WAMU-FM: WAMU: The Kojo Nnamdi Show: Tech Tuesday Podcast

We take it for granted: the Internet as the great equalizer. We can read email, visit websites and watch videos without any one activity getting preferential treatment in the way its data is delivered to our computers. But a recent court ruling involving Verizon and the FCC and a deal between Netflix and Comcast are raising fears that so-called net neutrality could be in danger. Tech Tuesday explores the reality behind the headlines and the landscape for Internet service providers.

Corporate America benefits from an army of advertisers who work for free, such as teens on social media who click "Like" or Tweet about products to impress friends or win prizes. And smart phones have created an army of adults who work non-stop — in thrall to always-on devices. Tech Tuesday explores whether we use digital technology to promote the needs of the marketplace rather than the needs of people.

An explosion of brain training games and apps has people spotting patterns, adding numbers and remembering sequences in hopes of boosting their mental fitness. A new study finds that a modest amount of brain training can improve cognitive speed, reasoning and memory, with effects lasting as long as a decade. But skeptics say many of the claims we hear are largely hype, and that even if you grow more proficient at a specific game or task, there's no larger benefit. We explore the popularity of brain games and the questions about their effectiveness.

Michael's craft store and Yahoo join the list of companies whose customer data has been hacked. Apple celebrates 30 years of making computers and more. And your router or "smart" refrigerator could be linked to a malicious botnet sending out spam. The Computer Guys and Gal are here to explore the latest news in technology.

It's the holy grail of computing: teaching computers to think the way humans do. The pioneer of "deep learning" says the key is to mimic the brain's system of neural networks. Now Geoffrey Hinton is taking his work inside Google to help improve Android's voice search and work on advancing language interpretation so computers can begin to interpret our musings and ramblings online. Tech Tuesday explores how computers learn and where the next breakthroughs will be.

Anonymous reviews are a staple of life on the Internet, but a recent court ruling could change that. A Virginia court told Yelp to name a half-dozen people who wrote negative reviews about a local business. The business claims the naysayers weren't real customers, but Yelp says divulging personal information violates the users' First Amendment rights. We discuss what the ruling means for consumer reviews and anonymous speech online.

Will this be the year our devices spend more time on the Internet than we do, with the vast "Internet of things" collecting and transmitting ever more data about us? Will quantum computers learn to think like humans? Will we see technology ease everyday headaches like traffic and parking, while opening us up to more hacking and identity theft? Tech Tuesday looks at how technology is changing our world, and innovations we're likely to see in the future.

Online advertising was once limited to banner and pop-up ads that most Internet users would eagerly minimize. Today's ads, which use social platforms like Vine and Instagram to engage their audience, are more sophisticated. They are also growing more personal, as marketers mine social data to tailor ads to the tastes and interests of individual users. We explore new developments in online advertising and ask what they mean for users and their privacy on the web.

For decades, cable providers have relied on a "bundled" subscription model: to receive premium stations like ESPN or HBO, consumers had to purchase a package of less-popular stations. But many believe that model is showing signs of cracking. Many younger viewers are watching online via Netflix or Hulu. And the Canadian government recently made news by moving toward an "a la carte" model, which would allow customers to receive just the stations they want. We explore the future of TV, and the whether new technology is disrupting the cable model.

A British woman receives death treats via Twitter after lobbying to put Jane Austen on a 10-pound bank note. New revelations surface about how the government monitors our online interactions. And the latest smart phones emphasize the cameras and a connection to Google. The Computer Guys and Gal join Kojo to talk about the latest tech trends.

As the publishing industry migrates to e-books and the number of brick-and-mortar bookstores continues to shrink, many readers are turning to social networks and online retailers for reading recommendations. But can these digital tools ever really replicate the serendipity of stumbling across a new author in a book store? We explore how technology is changing the way we discover new authors.

Photo albums, home movies, handwritten letters, an unused old computer with important family documents still stored on it: as precious as these items may be, they'll last only as long as the paper, videotape or hard drive they're on. To make matters worse, they're often stored in attics and basements — the worst possible environments for preservation. We explore high and low tech ways to protect and store family memorabilia, and the smartest way to migrate different materials to digital formats.

Negative online reviews and unsavory — or untrue — blog posts can haunt businesses and individuals. Keeping tabs of your online presence may be pretty straightforward for most people, but a growing number of companies and public figures are outsourcing the task to tech and PR companies eager to meet the demand. We find out what "online reputation management" entails and get tips for managing your own online presence.

New consumer technologies are making it possible to build data-rich profiles of your body and its day-to-day and minute-to-minute operation. Smartphone apps allow you to track your jogging routes and speed. Smart watches and other gizmos, like Fitbit, Jawbone and the Basis watch, compile detailed information about sleep patterns, heart rate and the number of steps you take each day. Tech Tuesday explores the "quantified self," a movement to harness personal data to increase healthy living.

With NSA leaker Edward Snowden still on the lam, businesses and agencies are exploring how to keep employees from going rogue and stealing sensitive data. In the world of consumer electronics, Barnes & Noble will stop selling its color Nook, while the new Ouya gaming console is selling out. And Instagram adds video sharing to compete with Twitter's Vine. The Computer Guys and Gal discuss the latest tech trends.