Dark Net

Technology is opening up new possibilities for physical, sexual and romantic relationships, with astonishing speed - enabling us to connect in ways we never could before. But is seeking human connection virtually a positive step forward or are we stunting our intimate lives? In this episode, we'll meet cyber BDSM couple who use tracking technology to fulfill their master slave relationship; an eligible bachelor in japan who has fallen in love with a virtual girlfriend; and a revenge porn victim whose life was upended when her private naked photos were published online.

Technology is evolving from an external tool we wield when needed, to an always-there presence that is with us, on us, even inside of us. It is converging with and sometimes replacing our memories, senses, and physical self. But are these new devices and technologies changing who we are? Are they making us better? As we become more and more wired, are we becoming digital devices ourselves? In this episode we'll meet a Swedish mom who has implanted RFID chip as a lifestyle choice; a filmmaker who lost his eye in a gun accident and replaced it with a camera; and the so called "world most connected man" who uses between 300-700 tracking/life logging systems, to monitor every aspect of his life.

The digital era gives rise to unprecedented opportunity to exploit, and be exploited. Among those with the highest risk are the most defenseless: children. For anyone with an Internet connection, vast troves of child pornography are available with only a few clicks of a mouse. Who are these children who are forced to perform on-demand? And who profits from their abuse? While technology is facilitating and nourishing the darker side of our human impulses, it's also being touted as a possible cure to rehabilitate the very predators it harbors. In this powerful episode we'll meet the children who are forced to perform sex acts on camera; those who use that same technology to protect kids and nab the perpetrators; and a convicted pedophile who reveals the roots of his addiction.

The Internet is an uncontrollable labyrinth of content and imagery, that operates under loose laws and partial anonymity - it's an exciting but precarious new frontier where people can do anything and see anything, whether they should or not. In this lawless landscape, who's in control? The protectors? The abusers? In this episode we'll meet the content moderators who watch the worst of the Internet so you don't have to; a convicted hacker whose punishment was the virtual prison of the unplugged; and a blackhat hacker who encrypts and holds computer files hostage.

The Internet promises us escape from our offline reality. We can go places we never thought possible, reach people we never knew, and express ourselves as never before. But can all this virtual freedom lead to a deeper confinement? As we sit in our homes, surrounded by screens, are we free and safe? In this episode we'll meet a young woman who was pulled into an online cult from the seeming safety of her bedroom; a former airline pilot who suffers from a condition called Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity who can find relief only in the complete absences of electricity and wifi; and a quadriplegic who uses cutting-edge of adaptive robotics and virtual reality to transcend the limitations of his body.

The Internet enables us to connect with people, images, videos, and information in ways that were unimaginable 30 years ago. But with every click, keystroke, and view, we are re-wiring the very physical structure of our brains. And at what cost? Are we evolving, or simply feeding our most basic desires actively de-evolving our brains down a dopamine-laced click-hole. In this episode well meet a 17-year-old boy struggling with a devastating addiction to online pornography; autistic technologists in Silicon Valley who are turning their genetic variation to an advantage; and the purveyors of Nootropics, a class of cognition-enhancing supplements and drugs that claims to rewire the brain.