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Episode 78

Porta-Potties

They’re not always the nicest places to go — but for their owners, portable toilets are a lucrative revenue stream. Zachary Crockett lifts the lid.

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Episode 619

How to Poison the A.I. Machine

When the computer scientist Ben Zhao learned that artists were having their work stolen by A.I. models, he invented a tool to thwart the machines. He also knows how to foil an eavesdropping Alexa and how to guard your online footprint. The big news, he says, is that the A.I. bubble is bursting.

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EXTRA

Is San Francisco a Failed State? (And Other Questions You Shouldn’t Ask the Mayor)

Stephen Dubner, live on stage, mixes it up with outbound mayor London Breed, and asks economists whether A.I. can be “human-centered” and if Tang is a gateway drug.

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Episode 77

Hand Models

You can be a top model and still not get recognized on the street — as long as you keep your cuticles healthy and your moons white. Zachary Crockett points a finger.

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