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Articles by Maya Cueva
AI, Artists, and the Future of Creative Work from Life, Automated | Close All Tabs Presents
14 hours ago Alexandr Wang’s #MuseMoneyChallenge has filled X with savings stories, many from Meta’s own staff according to Business Insider, as PayPal and Shopify open their checkouts to the agent Alexandr Wang has set Meta’s new AI agent a simple target. Meta’s chief AI officer asked on X whether Muse could …
'Twitter on a Vape' and The Great E-Waste Crisis
17 hours ago Samsara Eco plans to tailor microscopic organisms to retrieve materials from electronic waste An Australian startup that developed plastic-eating enzymes is looking to raise more than $70 million as it focuses its recycling technology on critical minerals. Since 2021, Samsara Eco has used artificial …
Send Pics? Roblox Wants to Know Your Age
Spear Training is a Roblox incremental simulator where your goal is to throw your spear as far down a track as possible. While the concept may sound …
What Happened to Purple Moon Games for Girls?
Maya CuevaMorgan SungChris EgusaChris Hambrick Dec 3, 2025 Failed to save article Please try again A composite image showing vintage computer screens displaying artwork from games created by Purple Moon, an indie game developer that released girl-focused games in the late ‘90s. Also displayed is Purple Moon founder Brenda Laurel. (Courtesy of Purple Moon and Brenda Laurel; composite by Maya Cueva and Chris Egusa) View the full episode transcript.
Teachers Strike Back Against AI Cheating
Adding This 5-Minute Task to My Bedtime Routine Helps Me Fall Asleep in 15 Minutes Plus, a sleep medicine doctor offers expert advice on how to get more quality sleep. Not being able to fall asleep can create a vicious cycle. You find yourself lying in bed, watching the clock and worrying about not getting enough sleep and how it will affect your energy the next day. This then …
Elon's Great Crash-Out / Unmasked in LA
18 hours ago The perfect last-minute Father's Day or graduation gift. Still looking for a Father's Day gift? Or maybe a last-minute graduation or wedding present? You can't go wrong with a gift card — you know your giftee will use it, unlike that fancy sous vide machine that's still sitting in their cabinet …
Why Can't Hentai Go Legit?
Episode Transcript This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Morgan Sung: Hey, a quick heads up, this episode includes discussion of sexual topics. So listen with care. Drea Ramirez: I really found myself in like high school, college, when I was very open about liking anime because I liked it in secret for so long. Morgan Sung: Drea Ramirez struggled to fit in growing up, and she said other girls bullied her on the playground for liking anime.
The Surveillance Machine, Pt 2: No Opt-Out
Episode Transcript This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Morgan Sung: A quick heads up before we start. This is part two of our deep dive on the government surveillance of protest movements. It’ll make more sense if you start with last week’s episode, which explains how we got here. In that episode, we covered the history of American surveillance and how dragnet surveillance became the norm.
The Surveillance Machine, Pt. 1: How We Got Here
Episode Transcript This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Jalsa Drinkard: You would wake up at like eight o’clock in the morning. There would be like bagels, people like actually making food for you. It would be students helping students. Morgan Sung: This is Jalsa Drinkard. She’s a student at Columbia University and an organizer for Columbia University Apartheid Divest or CUAD.
Recession Indicator Memes Are Getting Too Real
Episode Transcript This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Morgan Sung: Okay. So a few weeks ago, my friend Candice Lim joined us on the show. Candice Lim: Morgan, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I do think we are entering a recession culture era. Morgan Sung: We ended up having to cut some stuff out of that episode, but I wanted to bring this part back because I can’t stop thinking about it.
How Safe is AI Therapy?
Episode Transcript This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Morgan Sung: A quick heads up before we start. This episode includes discussions of suicide and mental health conditions, which may be distressing for some listeners. If you or someone you know need support, we’ll have links to resources in the episode description.
How Safe is AI Therapy?
19 hours ago Two undergrads built an AI speech model to rival NotebookLM A pair of undergrads, neither with extensive AI expertise, say that they’ve created an openly available AI model that can generate podcast-style clips similar to Google’s NotebookLM. The market for synthetic speech tools is vast and growing. ElevenLabs is one of the largest players, but there’s no … 21 hours ago You Can Create a PowerPoint Presentation With AI.
Twitter on a Vape: Puff, Post, Pollute
Failed to save article Please try again Tech reporter Samantha Cole holds a SWYPE touchscreen disposable vape in July 2024. She ordered the device after viral posts that summer showed digital vapes with built-in social media apps. In this episode, tech reporter Samatha Cole shares what happened when she tried to “vape the internet” after seeing a viral post about a disposable touchscreen vape with built-in social media.
Save or Scroll: Manosphere Mornings, Luigi Sex Tape Rumors, and the Art of the Hard Launch
Episode Transcript This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Morgan Sung: Hey guys, this is Close All Tabs. I’m Morgan Sung, tech journalist and your chronically online friend, here to open as many browser tabs as it takes to help you understand how the digital world affects our real lives. Except today, we aren’t opening any tabs. We’re doing something a little different.
The Broligarchy Pt 2: Is this Techno-Fascism?
Episode Transcript This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Morgan Sung: So there’s this bit in Silicon Valley, the HBO show I mean, where one of the characters, Jared, gets into a self-driving car owned by this billionaire named Peter Gregory. Automated Voice: Buckle up, please. Okay. Enjoy your ride. Morgan Sung: But then, things go off the rails. Automated Voice: Destination override. New destination, 1 Gregory Drive, Arallon.
The Broligarchy Pt 1: Chronicles of the PayPal Mafia
Episode Transcript This is a computer-generated transcript. While our team has reviewed it, there may be errors. Morgan Sung: Guys, I think we need to talk about the broligarchy. News Anchor 1 We’re seeing a rise in what I guess we’ll call the broligarchy. News Anchor 2 The broligarchs really have an explicit political agenda. News Anchor 3 How do you survive the broligarchy?
Waymo Problems | Flipboard
2 hours ago From Amazon to Pinterest: The 40 tech companies that file the most H-1B immigrant work visas 1. Amazon Total certified H-1B filings: 14,783 (including 23 for Whole Foods). Total employees worldwide: 1,556,000 as of the end of 2024. 2. Microsoft Total certified H-1B filings: 5,695 flings (including 970 from LinkedIn). Total employees worldwide: 228,000 as of the second quarter of 2024. 3.
Waymo Problems | KQED
Episode Transcript Harri Weber: Do we look like influencers right now? Is this embarrassing to be walking up to a Waymo? Morgan Sung: This is me and my friend Harri Weber booking my first ride in a Waymo. It’s a self -driving car service. Some people also call them robo-taxis. Wait, I think I have to unlock it. Harri Weber: Oh, there we go. Morgan Sung: For Morgan? No one’s going to respond. Waymo’s are, again, totally self -driving. There’s no human in the front seat. Hello from Waymo.
Children of the Vlog
Episode Transcript Caymi Barrett: I think when I first started to notice that like, hey, this is kind of really weird and like we need to kind of tone it down is when I was hit by a drunk driver. Like immediately my mom pulled out her camera. The first responders were there. I was being strapped down to a stretcher because I had like a spinal injury and I was really scared.
TikTok's Vibe Shift
Episode Transcript Morgan Sung: Let me set the scene for you. January 18th, 2025. It’s been a long day, and you plop down on the couch to relax. It’s two days till the second inauguration of Donald J. Trump, and you have no idea what chaos is on the other side of that date. The Supreme Court has just decided to uphold the law banning TikTok. But there’s no way the app will actually go down, right? So you and your phone settle in on the couch for your early evening scroll.
Influencer Endorsements Gone Wild
Episode Transcript Morgan Sung: Okay, guys, I know we’re deep in fall now. We’re putting away the Halloween pumpkins, it’s getting a little chilly. And Election Day is right around the corner. But let me take you back to this summer. To the Democratic National Convention. It’s a chance for Democrats to seize the moment and present a fresh version of the party, under the leadership of for the first time in history, a woman of color.
Stan Wars, The Fandom Menace
Episode Transcript Jake Tapper: The singer Charli XCX tweeted last night, Kamala is Brat. Charlie XCX: 360. When you’re in the mirror do you know what you see. Kamala Harris: You think you just fell out of a coconut tree. Charlie XCX: I ‘m everywhere I’m so Julia. Morgan Sung: What you’re hearing is a TikTok video. It’s different clips of Kamala Harris dancing and they’re all colored this bright lime green. If you’ve been online this year, you might recognize it as bright green.
Couch F***** Memes vs The Truth
Episode Transcript Morgan Sung: Please note that this episode contains explicit language and adult themes, so listen with care. The way disinformation spreads online can lead to pretty horrifying real world consequences. We saw that in September when false claims about immigrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio, led to widespread disruptions and bomb threats. Now, the people spreading those claims face legal action.
From the Dean Scream to Brat Memes
Episode Transcript Morgan Sung So this year, the 2024 presidential candidates are taking a nontraditional approach to media appearances. All The Smoke: Welcome back to all the smoke. We got a very special guest today. Very excited to sit down and talk to our biggest guest. Yeah, I wouldn’t lie about that. Morgan Sung: That’s Kamala Harris’s iconic laugh on the sports podcast. All the smoke.
On the Divide | POV | PBS
watch POV Season 34 Feature Film | 04/01/2022 | 90 Mins On The Divide follows the story of three Latinx people living in McAllen, Texas who, despite their views, are connected by the most unexpected of places: the last reproductive health clinic on the U.S./Mexico border. As threats to the clinic and their personal safety mount, these three are forced to make decisions they never could have imagined.
The Flawed Idea of the Perfect Immigrant
Cueva’s film follows Pablos as she chases her goals: to avoid being expelled from her country and to know more thoroughly her community—those “harmed by cages and police violence.” What first bonded the community organizer Alejandra Pablos and the filmmaker Maya Cueva was mutual admiration.
Weekly Recommendations: GARNER Arts Center’s 5th Annual Outdoor Shorts
by J Heffler GARNER Arts Center, which prides itself on providing cutting-edge art exhibitions, immersive art events, concerts, performances, experiential art education, and large-scale annual festivals, presents its 5th annual Outdoor Shorts Film Festival tonight (Fri, Aug 20, 2021) and tomorrow (Sat, Aug 21, 2021) at 8p.
Portrait Of: Boxer Patricio Manuel
Patricio “Cacahuate” Manuel is a five-time amateur boxing champion, born and raised in Los Angeles. He is also the first openly transgender boxer to fight professionally in the U.S. Despite the name, Patricio is not latino, he identifies as black, but he was raised in the Mexican-dominated boxing gyms of L.A., where he earned his nickname “cacahuate,” or peanut. Manuel transitioned from female to male in 2013. In 2018, he made his debut in his first professional fight against boxer Hugo Aguilar.
#MErcedTOO - Latino USA
When the #MeToo movement went global in 2017—prompted by celebrities who spoke out about sexual abuse in Hollywood. In many instances, these stories had an impact: men in positions of power were fired or taken to court. However, when non-celebrities are involved, it can be a very different story. Over the last two years, reporter and writer Sarah Fuss Kessler has been following the story of a Latina high school teacher, Annie Delgado, in the farming town of Merced, California.
Portrait Of: Isabel Allende
Author Isabel Allende began her writing career as a journalist in Chile. Born in Peru, Allende grew up in Chile until 1973, when her uncle, former Chilean President Salvador Allende, was overthrown in a coup and died. She fled the country along with her family, and lived many years in Venezuela as a political refugee.
Laura's Mission - Latino USA
27-year-old Laura Molinar was going to medical school in Chicago when suddenly, she was flooded with news about the family separation crisis, and the conditions migrants and asylum-seekers were facing on the U.S.-Mexico border. Born and raised in San Antonio, Molinar felt moved to action—so she started an organization to provide asylum-seekers with something that isn’t always available: medical care.
How I Made It: A Dominican Doula in a Not so Diverse Profession
Elizabeth Pérez is a Dominican-American doula who works to empower young expectant mothers of color living in New York City. Born and raised in New York City, Pérez got her start in doula work after her sister encouraged her to do the training. Now, she assists women before and after they give birth.
Arturo O'Farrill's 'Fandango at the Wall' Transcends Borders
Born in Mexico and raised in New York City, musician Arturo O’Farrill has jazz in his blood. His mother was a singer in Mexico and his father is famous Afro-Cuban jazz musician, Chico O’Farrill. It’s no surprise then that O’Farrill played jazz piano at Carnegie Hall at just 19 years-old. Since then, over the last 40 years, he’s won several Grammys, and founded the Afro Latin Jazz Alliance, which is most famous for its Afro Latin Jazz Orchestra.
Portrait Of: Boxer Patricio Manuel
Patricio “Cacahuate” Manuel is a five-time amateur boxing champion, born and raised in Los Angeles. He is also the first openly transgender boxer to fight professionally in the U.S. Despite the name, Patricio is not latino, he identifies as black, but he was raised in the Mexican-dominated boxing gyms of L.A., where he earned his nickname “cacahuate,” or peanut. Manuel transitioned from female to male in 2013. In 2018, he made his debut in his first professional fight against boxer Hugo Aguilar.
Portrait Of: Rosalía and the Future of Flamenco
Rosalía Vila Tobella is a Spanish flamenco singer and five-time Latin Grammy Nominee. The 25-year-old grew up in Catalonia, Spain and found herself drawn to a musical genre with roots in the south of Spain: flamenco.
What Data Tells Us About Latinos in NYC
Lazar Treschan is the Director of Youth Policy at the Community Service Society of New York, and an expert data analyst on Latinos in New York City. About 10 years ago, he watched In The Heights, a Broadway musical about a neighborhood called Washington Heights in New York City in which different Latino communities were portrayed, all living together.
Kris Kobach Profits, Small Towns Lose
Kris Kobach, the Secretary of State of Kansas, is known for his controversial views on immigration. He had a significant role in drafting Arizona’s SB-1070, otherwise known as the “show me your papers” law. Now, Kobach is running as the Republican candidate for governor of Kansas. An investigation co-published by ProPublica and the Kansas City Star found that Kobach has been profiting for years off proposed anti-immigrant ordinances in four small towns in Missouri, Texas, Pennsylvania and Nebraska.
'#FreeAle': The Internet's Favorite Immigrant Activist
On March 7, 2018, Alejandra Pablos, a reproductive rights undocumented activist, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and placed in Arizona’s Eloy Detention Center. A petition for her early release was launched by Mijente, an organizing group with a focus on Latino and immigrant rights, and it circulated quickly on social media. Pablos became a high profile activist with thousands of supporters.
How I Made It: A Dominican Doula in a Not so Diverse Profession
Elizabeth Perez is a Dominican-American doula who works to empower young expectant mothers of color living in New York City. Born and raised in New York City, Perez got her start in doula work after her sister encouraged her to do the training. Now, she assists women before and after they give birth. She works at an organization called By My Side through Healthy Start Brooklyn, which provides free doula support that includes prenatal and postpartum services for low-income women.
Code 2040: Combatting Tech's Diversity Problem
The tech industry has had a hard-to-shake problem with diversity. One organization that is hoping to bring more people of color into tech is Code 2040, a non-profit based in San Francisco that works to create opportunities for African-Americans and Latinos in the tech industry. Starting in 2012, Code 2040 has helped Black and Latino entrepreneurs across the U.S. connect with tech companies and create businesses of their own.
How I Made It: Radical Women in Latin American Art
On April 14, the exhibit “Radical Women: Latin American Art: 1960-1985” had its grand opening at the Brooklyn Museum. The exhibit, which was formerly at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles, has more than 260 works featuring over 120 Latin American and Latina artists, all from the period between 1960 and 1985. It includes work by well-known artists such as Ana Mendieta and Beatriz Gonzalez, who paved the way for many Latina artists today.
Not Your Mama’s College Application Process
I have ten college applications sitting on my desk, and I’m freaking out. Meanwhile, my mom is in my ear like, “relax, relax.” I am not relaxed. When my mom went to college in the Philippines, she was too chill about it. My grandma had to drag her to campus and make her enroll in classes. That’s just who my mom is: relaxed. Meanwhile, I’m consumed with stress. I’m making decisions that might impact my whole future. My mom thinks I need to calm down about applying for college.
Standing Up To Sexism
As a teen girl, I know I’ll have to deal with sexism my whole life. But one place I can start to fight it — is inside myself. “Boys are boys and girls are girls.” At least, that’s what was taught in my family. Women were supposed to have different hobbies, even different roles at home. On my dad’s side of the family boys ate before girls, who did all the cooking. For years, that thinking held me back. In middle school, the basketball coach asked me to try out for the team.
Election Day: Alabama Teens Weigh In On Roy Moore And Senate Race
Sexual assault and harassment have been the main issue surrounding the Alabama Senate race. But what does this election mean for young people in Alabama? Youth Radio asked some teens from Alabama to weigh in on the issues that matter most to them in this election. The quotes are edited for length and clarity. As a 17-year-old black, queer, woman, I do not think that [candidate] Roy Moore has my best interests in mind. I do not think that he has Alabama’s or even the south’s best interests at mind.
Think Bay Area Teens Are Safe From Prejudice? Think Again
I attend an elite private school in Oakland. It’s like a tiny utopia, within the already liberal bubble of the Bay Area. But recently, my perception of my school community as an accepting, tolerant place, was shaken dramatically. It started when my best friend and I got selected as advice columnists for our school newspaper. We sent out an online form to the entire campus, soliciting questions for our column.
We’ve All Heard of An Insta, But What’s A Finsta?
Fake social media accounts keep making headlines in the news — from fake Facebook profiles designed to sway politics, to fake Twitter accounts playing a role in the debate over Take A Knee protests. All of this is no surprise to teenagers, who regularly use fake or alternate accounts — particularly on Instagram. Youth Radio asked four teens to explain why. The quotes were edited for length and clarity. Malia Disney, 17: Teens have different social media accounts for a lot of reasons.
My Perfect Halloween? A Screening Of “Rocky Horror”
As a teenager, I feel like I’m not always encouraged to be myself. But when I go to a screening of Rocky Horror, I’m free to be exactly who I want to be. Rocky Horror is a cult classic film where the audience participates by dancing, singing, and throwing things around the theater. It’s not new — the film’s been around for decades. But as a teenager, it still offers me something unique: self-acceptance. The first time I went, I was intimidated.
Your Reaction To My Pronouns Is Not My Problem
When I tell someone my preferred pronouns are they/them/their, I never know what to expect. Sometimes people just say, “Ok.” Other times, they’ll ask a whole bunch of questions I don’t really feel like answering. For example, “how can one person be a ‘they’?” Answer: it’s really simple. In English, we already use singular they all the time. Suppose you found 50 bucks on the ground, you might say, “Oh, someone dropped their money here.” That’s singular they.
I was rejected from every college I applied to…but I’m OK
It’s the start of a new school year. I’m seeing my friends off to college. I thought I’d be going with them, but it didn’t work out that way. I was rejected from all the universities I applied to. Just six very elite colleges and zero safety schools. When it became clear I wouldn’t be attending a four year college in the fall, I felt like I’d failed. I kept thinking back on my dad’s graveyard shifts, my encouraging teachers, and the many hours I studied. It all felt wasted.
What Undocumented Berkeley Students Want From Congress
Earlier this week, President Donald Trump released an immigration policy wish list to Congress that’s gotten a lot of people revved up about immigration policy all over again. Youth Radio asked some of the members of UC Berkeley’s Undocumented Student Program what they want from Congress. I’m done complacently waiting for change. I’m done living under the pretense that Democrats will act justly on behalf of the integrity and liberation of my loved ones and myself.
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