SHORT BIO
Molly Wood is the former host and senior editor of "Marketplace Tech," a daily broadcast focused on demystifying the digital economy, and former co-host of "Make Me Smart," where she and co-host Kai Ryssdal would try to make sense of big topics in business, tech and culture.
What was your first job?
Grocery store checker (but I also drove an ice cream truck once).
Fill in the blank: Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you ______.
Time, the most precious thing of all.
What is something that everyone should own, no matter how much it costs?
A pet!
What’s the favorite item in your workspace and why?
My electric fireplace! It is both cute and cozy.
Episodes by Molly (3,464)
Latest Stories (2,747)
Underground sensors could change border enforcement
by
Molly Wood
Dec 17, 2010
Representatives of the U.S. and Mexican governments met this week to discuss border management issues. This in the same week that U.S. Border Patrol agent Brian Terry was killed in a gunfight with bandits who target immigrants crossing the border into the U.S. But an innovation in fiber optic technology may change the way border security is conducted.
How powerful is Comcast about to become?
by
Molly Wood
Dec 16, 2010
Soon you'll likely be able to watch TV from NBC, owned by Comcast, or movies from Universal, owned by Comcast, coming to you through Comcast Internet service or Comcast cable TV. If that's not enough, you can see what's on the Comcast DVR or pull up web content available only to Comcast cable TV subscribers. What will that world be like?
Why does the FCC want to regulate wireless less than broadband?
by
Molly Wood
Dec 15, 2010
Let's say you go to a website on your home computer and then visit that same website later on your smartphone. It looks like the same site but the rules governing how you get to it might end up being very different if a new FCC proposal passes. The latest FCC plan involves stricter rules for broadband, more lax rules for wireless. We find out why and what that will mean to you.
Can your online passwords be both secure AND easy to remember?
by
Molly Wood
Dec 14, 2010
Hackers busted into the database of blog company Gawker Media over the weekend, accessed 1.3 million user names, passwords, and emails, and proceeded to post that information online. An online chain reaction soon happened where Twitter accounts started spitting out spam because people used the same passwords for different sites.
How to stop the next Wikileaks
by
Molly Wood
Dec 13, 2010
One Lady Gaga CD. That, apparently, is what this whole Wikileaks mess can be traced back to. Private First Class Bradley Manning says he was able to copy all those zillions of sensitive documents onto a CD innocently marked "Lady Gaga" and simply walk out the door. Now the military is taking the step of banning the use of CDs, DVDs, and thumb drives on their SIPRNET computers.
A dragon could redefine space program
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Molly Wood
Dec 10, 2010
OK, just to get this out of the way early: it wasn't a real dragon. It was a space capsule nicknamed Dragon and it was part of a rocket built and launched by a company called Space X. This was the first instance of a privately built craft reaching space and returning safely to earth. It could be a sign of things to come.
Operation Payback and online war over Wikileaks
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Molly Wood
Dec 9, 2010
The online fight over the future of Wikileaks has blossomed into a borderless hacking free-for-all.
Who's in that picture? The Library of Congress needs your help
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Molly Wood
Dec 8, 2010
The Library of Congress has a bunch of photographs and they need your help identifying who's in them. You're not going to know any of the subjects personally, though. The photos, all portraits, were taken during the American Civil War and while some of them have part of a name or perhaps a location on them, most are mysteries.
You may be shutting down Wikileaks. Yes, you.
by
Molly Wood
Dec 7, 2010
Following the release of their latest batch of confidential information, Wikileaks's actual site has come under attack and been shut down numerous times. This is due to what are called Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks. We learn what they are and how you may be involved and not even know it.
Arrest made in Vegas may rid the world of one-third of all spam
by
Molly Wood
Dec 6, 2010
We have some good news and some bad news today. The good news: an arrest has been made of a guy who is said to be behind one third of all spam being sent in the world today. The bad news: your computer may be part of that zombie army and it's really hard to do anything about it.