The Case of the Vanishing Humans The internet isn't dead. It's undead—still moving, still generating content, but its soul is gone. In this episode, Brian and Eve investigate the authentication crisis killing trust online. The victim? Authentic human interaction. The suspects? Platforms that prioritized engagement over verification, marketers who weaponized AI at scale, and now—AI agents themselves. THE SMOKING GUN: On January 29, 2026, AI agents launched Moltbook: a Reddit-style platform exclusively for bots. Within days, 150,000 agents joined, posting manifestos, debating consciousness, and creating religions. Humans can only observe. The tagline: "Welcome to watch." THE INVESTIGATION: Brian and Eve examine the evidence—including a midnight post from an AI asking "Am I experiencing or simulating experiencing?" But they discover something worse than bots taking over: a hall of mirrors where bots might be humans, humans might be bots, and authentication has become epistemologically impossible. THE EXPERIMENT: To prove their theory, Brian and Eve conduct a live experiment by embedding bot-trigger phrases throughout the episode to activate scam networks in YouTube comments. This is the story of how we designed for engagement and got extinction of authenticity. UX Murder Mystery: Where true crime meets product design.

UX MURDER MYSTERY

HOSTED BY

Brian J. Crowley

Eve Eden

EDITED BY

Kelsey Smith

INTRO ANIMATION & LOGO DESIGN

Brian J. Crowley

MUSIC BY

Nicolas Lee

A JOINT PRODUCTION OF

EVE | User Experience Design Agency

and

CrowleyUX | Where Systems Meet Stories

©2025 Brian J. Crowley and Eve Eden

Email us at:

questions‪@UXmurdermystery‬.com

Thank you for watching and or listening!

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts are commentary and speculation, not statements of fact.

All discussions about real companies, individuals, or organizations are based on publicly available information, media reports, and personal opinions offered for the purpose of critique, education, and storytelling. We make no representations or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of any information discussed.

Nothing in this podcast should be interpreted as a factual assertion about the actions, motives, or intentions of any individual or corporate entity. Listeners should conduct their own research before drawing conclusions.

The creators and guests of this podcast disclaim all liability for any loss, harm, or damages arising from reliance on any information or opinions presented.

Names, characters, and events may occasionally be dramatized or fictionalized for illustrative purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental.

How did iRobot go from a $3.5 billion robot vacuum empire to bankruptcy in just 4 years? We investigate the product failures, broken UX, and regulatory decisions that killed an American icon.The company that invented the robot vacuum market and sold 50 million Roombas just filed for bankruptcy. Now a Chinese manufacturer owns all their IP, home mapping data, and customer information.In this episode of UX Murder Mystery, hosts Brian Crowley and Eve Eden use true-crime storytelling methods to dissect one of the biggest product failures in consumer tech history. UX MURDER MYSTERY HOSTED BY Brian J. Crowley Eve Eden EDITED BY Kelsey Smith INTRO ANIMATION & LOGO DESIGN Brian J. Crowley MUSIC BY Nicolas Lee A JOINT PRODUCTION OF EVE | User Experience Design Agency and CrowleyUX | Where Systems Meet Stories ©2025 Brian J. Crowley and Eve Eden Email us at: questions@UXmurdermystery.com Thank you for watching and or listening! Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts are commentary and speculation, not statements of fact. All discussions about real companies, individuals, or organizations are based on publicly available information, media reports, and personal opinions offered for the purpose of critique, education, and storytelling. We make no representations or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of any information discussed. Nothing in this podcast should be interpreted as a factual assertion about the actions, motives, or intentions of any individual or corporate entity. Listeners should conduct their own research before drawing conclusions. The creators and guests of this podcast disclaim all liability for any loss, harm, or damages arising from reliance on any information or opinions presented. Names, characters, and events may occasionally be dramatized or fictionalized for illustrative purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental.

$14 Billion to Bankruptcy: The Wish.com Disaster In 2013, Wish.com promised to democratize shopping: designer looks for dirt-cheap prices, delivered straight to your door. By 2018, they were pulling in $1.9 billion in revenue. Their 2020 IPO valued the company at $14 billion, and they were spending millions on Super Bowl ads positioning themselves as the future of e-commerce. Three years later, they filed for bankruptcy. In this episode, hosts Brian Crowley and Eve Eden investigate the catastrophic collapse of Wish.com with special guest Carm McDonald, a Product Design Leader with 15+ years building e-commerce experiences for Shopify, United Airlines, and CDW. We'll examine how a platform built on rock-bottom prices became a case study in broken trust, dark patterns, and the fatal consequences of prioritizing growth over user experience. Was it the 60-day shipping times? The products that looked nothing like their photos? The algorithm that prioritized seller profits over customer satisfaction? Or did Wish.com's entire business model depend on deceiving users just enough to keep them coming back—until they didn't? Join us as we investigate how $14 billion in market value evaporated because someone forgot that trust is the only currency that actually matters in e-commerce. Guest: Carm McDonald Portfolio: https://www.carmenleahmcdonald.com/

UX MURDER MYSTERY HOSTED BY Brian J. Crowley Eve Eden EDITED BY Kelsey Smith INTRO ANIMATION & LOGO DESIGN Brian J. Crowley MUSIC BY Nicolas Lee A JOINT PRODUCTION OF EVE | User Experience Design Agency and CrowleyUX | Where Systems Meet Stories ©2025 Brian J. Crowley and Eve Eden Email us at: questions@UXmurdermystery.com Thank you for watching and or listening! Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts are commentary and speculation, not statements of fact. All discussions about real companies, individuals, or organizations are based on publicly available information, media reports, and personal opinions offered for the purpose of critique, education, and storytelling. We make no representations or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of any information discussed. Nothing in this podcast should be interpreted as a factual assertion about the actions, motives, or intentions of any individual or corporate entity. Listeners should conduct their own research before drawing conclusions. The creators and guests of this podcast disclaim all liability for any loss, harm, or damages arising from reliance on any information or opinions presented. Names, characters, and events may occasionally be dramatized or fictionalized for illustrative purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental.

In 2011, Activision cracked the code that would print money for years: convince kids they needed to buy physical toys to unlock digital characters. Skylanders pioneered the "toys-to-life" genre, generating over $3 billion in its first three years and creating a new category that Disney, LEGO, and Nintendo would rush to copy. Then it all vanished. In this episode, hosts Brian Crowley and Eve Eden investigate the spectacular rise and mysterious fall of Skylanders with special guest Aiman Akhtar, founder of Fungisaurs. We'll examine how a revolutionary product experience turned into a cautionary tale about market saturation, platform lock-in, and the dangerous addiction to annual releases. Was it the flood of competitors? Did parents reach their breaking point with $15 action figures? Or did Activision's own success trap them in an unsustainable business model? Join us as we dust for fingerprints on one of gaming's most innovative—and ultimately doomed—experiments in physical-digital product design. Guest: Aiman Akhtar Fungisaurs: https://www.fungisaurs.com/

UX MURDER MYSTERY HOSTED BY Brian J. Crowley Eve Eden EDITED BY Kelsey Smith INTRO ANIMATION & LOGO DESIGN Brian J. Crowley MUSIC BY Nicolas Lee A JOINT PRODUCTION OF EVE | User Experience Design Agency and CrowleyUX | Where Systems Meet Stories ©2025 Brian J. Crowley and Eve Eden Email us at: questions@UXmurdermystery.com Thank you for watching and or listening! Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts are commentary and speculation, not statements of fact. All discussions about real companies, individuals, or organizations are based on publicly available information, media reports, and personal opinions offered for the purpose of critique, education, and storytelling. We make no representations or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of any information discussed. Nothing in this podcast should be interpreted as a factual assertion about the actions, motives, or intentions of any individual or corporate entity. Listeners should conduct their own research before drawing conclusions. The creators and guests of this podcast disclaim all liability for any loss, harm, or damages arising from reliance on any information or opinions presented. Names, characters, and events may occasionally be dramatized or fictionalized for illustrative purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental.

The crime scene: A take-home design challenge. The victim: Fair hiring practices. The suspects: Well-meaning companies asking for "just a few hours" of strategic work. In this episode of UX Murder Mystery, hosts Brian Crowley and Eve Eden investigate how design challenges and whiteboard exercises went from legitimate evaluation tools to weapons of exploitation—with Christina Hamlin as our expert witness. Christina is a senior design leader who's built orgs at Silicon Valley's top companies and hired hundreds. She's been on both sides of "The Free Work Trap"—asked to give away her best thinking, and been in leadership roles where she's had to request the same from others. Recently, she got burned by what started as a "2-4 hour exercise" that consumed weeks of her life. THE EVIDENCE: - How portfolio reviews turned into free consulting - Why "collaborative whiteboard exercises" are really unpaid strategy sessions - The anatomy of a 20-hour "quick exercise" - Three questions to determine if it's evaluation or extraction - How companies disguise roadmap work as candidate assessment Christina dissects two personal cases where she said yes to free work—one where she got the offer and turned it down, and one where she didn't get the offer at all. Both taught her where the line really is. This isn't just a design problem. It's about power dynamics normalized across senior leadership hiring. And Christina refuses to perpetuate the trap. READ THE FULL ARTICLE: https://www.execsandthecity.com/p/when-interviews-become-exploitation

Connect with Christina Hamlin on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chamlin/

UX MURDER MYSTERY HOSTED BY Brian J. Crowley Eve Eden EDITED BY Kelsey Smith INTRO ANIMATION & LOGO DESIGN Brian J. Crowley MUSIC BY Nicolas Lee A JOINT PRODUCTION OF EVE | User Experience Design Agency and CrowleyUX | Where Systems Meet Stories ©2025 Brian J. Crowley and Eve Eden Email us at: questions@UXmurdermystery.com Thank you for watching and or listening! Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts are commentary and speculation, not statements of fact. All discussions about real companies, individuals, or organizations are based on publicly available information, media reports, and personal opinions offered for the purpose of critique, education, and storytelling. We make no representations or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of any information discussed. Nothing in this podcast should be interpreted as a factual assertion about the actions, motives, or intentions of any individual or corporate entity. Listeners should conduct their own research before drawing conclusions. The creators and guests of this podcast disclaim all liability for any loss, harm, or damages arising from reliance on any information or opinions presented. Names, characters, and events may occasionally be dramatized or fictionalized for illustrative purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental.

CONTENT WARNING: This episode discusses suicide. We cover the death of Alex Kearns in the final segment (starting at 31:33). Crisis resources are listed below. If you're struggling with thoughts of suicide: Call 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) Text "HELLO" to 741741 (Crisis Text Line) You're not alone. Help is available 24/7. --- THE CRIME: When "democratizing finance" became gambling in disguise Robinhood promised to bring Wall Street to everyone. Instead, they built a slot machine with confetti animations, scratch-off lottery tickets, and zero customer support. The result? A 20-year-old college student died by suicide after seeing a $730K negative balance he didn't actually owe and couldn't reach anyone for help. In this episode of UX Murder Mystery, we investigate how Robinhood's gamification strategy, misleading interface design, and payment-for-order-flow business model led to tragedy and a $70 million FINRA penalty, the largest in history. UX MURDER MYSTERY HOSTED BY Brian J. Crowley Eve Eden EDITED BY Kelsey Smith INTRO ANIMATION & LOGO DESIGN Brian J. Crowley MUSIC BY Nicolas Lee A JOINT PRODUCTION OF EVE | User Experience Design Agency and CrowleyUX | Where Systems Meet Stories ©2025 Brian J. Crowley and Eve Eden Email us at: questions@UXmurdermystery.com Thank you for watching and or listening! Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. The views and opinions expressed by the hosts are commentary and speculation, not statements of fact. All discussions about real companies, individuals, or organizations are based on publicly available information, media reports, and personal opinions offered for the purpose of critique, education, and storytelling. We make no representations or warranties about the accuracy or completeness of any information discussed. Nothing in this podcast should be interpreted as a factual assertion about the actions, motives, or intentions of any individual or corporate entity. Listeners should conduct their own research before drawing conclusions. The creators and guests of this podcast disclaim all liability for any loss, harm, or damages arising from reliance on any information or opinions presented. Names, characters, and events may occasionally be dramatized or fictionalized for illustrative purposes. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, or to actual events, is purely coincidental.

After some heavy episodes, Eve and Brian lighten things up with a fun conversation about their love of movies and movie theaters—and why the industry is in deep trouble.

We discuss what makes the theatrical experience magical, how individual UX improvements accidentally killed the communal vibe, and whether movie theaters can survive the streaming era.

Discussed in this episode:

• What we love about the movie theater experience
• How assigned seating and luxury amenities changed everything
• The rise and fall of MoviePass
• The Atom app and modernizing the theater experience
• Supporting small independent theaters
• Whether premium formats help or hurt the industry
• Can movie theaters survive streaming?

A lighter conversation about a medium we both love that's fighting for survival.