This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro

Hosted by Jeanne Destro

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150

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

WAKR's Jeanne Destro discusses a new tech topic each week!

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60 recent

June 12, 202633 min

Lady Madonna, Who Will Pay the Rent?: The Looming AI Jobpocalpyse

I was inspired to write this story by the tumultuous events at CBS News last week, which resulted in the high profile firings of several key members of the 60 Minutes staff, including longtime correspondent, Scott Pelley. The internal intrigue spilled out onto the world stage, when details leaked about the fiery staff meeting in which Pelley told his new boss that he wasn't qualified to run their team. Then, he did a lengthy podcast interview with the New York Times, in which he disputed the network's side of things, while spilling the tea and a whole ocean of emotions, about why this was such a shock, loss, and source of immense sadness. Now, you can debate all day long about whether or not somebody who openly confronts their boss in a staff meeting has any right to quibble about what happens next, but what is undeniable; is that whenever you lose a job that you really love, or even hate but need to pay the rent; it will massively disrupt your life, least for awhile–and maybe longer–if you're not lucky. But what if it isn't about luck at all? What if happens by design, as we are seeing with big tech companies pushing business and government to replace human workers with AI? What if the kinds of mass layoffs that have become commonplace in the tech industry over the past 18 months become commonplace enough in other business sectors to destabilize society, and tank the economy? So, that's where today’s special guest, Time Worthy Media Founder, and Tech Journalist, Ian Sherr, comes in. He is both well-qualified, and uniquely positioned to offer insight on how industrial revolutions have affected society in the past, and how this new one might play out in the future. He also has some personal skin in the game, as one of his most recent gigs was with CBS News Radio, which ceased to exist a couple of weeks ago, after the very same management team that fired Scott Pelley, shut down the company’s entire radio news division, which had been in operation for nearly 100 years. Listen now.

June 7, 202614 min

One Thing Leads To Another: How Ohio Tech and Energy Concerns Reflect Global Disruption

This week's story is about the interconnected web of global technology and energy production, disruption, and politics. But more than that; it is about how Ohioans are caught up in that web, pushing back against it, trying to navigate it, and worrying about how it is affecting their everyday lives. Listen now to hear about how the lack of oil flowing from the Middle East because of the war with Iran, is affecting Ohioans with higher gas prices, and the possibility that if state and federal politicians decide to enact "gas tax holidays"; that could mean less money for much needed bridge repairs in Ohio. You'll also hear about a public hearing in the Ohio House which gave citizens the chance to speak out on what they believe will be the damaging effects of big data centers that power AI, how FirstEnergy is asking state regulators to approve rate increases over the next three years, and how they are already planning for a vast increase in the number of data centers in Ohio over the next decade. But Ohioans are not only concerned about energy-guzzling data centers. They are also worried about thousands of acres of farmland being turned into huge solar farms, as evidenced by a new decision this week from the Ohio Supreme Court. Wind energy is also an issue both nationwide and in Ohio, and we'll show how federal government policy and funding priorities has pulled the plug on what over the past couple of decades had begun to look like a promising new way to provide clean energy in Northeast Ohio and more recently, along the East Coast. When you connect the dots; what you will see is that all the technological, political, and cultural developments you hear about every day in the national news, actually are making a huge difference in the everyday lives of people who live very close to home. Listen now to find out how individuals, communities, and groups, are trying to adapt to, fight, change, or at least in some way have an effect on massive pressure brought to bear by big government, big technology, and big energy trends.

May 22, 202621 min

Drones Are The New Black

You can dress them up, you can dress them down, and you can use them anywhere. Drones are technology's new little black dress; delivering everything from bombs, to life-saving medicine, and this week we're going to talk to some experts from Northeast Ohio who are helping train the students who will be the backbone of tomorrow's professional drone workforce. Our featured guests are Dr. Manigandan "Mani" Kannan, who is an Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Akron, and Kent State University Assistant Aeronautics Professor, Jason Lorenzon. Kannan, who is the Advisor for the U-A drone team, tells us they won second place two years in a row, in a prestigious national competition, beating out a number of much bigger, and more well-funded schools. Lorenzon, who is also an Attorney, wrote the book, "Drone Law: The Past Present And The Future", a few years ago, on the laws that regulate how drones can be used in the United States, which he is the process of revising as both drone technology and public policy related to it, evolve. Listen now as we set the stage with stories about how little drones are making a big difference in major military conflicts around the world, as well as helping to save lives here in the United States.

May 18, 202611 min

Small Particles, Big Results: Quantum Cybersecurity Breakthrough At Ohio State University

While the US Government mends fences with Anthropic, which recently introduced an AI tool known as "Mythos",which they claim is so powerful it can punch holes in even the most powerful cybersecurity safeguards today; we're heading down an entirely new path with even faster, stronger, and better technology. That's because it is based on quantum physics, and as such; is capable of computational speed and complex operations that can run circles around every kind of system and program that we have today. The downside is that it is still in development, though, as you'll hear today; it is getting closer to becoming the next big thing in more than just theory. Our special guest is Dr. Ronald M. Reano, who is a Professor at The Ohio State University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as the Co-Director of their Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering. There, he is working on ways to vastly improve cybersecurity, by securely sending quantum particles that are immune from eavesdropping, over a wired network. Listen now to find out how far they've gotten in their quest to reach that goal, and what a future with networked quantum computers could hold. Biography: Ronald M. Reano received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2004. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University, Columbus, where he leads the Integrated Optics Laboratory. Prof. Reano’s research focuses on chipscale integrated photonics for innovation in sensors, communications systems, and computing. Prof. Reano served as The Optical Society (OSA), Frontiers in Optics, Integrated Photonics Subcommittee Chair in 2013 and 2014. He served as Program CoChair for the 2015 OSA Annual Meeting. Prof. Reano is currently serving as an Associate Editor for Optics Express. He is also the faculty advisor for the OSA Student Chapter at The Ohio State University and is an OSA Traveling Lecturer. Prof. Reano is the recipient of the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the ARO Young Investigator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Ohio State University College of Engineering McCarthy Teaching Award. Degrees • Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2004 • M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2000 • B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of New Mexico, 1996 • B.S., Physics, University of California, Los Angeles 1991

May 18, 202611 min

Small Particles, Big Results: Quantum Cybersecurity Breakthrough At Ohio State University

While the US Government mends fences with Anthropic, which recently introduced an AI tool known as "Mythos", which they claim is so powerful it can punch holes in even the most powerful cybersecurity safeguards today; we're heading down an entirely new path with even faster, stronger, and better technology. That's because it is based on quantum physics, and as such; is capable of computational speed and complex operations that can run circles around every kind of system and program that we have today. The downside is that it is still in development, though, as you'll hear today; it is getting closer to becoming the next big thing in more than just theory. Our special guest is Dr. Ronald M. Reano, who is a Professor at The Ohio State University's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as the Co-Director of their Center for Quantum Information Science and Engineering. There, he is working on ways to vastly improve cybersecurity, by securely sending quantum particles that are immune from eavesdropping, over a wired network. Listen now to find out how far they've gotten in their quest to reach that goal, and what a future with networked quantum computers could hold. Biography: Ronald M. Reano received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2004. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University, Columbus, where he leads the Integrated Optics Laboratory. Prof. Reano’s research focuses on chipscale integrated photonics for innovation in sensors, communications systems, and computing. Prof. Reano served as The Optical Society (OSA), Frontiers in Optics, Integrated Photonics Subcommittee Chair in 2013 and 2014. He served as Program CoChair for the 2015 OSA Annual Meeting. Prof. Reano is currently serving as an Associate Editor for Optics Express. He is also the faculty advisor for the OSA Student Chapter at The Ohio State University and is an OSA Traveling Lecturer. Prof. Reano is the recipient of the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the ARO Young Investigator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Ohio State University College of Engineering McCarthy Teaching Award. Degrees • Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2004 • M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2000 • B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of New Mexico, 1996 • B.S., Physics, University of California, Los Angeles 1991

May 15, 202611 min

Small Particles, Big Results: Quantum Cybersecurity Breakthrough At OSU

While the US Government mends fences with Anthropic, which recently introduced an AI tool known as "Mythos", which they claim is so powerful it can punch holes in even the most powerful cybersecurity safeguards today; we're heading down an entirely new path with even faster, stronger, and better technology. That's because it is based on quantum physics, and as such; is capable of computational speed and complex operations that can run circles around every kind of system and program that we have today. The downside is that it is still in development, though, as you'll hear today; it is getting closer to becoming the next big thing in more than just theory. Our special guest is Dr. Ronald M. Reano, who is a Professor at The Ohio State University's Department of Electrical and Computer Science, as well as the Co-Director of their Center for Quantum Science and Engineering. There, he is working on ways to vastly improve cybersecurity, by sending quantum particles that are immune from eavesdropping, securely over a wired network. Listen now to find out how far they've gotten in their quest to reach that goal, and what a future with networked quantum computers could hold. Biography: Ronald M. Reano received his PhD in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan in 2004. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University, Columbus, where he leads the Integrated Optics Laboratory. Prof. Reano’s research focuses on chipscale integrated photonics for innovation in sensors, communications systems, and computing. Prof. Reano served as The Optical Society (OSA), Frontiers in Optics, Integrated Photonics Subcommittee Chair in 2013 and 2014. He served as Program CoChair for the 2015 OSA Annual Meeting. Prof. Reano is currently serving as an Associate Editor for Optics Express. He is also the faculty advisor for the OSA Student Chapter at The Ohio State University and is an OSA Traveling Lecturer. Prof. Reano is the recipient of the DARPA Young Faculty Award, the ARO Young Investigator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Ohio State University College of Engineering McCarthy Teaching Award. Degrees Ph.D., Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2004 M.S., Electrical Engineering, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, 2000 B.S., Electrical Engineering, University of New Mexico, 1996 B.S., Physics, University of California, Los Angeles 1991

May 8, 202618 min

I Just Want To Bang The (3-D Printed) Drum All Day!

Hats off to Todd Rundgren, who inspired today's headline with his ever-popular 1982 classic hit, "Bang The Drum", because that's certainly what I'm doing (at least in my head) today, thinking about a unique fusion of art, music, and technology that's happening right here in Northeast Ohio. While Akron used to be known as the "Rubber Capital of The World"; it is now considered the nation's premier polymer tech hub, with millions of dollars pouring in from both the federal government and private industry to fund research and development of advanced, sustainable polymers. But Professor Markus Vogl is doing something different, more colorful, and more creative, with polymers. He's making and selling custom, 3-D printed drums that are not only cool to look at, but also smokin' hot to play! Listen now to find out how Vogl is using technology to turn art into music, music into money, and business know-how, into practical lessons for the artists and engineering students who take his classes on 3-D printing at the University of Akron Myers School of Art.

May 2, 202615 min

AI Battle Royale: Who Will Win?

In what could be a weeks-long trial; the world's richest man, Elon Musk, is squaring off against Open AI CEO, Sam Altman, over whether or not Musk, who voluntarily walked away from a seat on the Open AI Board in 2018, deserves $134 billion dollars in compensation for alleged harm. That is a big ask, and according to reports this week, including by NBC News, is also leading to bigger questions such as "Will AI lead to the extinction of the human race?". But, as you'll hear now in my conversation with former CNET Editor, and current CBS News Tech Contributor, Ian Sherr, it's more about money, power, and control, than it is about any high-minded moral quandaries or existential arguments. Find out more. Listen now.

April 24, 202618 min

Beam Me Up!: Killing Cancer With Rays Of Light

The next time you apply sunscreen to project your skin from potentially cancer-inducing Ultraviolet rays from the sun; consider this: rays of light are actually being used right now to kill skin cancer, and may one day be used on other forms of cancer deep inside the body. This promising new development is being explored by a research team at the Cleveland Clinic, headed by Dr. Vijay Krishna, who tells us all about their ground-breaking research, in this week's edition of This Week In Tech With Jeanne Destro. Listen now to find out how this project, which just won a $2 million dollar award through Wellcome Leap’s Quantum for Bio Challenge , is powered by a Quantum computer which can process information in the blink of an eye that would take, in Krishna's words, "trillions" of years for even the most advanced, conventional, binary computer.

April 17, 202624 min

One AI To Rule Them All

Will the new Anthropic "Mythos" AI model be a blessing, or a curse? Well, that depends on who wields what could be the most powerful cyber weapon ever created, according to a tech expert we talked to on this week's edition of "This Week in Tech with Jeanne Destro". We'll also be talking about an escalating backlash to AI in general, and data centers in particular, why you should always double-check the medical advice you get from AI, violence aimed at those who aim to further AI development., and Anthropic's ongoing dispute with the Pentagon. Listen now.