Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Podcasts
  3. s

Trends with Benefits: Butt-blimp crashes, Tesla’s speed crown, edible batteries

By
Add as a preferred source on Google

It’s been a busy week of record-breaking cars, edible batteries, and even a butt-shaped blimp crash. And next week we’re going to Berlin for IFA! Let’s dig in.

RSS | iTunes | Stitcher

Our topics this week:

  • Tesla now makes the fastest car you can buy: Tesla claims its new Model S P100D, announced Tuesday, is now the quickest production car in the world. Even if you don’t have $134,500 for one, an EV topping the performance-car charts is a big deal. Here’s why.
  • WhatsApp may not be so private: WhatsApp will allow parent-company Facebook to access phone numbers and more. The biggest selling point of WhatsApp was the privacy, and now Facebook plans to use the information it gains for ad-targeting purposes. Is WhatsApp now just Facebook Messenger?
  • A new edible medical battery: Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University and Bettinger Research Group are working on a new biologically-derived battery. The purpose would be to avoid having patients ingest toxic batteries currently used with biosensors, stimulators and other controlled-release devices.
  • World’s largest aircraft crashes on 2nd flight: The Airlander 10 is a giant blimp-like aircraft, designed to carry cargo, ferry passengers, and look like a butt. It just crashes on its second flight in what may be the most hilarious slow collision you will ever see. Why can’t we land a blimp in a field when we can land a rocket on a floating launchpad at sea?
  • Digital Trends heads to IFA: The Internationale Funkausstellung is one of the largest Industrial Tradeshows in the world, even if we can’t pronounce it. It’s coming next week, and Caleb gives us a preview of what to expect. Be sure to check out extensive coverage at Digital Trends!
  • Digital Trends sponsors Project Pabst: If you’re in the Portland, Oregon over the weekend of August 27, be sure to head down to the Project Pabst music festival! DT is a sponsor of the event and will have charging stations available, as you watch Ice Cube, Duran Duran, Ween and many other bands perform.

Our latest weekly episode of Trends with Benefits features Caleb Denison, Nick Mokey, Rick Stella and Greg Nibler.

Please subscribe and share Trends with Benefits and send in your questions to podcast@digitaltrends.com. We also broadcast the show live on YouTube every Thursday at 2:30 p.m. Pacific.

DT Staff
DT Staff
Digital Trends has a simple mission: to help readers easily understand how tech affects the way they live. We are your…
Topics
The best scary podcasts to keep you up all night
amazon lumberyard game engine spooky

It doesn't feel like long since the start of summer, but believe it or not, Halloween is right around the corner. As the dark nights roll in, fall is the perfect time for Gothic novels, spooky horror movies, and, of course, hauntingly good podcasts -- mug of pumpkin-spiced chai optional. There are plenty of scary podcasts to choose from, whether you're looking for fictional dramas or strange-but-true tales of things going bump in the night. Whatever you're h(a)unting for, you'll find something in our list of the best scary podcasts. And if you're looking for something that won't leave you cowering under the covers, check out our roundup of the best podcasts.
Audio drama/fiction 
The No Sleep Podcast

This award-winning anthology of short original horror stories is now in its 18th season, with over 500 episodes to listen to. Each episode has a haunting, atmospheric soundtrack that ensures you're truly immersed in the tale. Be warned, though -- as the name suggests, this is definitely not a podcast to listen to in bed unless you plan on staying awake all night.
Apple Podcasts  Stitcher

Read more
Spotify looks to lure podcasters, listeners away from Apple with polls, Q&As
Spotify app icon on iPhone.

It's no secret that Spotify has its sights set on total podcast domination, given its high-profile acquisition of The Joe Rogan Experience podcast, along with several exclusive launches like The Michelle Obama Podcast and one that features the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, better known as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. But the streaming music giant is still looking for additional ways to attract both listeners and podcast creators to its platform, and its latest move is the introduction of podcast polls and Q&As.

If you're a podcast creator, polls and Q&As give you a free way to increase your engagement with your audience. Normally, a listener has few ways to directly interact with their favorite podcasts, given that most platforms like Google Podcasts and Apple Podcasts are essentially no more than a way to find, subscribe to, and play podcast episodes. With Spotify's new tools, podcasts become interactive, with polls and the ability to ask listeners questions, right on the episode page.

Read more
Apple’s Podcasts+ subscription service makes debut at Spring Loaded event
apple podcast subscriptions

Apple will make podcasts a more integral part of its ecosystem with the launch of Apple Podcasts+, a subscription-based service that will offer exclusive podcasts only available to subscribers, along with the wider library of shows available on its existing podcasts app. The entire Apple Podcasts app will also get a redesign, as announced during the Spring Loaded event on April 20.

The premium Podcasts+ service will launch in May with several new shows only available to Podcasts+ subscribers. Along with receiving additional curation options and recommendations for subscribers in the redesigned app via Channels, Podcasts+ subscribers will also enjoy ad-free listening settings, early access to certain shows, and more, yet-to-be-announced features.

Read more