Category Archives: Podcasts

I Like Podcasts

The Love + Radio Podcast is one of my latest finds. I like that they have very different episodes on different subjects.

“From PRX’s Radiotopia, Nick van der Kolk’s Love and Radio features in-depth, otherworldly-produced interviews with an eclectic range of subjects, from the seedy to the sublime. You’ve never heard anything like it before. New installments are added monthly.”

For recommendations on which episode to listen to first, see their About page, or try one of the epsidodes I liked: Deep Stealth Mode, Sesquipedalian, Greetings from Coney Island.

The Power of Podcasts

Baltimore Sun: Conviction vacated, new trial granted for Adnan Syed of “Serial”.

“Baltimore judge has vacated the murder conviction of Adnan Syed, the subject of the popular “Serial” podcast that explored his case, and granted his request for a new trial.

The order from retired Judge Martin Welch was handed down Thursday afternoon. Syed has been serving a life sentence since being convicted in 2000 of killing ex-girlfriend Hae Min Lee, a Woodlawn High School classmate, and burying her body in Leakin Park.”

Link via MetaFilter.

Previously: 2016/06/23, 2016/02/05, 2015/11/16, 2015/11/07, 2014/11/26, 2014/11/03.

Sarah Koenig’s Serial podcast

Transom.org: Sarah Koenig’s Manifesto.

“In her long-awaited Transom Manifesto, Sarah Koenig breaks down just how tricky it can be to tell a story in sound. By deconstructing the Leakin Park episode, by explaining all the things her team was unable to get to create the story, she reveals exactly how they did create it. This, fundamentally, is how non-fiction narrative works. You try to get what you want, but ultimately, you work with what you get. Sometimes the obstacles make you jump even higher. Sometimes they’re just obstacles.”

Ransomware

The first ransomware for Mac OS X has been found.

MetaFilter: OS X Ransomware. “First OS X ransomware detected in the wild, will maliciously encrypt hard drives on infected Macs.”

9to5Mac: First OS X ransomware detected in the wild, will maliciously encrypt hard drives on infected Macs [Update: How to fix].

“OS X users have today been hit with the first known case of Mac ‘ransomware’ malware, found in the Transmission BitTorrent client released last week. Infected versions of the app include ‘KeyRanger’ malware that will maliciously encrypt the user’s hard drive after three days of being installed. The malware then asks for payment to allow the user to decrypt the disk and access their data — the ‘ransom’.”

Ransomware has been around for several years in one form or another, but seems to have become much more popular in the past few months. One of my favorite podcasts reported on this problem back in the fall:

Radiolab on September 21, 2016: Darkode.

“It would seem that hackers today can do just about anything they want – from turning on the cellphone in your pocket to holding your life’s work hostage. Cyber criminals today have more sophisticated tools, have learned to work collaboratively around the world and have found innovative ways to remain deep undercover in the internet’s shadows. This episode, we shine a light into those shadows to see the world from the perspectives of both cybercrime victims and perpetrators.”

You can listen to, stream or download the episode for free.

Deutsche Welle on February 25, 2016: Hackers hold German hospital data hostage.

“Several hospitals in Germany have come under attack by ransomware, a type of virus that locks files and demands cash to free data it maliciously encrypted. It will take weeks until all systems are up and running again.”

Die Zeit: Wir haben Eure Daten! “Eine neue Form der Erpressung hat sich etabliert. Cyberkriminelle legen Computer lahm und verlangen Lösegeld. Was passiert, wenn es ein Krankenhaus trifft – eine Rekonstruktion.” Von Karen Grass.