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Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

Cool Zone Media and iHeartPodcasts
Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff
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575 episodes

  • Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

    Part One: The Valiant War on Flock: How People Are Fighting Mass Surveillance

    08/31/2026 | 43 mins.
    Margaret tells you the sordid history of Automated License Plate Readers and the people who have stood up against them
    Sources:
    https://www.kwch.com/2022/11/04/kechi-police-lieutenants-arrest-puts-flock-technology-under-scrutiny/
    https://azmirror.com/2019/07/08/arizona-police-agencies-gather-share-license-plate-data-but-few-ensure-rules-are-being-followed/
    https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/aurora-police-detain-black-family-after-mistaking-their-vehicle-as-stolen
    https://sls.eff.org/technologies/automated-license-plate-readers-alprs
    https://www.winonapost.com/news/crime/all-of-wpd-s-flock-cameras-stolen/article_9c61aa25-411b-4f2f-a5cd-ca02942f5f9f.html
    https://krocnews.com/stolen-flock-cameras-winona-mn/
    https://www.winonapost.com/news/wpd-wont-replace-stolen-flock-cameras-citing-public-trust/article_06a67859-2d97-414b-aa8f-d8751ad214bb.html
    https://www.military.com/air-force-engineer-accused-of-cutting-down-13-police-cameras-says-they-are-unconstitutional
    https://lookouteugene-springfield.com/story/justice/2025/12/16/timeline-the-brief-troubled-history-of-flock-cameras-in-eugene-springfield/
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2025/09/03/ai-startup-flock-thinks-it-can-eliminate-all-crime-in-america/
    https://stateofsurveillance.org/news/flock-cameras-destroyed-nationwide-ice-backlash-2026/
    https://ngscinc.com/history-license-plate-recognition
    https://www.brennancenter.org/our-work/research-reports/automatic-license-plate-readers-legal-status-and-policy-recommendations
    https://www.policechiefmagazine.org/patrol-cars-poles-alpr/
    https://www.thedailytimes.com/news/state-house-hopeful-arrested-in-flock-fiasco/article_2bb9aca2-5ede-4f42-9329-a8754aad7350.html
    https://www.facebook.com/MontereyCountySheriffsOffice/posts/pfbid0YWZxSJqZSBJu2BDQiQQnWUqzNiYEoHxQEgF88NBRjRXfDwQxMtqfNyHoiry5m3Mel
    https://www.wlky.com/article/attorney-lmpd-flock-camera-scandal/69895783
    https://www.alxnow.com/2026/07/14/alexandria-man-arrested-for-allegedly-destroying-multiple-license-plate-readers/
    https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/article/flock-camera-sawed-old-braeswood-22370015.php
    https://nypost.com/2026/08/02/us-news/flock-safety-cameras-vandalized-on-long-island-after-accusations-cop-tracked-lover/
    https://nypost.com/2026/07/29/us-news/flock-cameras-vandalized-in-monterey-county/
    https://www.clickorlando.com/news/local/2026/08/04/down-with-the-flock-florida-man-uses-simple-trick-to-combat-flock-cameras/
    https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/crime/2026/08/03/police-flock-safety-surveillance-cameras-getting-pushback-florida/90915780007/
    https://web.archive.org/web/20120819233022/http://www.startribune.com/local/minneapolis/166494646.html
    https://www.etymonline.com/word/scofflaw
    https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2025/02/anti-surveillance-mapmaker-refuses-flock-safetys-cease-and-desist-demand
    https://www.404media.co/the-open-source-project-deflock-is-mapping-license-plate-surveillance-cameras-all-over-the-world/
    https://www.eff.org/document/flock-safety-cd-deflockme
    https://www.eff.org/document/eff-deflock-letter-flock-safety
    https://www.kwch.com/2022/11/04/kechi-police-lieutenants-arrest-puts-flock-technology-under-scrutiny/
    https://www.kwch.com/2022/10/31/kechi-police-lieutenant-arrested-using-police-technology-stalk-wife/
    https://www.ksn.com/news/crime/former-kechi-police-lieutenant-sentenced-in-stalking-case/
    https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/scottsdale/2015/05/11/paradise-valley-license-plate-camera-reader/27144369/
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/gun-show-customers-license-plates-come-under-scrutiny-1475451302
    https://www.thenewspaper.com/rlc/docs/2013/va-alpr.pdf
    https://www.thenewspaper.com/news/42/4232.asp
    https://blog.tenthamendmentcenter.com/2018/10/dea-plans-to-expand-license-plate-surveillance-program/
    https://qz.com/1400791/that-road-sign-telling-you-how-fast-youre-driving-may-be-part-of-a-us-government-surveillance-network
    https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10000872396390443995604578004723603576296
    https://www.docsumo.com/blog/optical-character-recognition-history
    http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/3330771.stm
    https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=18001802465783784125
    https://bluewaterhealthyliving.com/news/national-news/texas/corpus-christi-police-use-basic-license-plate-readers-not-flock/
    https://legislativeanalysis.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/ALPRS-Fact-Sheet-FINAL.pdf

    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
  • Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

    Introducing: Natural Causes

    08/28/2026 | 2 mins.
    Natural Causes is a podcast about the politics and practicalities of going outside in a world on fire, hosted by Dr. James Stout. It approaches the outdoors, conservation, agriculture, food sovereignty, and Indigenous land rights as interconnected issues. We want to combine unflinching journalism with unabashed advocacy for the land we all share, and welcome everyone into the outdoors and the fight for our public lands. Our shared wild spaces are under threat like never before, from climate change, the Trump administration, and extractive capitalism. Now, more than ever, we need serious journalism and serious solidarity that engages people with the struggle to protect these spaces for generations to come. New episodes weekly.

    Listen here and subscribe to Natural Causes on the iHeartRadio app or wherever you get your podcasts!
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
  • Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

    Part Four: Big Annie Clemenc and the Copper Strike of 1913

    08/26/2026 | 31 mins.
    This week, Margaret finished the story of the tragic and powerful strike that shook Michigan and copper production, through the lens of the Joan of Arc of Calumet
    Sources:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Finland
    https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/scandinavian/the-finns/
    https://bestneighborhood.org/conservative-vs-liberal-map-michigan/
    https://trailsendup.com/en/weather-in-the-upper-peninsula
    https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2014/spring/women-citizenship-repatration
    https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/tamarack-co-operative-store/
    Beyond Brothers & Bars: Disovering Women’s Roles in One Mining Community, Jean F. Ellis
    Annie Clemenc and the Great Keweenaw Copper Strike, Lyndon Comstock
    https://www.bls.gov/charts/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries/rate-and-number-of-fatal-work-injuries-in-selected-occupations.htm
    https://weneverforget.org/we-never-forget-strikers-alois-tijan-and-steve-putrich-shot-down-by-gunthugs-august-14-1913-at-seeberville-michigan/
    https://libcom.org/article/sabotage-elizabeth-gurley-flynn
    https://www.facebook.com/KeweenawNHP/posts/the-tamarack-co-operative-association-store-on-oak-street-just-outside-of-red-ja/1762278843850820/
    https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/western-federation-miners
    https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/miners-magazine/index.htm
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_V._Debs#Sedition_conviction_and_appeal_to_U.S._Supreme_Court
    https://www.copperrange.org/strike.htm
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
  • Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

    Part Three: Big Annie Clemenc and the Copper Strike of 1913

    08/24/2026 | 34 mins.
    This week, Margaret continues the story of the tragic and powerful strike that shook Michigan and copper production, through the lens of the Joan of Arc of Calumet
    Sources:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Finland
    https://www.loc.gov/classroom-materials/immigration/scandinavian/the-finns/
    https://bestneighborhood.org/conservative-vs-liberal-map-michigan/
    https://trailsendup.com/en/weather-in-the-upper-peninsula
    https://www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2014/spring/women-citizenship-repatration
    https://ss.sites.mtu.edu/cca/tamarack-co-operative-store/
    Beyond Brothers & Bars: Disovering Women’s Roles in One Mining Community, Jean F. Ellis
    Annie Clemenc and the Great Keweenaw Copper Strike, Lyndon Comstock
    https://www.bls.gov/charts/census-of-fatal-occupational-injuries/rate-and-number-of-fatal-work-injuries-in-selected-occupations.htm
    https://weneverforget.org/we-never-forget-strikers-alois-tijan-and-steve-putrich-shot-down-by-gunthugs-august-14-1913-at-seeberville-michigan/
    https://libcom.org/article/sabotage-elizabeth-gurley-flynn
    https://www.facebook.com/KeweenawNHP/posts/the-tamarack-co-operative-association-store-on-oak-street-just-outside-of-red-ja/1762278843850820/
    https://coloradoencyclopedia.org/article/western-federation-miners
    https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/miners-magazine/index.htm
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_V._Debs#Sedition_conviction_and_appeal_to_U.S._Supreme_Court
    https://www.copperrange.org/strike.htm
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
  • Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff

    CZM Book Club: Jesus Christ in Texas, by W.E.B. DuBois

    08/23/2026 | 33 mins.
    Margaret reads a story about a strange visitor by a civil rights activist and writer
    See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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About Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff
As long as there’s been oppression, there’ve been people fighting it. This weekly podcast dives into history to drag up the wildest rebels, the most beautiful revolts, and all the people who long to be—and fight to be—free. It explores complex stories of resistance that offer lessons and inspiration for us today, focusing on the ensemble casts that make up each act of history. That is to say, this podcast focuses on Cool People Who Did Cool Stuff.
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