We chat about the explosive rise of sports betting, the underlying tech that makes it especially insidious, and how relentlessly gambling products are marketed to young men. In Falcon Mode, we give flowers to a hobbyist developer who solved the problem of creeps with smart glasses.Links:<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UgkQUCz-pQ">VICE Sports’ Out of Bounds, “The Sports Betting Boom”</a>r/problemgambling keeps <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/problemgambling/wiki/index/#wiki_resources">an incredible wiki</a> of recovery resources (that aren’t funded by the gambling companies).We’d love to hear from you. Email us at <a href="mailto:heyactuallyuseful@gmail.com">heyactuallyuseful@gmail.com</a> or find us on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/actuallyusefulpod">Instagram</a> and <a href="https://www.tiktok.com/@actuallyusefulpod">TikTok</a> (reluctantly).

You Might Be an Attention Activist

Why do so many once-beloved internet platforms end up toxic, predatory, and unusable? In an age where tech giants have monopolized our attention, privacy, and livelihoods, how can individuals claw back some agency? 

Every other Thursday, Actually Useful co-hosts Ariel and Josh talk with creators of radically useful consumer tech to explore what it takes to build and protect the loveliest parts of the internet. If you’re exhausted by parasitic products and feel trapped in an ecosystem of unethical, undelightful tech, this one’s for you.