Tech Podcast 270: Drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan

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On this week’s podcast, we kick off with an extended version of an interview with Noah Shachtman of Wired.com. Noah’s just back from checking out the drones that are currently flying over Pakistan and Afghanistan, and he’s got a lot of interesting things to talk about. We’ll also take a trip into space to hear about a new NASA telescope, and about Sapporo’s “Space Barley” Beer.

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Tech Podcast 266: The Strange Case of Blogger Hossein Derakhshan

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The centerpiece of this week’s podcast is a look at the strange case of Iranian-Canadian blogger Hossein Derakhshan. He was jailed a little more than a year ago after returning to Iran. We hear about the twists and turns his life has taken in recent years. We also hear about some new research on Persian blogs, and about the world’s smallest FM transmitter! Oh, and a guy who has most of his life recorded digitally…and loves it.

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Tech Podcast 265: “Internet’s” birthday, 40 years of modulated anarchy

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This week, we celebrate the 40th anniversary of the birth of the Internet. We hear from UCLA’s Leonard Kleinrock (pictured), and others who worked to send that first message between two computers, hundreds of miles apart. We get the international perspective from Chinese blogger and activist Isaac Mao. And we also hear about the ‘Net’s next step, Internationalized Domain Names.

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Tech Updates on Iran and China, the Codex Sinaiticus, and Hal and the Big 5

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On this week’s podcast, one of the world’s oldest bibles finds a new home online. Also, technology updates on the post-election violence in Iran, and the violence in western China. And we’ll end with a story of global online musical cooperation. Rock on.

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Twitter and Other Social Media Tools in Iran

It’s all Iran this week, folks. Violence and protests have flaired in Iran following last week’s disputed elections. The government moved quickly to shut down the flow of information out of, and into, the country. But Twitter and other social media tools are keeping that flow of information going. In fact, it’s not merely a flow, but a flood. For this week’s Technology Podcast,we’ll take an in-depth look at how vital social media tools have become in Iran in the wake of the elections. Listen

Chinese Net Surveillance Gets Personal

Chinese officials will now require that every PC sold in the country have Internet filtering software installed on it. The software is called Green Dam Youth Escort, and cyber-security experts are already noting it may be open to hacking. Meanwhile, rights groups are calling foul. Listen