Tech Policy Podcast

Hosted by TechFreedom

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Episodes

447

Latest episode

Aug 2026

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About the show

Tech policy is at the center of the hottest debates in American law and politics. On the Tech Policy Podcast, host Corbin Barthold discusses the latest developments with some of the tech world's best journalists, lawyers, academics, and more.

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60 recent

August 21, 20261 hr 18 min

439: KOSA and the Fight for Anonymous Speech

New host Ari Cohn sits down with Taylor Lorenz to unpack the latest push for the Kids Online Safety Act (KOSA), the SCREEN Act, and online age verification. They discuss the free speech and privacy implications of these laws, how government pressure can lead platforms to over-censor, the risks of mandatory identity verification, and why protecting kids online can have consequences for everyone. Ari and Taylor also explore the political forces and moral panic driving tech regulation—and why anonymous speech and the freedom to read may be more important than ever. Links: User Mag Substack User Mag: ICE’s Plan to Monitor Social Media 24/7 The KIDS Act Is Just as Unconstitutional as KOSA ... Just in Different Words KOSA Still Poses a Grave Threat to First Amendment Rights Kids Online Safety Act Threatens the First Amendment and Minors’ Well-Being The Anti-LGBTQ Internet Censorship Bill Is Back - Taylor Lorenz’s Power User Podcast Wall Street Journal: How ICE is Weaponizing Social Media Against Its Critics

June 25, 20261 hr 3 min

438: I Hosted 157 Episodes and All I Got Was This Stupid Digital Censorship

Corbin is signing off as host. To mark the occasion, he and new host Ari Cohn go on one final super rant about the state of social-media and AI regulation. Links: Supreme Court to Hear Violent Video Game Case (https://tinyurl.com/y969cv6r) India’s Republic of Uncles (https://tinyurl.com/22xbx668) Save Us, Digital Cronkite! (https://tinyurl.com/35sess4r)

June 4, 202652 min

437: Data Centers Are Good, Actually

Judge Glock (Manhattan Institute) joins the show to discuss the past, present, and future of data center construction in the United States. Links: The Surprising Heart of the Data-Center Boom

May 26, 202650 min

436: The Future of Space Exploration

Dr. Mekhi Dhesi is a space industry executive at Slingshot Aerospace and a space communicator. She joins the show to discuss orbital mechanics, rocket science, black holes, the Fermi paradox, and more. Follow her on Instagram @cosmic_mekhi!

May 13, 20261 hr 16 min

435: Live: The Perennial Urge to Censor New Technology

Host Corbin Barthold heads to New York to speak at FIRE’s Free Speech Future event series. The panel features Kmele Foster (The Fifth Column), Nico Perrino (FIRE), and Prof. Christopher Ferguson (Stetson University). Links: Free Speech Future: Episode III – Cycles of Censorship: Emerging Technologies Free Speech Future

April 28, 20261 hr 0 min

From the Vault: Algorithmic Amplification

From January 9, 2022 (Episode 310): Daphne Keller discusses her paper “Amplification and Its Discontents” with Corbin Barthold and Ari Cohn. Links: Amplification and Its Discontents: Why Regulating the Reach of Online Content Is Hard Tech Policy Podcast 389: The Rise of the Compliant Speech Platform

April 14, 202659 min

434: The Free Speech Recession

Jacob Mchangama and Jeff Kosseff discuss their fantastic new book, The Future of Free Speech . Links: The Future of Free Speech: Reversing the Global Decline of Democracy's Most Essential Freedom

April 7, 20261 hr 6 min

433: AI and the First Amendment

TechFreedom’s Corbin Barthold, Santana Boulton, and Andy Jung discuss whether AI promotes free speech, why AI outputs are protected free expression, why Anthropic should win its First Amendment lawsuit against the Department of War, and much else besides. Links: AI + 1A: Why the First Amendment Protects Artificial Intelligence Don’t Ban Kids From Using Chatbots Heaven’s Gate—How and When It May Be Entered

March 23, 202656 min

432: Live: The New Frontiers of Speech

Our host, Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom), speaks on a panel at State of the Net with Joel Thayer (Digital Progress Institute) and Ashkhen Kazaryan (The Future of Free Speech), and Luke Hogg (Foundation for American Innovation). They discuss how the First Amendment should work in a world of algorithms and AI. Links: AI + 1A: Why the First Amendment Protects Artificial Intelligence (Corbin’s new paper) (https://tinyurl.com/mw5vbuzf) State of the Net 2026 Tech Podcast Policy 373: Porn and the First Amendment Tech Podcast Policy 417: Free Speech Coalition v. Paxton Is Wreaking Havoc

March 9, 202651 min

431: Barrett’s Moody Concurrence: Oddly Popular, Wholly Wrong

Host Corbin Barthold (TechFreedom) deconstructs Justice Barrett’s surprisingly influential concurrence in Moody v. NetChoice . Or: Why the First Amendment protects algorithms and AI. Links: Moody v. NetChoice The Post-human First Amendment Tech Policy Podcast 286: How Algorithms Can Fight Extremism Tech Policy Podcast 414: Beware the Butlerian Jihad