Understood: The Big Bet

Victoria Hetherington

Booking Overview

This season of Understood explores how chatbots have moved from tools into intimate parts of people’s lives—relationships, grief, and even delusions. It’s a smart, human-focused look at the emotional, ethical, and psychological implications of “artificial intimacy,” featuring academics and real-world participants involved in these emerging phenomena.

Metrics

Episodes: 47

Frequency: Weekly

Rating: 4.3/5.0

Estimated listeners: 10,000 - 100,000

Gender skew: Male

Listener location: Canada

YouTube: 621.0k subscribers

Instagram: 743.0k followers

Contact Information

Publicly listed emails

podcasting@cbc.ca

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Host

Victoria Hetherington - Author of The Friend Machine. Hosts Understood, investigating what happens when humans become intimately enmeshed with chatbots, and asking what people gain—and what they stand to lose—in terms of ...

Booking Intelligence

Booking Requirements

medium

Typical Credentials:

Mix of domain experts (e.g., cyberpsychologist; psychiatry/psychiatric research) and credible real-world participants connected to chatbot use (e.g., grief-bot creators/experiencers; individuals involved in AI production/training). Guests should have firsthand relevance to how chatbots shape intimacy, mental state, privacy perceptions, or emotional outcomes.

Required Achievements:

Published reporting or research attention around AI systems and their human impact, Academic/clinical expertise in psychiatric disorders or cyberpsychology, Notable real-world involvement with grief bots or AI intimacy experiences

Recent Guest Discussions

Shuby Goel - Role Connected To The Production/training Side Of Chatbot Systems And Their Ability To Simulate Intimacy; Privacy And Emotional Impacts.

Michael Geoffrey Asia - First-hand Account Of The Hidden Human Workforce Teaching AI How To Speak, Respond, And Simulate Intimacy; Emotional Toll For Workers.

Karen Hao - Ai/technology Human Labor And The Emotional Toll Behind Chatbot Systems; AI Intimacy Privacy Concerns.

Sren Dinesen stergaard - How The Sycophantic Nature Of Chatbots Can Trigger Delusions; Research Warning About “ai Psychosis.”

Elaine Kasket - The Psychological And Ethical Implications Of Grief Bots And Reliance On For-profit AI Companies For Managing Grief; Comfort Vs Self-destruction.

Recent Topics

Artificial Intelligence, Psychology, Ethics, Cybersecurity, Technology

Episodes

Here's the recent few episodes on

Understood: The Big Bet

E1: Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

October 05, 2026

How did sports betting go from being illegal to being EVERYWHERE? The answer lies in the convergence of daily fantasy sports apps, a bombshell New York Times op-ed, and the potential of a multi-billion dollar payout. And we tell the story of how a pivotal Supreme Court ruling set the stage for one of the biggest scandals in sports history — one involving a Toronto Raptors bench player named Jontay Porter. Featuring:Danny Funt, Anthony Milton, Nik Bonaddio, Nigel Eccles, Stephen Master

Introducing The Big Bet

September 28, 2026

Once associated with bookies, organized crime, and backroom bets, sports betting is now one of the fastest-growing industries in North America. This is the story of how it went mainstream — and who’s paying the price. Four episodes, releasing weekly starting Monday, October 5, 2026.

Artificial Intimacy | E4: Behind the Bot

June 09, 2026

When you talk to a chatbot, it can feel like technological magic. But behind the illusion of engineering brilliance is an open secret in the tech industry: that tens of thousands of workers, many based in Africa, spend their days teaching AI how to speak, respond, and even simulate intimacy. Michael Geoffrey Asia is one of them. He’s part of the hidden human workforce behind the bots.We look at the emotional toll for the humans on the other side of the screen, and ask if users are pouring the...

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podcasting@cbc.ca

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