The Pornhub Empire: Understood

CBC

Host Cory Doctorow coined the word "enshittification" to describe the state of the modern internet: a broken down, decaying place, once full of promise, now overrun with intrusive ads, hateful trolls, aggressive algorithms, zero privacy, and AI-generated slop, with every billionaire tech titan in a race to the bottom to bleed their users and their customers alike.It can feel like it was inevitable — but it didn't have to be this way.The modern internet is the result of decisions made by powerful people, at key moments in history, despite repeated warnings about where it would lead.In Understood: Who Broke the Internet?, Doctorow traces the downward spiral from the heady days of '90s tech-optimism through to today's rotten "enshitternet." You'll meet everyone from visionaries to villains to regular people just trying to survive in today's online world. Read more

News Technology Documentary

Episodes

Bonus: Cory Doctorow chats about his new novel on Bookends with Mattea Roach

06/09/2025 00:41:48Kick 'Em in the Dongle

05/26/2025 00:41:20 In God We Antitrust

05/19/2025 00:36:33Ctrl, Ctrl, Ctrl

05/12/2025 00:28:34Don't Be Evil

05/05/2025 00:36:47 Show all episodes

Our take on The Pornhub Empire: Understood podcast

The Pornhub Empire: Understood by Samantha Cole takes you behind the scenes of a titan in the adult industry. Across four gripping episodes, Cole explores everything from Pornhub's enormous audience to the scandals that have tested the company. It's a frank discussion on the challenges and controversies within the adult content industry, including accusations of hosting harmful content. This series doesn't hold back, offering a critical look at a platform that's become a household name for many. The Pornhub Empire: Understood is a tech news podcast by CBC.