Topic: Apple News

The Media Research Center analyzed over 600 stories on Apple News, finding that the platform went 96 consecutive days without featuring a single story from a conservative outlet in its top stories section. The discussion explores how news aggregation apps on mobile devices and browsers like Firefox act as primary "attack vectors" for political propaganda. It is suggested that micro-services architectures, rather than human editors, may be driving this content selection.

Major corporations including Apple, North Face, and Kohl's face increased scrutiny and potential boycotts for their Pride Month marketing. As 20 states pass bans on transgender medical treatments for minors, sponsors are becoming more hesitant to engage in "pride-washing" due to fears of impacting their bottom line.

Adam Curry highlights the growth of Podcasting 2.0, noting that 400,000 podcasts now use advanced features like transcripts and chapters. He argues that Apple's failure to integrate these features makes their platform inferior to newer podcast apps.

The hosts encourage listeners to switch to Podcasting 2.0 compatible apps to ensure censorship resistance and a better user experience. They argue that mainstream platforms like Spotify and Apple are "woke" and prone to deplatforming content. Listeners are directed to newpodcastapps.com to find alternative players that support advanced features.

ABC News provided extensive coverage for the second season of "The Morning Show," an Apple TV+ series starring Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon. This promotion highlights the corporate intersection of Disney and Apple, where major shareholders influence broadcast content to market streaming services that are not available on traditional cable.

The Apple Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) featured updates to the Apple News app, emphasizing "trusted sources" and human curation by an editorial team. The hosts mock the repetitive "cool" phrasing used by presenters during the keynote. They express skepticism regarding the "curated" nature of the news, suggesting it serves as a form of corporate propaganda.

ABC News is accused of utilizing "reverse native ads" by running negative stories about companies like Apple to pressure them into advertising. A report on an iPhone 6S catching fire is cited as an example. Additionally, a report on a data breach at Chili's Grill & Bar is criticized for including "spurious" promotional information about the restaurant's menu items.

The ethics of Anthony Scaramucci's "off the record" comments to New Yorker reporter Ryan Lizza are debated, with the conclusion that Scaramucci likely intended for the insults to be published to force Reince Priebus out. This is compared to a 1981 incident at InfoWorld where a "cocksure" consultant incorrectly claimed a leaked drawing of the Apple Lisa was fake. The segment explores how sources often use certainty to mask a lack of actual knowledge.

During the reveal of the new Apple MacBook Pro with a "Touch Bar," employees at the Apple campus reportedly snapped their fingers instead of clapping. The hosts compare this behavior to 1950s beatniks at a poetry slam. This brief tech update is followed by a mention of a Reuters poll showing that half of Republican voters would reject the election results if Hillary Clinton wins.

Samsung has issued a massive recall for the Galaxy Note 7 following reports of exploding batteries. The hosts deconstruct how ABC News used the story as a "native ad" for the upcoming iPhone release, seamlessly transitioning from Samsung's failure to the high anticipation for Apple's new product.

Despite the terror attacks, the Brussels and London stock markets remained strangely unfazed, which analysts find historically unusual. The show concludes with a theory that the FBI's claim of no longer needing Apple's help to unlock an iPhone is a "cock and bull story" masking a secret collaboration. The hosts suggest Apple capitulated behind the scenes to avoid a legal precedent while maintaining a pro-privacy public image.

In an ABC News interview, Apple CEO Tim Cook describes the government-mandated software to unlock iPhones as the "software equivalent of cancer." Cook argues that creating such a tool would make hundreds of millions of users vulnerable to hackers and trample on fundamental civil liberties. He maintains that Apple has already provided all the information it possesses and cannot create a "master key" without compromising global security.

The debate over encryption focuses on whether limiting security tools only hurts "good people" while "bad people" find alternative ways to communicate. Tim Cook argues that the US government already funds encryption in many cases and that creating a backdoor would be a "bad for America" precedent. The segment questions why ABC News granted Cook a half-hour platform for what is described as a "giant infomercial."

A news segment on ABC Nightly News about an Apple Watch saving a teenager's life is identified as a "sketchy native ad." The story features a 17-year-old whose watch alerted him to a high resting heart rate, leading to a diagnosis of organ failure. The hosts highlight the "kicker" that the boy was rewarded with an internship at Apple, suggesting the entire story was a coordinated marketing effort.

A Fox News clip featuring Kimberly Guilfoyle highlights the mainstream media's obsession with Apple products. The hosts criticize the requirement that the Apple Watch must be paired with an iPhone 6 to function. They compare this to the failed Blackberry PlayBook, which similarly required a tethered phone.

Dvorak points out that Apple's keynote stream was restricted to Safari users on Mac or iOS, excluding Windows users. Curry reflects on how peaceful his travel was without access to the tech news cycle, reinforcing his view that social media and smartphone use have become a Pavlovian "horror."

A claim is discussed that the late Steve Jobs personally ordered all Apple advertising off Fox News after Glenn Beck called President Obama a racist. The hosts highlight the irony of a guest on MSNBC criticizing Beck for "peddling books" while simultaneously promoting his own upcoming book. They suggest the ultra-wealthy in America are predominantly Democrats who favor maintaining the status quo.

The "No Agenda News App" is currently under review by Apple, with the hosts speculating it may be rejected due to its content. A listener provides fundraising tips adapted from Amnesty International. Davis Hislop makes a donation specifically to prevent Adam Curry from telling a story about captive dolphins, while Matthew Botkin jokes about Curry's "defecation source code."

The New York Times front-page coverage is analyzed for its political messaging, including a focus on Obama's "long run" economic goals. Other stories discussed include the human cost of iPad manufacturing in China and the Federal Reserve's decision to keep interest rates at zero. The hosts suggest these stories are timed to influence stock prices and public perception of the administration.

A new feature deconstructs the front page of the Sunday New York Times, focusing on a photo of an Afghan volunteer using a MacBook in rubble. The hosts mock the image as a blatant advertisement for Apple and analyze headlines regarding the killing of an Al-Qaeda leader in Somalia and US efforts to bypass internet censors abroad.