Episodes

  • Worried about US border control checking your phone? Steps to get you through

    Worried about US border control checking your phone? Steps to get you through
    May 13 2025
    What are the steps to navigating tech at US border control? How can we learn from Lithuania’s cyber defence? And what is the new sport of sperm racing? JJ Clarke, producer, joins host, Katie Byrne, standing in for Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. Katie began by discussing an article that featured in the Irish Independent about navigating US border control phone checks at the airport. The article written by tech editor, Adrian Weckler, explained that you can delete your WhatsApp, Gmail and other social media with no loss of data as long as you back it up before you delete the apps. This will stop US border control agents checking these apps but may look suspicious as the phone won’t have any social media apps. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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    22 mins
  • Amazon’s new warehouse robots to replace workers; the single best ultra budget phone revealed

    Amazon’s new warehouse robots to replace workers; the single best ultra budget phone revealed
    May 8 2025
    What does Amazon new Vulcan robot do? Why is the new Nothing phone the best affordable option? And how should the DPC respond to TikTok storing data on Chinese servers? JJ Clarke, producer, joins host Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.

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    25 mins
  • Bestselling Irish author Shane Hegarty on AI ripping off writers’ books

    Bestselling Irish author Shane Hegarty on AI ripping off writers’ books
    May 6 2025
    Will AI replace authors? How will we spot real from the fake? And have some LLMs already been trained on authors’ books? Shane Hegarty, bestselling children’s book author joined Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. Adrian began by reading out a five-hundred-word excerpt generated by chat GPT in the style of author Shane Hegarty. The tech editor then asked Shane to rate the piece for accuracy out of 10. The children’s book author gave the piece a one out of ten because it was trying to be funny and had little sense of what his book is actually about. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    29 mins
  • How hackers bypass fingerprint readers on phones

    How hackers bypass fingerprint readers on phones
    Apr 29 2025
    Is YouTube the most powerful media of all? How are hackers bypassing biometrics using artificial fingertips? And are Irish jobs on the line as Intel swings its layoff axe? JJ Clarke, producer, joins host Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show.  The tech editor began by discussing a report by the pan-European Policing Authority Europol which has joined other IT security organizations in warning that biometric systems like fingerprints and facial recognition scanners are being bypassed by criminals. The reason this has garnered so much interest is because so many users access their phones through their fingerprints and facial scanning. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    24 mins
  • Phallic rockets and fake astronauts: the case for space with Leo Enright

    Phallic rockets and fake astronauts: the case for space with Leo Enright
    Apr 24 2025
    What is the case for space? Does humanity benefit from it? And are the environmental impacts too great? Leo Enright, space commentator, former RTE and BBC correspondent joins Adrian on the Big Tech Show. Adrian began the conversation by asking was there any scientific merit to the Blue Origin New Shephard rocket which last week made a sub-orbital flight with an all-female crew to the edge of space and back. The space commentator stated that there was next to no scientific value in the Jeff Bezos backed space exploration. However, Leo Enright, did point out that Gail King was the first American journalist in space and the he is hopeful that she will once again popularise space exploration amongst the American public. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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    27 mins
  • Wunderkid Adam Dalton — the 8-figure sale of the company he built in school and his new heavily-backed venture

    Wunderkid Adam Dalton — the 8-figure sale of the company he built in school and his new heavily-backed venture
    Apr 15 2025
    What made Adam Dalton realise he loved selling? Which teacher influenced him in secondary school? And what are the downsides of a multi-million euro exit? Adam Dalton, co-founder of Jamango! former CEO and co-founder of Robotify, joins Adrian on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. Adam Dalton seemed destined for entrepreneurship with an early love of LEGO and Minecraft. Adrian began the conversation by asking him about a guidance counsellor in his secondary school called Michael O’Neill. The teacher put on coding classes after school where Adam learned to build websites and games through coding, which served him well in his future career. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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    34 mins
  • TikTok, Tariffs and Trump: An uncertain future for Ireland's tech sector?

    TikTok, Tariffs and Trump: An uncertain future for Ireland's tech sector?
    Apr 8 2025
    Will Irish jobs be impacted if the EU go after US tech services? Is Ireland the likely battle ground for a digital trade war? And why did the Chinese pull out of the deal to sell TikTok? JJ Clarke, Producer, joins host Donal O’Donovan on this week’s episode of The Big Tech Show. The business editor began by pointing out that Ireland sells about 52 billion dollars' worth of digital services to the US every year, versus about 53 billion dollars' worth of physical products. Roughly half of Irish exports to the US (the digital services) are not affected by Trump’s current tariffs. However, Donal O’Donovan highlighted that global trade in goods and the manufacturing sector are being targeted currently. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

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    19 mins
  • How Ireland became the world’s biggest dump for useless data

    How Ireland became the world’s biggest dump for useless data
    Apr 1 2025
    How much energy do data centres consume? What kind of data do they store? And is Ireland now a landfill for junk data? Caroline O’Doherty, Environment correspondent with the Irish Independent joins Donal O’Donovan on the Big Tech Show this week. The environment correspondent started by talking about why companies like building data centres in Ireland. Caroline O’Doherty stated that; Ireland has a strong IT sector, the political climate is stable, and the geographical climate is also favourable because data centres create a lot of heat and don't do well in hotter countries. You can listen to the full episode here on the Irish Independent website or wherever you get your podcasts.

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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    25 mins