Episodes 60
Avg. Duration 14m
Activity Active
Since Apr 2021
Latest Episode Feb 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Consistency
98%
Hosting
anchor.fm

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

A podcast about technology and democracy, sponsored by Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy.

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

S8E3 'Sugar High' part 3 -- Does it have to be tech vs art?

Feb 25, 2026 45m

Jen Jacobsen of the Artist Rights Alliance joins host Bob Sullivan to talk about the decades-long 'battle' between artists and tech firms. Will it come to a head with AI music? Can we build…

S8E2 Sugar High, part 2: With AI music, can you believe your ears?

Feb 18, 2026 37m

There are a lot of scared composers, songwriters, and performers out there, we learn in part two of our miniseries "Sugar High." Streaming disrupted the music industry, but artificial intelligence…

S8E1 Sugar High, Part 1 -- The Future of Music?

Feb 11, 2026 39m

Tech firms like Spotify have already upended the music business, with many artists struggling to adjust. Will AI-generated music mean the end of musicians? In this miniseries, Debugger follows…

S6E1 The Minnesota assassin used data brokers as a weapon

Jun 30, 2025 9m

Digital stalking, aided by data brokers, took another deadly turn this month in Minnesota. When alleged political assassin Vance Boelter began his rampage on June 13, he had a list of 45 state…

UnitedHealth hack episode 4 -- Will anything change?

May 15, 2025 18m

Outrage was high after the UnitedHealth hack was revealed, but will that anger turn into action? In this final episode of our 4-part series on the UnitedHealth hack, Duke's Hannah Pechet examines…

UnitedHealth hack episode 3 -- Who did it?

May 14, 2025 15m

Ransomware gangs operate in a shadowy digital underworld. Sometimes they play by certain rules, sometimes they don't. In episode 3 of this 4-part series, Duke University's Jacqueline Rodriguez delves…

S6E3 UnitedHealth hack episode 2 -- What makes this cyberattack so significant?

May 13, 2025 10m

Nearly 200 million Americans' data were exposed by the UnitedHealth hack, and the event crippled some healthcare delivery systems across the country. In episode 2 of the UnitedHealth hack series,…

S6E2 UnitedHealth hack Episode 1: Timeline of a health data disaster

May 12, 2025 21m

Imagine showing up at a pharmacy and being told you can't pick up your prescription because of a cyberattack. The UnitedHealthcare hack was much more than a typical smash-and-grab data theft. In the…

S6E1 Announcing the UnitedHealth hack series

May 12, 2025 5m Trailer

Duke University Professor David Hoffman joins host Bob Sullivan to explain the 4-part series Debugger will soon release covering all aspects of the UnitedHealthcare hack or 2024.

S5E3 The Center for Latin American Convergence

Mar 26, 2024 13m

The Latin American tech industry is growing….fast…and so is the region’s cybersecurity needs. There’s an ambitious plan to bring together all the various interested parties for discussion at an…

S5E3 'We need a lot of people to protect the world'

Mar 06, 2024 15m

There's a shortage of cybersecurity professionals all around to world -- and that includes Costa Rica, home of today's guest, Carolina Taborda. She heads a new project there called the CyberSec…

S5E2 White House takes aim at data brokers

Feb 29, 2024 10m

The White House issued an executive order recently that takes on data brokers who might try to sell sensitive personal information on Americans to foreign adversaries like China and Russia. A recent…

S51E1 Is the digital divide actually getting bigger? This office is trying to help

Feb 15, 2024 13m

Think about the last time you lost your smartphone … even for a few minutes, or worse, for a whole day. Now, imagine living your whole life this way.  The digital divide, which feels like a tired…

S5E1 'Why weren't we prepared for a superpower like this being unleashed?'

Oct 05, 2023 17m

Facial recognition is one of the most controversial frontiers of the tech world, and if you've read any story about facial recognition in the past decade or so, it's probably been written by this…

S5E1 The Frances Haugen interview: Two years after Facebook, what now?

Jul 19, 2023 34m

Whistleblower Frances Haugen joins host Bob Sullivan to talk about life after taking on Facebook: the slow pace of change, the research she is conducting (some with Duke students) and why she's…

S4E17 Rules for Whistleblowers: a Handbook for Doing What's Right

May 02, 2023 21m

When Whistleblower Francis Haugen came forward and testified before Congress about what she thought was going wrong inside Facebook, she changed big tech forever. But how? Here to discuss that with…

S4E17 Nonconsensual Tracking: A Case Study in Abusability

Apr 24, 2023 14m

Eva Galperin is director of Cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and one of the leading voices against stalkerware and other technology used for non-consensual tracking of victims.…

S4E16 The Battle for Your Brain -- preserving 'cognitive liberty' in the age of neurotechnology

Mar 21, 2023 18m

If you feel a little creeped out by the idea of wearing gadgets that send your pulse rate or oxygen levels or sleep patterns to a big tech company …wait until you hear what Duke University professor…

S4E9 Maybe smart gadgets need 'nutrition' labels

Mar 13, 2023 13m

Your home is getting "smarter" all the time...full of smart gadgets, anyway. But most people know precious little about what these Smart TVs -- what ALL these smart gadgets -- are learning about us,…

S3E16 Why are U.S. states banning TikTok?

Jan 17, 2023 10m

North Carolina recently joined a growing list of states – more than 20 now -- that have banned social media app TikTok from government-issued devices. Here to discuss this with me is Ken Rogerson,…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does Debugger have?

Debugger has published 60 episodes since April 2021, covering topics in News.

Is Debugger still active?

Debugger is currently active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 14m.

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Sign up on Grep.FM to access contact details for Debugger, including email and social media links.

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