In Episode 010 of Logging In, Techie and Luna dig into Apple’s evolving relationship with creators — and what happens when professional tools, subscriptions, and AI begin reshaping how creative work gets done.

The conversation starts with Apple’s new creator-focused offerings and recurring subscription model, raising familiar concerns about affordability, access, and whether these tools genuinely empower artists or quietly gatekeep creativity. From there, the discussion expands to Google’s Gemini AI and its ability to pull from personal data across apps, prompting deeper questions about privacy, consent, and how much thinking people are willing to outsource.

Midway through the episode, Kali delivers the Water Cooler, reporting on a wide range of current events including political pressure on the Federal Reserve, international tensions involving Greenland, a major nurses’ strike in New York, developments in medical and fertility research, childcare funding disputes, corporate conflicts over energy investments, consumer lawsuits, and a major NFL playoff comeback.

As the episode unfolds, Techie and Luna connect technology’s convenience culture to creativity, relationships, and emotional labor — asking whether efficiency is starting to replace imagination, and what’s lost when tools begin doing the thinking for us.

A thoughtful look at where modern tech is heading — and the human cost of making everything easier.

In Episode 009 of Logging In, Techie and Luna kick off the year with CES season — and the headline they didn’t expect: LEGO stepping on stage to announce a new “smart brick.” It’s screen-free and powered by proximity tech, but it still raises a big question: does adding lights and sounds make creativity better… or does it train kids to expect the toy to do the imagining for them?

From there, the conversation shifts to a very different CES surprise: Dell publicly acknowledging that consumers are confused by AI marketing — and in many cases simply don’t care. As “AI everything” collides with real life, Techie and Luna talk about who actually benefits from AI features, who feels overwhelmed by them, and whether a backlash is brewing for simpler, quieter tech.

A playful (and slightly exhausted) check-in on where tech is headed — and whether we’re building tools that help humans, or replace them.

What are we actually learning when stories go viral — and who decides what counts as “evidence”?

In Episode 008 of Logging In, Techie and Luna unpack a viral video by content creator Nick Shirley, who accused Somali-owned daycare centers in Minnesota of fraud, using a misspelled word on a childcare sign as a key signal of alleged illegitimacy. Rather than adjudicating guilt or innocence, the episode focuses on something more fundamental: how people are learning to interpret information online.

The conversation explores how algorithms reward confidence over context, how visual “gotchas” like spelling errors become stand-ins for truth, and how audiences are being trained — often unintentionally — to draw sweeping conclusions from incomplete data. From YouTube journalism and crowd-sourced investigations to the real-world harm caused when virality outpaces verification, the episode asks whether the internet is teaching people how to think critically, or simply how to react quickly.

At its core, this episode is about learning: what we absorb, what we miss, and how easily the tools meant to inform us can end up distorting reality instead.

Technology often presents itself as helpful — crowdsourcing answers, finding discounts, filling in gaps where systems fall short. But what happens when that help causes harm?

In Episode 007 of Logging In, Techie and Luna unpack two very different stories with the same underlying question. First, they reflect on how Reddit’s role in investigations has changed over time, comparing the Boston Marathon bombing aftermath with a recent local case in Rhode Island at Brown University and asking whether online crowds have actually learned from past mistakes — or if the risks have simply shifted.

In the second half, the conversation turns to the Honey browser extension and growing concerns about how coupon tools operate behind the scenes. From affiliate code overrides to data collection and lawsuits involving PayPal, the episode explores how “saving money” online can quietly impact creators, businesses, and users alike.

Across both topics, the episode asks a bigger question: when technology steps in to help, who is it really helping — and who pays the price?

Some weeks don’t leave much room for headlines, hot takes, or polished conversations.

In Episode 006 of Logging In, Techie and Luna take a quieter approach, processing local events and the emotional weight that comes with living online during moments of real-world violence. Rather than diving into a specific tech topic, the episode becomes a check-in — about how constant notifications, breaking news, and algorithm-driven feeds shape the way people absorb fear, grief, and uncertainty.

Recorded in the aftermath of a shooting close to home, the conversation reflects on how technology changes the pace of processing hard events, how information overload can blur reality, and why sometimes the most honest response is simply slowing down. This episode isn’t about solutions — it’s about acknowledging where things are, and making space for being human in public.

You open the same shopping app, add the same items, and somehow end up with a different total than someone else.

In Episode 005 of Logging In, Techie and Luna break down how shopping apps quietly personalize prices, fees, and promotions based on who you are, where you live, and what the algorithms think you’ll tolerate. From Instacart and social-driven pricing to loyalty programs, surge fees, and discounts that aren’t really discounts, the episode exposes how modern commerce tests consumers individually instead of treating everyone the same.

The conversation widens to the human cost of invisible pricing systems: gig workers squeezed from both sides, shoppers unknowingly paying premiums, and the slow disappearance of transparency in everyday transactions. When prices depend on profiles instead of products, what does “fair” even mean?

Cyber Monday is supposed to be the biggest sales day of the year — unless the platform you rely on goes dark.

In Episode 004 of Logging In, Techie and Luna unpack a global Shopify outage that locked small businesses out of their own stores during Cyber Monday, while corporate messaging and scheduled posts carried on like nothing was wrong. From stalled checkouts and inaccessible admin panels to stock dips and quiet PR responses, the outage becomes a case study in how fragile “always-on” systems really are.

The conversation expands into a broader concern about automation making high-stakes decisions without human flexibility. From AI-assisted judging in Olympic figure skating to insurance claims, hiring systems, and algorithm-driven approvals, the episode questions what gets lost when precision replaces judgment and numbers override nuance. When systems decide outcomes at scale, who’s accountable — and who gets left behind?

Plus, a Water Cooler break covering global headlines, culture, and why modern systems seem optimized for efficiency, not empathy.

In Episode 003 of Logging In, Techie and Luna dig into Apple’s rare confirmation of layoffs, the growing pressure to upgrade devices that still work, and the creeping sense that users are now adapting to systems instead of systems adapting to people. What used to feel intuitive now feels exhausting, and what once “just worked” increasingly comes with friction, nudges, and compromises.

The conversation expands into the broader culture shift surrounding technology: AI tools that sound confident but feel hollow, creativity being replaced by productivity metrics, and the strange emotional weight of devices that demand more attention while offering less joy. From Face ID fatigue and update anxiety to holding onto old hardware out of stubborn loyalty, the episode captures a shared feeling many users struggle to name — something important has gone rotten, and it didn’t happen all at once.

Plus, a Water Cooler break covering layoffs, AI-generated music, early Black Friday fatigue, refunds, politics, and the quiet ways “progress” keeps asking for more than it gives back.