Podcast appearances and mentions of Tom Merritt

Ransomware is a looming threat for any business or entity that has an online footprint. But we ask the big question. Should companies pay ransomware or not? We engage each other in a debate for the ages. Plus Walmart began accepting Apple Pay and Google Pay at its Walmart and Sam's Club locations. Robb wants to ask us why aren't more people using tap to pay? Xbox announced its disc-to-digital program that will let owners of physical game discs claim digital copies. You can use those digital copies in Xbox Play Anywhere and Xbox Cloud Gaming. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, David Spark, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Uber is giving parents of teens the ability to livestream video of the child's ride in real time, and Android 17 includes a new Motion Assist feature to help reduce motion sickness for riders in moving vehicles.Starring Jason Howell, Tom Merritt and Dr. Niki.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Stripe's acquisition of OpenRouter is official bringing it one step closer to being the money manager for AI, and YouTube is reportedly incentivizing its biggest creators to remain exclusive... or else!Starring Jason Howell, Jenn Cutter, Tom Merritt and Bobby FrankenbergerShow notes found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How is generative AI impacting creatives who have had their worked copied or used without permission. Meta's trial in Oakland, California began this week. 29 US states allege that Meta designed Facebook and Instagram to drive compulsive use by children and tried to hide known risks of using their products. Plus we explore what media executives think what the TV market will look like in three years. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Don Komarechka, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

YouTube changed how it tracks views to catch up with TikTok and Instagram hoping to make its metrics less confusing, and opening statements have begun in a major child safety case that looks at how Meta designed Facebook and Instagram.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Android Faithful's Jason Howell is here with details on the Pixel 11 phone. Plus Anthropic announced this week it would embed watermarks in text. And a plea for a revival of reading from 120 years ago. Finally we end our week with the Great Debates Smartphones that can always find the perfect place to eat or a phone that can always find the right things to say in any coversation. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Jason Howell, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Lenovo's ThinkBook patent codenamed Project Swan will bring horizontal rollable displays to its laptop form factor, and Apple is reportedly splitting the release of its premium iPhone 18 devices from its cheaper ones.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

OpenAI and Anthropic have confirmed their AI models were involved in separate third-party cybersecurity testing incidents resulting in a real website being breached and social engineering attacks against sites outside the intended testing boundaries. Plus Bending Spoons to buy Airtable for $1.2 billion. We ask everyone what they think of Bending Spoons track record so far in managing the companies they've acquired so far. And we close the week with a quiz about desserts! Or was that deserts? Find out on today's show! Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Microsoft released details of a Hotel Wi-Fi attack capable of breaching 365 accounts, and OpenAI shares a collection of screenshots and emails to defend itself against Apple's trade secret lawsuit against it.Starring Jason Howell, Tom Merritt, and Dr. Niki.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Samsung has a new credit card that goes toe to toe to the Apple Card, and xMEMS announced a new fan-on-a-chip that's designed to keep heat down on smartglasses and XR headsets.Starring Jason Howell, Tom Merritt and Huyen Tue Dao.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Waymo and Uber end their Phoenix pilot collaboration after three years, and TIDAL won't pay any royalties to AI generated music on its platform.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter look back on the biggest tech stories of JuneStarring Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What should have been a bipartisan housing bill touting affordability has instead become a fight over the Save America Act. Representative Anna Paulina Luna is leading a House conservative blockade, freezing routine procedural votes until the Senate takes up the Trump-backed elections bill. The problem is that the Senate has no path forward. The bill doesn't have the votes, and the Senate isn't about to let the House dictate its agenda. In the meantime, House Republicans are unable to move other priorities, including appropriations and next week's defense policy bill.Luna's leverage comes from one place: Donald Trump. The president canceled the planned signing of the bipartisan housing bill, saying he would not move forward until the Save America Act passes. House Republicans believe Luna's close relationship with Trump is what's keeping the blockade alive. Mike Lee has also pushed Trump to hold the line, arguing that Republican voters need something to get excited about before the midterms and that the Save America Act is that issue.Politics Politics Politics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.The divide inside the Republican Party is becoming clearer. Luna, Lee, and the hardliners argue that if voters gave Republicans the White House and both chambers of Congress, they expect them to fight for election legislation, not immediately explain why it can't pass. The Senate's answer is that the bill doesn't have sixty votes. Their view is that Republicans can either spend weeks arguing over a bill that cannot pass or move on to things they can actually accomplish.I think this has been mishandled by both Speaker Johnson and Leader Thune. Whether or not the entire Save America Act could ever get sixty votes, there are pieces of it that are broadly popular with the American public, particularly voter ID provisions. Those could have been broken out and forced into separate fights. Instead, Republicans have backed themselves into a corner where the House is frozen, the Senate has no incentive to move, and everyone is arguing over tactics instead of making progress.My expectation is that Trump ultimately signs the housing bill. This feels like walking away from the table before signing in the hope of getting something else. He wants movement on the Save America Act. I just don't think he's going to get it.Meanwhile, Iran's Revolutionary Guard reportedly struck the Singapore-flagged cargo ship Ever Lovely as it transited the Strait of Hormuz, raising new doubts about the U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding and the security of commercial shipping through the waterway. No casualties were reported, but the ship was damaged and the International Maritime Organization paused evacuation efforts while reassessing security. My biggest question isn't whether the memorandum itself is good or bad. It's whether any agreement can actually be enforced if there isn't one clear center of leadership in Iran. I honestly don't know who's making the calls, and I'm not sure if anyone else really has a good idea either.Chapters00:00:00 - Intro00:02:57 - SAVE America Blockade00:11:54 - Iran00:14:16 - Asylum Ruling00:16:29 - James vs. Mamdani00:19:52 - Interview with Tom Merritt01:06:40 - Wrap-up This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/subscribe

Commodore has a new digital detox flip phone called the Callback 8020 that has strict limits on what it can and can't do, and Microsoft unveiled new Surface Laptop and Surface Pro devices with Snapdragon X2 processors and steep price increases.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nica Montford and Terrance Gaines from the snobOS podcast, share their thoughts on the announcements from WWDC 2026. Plus 2026 FIFA World Cup has started and we talk about all the tech being used to keep track of the games and elevate security at the different venues. Finally its the end of the week and we have another great debate around what we would give up for a million bucks. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Nica Montford, Terrance Gaines, Len Peralta, Roger Chang To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Apple isn't using nearly as much Gemini in its models as you might have thought, and OpenAI filed for its IPO while Perplexity targets 2028 for its public offering. Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The CEO of Sophia Space, Rob DeMillo, is here to explaining what's different about space startups in 2026 vs. five years ago. Plus Nvidia announced a new Soc the RTX Spark which combines 20-Core Grace CPU With a 5070-Like Blackwell GPU and a partnership with Microsoft that will see a version of Windows for the platform. And we've got a special space movie quiz to help end the week. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Rob DeMillo, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Microsoft brings its new Surface RTX Spark Dev Box to the stage at its Build developer conference, and Anthropic is expanding access to Claude Mythos to about 150 more organizations worldwide.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brian's studio is cool again, possibly through maritime crime. After getting pitched a $35,000 AC replacement, he consults ChatGPT, invokes his coolant rights, and discovers the wonderful world of “illegal” refrigerant. Also: aerial floods, Comcast surrendering to piracy, a possible Great Night landline hotline, Tom Merritt's BTS business trip, asshole blackjack theology, video iPods, Zunes, the first iPhone, vibe-coded websites, and an AI treadmill coach that is trying to murder Justin. Get an extra episode every week only at https://www.patreon.com/greatnight!

Brian's studio is cool again, possibly through maritime crime. After getting pitched a $35,000 AC replacement, he consults ChatGPT, invokes his coolant rights, and discovers the wonderful world of “illegal” refrigerant. Also: aerial floods, Comcast surrendering to piracy, a possible Great Night landline hotline, Tom Merritt's BTS business trip, asshole blackjack theology, video iPods, Zunes, the first iPhone, vibe-coded websites, and an AI treadmill coach that is trying to murder Justin. Get an extra episode every week only at https://www.patreon.com/greatnight!

Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter look back on the biggest tech stories of MayStarring Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter.Links to the storikes discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bloomberg's Mark Gurman has a solid idea of what the new Siri features will look like in iOS 27, and Intel announced its Arc G-series chips for handheld gaming.Starring Jason Howell, Huyen Tue Dao, Tom Merritt and Dr. Niki Show notes found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Google I/O 2026 was this week and Google unveiled a new Gemini search tool allowing you to add images and video to your search query. TechCrunch says “Google Search as you know it is over”, we discuss what that means. Plus Warby Parker worked with Google and Samsung on new smart glasses that were also announced at Google I/O. Is the smart wearables market big enough for another entrant? And we end the week with a weighty debate. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Nica Montford, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Tom Merritt digs into what's driving the opposition to data centers in the US, and what you need to know to make your own decision about them.Featuring Tom Merritt.Links for this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Google announced a number of new initiatives and products this week. Ron Richards from Android Faithful is here with the major highlights. Plus A professor and research fellow at Sheffield Hallam University posted five tips on The Conversation for using screens as a parent. We review what was said and share what we think of them. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Ron Richards, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Instructure reached an agreement to pay attackers of its Canvas portal so students can get back to work, and Thinking Machines announced a research preview of a more natural conversation flow called Interaction Models.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What are options for running Intel Mac software on an Apple Silicon Mac? Bloomberg's Nate Lanxon shares his top favorites with us. Plus what does the data say about the effects of cell phone bans on student behavior and classroom performance? And we have a quiz lined up to test your knowledge of translations in history! Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Nate Lanxon, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Apple is reportedly checking out Intel and Samsung as alternate sources for its main device chips, and OpenAI is working really hard to bring a smartphone to market as soon as 2027.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter look back on the biggest tech stories of April. Starring Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A new study finds that AI chatbots can be addictive but are the way they're designed partly to blame? Plus Elon Musk's lawsuit against OpenAI is going on this week. We share if we find the story interesting from an information point of view because of the details that will be divulged or because its just entertainment? And we do another round of our popular Name The Price on Zillow game! Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Amber MacArthur, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Valve's new Steam Controller is purpose-built for its ecosystem and nothing else, and the "Ask YouTube" search experiment is like a version of Gemini that is specific to YouTube video content.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Show notes can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

IKEA's new cheap smart home products don't need a hub if you already have a Samsung TV, and WhatsApp is testing a new subscription model that makes things prettier but doesn't remove ads.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Show notes can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Congress is in the middle of a rare moment where members are actually being forced out, and it is happening on both sides at once. Eric Swalwell and Tony Gonzales are already gone, both stepping down before they could be expelled, and now the pressure is shifting to others who are caught up in their own scandals. It is not subtle. This is a full blown house cleaning, and it is moving faster than Congress usually moves on anything involving its own members.The fallout from Swalwell is still spreading, especially for Ruben Gallego, who had been one of his most vocal defenders just days before everything collapsed. Now he is stuck trying to explain what he knew and how close he really was to someone whose behavior is suddenly under a microscope. His answer, calling Swalwell “flirty,” lands awkwardly and undercuts the whole “normal guy” image that made him politically effective in the first place. It sounds like a line that was workshopped instead of something real, and that is exactly the kind of thing that voters tend to pick apart.At the same time, Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick is staring down what looks like an inevitable expulsion vote over allegations that she funneled millions in COVID relief money into her campaign. The details are serious enough that even Democrats do not seem eager to defend her, and the lack of public support from party leadership says a lot. There might have been a time when members circled the wagons, but this feels different. The appetite to protect colleagues at all costs is not what it used to be.Politics Politics Politics is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.All of this points to a broader shift in how Congress is handling its own scandals. When four different members, tied to both financial and personal misconduct, are all facing consequences at the same time, it suggests that the internal pressure has reached a point where inaction is no longer politically safe. Members are not being pushed out because Congress suddenly became more ethical. They are being pushed out because keeping them has become more dangerous.Meanwhile, the administration is dealing with its own turbulence as Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer exits under the cloud of an inspector general investigation. The official explanation is that she is leaving for the private sector, but the timing and the surrounding allegations make it clear that this was not a clean departure. Reports of inappropriate relationships, questionable travel, and internal complaints created enough heat that the White House appears to have decided it was easier to move on than fight it out publicly.The pattern shows up again with FBI Director Kash Patel, who is now suing The Atlantic for defamation over a story that paints him as erratic and prone to heavy drinking. The lawsuit is massive in dollar amount, but legally it faces long odds, especially given the standard required for public figures. More than anything, it reads like an attempt to push back on a narrative that is already taking hold, one that questions both his professionalism and his control over the agency.Taken together, all of this feels like a moment where institutions are trying to clean themselves up in real time, but only because the pressure to do so has become unavoidable. Congress is ejecting members, the administration is cycling out officials, and public fights over reputation are playing out in the open. It is not orderly, and it is not coordinated, but it is very clearly a system reacting to its own instability.Chapters00:00:00 - Intro00:02:43 - Virginia Redistricting00:05:34 - Congress Cleans House00:16:23 - Update00:17:00 - Lori Chavez-DeRemer00:22:09 - Reconciliation00:25:36 - Kash Patel00:32:20 - Tom Merritt on Politics, Tech, and AI01:27:13 - Wrap-up This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/subscribe

Ramageddeon continues to inflict financial pain on consumers looking up the prices for new laptops, flash memory, VR headsets and storage. Plus we discuss findings from the Australian Recording Industry Association that show that people are listening to less new music in favor of old favorites. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Patrick Norton, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

We discuss the implications of the Artemis II mission that saw humans fly the furthest distance from the earth and observe the dark side of the moon. Plus Gen Z is growing less excited about AI than previously. Anthropic decides to limit its latest model to a select number of companies. And we have a quiz on the innovations space exploration has gifted the human race. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Nica Montford, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Humans aboard Artemis II just flew farther from Earth than any human before, and Motorola launched the Moto G Stylus 2026 with an active, embedded stylus for $499.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What were the big trends in AI and Data Science in 2025 and what trends they expect to see in 2026. Andrew Jones-Rooy is here to explain. And we discuss Derek Thompson's “Is the Smartphone Theory of Everything Wrong?” post on his Substack page where he lays out the difficulty in analyzing smartphone impacts on behavior. Is there truth in Derek's analysis or is all confirmation bias? Plus we debate the weightiest topics of our time in our Balance Game of the Week! Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Andrea Jones-Rooy, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Meta adds two new Ray-Ban frames meant to make them more prescription-lens friendly, and Samsung's new app plays ultra-low frequencies into most earbuds to help reduce motion sickness.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter look back on the biggest tech stories of March. Starring Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anthropic leaks details on a powerful model that aims to beat Opus called Claude Mythos, and the Sony PS5 is about to get a lot more expensive.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Show notes can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the Trump administration pulls back on funding programs to encourage EV adoption do they still have a future in the US? Plus the US FCC added all foreign-made routers to a “covered list” meaning the FCC won't certify them. We share how we all think this will play out. Plus a special BTS quiz conjured up by Tom Merritt. Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Tim Stevens, Len Peralta, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Anthropic Claude Code can now control the computer in claw-like fashion, and Apple Maps is about to get sponsored results inside its maps.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Microsoft released more details about Project Helix, their next generation Xbox including the ability to play Xbox and PC games. Plus Nvidia announced new DLSS 4.5 native integration coming to 20 games. And our listeners ask us how to parse out our time between listening to news and entertainment podcasts. Finally there's a new quiz this week that will test your knowledge of the two Ryans. Ryan Gosling and Ryan Reynolds. Who starred in what movies? Starring Sarah Lane, Tom Merritt, Robb Dunewood, Trisha Hershberger, Roger Chang, Joe. To read the show notes click here! Support the show on Patreon by becoming a supporter!

Meta Ray-Bans are sending private videos to human workers in Kenya, and Dr. Niki talks about what we know about the effects of LLM use on mental health.Starring Jason Howell, Tom Merritt, and Dr. Niki.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter look back on the biggest tech stories of February. Starring Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meta secured a deal with AMD that shows that all roads do not lead to Nvidia, and Dan Campos tells us about Mexico's use of robot dogs for security.Starring Jason Howell, Tom Merritt and Dan Campos.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alphabet is selling 100-year bonds to fund its data-center priorities while sitting on $100 billion in cash, and Justin Robert Young explains a new bipartisan AI copyright transparency bill.Starring Jason Howell, Tom Merritt, and Justin Robert Young.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Nintendo Switch is officially the company's best-selling console, and Firefox will get an AI kill-switch feature in the next version of its browser later this month.Starring Jason Howell and Tom Merritt.Links to stories discussed in this episode can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter look back on the biggest tech stories of January. Starring Tom Merritt and Jenn Cutter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Meta is bringing a paid subscription plan to its marquee apps, and Andy Beach tells us about why Bandcamp's ban on AI music is just the beginning.Starring Jason Howell, Tom Merritt, and Andy Beach.Show notes can be found here. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.