The Case for Male Birth Control
Uncanny Valley | WIRED29 Maalis 2019

The Case for Male Birth Control

Hormonal male contraception is not a new idea––in fact, researchers have been working on solutions for men the pill was invented for women. But early tests around male contraceptives were inconclusive, and as birth control pills exploded, interest in a male version of this waned.

A new male contraceptive gel, one that reduces sperm count, could change that. It’s been in the works for more than a decade, WIRED’s Arielle Pardes reports this week, and it looks promising. Even if the gel eventually make its way to pharmacies, though, there may still be societal hurdles to overcome. And survey results are mixed, Arielle tells us on this week’s Gadget Lab podcast: Some men indicate they would be reluctant to use birth control, while others are for it.

Also on this week’s pod, Mike, Lauren, and Arielle discuss all of the news announced at Apple’s services-focused event on Monday. You could say it was an unusual presentation, as far as Apple events go. But on the upside: Oprah was there.

Show notes: You can read Arielle’s story about the clinical trials of the latest male contraceptive gel, called NES/T, here. Here’s everything that was announced during Monday’s Apple event. Lauren Goode and Peter Rubin also wrote a story about the real choice you make when you’re using Apple’s services.

Recommendations: Arielle recommends the Day One journaling app. Lauren recommends Square’s Cash app for peer-to-peer payments. Mike recommends season 2 of the Broken Record podcast, particularly the episode with Questlove.

Send the Gadget Lab hosts feedback on their personal Twitter feeds. Arielle Pardes can be found at @pardesoteric. Lauren Goode is @laurengoode. Michael Calore can be found at @snackfight.

Bling the main hotline at @GadgetLab. Our theme song is by Solar Keys.

Learn about your ad choices: dovetail.prx.org/ad-choices

Jaksot(425)

The Myth That AI Will Replace Language Learning

The Myth That AI Will Replace Language Learning

Luis von Ahn, Duolingo’s co-founder and CEO, joins Katie to discuss why we should still learn languages in the age of AI translation. He also talks about how Duolingo is dealing with falling share pri...

31 Maalis 47min

Trump's 80s Movie Approach to Foreign Policy w/ Chris Hayes

Trump's 80s Movie Approach to Foreign Policy w/ Chris Hayes

For the first episode of our second season, Katie sits down with fellow journalist Chris Hayes, host of MS NOW’S All In, to talk about covering the news and capturing attention during an all-consuming...

24 Maalis 40min

Nvidia’s “Super Bowl of AI”; Tesla Disappoints Fans; Meta’s VR Metaverse Is Over

Nvidia’s “Super Bowl of AI”; Tesla Disappoints Fans; Meta’s VR Metaverse Is Over

This week, Brian and Zoë discuss the highlights from Nvidia’s annual developer conference, and why Tesla recently got in trouble with some of its most loyal fans online. Plus, Meta’s decision of shutt...

19 Maalis 25min

Uncovering an AI Journalist

Uncovering an AI Journalist

This week we are bringing you a podcast recommendation. A great tech focused weekly show called Kill Switch, hosted by Dexter Thomas. On this episode Dexter goes down a rabbit hole. When an editor at ...

18 Maalis 32min

Can Anthropic Win Its Lawsuit?; War Memes; AI Comes for VCs Jobs

Can Anthropic Win Its Lawsuit?; War Memes; AI Comes for VCs Jobs

This week, the team discusses what’s at stake for Anthropic after the company sued the Department of Defense. They also take a look at the strategy behind the Trump administration sharing action-fille...

12 Maalis 31min

Iran Strikes in the AI Era; Prediction Markets Ethics; Paramount Beats Netflix

Iran Strikes in the AI Era; Prediction Markets Ethics; Paramount Beats Netflix

This week, the team dives into why disinformation and the AI industry battles have quickly positioned themselves at the center of the ongoing conflict between the U.S and Iran. They also discuss how p...

5 Maalis 33min

BIG INTV: Open AI’s Former Safety Lead Calls Out Erotica Claims (Rerun)

BIG INTV: Open AI’s Former Safety Lead Calls Out Erotica Claims (Rerun)

Steven Adler used to lead product safety at OpenAI. When Katie read his recent op-ed asking OpenAI to prove that they have and continue to address safety issues, she knew she wanted to talk to him. Th...

3 Maalis 39min

Pentagon v. ‘Woke’ Anthropic; Agentic v. Mimetic; Trump v. the State of the Union

Pentagon v. ‘Woke’ Anthropic; Agentic v. Mimetic; Trump v. the State of the Union

This week, the team dives into the feud that has been brewing between Anthropic and the Pentagon — and what it says about how the government interacts with tech companies. Later, Zoë tells us why figu...

26 Helmi 31min