This week we feature commentator Jeff Gamet, Managing Editor for The Mac Observer, who joins Gene in an extended pop culture chat. After a brief talk about the first female Doctor Who, as portrayed by Jodie Whittaker, the focus moves to comic book movies, and the dark approach taken by DC Comics compared to the lighter fare from Marvel. Gene provides a detailed report about SHAZAM, a character that once competed with Superman, which will be featured in a movie next year. You’ll also hear about the new MacBook Pro, and whether Apple addressed the concerns over the previous model. There is also talk about whether there will be an update to the iPhone SE, the next Apple Watch, the pending merger between Sprint and T-Mobile, and the problems Netflix encountered in boosting subscriptions in the last quarter.

You’ll also hear from  about election hacking risks and the uproar over the Helsinki summit. Featured on this segment is Jason Glassberg, co-founder of Casaba Security. Last fall, Casaba and his company explored possible voting system vulnerabilities for a couple of national groups, and the potential problems exhibited by different machines. What about the electronic voting units that do not offer paper backup? What about the chances of hacking returns and altering the results? Gene and Jason engage in a lengthy discussion about the flaws, particularly involving older equipment with obsolete embedded operating systems that can no longer be patched to fix security flaws.