AMERICA DECODED

Producers

Michael Gottwald, Elizabeth Lodge Stepp

Summary

Tech startups have revolutionized nearly every segment of the U.S., yet government technology has remained relatively untouched.
AMERICA DECODED is a podcast that investigates the players and cultures that allow for technological stagnation, near monopolization of the government technology industry, and implementation of problematic systems, all at the expense of the American people. Listen to the trailer for the pilot episode above, and contact info@thedofmp.com if you’re interested in hearing the full episode.

Pilot Episode

New predictive risk models used to determine the likelihood of abuse are slowly being deployed in public child protective service agencies around the country. This episode explores the question of why, in a system where data is intended to equalize and remove bias, an individual’s income level can change the likelihood of their child being taken from them, and how this is directly determined by a state’s data algorithms.