The Debrief

Driverless cars are already operating on Dubai’s roads, but are they ready for the city’s unpredictable traffic, and are passengers ready to trust them? Hassan Khairat and Antonio Semeraro, Principals at Arthur D. Little Middle East, join The Debrief to discuss where the UAE stands in the global autonomous vehicle race, why companies including Pony.ai, Baidu Apollo Go and WeRide are testing their technology here, and whether Dubai can achieve its ambitious target of making 25% of all trips autonomous by 2030. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

AI is moving too fast. That’s the warning from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who recently called for the industry to slow down. And he isn’t alone. Some of the biggest names in artificial intelligence are raising concerns about the speed of development and the potential damage rogue AI systems could cause. But how realistic is the threat, and what could it mean for ordinary people? Maher Yamout, Lead Security Researcher at Kaspersky, joins us to explain what is really happening, whether fears of an AI takeover are justified and how we can protect ourselves. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief crosses live to Apple expert and content creator Jermaine D'Vauz to break down everything from Apple's big launch. Fresh off the September keynote, Jermaine talks the team through the new iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max, and the headline moment nobody could stop talking about: Apple's first-ever foldable iPhone, its biggest change in form factor since the iPhone X. He gets into the upgraded cameras, what the foldable is expected to cost, and whether it lives up to years of hype. And there's a change at the very top too, as this marked the first launch led by Apple's new CEO John Ternus, stepping into the role after Tim Cook. Jermaine gives his verdict on what it all means for anyone thinking about their next upgrade. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Every year, somewhere between two and five trillion dollars in dirty money is washed through the global financial system. The Debrief is joined by Robert Nordlander, who spent 20 years as a Special Agent with IRS Criminal Investigation, one of the world's most elite financial crime units. Robert explains what the unit actually does, and walks the team through what it takes to track dirty money through somewhere like Zhao Wei's Golden Triangle zone in Laos, a 39 square mile enclave one man effectively runs as his own country. He also gets into whether crypto has made hiding money easier or harder, how both criminals and investigators are now racing to out-use each other with AI, and what strings to pull at to track dirty money. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief sits down with 26-year-old Loic De Marie, who has been diagnosed as a psychopath, for a rare and unsettling look inside how he actually experiences the world. Loic takes the team back to his youth, the moment he first understood he was different, and the incidents that made his family realise something more serious was going on. He speaks with striking bluntness about relationships and whether he can genuinely love, how he makes sense of grief and heartbreak, and where, if anywhere, he finds joy. He describes how he used to manipulate people (especially women) and just how conscious he was of doing it, and what it's like to feel no fear. Dane and Shaan were left terrified and fascinated in equal measure… See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nearly 30 years after Tupac Shakur was murdered, a jury has finally found someone guilty. Journalist Cathy Scott, who covered the case from the night Tupac was shot, explains who Keffe D is, how his own words helped convict him, and why justice took so long. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief is joined by true-crime filmmaker Joe Berlinger, the man behind Netflix’s The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare. In November 2022, four university students were found murdered inside an off-campus house in Moscow, Idaho. Joe takes us inside the investigation, the evidence and the extraordinary scrutiny surrounding the case. He explains how social media transformed the story, why misinformation spread so rapidly, and what happens when millions of online spectators begin treating a real murder investigation like a mystery they can solve. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

What if you could create an app simply by describing what you wanted? Vibe coding is the use of conversational AI to build apps, websites, and software. The Debrief is joined by cybersecurity expert Tanya Janca, better known as SheHacksPurple, to explain what vibe coding actually is, and what can go wrong when non-technical creators launch products with vulnerabilities they do not know exist. She reveals what a software “crash” can look like, whether AI will fix the security problems it is helping create, and whether governments can realistically keep pace. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In November 2012, two fishermen set off from the coast of Mexico. Only one came back, 438 days later, having drifted almost 7,000 miles across the Pacific, the longest open-ocean survival in recorded history. The Debrief is joined by journalist Jonathan Franklin, who tracked down survivor Salvador Alvarenga and wrote the book documenting the whole ordeal. Jonathan takes the team through how it began, a routine trip that a storm turned into a nightmare, and what happened to Alvarenga’s young, barely-experienced crewmate out on the water. He explains how he fact-checked a story almost too extraordinary to believe, what kept Alvarenga alive through months of total isolation, and the strange mental tricks that stopped him losing his mind. Then the moment everything changed: after 438 days, land. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Would you wear clothes made out of human hair? Turns out that idea is a lot closer than you might think. The Debrief is joined by Zsofia Kollar, founder of Human Material Loop, who is turning the hair swept off salon floors into actual, wearable fabric. Zsofia walks the team through exactly how it works, from strand to sweater, whether the end result would actually be comfortable against your skin, and how far away we really are from this landing on shelves for millions of people. Dane and Shaan, meanwhile, remain firmly split, somewhere between genuinely disgusted and quietly wondering... hmm, maybe? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You know those boxes. Around 500 dirhams, and suddenly you have every movie, every sport channel, streaming platform, all of it “for free”. But a new report has the FBI tracking down the people who own these boxes, and it is not about the free movies. The Debrief is joined by Ahmed Khanji, CEO of GridWare and one of the cybersecurity’s leading voices, to explain what you are really plugging into your home. He breaks down how a cheap box can quietly turn your internet connection into a proxy for cyberattacks happening on the other side of the world, whether you should actually be worried if you own one, and how far law enforcement will really go to get them off the street. If you have got one of these sitting under your TV right now, this is the one you need to hear. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As Barack Obama's speaking tour puts premium meet-and-greet access on sale, The Debrief digs into what that eye-watering price tag of AED 20,000 per ticket actually buys, and why every ticket comes subject to a background check. Joining the team is Jason Russell, a former US Secret Service Special Agent of eight years. He explains just how big a headache an event like this is when the public is given close access to a former president, what kind of personal history gets someone flagged, and what most people misunderstand about presidential security in general. And the question everyone secretly wants answered: how close are the presidents and their agents really? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief hears the extraordinary story of Ricky Kidd, sentenced to four consecutive life sentences without parole for two murders he did not commit. Ricky walks the team through it all, from the fateful day police first made contact to the moment the gavel came down in the courtroom and his life changed forever. He describes what it was like to walk into a maximum security prison for a crime he had no part in, and how, behind three layers of barbed wire, he somehow found his purpose again. It builds to the moment that had all of us in tears on air: being told, at last, that he was free to go. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief puts Shaan in the hot seat with a live negotiation, then takes it apart - before handing it over to a real expert. Joe Navarro spent his FBI career in counterintelligence and behavioural assessment, and he reveals the tiny signals people leak long before they say a word, and the thousands of behavioural tells hiding in every interaction. He even weighs in on what makes a good handshake (hint - it’s not always strength), and what he makes of the world's most famous grips, including President Trump's. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief is joined by Nirmal Rajah from Mleiha National Park to get everything you need to know before one of the year's great sky shows: the Perseids meteor shower. Nirmal explains what the Perseids actually are, and why this year's peak, overnight from August 12 into August 13, is set to be especially stunning, with up to 100 meteors an hour. He talks the team through where to watch across the UAE, from Mleiha's UNESCO-listed dark-sky desert to spots away from the city glow, the best conditions for catching those famous fireballs, and just how rare a display like this really is. No telescope required, just a clear patch of sky and a little patience! See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief digs into the storm surrounding Amanda Knox's new one-woman show, Cartwheel, at this year's Edinburgh Fringe. The team looks at why the production has drawn sharp criticism from Meredith Kercher's family, who have called the idea offensive, and how Knox has defended it, insisting the show honours Meredith's memory and confronts the violence done to both women rather than making light of the tragedy. We weigh what the family, what Knox, and what festival-goers themselves make of it. Dane and Shaan then look back to last year's Disney+ dramatisation of the case, and to Dane's own interview with Amanda herself, in which she opened up about everything she has lived through. She told Dane more about how she intends to keep telling her story, and what she makes of the criticism that still follows her, despite being acquitted of the murder twice. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief is joined by Brandon Maben, category lead for the Adidas Originals business across the MENA region, to get to the bottom of a question dividing pet owners everywhere: should you really be dressing up your pet? With the Adidas pet collection now landing in the UAE, Brandon reveals why the reaction here has been so huge, and how it all traces back to Gen Z and the way they see their pets. He explains why the whole trend started in Asia and what was driving it there, walks the team through what's actually in the collection, from mini Cali Tees to collars and carriers, and names the standout bestseller. And the big question underneath it all: is pet fashion a passing novelty, or a category that's here to stay? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief is joined by reporter Tim Pulliam, who took part in the new documentary series Squatters: Get Out of My House, to unpack why this has become one of America's most maddening and dangerous problems. Tim explains how complete strangers manage to occupy someone else's home, why they become so difficult to remove once they're in, and how the law can end up working against the very people who own the property. Along the way he shares some of the most jaw-dropping cases he reported on, including one that sent a fraudster to prison for 20 years, in a conversation that will make you look at your own front door a little differently. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief is joined by Danielle and James Styron, co-authors of The Mile High Club: Confessions of a Private Jet Flight Attendant. For most of us, flying private is a world glimpsed only in films and on social media, but behind the luxury sits a crew managing extraordinary demands, enormous egos and situations most people would struggle to believe. Danielle spent seven years in those crews, and she pulls back the curtain on the wildest requests, the most difficult moments, and the surprisingly kind clients who restored her faith. Danielle and James open up about the pressure to stay silent, to tolerate almost anything, and what all of it taught them about human nature when money strips away the usual limits and consequences. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Debrief is joined by Guido De Wilde, fresh off an extraordinary journey across Europe. Over 25 days, Guido and 14 other riders cycled 3,333 kilometres from Barcelona to Paris, climbing more than 54,000 metres along the way, all in support of the Al Jalila Foundation’s cancer research and patient care programmes. Guido takes the team inside what a day on the road really looked like, and how tough this challenge was on his body. He also goes into the deeply personal side to this challenge: a stage 4 colon cancer survivor himself, Guido reflects on what cycling gave him when so much felt out of his control. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.