Jake Green of Peaceful Sea Productions joins Zach and Elizabeth for a wide-ranging tour through the surveillance state’s latest toys. They start with a throwback: the 2013-era panic over Bitcoin’s energy use, and why nobody in the media seems bothered that AI data centers now consume vastly more power with a fraction of the outrage. […]
Bitcoin Power Hypocrisy, Orbital Datacenters & Moon Nukes w/ Jake Green Read More »
A Texas town council member throws a public tantrum after his city votes to cancel its Flock contract, and the resulting “Bandera Declaration of Digital Independence” is as unhinged as it sounds. Zach and Elizabeth break down the logical fallacies packed into one man’s attempt to equate mass license plate surveillance with your personal Ring
Spy on Everyone to Protect the Children: Flock, Social Media Bans, & Disguised Cameras Read More »
The surveillance state isn’t coming. It’s already here, it’s expanding fast, and apparently if you have a problem with that, China put you up to it. In this episode, Zach and Elizabeth dig into the sudden explosion of data centers across the country, why governments at every level are pushing them through over loud constituent
Governments have been making the same pitch for centuries. We’ll take a little of your liberty, and in return we’ll give you safety. It’s not a new argument. It just has better branding and more antennas now. Systems like Flock cameras are sold as the latest version of that old bargain. Some privacy loss, we’re
51 Reasons to Doubt Flock Safety: A Security Audit of the Surveillance State Read More »
The pitch for Flock is always the same: “If you’ve done nothing wrong, you’ve got nothing to hide.” Then a court says the footage is public record, and suddenly cities start unplugging the cameras. In this episode, Zach Varnell and Elizabeth Melton walk through the public records rulings that are forcing Flock programs into crisis
Open Records Are Taking Down Flock Cameras Read More »
Zach and Elizabeth break down the surreal case of a Missouri county commissioner facing felony charges for removing a license plate reader — even though the county had already banned them. That sparks a deeper conversation about public surveillance, Flock cameras, inflated government tech contracts, and the illusion of “safety.” Then they shift to the
The Guy Who Ripped Out a License Plate Reader (And Why We Cheered) Read More »
Montana is on the verge of enacting the strongest brain privacy law in the nation. Senate Bill 163 — which has now passed both chambers of the state legislature — expands Montana’s Genetic Information Privacy Act to include protections for neurotechnology data. That means your brainwaves, mental states, nervous system signals, and cognitive patterns —
Montana Advances Nation’s First Brainwave Privacy Law Read More »
Georgia lawmakers are debating two bills right now that offer radically different futures when it comes to automated surveillance in school zones. One bill — HB 225 — would eventually ban the use of speed cameras in school zones. The other — HB 651 — would expand them, empower prosecutors to collect from them, and
Georgia’s Two Paths: Phasing Out School Zone Speed Cameras or Expanding Them Read More »
We dive into the latest news around AI, surveillance, and control. First up, Google quietly ditches its pledge to avoid developing AI for weapons and surveillance — what does this mean for the future of Big Tech and military partnerships? Then, we break down China’s deployment of its AI system, DeepSeek, in military hospitals and
Google Drops Pledge to Not Develop AI Weapons & ChatGPT Joins the Dating Scene Read More »
Banish Big Brother board member James Dutton recently testified before the Georgia Senate Committee on Public Safety, delivering a powerful challenge to the state’s school zone speed camera program. In just two years, Spalding County issued over 90,000 tickets through this automated system — without improving safety, but at the cost of due process, privacy,
James Dutton Challenges School Zone Speed Cameras at Georgia Senate Hearing Read More »
Tired of the endless cycle of dystopian tech headlines? In this special episode of Banish Big Brother, Zach and Elizabeth take a break from the usual doom and gloom to focus on the positives. From victories against government overreach to breakthroughs in privacy tech, every story in this episode has an uplifting twist. While the
The Good News Episode Read More »
We dive into some rare good news—Trump’s executive order banning Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs). But is it really a victory for privacy, or just a sleight of hand favoring private financial giants? We unpack the implications, the risks of private CBDCs, and the looming threat of programmable money. Plus, we explore the latest developments
The Fall of CBDCs (For Now) and the Rise of Quantum Threats Read More »
