WeeklyTech #71

WeeklyTech Podcast Roundup

This month marks seven months of the WeeklyTech Podcast. Thanks to all who have tuned in so far. It’s been an honor to be a part of equipping you to navigate some of the challenges around technology that you and your family face each day. Over the last seven months, we’ve covered a range of tech-related news stories and talked to guests about various tech issues related to their areas of work. If you’ve missed a few episodes or haven’t started listening to the podcast yet, we wanted to give you a place to start as we begin this holiday season.

Here are the top five podcast episodes so far. Be sure to subscribe to the WeeklyTech Podcast on your favorite podcasting app, and give us feedback, recommendations, or requests by leaving us a review or emailing us at weeklytech@erlc.com. 

The Top 5:

1. A conversation with Dr. Jamie Aten about psychology and technology

Dr. Jamie Aten joins me on the podcast to talk about technology, humanitarian disasters, and some of the psychological aspects of the pandemic. 

2. A conversation with Trillia Newbell about parenting, kids, and technology

Trillia Newbell joins me on the podcast to talk about the implications of personifying technology and the need for wisdom in teaching our children about interacting with technology.

3. What’s the problem with China and TikTok?

I talk about the cultural firestorm over the viral video sharing app TikTok and its potential ban in the United States as well as give a rundown of tech related stories in the news. 

4. A conversation with Emily Wenger about facial recognition technology

Emily Wenger joins me to talk about facial recognition technology and her PhD work. We discuss some concerns surrounding facial recognition technology and how her faith impacts her work.

5. A conversation with Dr. Jacob Shatzer about transhumanism, technology, and parenting

Dr. Jacob Shatzer joins me to take a look at what it means to understand technology in light of our theology and discuss how we can teach our kids to engage rightly with technology.


The Rundown

Amazon starts selling prescription drugs, with two-day delivery for Prime members– Vox

When Amazon spent $750 million to acquire the online pharmacy PillPack in 2018, it was clear the tech giant had interest in the prescription drug market. Now we know how serious it was.

TikTok beefs up parental controls – Axios

TikTok is expanding the ways parents can control how their children use the video-sharing app, according to a company blog post Tuesday. The new tools build on TikTok’s “Family Pairing” feature, which allows parents to control how long their kids spend on the app and who can message them. 

Kids on YouTube See Many Ads, Few Educational Videos: Study – Bloomberg

Young children are watching a wide range of videos on YouTube that are chock full of advertisements, sometimes have violent footage and offer little educational value, according to a report from academics and Common Sense Media, an advocacy group.

Apple will reduce App Store cut to 15 percent for most developers starting January 1st – The Verge

The new App Store Small Business Program, as it’s called, will allow any developer who earns less than $1 million in annual sales per year from all of their apps to qualify for a reduced App Store cut of 15 percent, half of Apple’s standard 30 percent fee, on all paid app revenue and in-app purchases.