Tech News Weekly (Audio)

TNW 445: The Rise of AI-First Schools - Is AI the Way of Learning in the Future?

Thu, 09 Jul 2026 14:30:00 PDT

Dan Moren joins Mikah Sargent this week! XBOX resets itself. Wealthy families are leaning towards AI tutors to better prepare their kids. AI is starting to get into the "Wrapped" trend with users' data. And New York is the first US state to ban the use of smart glasses in courthouses.

Microsoft laid off thousands more Xbox employees this week, and spun off gaming studios such as Compulsion Games and Double Fine, as the division struggles with thin margins & rising hardware costs.
Wealthy families are pulling kids from public school for pricey new programs like Alpha School and Forge Prep that swap teachers for AI "guides" and lessons in business skills, despite no data proving they work.
Anthropic debuted a new tool called Reflect, reminiscent of Spotify's "Wrapped" feature, that gives Claude users a usage dashboard with quiet hours, break reminders, and insights into their habits, though it requires memory to be turned on.
And New York became the first US state to ban the use of smart glasses in courthouses, following a trend of Illinois drivers and major cruise lines prohibiting the use of camera-equipped smart glasses over recording and safety concerns.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren

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TNW 444: The End of the PlayStation Disc - The Beginning of the End of Physical Games?

Thu, 02 Jul 2026 15:30:00 PDT

Abrar Al-Heeti of CNET joins Mikah Sargent on the show this week! Do Americans trust driverless vehicles? Safety tools for Social Media are failing kids. Sony is ceasing the production of physical games in January 2028. And a Supreme Court ruling guts the government's use of geofence warrants.

A new Pew Research survey finds only 5% of U.S. adults have ridden in a driverless car, and 71% say they wouldn't feel comfortable riding in one in the first place.
An audit conducted by the Cybersafety Research Center showcases that, within Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, and YouTube, the research center found 51 of 86 advertised child-safety features were either broken, buried, or missing.
Sony announced it will stop making physical discs for new PlayStation games starting in January 2028.
And in Chatrie v. United States, which reached the Supreme Court, the Court ruled 6-3 that police need a warrant to obtain Google location-history data, further extending Fourth Amendment protections for Americans.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti

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TNW 443: $2K Specs, $299 Meta Glasses - Snap's Foray Into Smart Glasses

Thu, 25 Jun 2026 17:45:00 PDT

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy of The Verge joins Tech News Weekly with Mikah Sargent! Matter 1.6 is unveiled. A federal probe has been opened into Tesla. Snap and Meta are making major moves in smart glasses this week. And is the rising cost of tech becoming too much?

Jennifer talks about Matter 1.6 and some of the new features that come with the newest version of the technical standard for smart home devices.
Mikah shares how another federal probe has been opened into Tesla, this time a Model 3 vehicle that slammed into a Texas home and killed a 76-year-old in the house.
Scott Stein joins the show to talk about Snap and Meta's newest smart glasses.
And both Mikah and Scott talk about the increasing cost of tech as Steam's new Steam Machine is given a starting price point of $1,049, and Apple just announced a price hike across its Mac, iPad, and home devices.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Guest: Scott Stein

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TNW 442: Android 17's Best New Features, Explained - What's New in Android 17

Thu, 18 Jun 2026 16:00:00 PDT

Dan Moren of Six Colors is in this week for Tech News Weekly with Mikah Sargent. Apple will likely raise the prices of its products in the future. Roku is being bought by Fox. Android 17 arrives for your smartphone! And could your devices come pre-installed with backdoor software?

Dan talks about an interview with Apple CEO Tim Cook in the Wall Street Journal and how it's unavoidable that the company will have to raise the price on its devices in the future due to memory chip costs fueled by AI demand.
Mikah laments the potential acquisition of Roku by Fox in a $22 billion cash-and-stock deal.
Patrick Holland of CNET joins the show to talk about Android 17 and the new features within the operating system.
And Mikah shares an investigation by the Wall Street Journal on how many cheap smart home devices have been secretly hijacked by a Chinese company to create a massive residential proxy network used by state-backed hackers from Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren

Guest: Patrick Holland

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TNW 441: Siri AI: Initial Impressions - Siri AI & the Next Iteration of Apple's Operating Systems

Thu, 11 Jun 2026 15:30:00 PDT

Amanda Silberling of TechCrunch joins Mikah Sargent this week! Anthropic launches Fable 5, its newest AI model. The FCC seeks to end the use of burner phones in the US. And everything Apple unveiled at WWDC 2026.

Amanda talks about Anthropic's newest AI model, Fable 5, its first consumer-accessible version of its powerful Mythos model.
Mikah shares a story from 404 Media about the FCC's push to end anonymous "burner phones," raising significant concerns about the privacy implications for people who rely on them for legitimate reasons.
And Dan Moren of SixColors joins the show to break down WWDC 2026's latest announcements, including a revamped AI-powered Siri and a privacy-first approach to its new intelligence features.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Amanda Silberling

Guest: Dan Moren

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TNW 440: Inside a High School's Deepfake Nightmare - When Deepfakes Go Too Far in Schools

Thu, 04 Jun 2026 14:30:00 PDT

Abrar Al-Heeti joins Mikah Sargent this week on Tech News Weekly! Google & Microsoft held developer keynotes the past few weeks, with Apple's WWDC conference happening soon. The growing crisis of AI-generated deepfakes in schools. And China's dominance in actuator manufacturing.

Abrar & Mikah chat about the stretch of major tech conferences with Google & Microsoft's tech conferences that happened in the past few weeks, as well as Apple's WWDC that is right around the corner.
Samantha Cole of 404 Media joins the show to talk about the disturbing rise of AI-generated deepfakes that are targeting students in schools and the ongoing challenges facing lawmakers, parents, and app stores in responding to the crisis.
And Mikah looks into America's growing actuator problem, with China dominating the market and the U.S. struggling to bring the manufacturing of actuators back home.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti

Guest: Samantha Cole

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TNW 439: Can Apple's New Siri Catch Up? - iOS 27 Siri AI Overhaul

Thu, 28 May 2026 15:30:00 PDT

Dan Moren from sixcolors.com joins Mikah Sargent this week on Tech News Weekly. A new report from Mark Gurman highlights new details for iOS 27. A look into a trend in London involving phone thefts & the lengths they go to unlock stolen devices for resale. And the Vatican unveiled its new papal encyclical on artificial intelligence.

Dan talks about a new report from Mark Gurman on Bloomberg about new details for Apple's upcoming iOS 27, which highlights a revamped Siri, a new system-wide search interface, and a standalone chatbot-style Siri app with support for third-party AI models.
Mikah shares a New York Times investigation that looks into a disturbing trend in London where phone thieves are escalating beyond simple theft to pressure the victim and their family members into unlocking their stolen devices for resale.
And Jacob Ward of The Rip Current joins Mikah to break down the Vatican's new papal encyclical on artificial intelligence that was unveiled earlier this week.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Dan Moren

Guest: Jacob Ward

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TNW 438: Gemini in Your Glasses: A First Look - Google's Android XR Smart Glasses

Thu, 21 May 2026 16:00:00 PDT

Jennifer Pattison Tuohy joins Mikah Sargent on Tech News Weekly! Amazon is directly implementing Alexa into its flagship shopping website. Bambu Lab is in hot water over direct messages it sent to an independent developer regarding third-party software access. Google's set to release its Android XR smart glasses later this year. And Apple unveils new accessibility features for its products, now including Apple Intelligence.

Jennifer talks about Amazon integrating Alexa into Amazon.com, where you'll be able to ask Alexa questions and get more personalized answers.
Mikah discusses how Bambu Lab, maker of popular 3D printers, is facing criticism from the 3D printing community after it sent a cease-and-desist letter to a developer over a third-party app that bypassed some of Bambu's proprietary software.
WIRED's Julian Chokkattu joins the show to talk about Google's upcoming Android XR smart glasses and his hands-on experience with the device on how it handled tasks such as translation, navigation, and on-the-fly information lookup.
And Mikah shares Apple's latest announcements of new accessibility features that will be coming to its OS's later this year.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jennifer Pattison Tuohy

Guest: Julian Chokkattu

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TNW 437: What To Expect at Google I/O - The Preamble to Google I/O 2026

Thu, 14 May 2026 15:45:00 PDT

Jacob Ward joins Mikah Sargent on Tech News Weekly! More insights into the Musk vs. OpenAI trial. Everything unveiled at The Android Show: Google I/O Edition 2026. And the Canvas cyberattack.

Jacob has been covering the Musk vs. OpenAI trial since he was last on the show. He talks about the trial and some of the more interesting things that have occurred during the trial.
Jason Howell stops by to talk about everything that was unveiled at The Android Show: Google I/O Edition, a lead-up to the big Google I/O event that is taking place on May 19th.
And Mikah talks about the Canvas cyberattack that occurred on May 7th and how the company paid the ransom that the attackers were demanding from the organization.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Jacob Ward

Guest: Jason Howell

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TNW 436: What 40,000 Schools Tell Us About Phone Bans - Do Phone Bans in School Really Benefits Students?

Thu, 07 May 2026 16:45:00 PDT

Abrar Al-Heeti of CNET joins the show this week! The Oscars implement new rules with limits placed on the use of AI. Apple is set to pay $250 million to settle allegations about the capabilities of AI on its iPhones. Does tech suck now? And a study into the ban of cellphone use in schools shows mixed results in students' behavior and overall academic performance.

Abrar talks about how the Oscars announced new eligibility guidelines for awards, requiring that roles & screenplays must be conducted by humans, stopping short of a ban on the use of AI in films nominated.
Mikah shares how Apple must pay $250 million to settle class action lawsuits that allege the company misled customers on the capabilities of AI on its iPhones that never fully shipped as promised.
Andrew Lanxon of CNET joins the show to discuss whether modern technology is genuinely getting worse or if some of us are simply becoming harder to please as we get older.
And Mikah talks about a study that looks at schools restricting student use of cellphones during the day and the mixed results in improving students' behavior and in their academics overall.

Hosts: Mikah Sargent and Abrar Al-Heeti

Guest: Andrew Lanxon

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