This summer, a movie called The Sound of Freedom took America by storm. The hero was Tim Ballard, the founder of an organization called Operation Underground Railroad. The movie depicted Ballard as an avenging hero who rescued trafficked children from a life of slavery. The truth, we’re all finding out, is something more complicated and a lot less heroic.Ballard left the organization around the time Sound of Freedom premiered, following an investigation into his sexual misconduct. It’s a wild story involving the The Church of Latter Day Saints, a psychic channeling the Prophet Nephi, and serious criminal investigations.Here to tell us about it are Vice’s own Anna Merlan and Tim Marchman.Stories discussed in this episode:Mormon Church Denounces Tim Ballard’s “Morally Unacceptable” ActivitiesTim Ballard’s Departure From Operation Underground Railroad Followed Sexual Misconduct Investigation‘Sound of Freedom’ Producer Felt the Naked Breasts of Apparently Underage Trafficking VictimOperation Underground Railroad Child-Rescue Missions Were Based on Psychic IntelligenceWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s time for a new history of the internet, one that focuses on the recent revolutions that define the world we all live in. Social media has changed the way many of us live and work. It’s a world defined by a new economy of creators and influencers. The new media is here and it’s Extremely Online.That’s the title of the new book from Taylor Lorenz, which is the untold story of fame, influence, and power on the internet. Lorenz is a columnist for The Washington Post and she joined us to answer all our questions about why Vine failed, Tumblr was the best social network, and what the future holds for everyone who lives and works in the era of social media-powered capitalism.In the back half of the episode, Motherboard science reporter Becky Ferreira stops by to talk about UFOs and radioactive boars.Pre-order Taylor's book here.Stories discussed in this episode:The Original 'Avocado Toast' Millionaire Is Back, And He Wants 'Pain In the Economy''Avocado Toast' Millionaire Very Sorry for Saying 'Arrogant' Workers Should Lose Jobs After OutrageHere Is NASA's 36-Page Report Investigating UFOs'The Truth Is Out There': The Emails NASA's UFO Investigators Got From Scientists and the PublicWTF Is Going On With 'Alien Corpses' Being Shown to Mexico's Congress?We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The heat is still here, but the summer will soon be over. Here at the precipice of fall I wanted to take a moment to reflect on one of the big stories that Motherboard covered this season: labor, strikes, and unions.Here to tell us all about it is Motherboard labor reporter Jules Roscoe.Stories discussed in this episode:Instacart Tells Shoppers in Hurricane ‘Bad Weather = Good Tips’'It Feels Horrible': Amazon Workers Delivered Packages During Destructive Tropical StormAmazon Told Drivers Not to Worry About In-Van Surveillance Cameras. Now Footage Is Leaking OnlineOhio Man Charged for Shooting Amazon Driver Delivering to His HouseAmazon Says It Doesn't 'Employ' Drivers, But Records Show It Hired Firms to Prevent Them From UnionizingTeamsters UPS Union Wins Historic Contract, Likely Avoiding Gigantic StrikeWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s part two of our bittersweet episode of Cyber where we bid farewell to Motherboard editor-in-chief Jason Koebler. This week we do a deep dive into the Motherboard lore. The stories that broke us, the controversies that made us who we are. Come find out which popular web comic wrote a strip about us that’s aged like milk, how much horse shit you can buy for $10 in Bitcoin, why the director of Gran Turismo: Based on a True Story hates Motherboard, and why you should never bowl with someone who has ebola.Vox Something Or OtherThe Shitexpress videoBowling with EbolaThe Chinese Mystery Seed SagaNeil Blomkamp destroys his computersWe’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a bittersweet episode of Cyber as we bid farewell to Motherboard editor-in-chief Jason Koebler. It’s a long episode so we’ve split it into two parts. This week you get some discussions about the topics of the day including Planet of Bass, Oliver Anthony, and the vibes-based economy. After that we start dishing all of Motherboard’s secrets, including how Jason came to work there and what it’s like to walk out of a meeting with 8 missed calls from Disney on your phone.Next week we’re talking about a webcomic, comments sections, and how much horseshit $10 in Bitcoin could buy a few years ago.We’re recording CYBER live on Twitch. Watch live during the week. Follow us there to get alerts when we go live. We take questions from the audience and yours might just end up on the show. Subscribe to CYBER on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.