology. From social media to gadgets, streaming services to privacy issues. Each week Rae Johnston and guests take a fun, deep dive into how technology is reshaping our lives.

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June 12, 202628 min

Leaked document reveals Microsoft wants you "addicted" to their product

While Meta and Google are fighting lawsuits about their technology being intentionally addictive, Microsoft’s strategy deck for their new AI assistant Scout has been leaked. It lays out three phases of launch, and phase one is simply "make people addicted."Apple just held it’s Worldwide Developers Conference, where they announced an "entirely new version of Siri". How different can this Siri be?And the Mythos tool Anthropic claimed was too powerful to be released to the public... has been released to the public. What could possibly go wrong?GUESTS:Dr Erica Mealy, Discipline Lead for Technology, at the University of the Sunshine CoastTobias Venus, tech and travel journalist.------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

June 5, 202629 min

Would you pay to use Instagram?

Meta has officially launched premium subscription tiers across Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp. Does this mean we'll finally be able to rid ourselves of ads on social media?Plus, it's been a rough few weeks for the 'clankers'. During Vivid, nearly 90 drones fell from the sky into Sydney Harbour. And they're not alone. Humanoid robots are finding creative new ways to embarrass themselves in public. Why have we seen so many of them out and about, if they're not ready?And, a growing number of people are actively searching for ways to avoid AI-generated search results. How big will this emerging market become?GUESTS:Seamus Byrne, technology researcher and PhD research candidate with the ARC Centre of Excellence for Automated Decision-Making and Society (ADMS).Josh Taylor, technology reporter for The Guardian.Seamus and Josh mentioned a few tech products during the chat. They are: search engine alternatives StartPage and Kagi; RSS aggregator Feedly; and dice roller Roll Hammer.------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

May 29, 202629 min

Can the Pope influence the future of AI?

The Catholic Church has entered the AI debate, with Pope Leo XIV warning against "digital slaveries" while seated beside the co-founder of Anthropic. We ask whether the Vatican is positioning itself as a moral counterweight to Silicon Valley — and whether religion could shape the future of AI.Google says AI-generated answers are the future of search, replacing the familiar list of blue links with chatbot-style summaries. Critics argue it risks killing source literacy and turning the internet into a machine-generated feedback loop.And if smart glasses weren't enough, smart contact lenses may be next. We look at the push toward invisible wearable tech — and the privacy concerns already following close behind.GUESTS:Tegan Jones, Deputy Editor at SmartCompany and Co-host of Weird TechGianfranco Di Giovanni, ABC Radio Perth content director and an arts, gaming and tech reporter.------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

May 22, 202629 min

Is your podcast host... human?

Amazon's new Alexa feature allows anyone to create a podcast using AI. Could this be a genuine competitor to the podcast industry? Or will it become another dangerous source of misinformation?And Meta's latest parental controls promise greater oversight of teens' social media use through AI age checks and a centralised Family Center, but their effectiveness ultimately depends on imperfect technology and whether families actually engage with the tools.Plus, the fallout after the legal showdown between Elon Musk and OpenAI's Sam Altman. Now that the jury has rejected Musk's accusations, what comes next?GUESTS:Alex Kidman — Freelance technology journalistJennifer Dudley-Nicholson — Technology journalist at AAPNB: Jennifer mentioned a book. It's called Yesteryear by Caro Claire Burke------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Gadigal and Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

May 15, 202629 min

Are we nostalgic for a 90s that didn't exist?

Mixtape is a new Australian-made video game set in the 90s featuring burned CDs, shopping trolley rides and feelings of adolescent freedom. Nostalgia for that era is trending, so what is it about those years that makes us feel so fond? And are we remembering it correctly?Plus, AI is making the internet sound like one not-quite-real person. What are the new indicators of AI writing, and is a 'human in the loop' still enough to keep it all in check?Finally, Polymarket. It's been blacklisted by Australian regulators, but companies in the United States are treating it like serious financial infrastructure.GUESTS:Mark Serrels – Editorial Director at Choice and co-founder of Continue Magazine.Phoebe Toups Dugas – Associate Professor of Human-Centred Computing in the Exertion Games Lab at Monash University, AKA Trans Gamer Professor.NB: Phoebe mentioned a book. It's called Disabling Intelligences: Legacies of Eugenics and How We Are Wrong About AI.------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

May 8, 202629 min

Can we force data centres to clean up their act?

Book publishers including Hachette and Macmillan have filed a lawsuit in New York against Mark Zuckerberg and Meta. They're trying to stop AI companies from allegedly illegally copying millions of books and articles from piracy sites to train their models. How likely is it that the case will succeed?Locally, there's a NSW inquiry into data centres. Can a state government actually force some of the world's most powerful companies to clean up their act?And hard drive shortages driven by AI is making archiving the internet more expensive.If you want to learn more about whether Australia has the energy and water to power the Australian AI data centre boom, we covered it on an earlier Download This Show episode.GUESTS:Meg Coffey – founder of State of Social.Leigh Stark – the editor of Pickr.com.au.------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

May 1, 202629 min

Why Elon Musk is taking OpenAI to court

xAI's Elon Musk and Open AI’s Sam Altman were once on the same team, united by the belief that artificial intelligence was too important to be left to profit motives. Now, Musk is accusing Open AI of betraying its original charitable mission. How genuine are his motivations?Plus, Microsoft Xbox chief Phil Spencer has retired. Who will replace him, and how will it change how we game?GUEST: Alice Clarke – freelance tech and games journalist, co-author of Press Any Button on Substack.David Braue – technology journalist at Information Age. ------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

April 24, 202629 min

Will you send an AI twin to work for you?

Imagine an AI model built on everything you know, how you communicate, how you reason, how you write, trained to act and respond like you so thoroughly that it can attend meetings, answer questions, and handle tasks on your behalf while you do something else entirely. This reality isn't as far away as you might think. Mark Zuckerberg is already making one.Plus, Apple has a new CEO. What does the handover mean for the future of Apple?And, Meta has installed tracking software to harvest their employee's computer activity to train AI. What protections do workers have against it?GUESTS:Georgia Dixon -- Managing Editor at Whistleout Singapore.Chris Berg -- Professor of Economics at RMIT.------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

April 17, 202629 min

The AI model “too dangerous” for the public

Anthropic claims its latest AI model, Claude Mythos, is “too dangerous” to release given its exceptional cyber hacking capabilities. Is it all a PR stunt, or is this a genuine threat? Plus, the FBI extracted messages from the secure messaging app Signal after exploiting a loophole involving iPhone notification databases. So how secure is Signal? And how might the loophole be closed? Meanwhile, several major global news sites are blocking the Wayback Machine, an initiative of the Internet Archive. What threat does it pose to these sites? And what will it cost us to lose this information preservation? GUESTS:Justin Hendry -- technology and business reporter and editor of Innovation Aus. Fergus Halliday -- technology & gaming journalist at reviews.org Australia------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.

April 10, 202628 min

Artemis II isn't the only cool thing happening in space tech at the moment

In this special episode, what's happening in Australia's space industry? Between Australia's first lunar rover, and putting plants on the moon (this year!), we'll take a peek behind the curtain.Space technology is having a moment right now. NASA’s Artemis mission is the first time humans have launched themselves into space since 1972. The 2026 Australian of the Year, Katherine Bennell-Pegg, is an astronaut. So, what does our local space industry look like right now? And where is it headed?GUESTS:Professor Andy Koronios -- Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of the Australasian Space Innovation Institute.Dr Lauren Fell -- outreach and marketing specialist at Lunar Outpost Oceania, co-lead of the ELO2 industry consortium building Roo-ver. She's also a director at Lunaria One, who is putting plants on the moon.------------This episode was produced on the lands of the Burramattagal people.------------Get in touch:We'd love to hear from you! Email us at downloadthisshow@abc.net.auFind all the episodes of Download This Show on the ABC Listen App or wherever you get your podcasts.