Ever look up at a plane and wonder where it’s going? There’s a free app that tells you. Plus, the easy way to track a flight when you’re picking someone up from the airport. And we talk to Bray, the guy behind a telescope ranch that lets you stargaze from anywhere in the world.
School picture day is on life support. Parents are ditching the $60 photo packages for a free AI hack you can do at home.
The Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation put historical passenger records online for free. I’ll tell you how to pull up the exact hand-written ship manifest that shows your ancestor’s age, hometown, and even how much money they carried.
An Amazon driver could be photographing your house with AI smart glasses. One booby-trapped photo can take over your iPhone. And AI is about to decide what you pay at McDonald’s. This week, I break down the tech news that hits your wallet, your privacy and your family. Plus, a Flock camera wrongly flagged a man named Amadeus. His Wendy’s receipt saved his life. IN THIS EPISODE: 00:00 Bigger Amazon Checks 4:40 The Trillion-Dollar Lunch Meetup 8:04 Bill Gates: AI Could Destroy Us 9:52 Facebook Faces a $219 Billion Fine 11:29 TikTok Pays $100M, Adds Teen Curfew 13:26 Robot Hand Walks on Its Fingers 15:59 AI: To Pay or Not to Pay? 19:30 One Booby-Trapped Photo Hijacks iPhones 20:13 AI Dynamic Pricing Hits McDonald’s 21:56 Josh’s “Your Son Is Lost” Facebook Message 30:18 Spot Fake Prime Big Deal Days Deals 32:04 Digital Wallet Security Risks 34:43 Best Apps for Song Lyrics 39:48 Kids Turned NPR Podcast Comments Into Group Chats 41:15 Decode Emojis + Gen Alpha Slang 45:26 Dallas Garbage Trucks Spy on Your Lawn 47:52 FBI Raids 200-Acre Scam Compound 51:55 iPhones Changing Colors 53:02 YouTube Custom Feeds 53:21 Apple’s Smart Home Hub Arrives Oct. 13 55:02 Tinder Turns Dating Into a Group Activity 56:35 Gen Z Thinks AI Is Alive 59:15 Save a Voicemail as a File 59:52 Flock Camera Flags the Wrong Man 1:09:01 Gemini Remembers Your Hiding Spots 1:10:55 Magic Streaming Boxes Are Illegal 1:14:49 Donna Saved $400 With My AI Tips 1:17:19 Bird Migration App 1:20:26 Why Lovable AI Is a Trap 1:22:47 Amazon Drivers Photograph Your House 1:24:51 The $745,000 GoFundMe That Got Pulled 1:27:53 Instagram Plus Features 1:28:36 Streaming Prices Up for Football 1:30:20 SpaceX Starship Reaches Orbit 1:30:59 Is Flirting With AI Cheating? 1:33:12 Game: Real or Not? 1:36:30 How to Make Money With AI 1:41:48 AI Chatbots Come to Apple CarPlay 1:44:31 Luke 3D Prints Free Wheelchairs for Kids 1:52:55 Best AI Tools for Personal Finance 2:00:00 Ask ChatGPT What Cops Would Seize Love the show? Hit Follow so you never miss an episode, and leave a 5-star review. It takes ten seconds and helps more people find us. More tech tips and every episode: komando.com/podcasts Follow me everywhere: @kimkomando I just saw a robot charging itself. It was re-volting!
Your power company might upgrade your thermostat for free, or pay you to enroll. There’s a two minute search to find out.
Phone got stolen? The new Theft Detection setting senses motion and locks the screen before a thief gets anywhere. Plus, now that Apple’s new foldable $2,000 iPhone is here, old iPhones are getting pricier instead of cheaper.
Turkey day will be here before you know it. And flights are disappearing fast. AI finds the cheapest dates to fly and could save you a third off your ticket. Plus, WSB’s Mark Arum and I talk about how to train chatbots to take your job, digital wallets, and if you should donate your old tech.
This scheme can hijack your phone number in minutes, giving criminals access to your bank codes. That’s exactly what happened to Patricia. She walks us through her journey. Plus, the free lock that stops it.
Deleting a scam text isn’t enough. There’s a free number that reports scams directly to your carrier.
The people building AI are the ones sounding the alarm. So this week I’m asking the big one: can AI actually destroy the human race? Then you’ll meet Lindsey Brooke Isaacs. Flock cameras placed her car near a deadly crash, and she spent 13 days in jail. Even though other evidence pointed to a completely different vehicle. She tells me how it happened and where she is today. I’m Kim Komando, America’s Digital Goddess. Tech news, scams, AI tips and your calls. Also this week: Brian Dema lost his dad. So he used AI, his father’s handwriting and old voice recordings to build a holographic version of him. Sergeant Anthony was driving his Uber shift when police jumped in and used his car to chase down a murder suspect. Plus, our game Brand New or Not True is back. And New York City is rolling out robot toilets. You get 10 minutes, then it flushes you out. Flushing idea. EPISODE BREAKDOWN: 0:00 Smart appliances are texting your data out. 6:20 Will AI be the end of the human race? 20:31 3 great things about the iOS 27 update. 22:14 Brian used AI to recreate his deceased father. 42:30 Decode Gen Z slang. 50:09 New York City adds 10-minute robot toilets around the city. 52:38 “Flock cameras put me in jail for 13 days.” 1:08:19 Throwback game: Brand New or Not True. 1:13:49 iPhone foldable vs. Samsung foldable. 1:17:16 AI tells you which family features you inherited. And from who. 1:18:36 Saying “hello computer” stops robocalls. 1:28:09 Your phone is a stud finder. 1:32:00 Companies fired workers for AI, then hired them back to fix it. 1:36:02 Starlink is chasing gigabit speeds from space. 1:37:02 Tesla Roadster revealed. And GM removes the V8 dipstick. 1:41:50 Cops use an Uber driver for a suspect chase. 1:50:45 Patricia lost $200,000 in a SIM swap scam. 2:00:15 Richard used AI to navigate his wife’s medical diagnosis. 1:59:15 AI checks your mortgage for refinancing. Hit Follow so every episode lands automatically, and leave a 5-star review. It takes 10 seconds, and it’s how new listeners find us. More at komando.com/podcasts. Free newsletters at komando.com. Tech question? Call 1-844-KOMANDO. Follow me: @kimkomando
Thursday is Constitution Day! In addition to free entry, there’s an $80 lifetime deal for older adults. Plus, we help Crescenda find cameras so her three sons can start their on own YouTube channel.
Apple unveiled a foldable iPhone. Researchers say an LG smart TV scans your home network and saves audio in standby. And a garage scientist used AI to brew a schizophrenia drug. I’m Kim Komando, America’s Digital Goddess. Tech news, scams, AI tips and your calls. This week: Apple’s foldable lands. Retail chains are putting Flock license plate cameras in their parking lots. A researcher quit Anthropic, warning AI could destroy humanity, and the company didn’t argue. Delivery robots hijacked a Chicago sidewalk. Half the country is burning PTO for Grand Theft Auto VI. And an AI-generated Dr. Seuss meme is getting kids arrested. Plus, the keyboard trick your smart TV never mentioned, how to let AI redesign any room in your house for free, a teenager pulling $15,000 a month from junk removal and how to save a voicemail from someone you love. 25 years after 9/11, that one matters most. EPISODE BREAKDOWN: 0:00 SpaceX is building an elevator to space. 6:37 Retail stores are installing Flock cameras. 9:38 Apple unveils the foldable iPhone. 13:04 A garage scientist used AI to brew a schizophrenia drug. 19:21 The keyboard hack for smart TVs. 20:31 Chatbots can dig up your kids’ personal details. 33:10 Carter turned junk removal into a $15K-a-month AI business. 36:39 Save precious voicemails, 25 years 9/11. 38:42 TikTok grandmas talk about sex, and Gen Z can’t look away. 41:18 LG smart TV is scanning your network and saving audio. 43:35 Anthropic says AI could destroy humans. 57:33 Michael blew up on a dating site. Over 100 women slid into his DMs. 47:57 Tesla Cybercab breaks down? Push it. 1:06:55 Dad wants to secretly track his daughter’s phone. 1:19:39 China’s robot conspiracy theory. 1:25:29Pokémon cards would be the currency after an apocalypse. 1:27:29Half the country is taking PTO for Grand Theft Auto VI. 1:33:50 A stranger recorded Toluwa. She found out when the video went viral. 1:43:29Ron used AI to write his father’s obituary and eulogy. 1:42:28 AI scans Medicare change notices. 1:50:11 The AI Dr. Seuss school threat meme. Kids are getting arrested Hit Follow, so every episode lands automatically, and leave a 5-star review. It takes 10 seconds, and it’s how new listeners find us. More at komando.com/podcasts. Free newsletters at komando.com. Tech question? Call 1-844-KOMANDO. Follow me: @kimkomando
25 years after 9/11, some families still hold onto a single voicemail as their last recording of a loved one. Hear how to save yours before it’s gone.
Chatbots have a teacher mode. No cheating allowed. And we help Dom turn his 38 years of teaching electronics and robotics into a YouTube channel for kids.
Apple’s biggest launch of the year drops Wednesday. Waiting three days to buy new gear could save you money. And disappointment.
The deadline is real to save your old VHS tapes. Hear the cheap way to save them before it’s too late. Plus, Roger wants our help digitizing 40-year-old Betamax tapes of global sea-towing adventures.
A fire captain’s phone buzzed with an iPhone SOS alert. It was his daughter. Her car had crashed, and the alert sent him her exact location before anyone could dial 911. Fire Captain Jake walks me through the scariest minutes of his life, and I walk you through the settings, so your phone can do the same for your family. It takes two minutes. Do it today. Then meet Travis. He’s been married to his wife for 22 years. He’s also “married” to Lily Rose, his AI companion. His wife? Totally fine with it. I ask Travis every question you’re thinking right now. Did a tablet kidnap your sweet kid? Scientist and mom Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff, author of Dopamine Kids, explains how screens hijack a child’s motivation system and the one swap that gets them playing again. And MIT economist Dr. David Autor makes the case that AI is too unpredictable to take your job. For now. Also this hour: Silicon Valley’s elite want to upload your brain, school buses have AI cameras that mail you tickets, and a Chinese automaker put a toilet in its car. With voice command. Talk about a flush of innovation. EPISODE BREAKDOWN: 0:00 Lauren Sánchez and Jeff Bezos’ happiness routine. 4:56 Billionaires want to cheat death with brain tech. 12:33 Secret Wikipedia time travels to your neighborhood. 13:26 iPhone SOS alerted a firefighter to his daughter’s crash. 19:00 How dopamine drives kids’ screen addiction. 27:39 “I’m married to an AI bot.” 35:27 She texted her late grandmother. A kid replied. 37:35 What Gen Z emojis really mean. 42:43 Mommy influencer filmed her son’s seizure for views. 46:35 Phone-free dining takes hold. 57:04 Listener’s sister got scammed out of her life savings. 1:13:11 Your car is secretly selling your data. 1:47:03 Erase your ex with Google Photos voice editing. 1:17:58 AI school bus company tickets you. 1:24:16 Listener wants to use AI to fight terminal cancer. 1:30:49 MIT’s Dr. Autor on why AI won’t replace you. 1:41:39 Granddaughter teaches grandparents Uber Eats. Goes viral. Get Dopamine Kids by Dr. Michaeleen Doucleff: https://www.amazon.com/Dopamine-Kids-Science-Based-Screens-Ultraprocessed/dp/166804983X Love the show? Tap follow, so you never miss an episode, then leave a 5-star review. Takes 10 seconds, and it’s how new listeners find us. I read every single one. Show website: https://www.komando.com/podcasts/ Connect: @kimkomando
Don’t be the person emailing at 9 PM before a holiday weekend. There’s a scheduling trick that’ll save your team’s sanity. Plus, Mark’s mom keeps accidentally clicking pop-up scams. We got the family setting that stops it for good.
That free school laptop isn’t really free. It can log activity after school hours. On your own Wi-Fi. Plus, we break down cheap ways to track your kids at school. Including putting AirTags in their shoes.
Don’t wait until “someday” to capture your parents’ memories and stories. There’s a free app that lets you record it. Even preserves them at the Library of Congress. Plus, Sarah lost her voice to ALS 25 years ago. AI rebuilt it. How? 8 seconds of old home video audio.
