NPR Technology Podcast (Science-Technology)

Stories: 1) Cybersecurity Firms Ditch Defense, Learn To 'Hunt' 2) Algorithms: The Ever-Growing, All-Knowing Way Of The Future 3) Disguising Secret Messages, In A Game Of Spy Vs Spy 4) Steve Jobs Didn't Invent Design, But He Patented It 5) Lack Of Support Puts The Brakes On High-Speed Rail 6) Draw Something App Reveals The Artistic Chimp In Us All

What Facebook did for organ donation this week underscores the power of social media in promoting a cause. No doubt social media can help charities make a quick splash, but more nonprofits are looking to harness its potential in a longer-lasting way.

With that price range the social network is valuing itself between $77 billion and $96 billion.

Harvard and MIT are moving ambitiously into online education, jointly offering free classes to anyone in the world who wants to take them. The courses will include video lessons, quizzes and instant feedback. Online instruction has had a mixed track record, but the universities hope evolving technology will make it a powerful new tool to expand educational opportunities worldwide.

For the first time, American viewers of the Summer Olympics won't be limited by two words many sports fans loathe: "tape" and "delay." After years of saving the most popular events for prime time, NBC will also stream live video of the London Games, online and via mobile.

American tech giants are under pressure from Europe to offer stronger privacy options to consumers. Privacy advocates say American Internet users will have the European Union to thank if tighter regulations pass, but the industry says the Europeans are hampering an American success story with regulation.

Five years ago, Twitter was hardly a blip on the political radar. Now, it's a social media giant. President Obama recently urged college student to take to Twitter and pressure their representatives on student loan interest rates. Host Michel Martin discusses the role of Twitter in politics with NPR's Don Gonyea and SocialFlow's Frank Speiser.

Mechanical engineer Maurizio Porfiri, of the Polytechnic Institute of New York University, designs robot fish. A few years ago, he found that real fish would mill about his aquatic robot, and now he's trying to understand why. His research suggests that it has less to do with how the robot looks, than how it makes fish feel.

In The Idea Factory: Bell Labs and the Great Age of American Innovation, Jon Gertner writes of the legendary innovations developed at AT&T's Bell Labs, from lasers and transistors to solar cells and cell phones, and discusses how the lab became a hotbed for new ideas.

The prospect of losing may well discourage Iran from launching a direct cyberattack on the United States. But having a cyber arsenal for deterrent purposes would not necessarily preclude Iran from sharing those weapons with groups less hesitant to use them, security experts say.

A new study has determined that some automated essay graders can do as good of a job as humans. Melissa Block talks with New York Times education columnist Michael Winerip about the study and the weaknesses of automatic essay readers.

Between the techno-utopia of AI singularities of and apocalyptic environmental collapse there just might exist the relative equilibrium of "hackstability."

On the Internet, it's easy to find like-minded people and to frequent sites where you agree with the content. And algorithms are serving up more personalized search content. Are we running the risk of getting trapped in information bubbles? A panel of experts debates for Intelligence Squared U.S.

Scientists estimate a more than 60 percent chance of a major earthquake hitting the San Francisco Bay Area within 30 years. Marwan Nader, lead design engineer for the new eastern span of the Bay Bridge, discusses features that give the bridge the flexibility to withstand the 'Big One.'

It would take most people about 30 full working days to read the privacy policies of all the websites they visit in a year, according to a study. Most of us agree to the policies without actually reading them — or knowing how much personal information is being captured.