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• Save or Scroll: ICE + Influencers, Data Hygiene on Grindr, and Labubu Desserts

  In another installment of Save or Scroll, Morgan teams up with internet culture writers Daysia Tolentino and Moises Mendez II to dig into the stories they can’t stop thinking about. From people calling ICE on influencers, to Grindr’s new age verification, to the Labubu matcha Dubai chocolate craze (yes, you heard that correctly), the three of them have plenty to scroll through.  Save or Scroll is our series where we team up with guests for a rapid-fire roundup of internet trends that are filling our feeds right now. At the end of each segment, they’ll decide: is the post just for the group chat, or should we save it for a future episode? Guests:  Daysia Tolentino,  Yap Year founder and writer at Entertainment Weekly Moises Mendez II,  writer at Out Magazine Further reading/listening:  5 reasons 'Love Island USA' went completely off the rails this year — Daysia Tolentino, Entertainment Weekly  The Obsessive Fans Playing God on ‘Love Island’—and Living for the Crash-Outs — Jason Parham, WIRED Grindr introduces age verification for UK-based users — Aaron Sugg, Attitude  Grindr accused of treating gay man’s medical data like ‘piece of meat’ | UK news — Robert Booth, The Guardian  'Labubu' is a plush toy that is causing a frenzy. Here's its origin story — Juliana Kim, NPR How Relooted, A Game About Reclaiming African Artifacts From Western Museums, Ended Up Being Shown By A White Guy At Summer Game Fest — Nathan Grayson, Aftermath  Reddit Trolls Are Weaponizing Government Agencies Against Creators — Fortesa Latifi, Rolling Stone  Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Sound design by Maya Cueva, Chris Egusa, and Brendan Willard. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsey is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Bonus: A Big Win for the Internet Archive

  Who decides what is and isn’t a library? The Internet Archive now has federal depository status, joining a network of over 1,100 libraries that archive government documents and make them accessible to the public — even as ongoing legal challenges pose an existential threat to the organization. Some of the organization’s critics even argue that the Internet Archive is not a library at all.  In this special update to our deep dive on the Internet Archive, we get into what this designation really means. Morgan talks to Internet Archive founder Brewster Kahle about what federal depository libraries do, whether this affects the Internet Archive’s copyright lawsuit, and why preserving information is more important than ever.  Guests:  Brewster Kahle, founder and digital librarian of The Internet Archive Further reading/listening:  SF-Based Internet Archive Is Now a Federal Depository Library. What Does That Mean? — Morgan Sung, KQED What Happens if the Internet Archive Goes Dark? — Close All Tabs Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Sound design by Chris Egusa. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsay is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• OGs of Tech: A Latino Engineer in Silicon Valley

  In a field obsessed with the future, sometimes it’s worth looking back. OGs of Tech is a new occasional series from Close All Tabs that looks beyond the billionaires to spotlight the often-overlooked innovators who helped build the digital world we live in today. One of these OGs is Felidoro Cueva, who grew up in a rural village in the Andes mountains of Peru, and immigrated to the US in 1964 — during the height of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War. He went on to become one of the first Latino engineers in Silicon Valley.  And he’s also our producer Maya Cueva’s dad. Maya takes us through Feli’s journey — from how counterculture experimentation influenced his fascination with technology to the discrimination he faced in a startup world where Latino representation was nearly nonexistent. Guests:  Felidoro Cueva, a pioneering Latino engineer in Silicon Valley Further reading:  Only The Moon/Solamente La Luna — directed by Maya Cueva and animated by Leah Nichols  Meshugganismo — Maya Cueva, Latino USA Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Sound design by Maya Cueva and Brendan Willard. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsay is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• Teens Under the Influence (of Chatbots)

  Young people are increasingly turning to AI “companion chatbots” to meet their emotional needs. But a new study shows that these chatbots, which are designed to mimic real social relationships, can carry serious risks. In this episode, Morgan and her sister put one chatbot's safety guardrails to the test — and get more than they bargained for. Then, KQED Silicon Valley senior editor Rachael Myrow explains why teens are especially vulnerable, what lawmakers are doing about it, and how parents can talk to their kids about AI. Guests:  Rachael Myrow, senior editor, Silicon Valley News Desk at KQED Further reading:  Kids Are Talking to AI Companion Chatbots. Stanford Researchers Say That’s a Bad Idea — Rachael Myrow, KQED How to Talk With Your Kids About AI Companion Bots — Rachael Myrow, KQED Social AI Companions — AI Risk Assessment Team, Commons Sense Media Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Sound design by Chris Egusa and Brendan Willard. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Ethan Toven-Lindsay is our Editor in Chief. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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• How the Furry Fandom Says Goodbye

  Furries are often known for wearing full-body animal suits at conventions — but the characters they inhabit, called “fursonas,” are much more than costumes. They’re deeply personal expressions of identity and creativity. So when someone in the furry fandom dies, how does the community say goodbye? In this episode, Morgan explores a virtual memorial created by a furry named Changa Husky, where mourners gather in VR to remember those they’ve lost — and the fursonas they leave behind. Editor's note: In this episode, we refer to some individuals only by their “fursona” names. We’ve chosen to use these names because members of the furry community are frequently subject to harassment, bullying, and doxxing, and many participants use online handles to maintain their safety and privacy. Guests:  Changa Husky, furry Vtuber and video producer Patch O’Furr, founder and writer, Dogpatch Press Further reading:  Who runs the internet? Furries — Dylan Reeve, The Spinoff  Remembering Mark Merlino (1952-2024), a founder and soul of furry fandom — Patch O’Furr, Dogpatch Press  The Fandom: A Furry Documentary — Ash Coyote, YouTube Read the transcript here Want to give us feedback on the series? Shoot us an email at [email protected] You can also follow us on Instagram Heads up — the Close All Tabs team is taking a break to touch grass, so we won’t have an episode next week. But we’ll be back with another deep dive, and many more tabs, in two weeks. Credits: This episode was reported and hosted by Morgan Sung. Our Producer is Maya Cueva. Chris Egusa is our Senior Editor. Jen Chien is KQED’s Director of Podcasts, and also helps edit the show. Sound design by Chris Egusa and Brendan Willard. Original music, including our theme song, by Chris Egusa. Additional music from APM. Mixing and mastering by Brendan Willard. Audience engagement support from Maha Sanad and Alana Walker. Katie Sprenger is our Podcast Operations Manager. Holly Kernan is our Chief Content Officer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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