Understood: Artificial Intimacy

CBC

What happens when a human becomes intimately enmeshed with a chatbot? From people who’ve married their bots or who grieve their loved ones with the help of AI, host Victoria Hetherington (author of The Friend Machine) dives into the stories of the people who have invited these digital avatars into their hearts, minds, and even beds. And asks what do we gain and what do we stand to lose? Our intimacy, our resilience, even our grasp on reality?

This latest season of Understood looks at who made the decisions that allowed chatbots to move way beyond digital assistants and into the most intimate parts of our lives.

Four episodes, releasing weekly starting Tuesday, May 19.

Understood takes you deep inside the seismic shifts reshaping our world right now. From online porn and crypto chaos to the rise of tech oligarchs, deepfake AI, and the broken promises of the internet — we explore the stories that define our digital age with hosts and characters embedded in the heart of the action.

Season 1 - The Naked Emperor: the rise and fall of bitcoin king Sam Bankman-Fried.

Season 2 - The Pornhub Empire: the story of how a Montreal-founded company came to dominate the adult industry.

Season 3 - Modi’s India: how one man rose from poverty to the peak of political power.

Season 4 - Céline: the surprising cultural, political and business alchemy that created a superstar.

Season 5 - Who Broke the Internet? The internet sucks now, and it happened on purpose.

Season 6 - The Making of Elon Musk: exploring the little known side of the polarizing billionaire

Season 7: Deepfake Porn Empire: the porn was fake. The fallout was real.

Subscribe Listen in podnod RSS feed Show website

45 episodes
Updated June 9

Episodes45

Newest first

Nov 5, 2024 · 32 min
Céline Episode 4: The Céline-aissance
In the aftermath of René Angélil’s death, a Céline-aissance. But then, illness strikes. In the final episode of Céline: Understood, a look at her recent years, and why her fame endures.
Oct 29, 2024 · 30 min
Céline Episode 3: The Globalization of Céline
Céline Dion becomes inescapable in the mid-nineties with her hit song from the Titanic soundtrack, My Heart Will Go On. She achieves a unique level of global fame, earning fans from Jamaica to Iraq. But her ubiquity will also inspire a backlash in North America.
Oct 22, 2024 · 30 min
Céline Episode 2: The U.S. Gamble
With her manager René Angélil by her side, Céline Dion is starting to crossover into the US. But there’s a secret René and Céline have been keeping: one René feared could stop Céline’s blooming career in its tracks.
Oct 15, 2024 · 37 min
Céline Episode 1: Conquering Québec
Céline Dion slept in a drawer as a baby born into a poor francophone Catholic family in Québec. At 12, she gets discovered in an office in Montreal, and she becomes a rising star in the insular constellation of Québec celebrity. But just as Céline is trying to break into English Canada, political tensions are running high in Québec. And some accuse her of selling out.
Oct 8, 2024 · 2 min
Introducing Céline: Understood
Céline Dion is having a moment. It’s not her first. And millions of fans are hoping it won’t be her last. While Céline’s international stardom seems obvious now, it was all so unlikely. This four-part series hosted by Céline expert Thomas Leblanc explores the surprising cultural, political and business alchemy that created one of the most enduring superstars the planet has ever seen. Four episodes releasing weekly starting on Tuesday, October 15, 2024.
Jun 5, 2024 · 18 min
BONUS: Modi’s weak win
Prime Minister Narendra Modi may have narrowly won a third term, but without a majority government, his grip on power appears weaker than ever. On this bonus episode of Modi’s India: Understood, host Salimah Shivji and producer Joyita Sengupta talk about the surprising results of the Indian election.  Access the transcript for this episode <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-modi-s-india-bonus-episode-1.7312610" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_bla
May 27, 2024 · 42 min
Modi's India Episode 4: The Storyteller
India’s democracy has been called a miracle. Now, some fear it’s at risk. From Gandhi’s legacy to Bollywood films, how is Modi rewriting the story of India? Access the transcript for this episode <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-modi-s-india-episode-4-1.7207405" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.
May 20, 2024 · 38 min
Modi's India Episode 3: The Strongman
Entering his second term stronger than ever, Modi can wield his power in ways that shock many inside India and out. There are crackdowns on dissent at home and accusations his government is tied to assassination plots abroad. His government denies these allegations, but the question remains: how far will Modi go to stop those who challenge him? Access the transcript for this episode <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-modi-s-india-episode-3-1.7208339" rel
May 13, 2024 · 32 min
Modi's India Episode 2: Development Man
Narendra Modi is the most popular political leader on the planet. His supporters boast that he’s transformed India’s economy – it’s now the world’s fifth largest, surpassing its former colonial ruler, Great Britain. How did Modi shake off the memory of deadly religious riots to win the devotion of hundreds of millions of Indians across the country and the world? Access the transcript for this episode <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-modi-s-india-episod
May 13, 2024 · 33 min
Modi's India Episode 1: Emperor of Hindu Hearts
How did Narendra Modi, the son of a humble tea seller rise up the political ranks to become one of the most powerful leaders India has ever seen? And did bloody religious riots damage his political future, or turbocharge it? Access the transcript for this episode <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-modi-s-india-episode-1-1.7201019??" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.
Apr 24, 2024 · 2 min
Modi's India: Season 3 of Understood
How did one man rise from poverty to the peak of political power and secure the adoration of nearly one billion people? And how did he overcome accusations — that he denies — of complicity in religious violence and alleged international assassination plots? In the latest season of Understood, Mumbai-based journalist Salimah Shivji examines the remarkable rise, and incredible power that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has acquired. And as his country embarks
Apr 1, 2024 · 39 min
The Pornhub Empire Episode 4: Cleanup crew
New name, new owners, new rules. Can Pornhub rebuild its reputation and remain one of the world’s biggest porn sites? Or will the company be disrupted out of business by a new crop of online porn entrepreneurs? This is episode 4 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. Full transcript <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-the-pornhub-empire-episode-4-1.7128487" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.
Mar 25, 2024 · 32 min
The Pornhub Empire Episode 3: Pornhub’s disgrace
Jane was coerced into making a pornographic film, and told it would never be shared online. Then, it was posted on Pornhub, over and over again. How did a scandal involving the hosting of sexual abuse material seriously damage the lives of many and nearly destroy the company?  This is episode 3 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. Full transcript <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-the-pornhub-empire-episode-3-
Mar 18, 2024 · 23 min
The Pornhub Empire Episode 2: Pornhub goes mainstream
Not only did Pornhub become a massive moneymaker, it also helped push porn into the spotlight by using data, clever PR, and the power of celebrity. How did Pornhub make itself a household name?  This is episode 2 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. Full transcript <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-the-pornhub-empire-episode-2-1.7125790" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">here</a>.
Mar 11, 2024 · 27 min
The Pornhub Empire Episode 1: Free porn for everyone
How did a handful of competitive foosball players in Montreal create the world’s largest online porn site? And what do a picturesque Dutch cabin, thousands of pornographic VHS tapes, and the subprime mortgage crisis have to do with it? This is episode 1 of The Pornhub Empire: Understood. Hosted by Samantha Cole. Full transcript <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/radio/podcastnews/transcript-the-pornhub-empire-episode-1-1.7121533" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_b
Feb 22, 2024 · 2 min
Introducing: The Pornhub Empire
Pornhub — that site you only access on your browser’s incognito mode? It gets way more views than Netflix. But because of the sheepishness and stigma around porn, it’s treated as if it’s fringe, instead of what it really is: one of Canada’s largest cultural exports. In The Pornhub Empire: Understood, hear the story of how a Montreal-founded company came to dominate the adult industry — only to have its reputation obliterated in a massive scandal — and where it stands today.</
Feb 21, 2024 · 28 min
Bonus: Click Here from Recorded Future News
A former American IRS investigator responsible for some of the earliest dark market takedowns has been in Nigerian custody since February. Neither Nigerian nor the US authorities seem to be distinguishing Tigran Gambaryan from Binance, the company where he works. The Click Here podcast from Recorded Future News is a bi-weekly tech news podcast and this episode features Jacob Silverman, the host of The Naked Emperor: Understood to help dive into this story. More episodes of Click Here are avai
Nov 6, 2023 · 26 min
The Naked Emperor BONUS | Guilty: The fall of Sam Bankman-Fried
A jury has found FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried guilty on seven counts, from conspiracy to fraud, following the collapse of his crypto exchange last year. Speaking with Front Burner host Daemon Fairless, Jacob Silverman walks us through Bankman-Fried’s trial and explains what the verdict means for FTX customers and the cryptocurrency industry.
Oct 2, 2023 · 25 min
The Naked Emperor BONUS: The Trial of Sam Bankman-Fried
Today we bring you a bonus episode of The Naked Emperor. As Sam Bankman-Fried’s criminal trial kicks off in New York, host Jacob Silverman is back to bring you up to speed on the latest. What’s happened at the courthouse in the lead-up to the trial? And what’s expected in the weeks to come? Joining Jacob is Zeke Faux, an investigative reporter at Bloomberg, and the author of “Number Go Up: Inside Crypto’s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall.”
Jun 8, 2023 · 23 min
The Naked Emperor BONUS: Binance and its CEO sued in major crypto case
Jacob Silverman sits down on CBC's Front Burner podcast to discuss how the biggest crypto exchange in the world is being sued by an American regulator accusing Binance and its billionaire founder of breaking a string of laws and misusing investor funds. Changpeng Zhao and his company say they will fight back "vigorously."