It’s the most wonderful — and tech-obsessed — time of the year. In this festive, no-holds-barred holiday special of Techishly Jenn, Jenn and Producer Scott unwrap the best gadgets of 2025, roast the biggest tech flops, and hand out the annual Naughty & Nice List to companies and CEOs who shaped the year — for better or worse.

This episode is equal parts gadget gossip, holiday confession, cultural critique, and consumer survival guide. From AirPods that finally live up to the hype, to AI tools that quietly save time (and sanity), to tech leaders who lost the plot entirely, Jenn pulls zero punches. Along the way, she shares the products she actually uses, the tech she refuses to tolerate, and why 2026 needs to be the year we demand more — from our gadgets, our platforms, and ourselves.

Questions? Comments? Email us at jj@techish.com or scott@techish.com and find us on YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok.

*If you care about privacy, policing, tech ethics, or just want to understand who’s tracking your license plate and why — this episode is for you.*

It’s pretty safe to say we all want less crime — but what are we willing to trade for it? In this episode of Techishly Jenn, Emmy Award–winning journalist Jennifer Jolly steps into the rapidly expanding world of AI-powered safety tech — where license-plate readers scan our streets and data promises to solve crimes before we even know they’ve happened.

Flock Safety — America’s fastest-growing surveillance company — has quietly installed more than 80,000 cameras across 6,000+ communities, from school zones to shopping centers. Valued at $7.5 billion, it’s the crime-fighting giant most people have never heard of…until now.

Jennifer sits down with Flock Safety CEO Garrett Langley to explore how license-plate readers, AI, drones, and data are changing modern policing — and what that means for safety, privacy, public trust, and everyday life.

What starts as a straightforward Q&A with a well-messaged CEO, quickly becomes a deeper conversation about crime prevention, civil liberties, data transparency, and how much responsibility technology companies should (or should not) have in how their tools get used.

This episode is part crime-tech explainer, part civil-liberties gut check — asking not just can we build this technology, but ultimately who’s responsible for how it gets used? It pulls back the curtain on the gadgets shaping our world — asking hard questions, while keeping it smart, human, and just a little bit funny.

NOTE: This episode was recorded in August 2025

• How Flock Safety became a $7.5B crime-tech powerhouse
• Why cities and neighborhoods are racing to install automated license-plate readers
• The controversies sparking lawsuits, watchdog warnings, and “Handmaid’s Tale vibes”
• Garrett Langley’s response to critics — and what he sees as the future of policing tech

• Jennifer’s YouTube video on Flock Safety
• Jennifer Jolly’s USA Today column: The $7.5 Billion Eye in the Sky
• Background on Flock Safety’s tech and controversies
• Follow Jennifer on Techish.com and Instagram

• Newsletter: Techish by Jennifer Jolly
• Instagram: @JennJolly
• YouTube: @TechishbyJenniferJolly
• TikTok: @JenniferJollyTechish
• Twitter/X:

If you’ve ever looked at your monthly cell bill and thought, “Why am I paying premium prices to get doom-scrolled into a bad mood?” — this one’s for you.

In this episode of Techishly Jenn, Emmy-winning tech journalist Jennifer Jolly sits down with Andrew Yang — yes, the former presidential candidate — who’s now CEO of a brand-new wireless carrier called Noble Mobile. The pitch: save real money, get rewarded for using your phone less, and stop being the product in a data-harvesting economy. Is this refreshingly human… or just really good branding? We dig in.

What starts as “new phone plan, who dis?” quickly turns into a bigger conversation about money, mental health, attention, trust, and how tech could reflect our values instead of hijacking them. We also go behind the curtain on politics, power, and why switching carriers after 25 years can feel like breaking up with your high school sweetheart — but in five minutes.

What You’ll Learn

• The big idea behind Noble Mobile: why it charges less, how the month-end rebate works, and why your data isn’t for sale

• How a carrier can nudge you to doom-scroll less without turning into your nagging aunt

• Why so many famous folks are launching MVNOs — and what makes this one different (or not)

• The money–mental health loop: why saving $50–$100 a month actually changes how you feel

• Yang’s 10-year prediction: your phone as a reflection of your values, identity, and community

• A candid look at politics, polarization, and why “we are the adults in the room” now (weird, right?)

Episode Resources

• Noble Mobile (plan details, rebates, referrals, and savings calculator)

• Andrew Yang’s recent talk on media, polarization, and optimism about the future

• Jennifer’s coverage and ongoing review notes at Techish.com

Tell Us What You Think

If a carrier paid you to scroll less — would you switch? What would it take? Send questions and hot takes for our follow-up Q&A.

Connect with Jenn

• Newsletter: Techish by Jennifer Jolly
• YouTube: @TechishbyJenniferJolly
• TikTok: @JenniferJollyTechish
• Instagram: @JennJolly
• Twitter/X: @JenniferJolly
• LinkedIn: Jennifer Jolly

Support the Show

If this episode helped you think differently about tech (or your bill), please rate and review Techishly Jenn. It helps more people find the show — and keeps us from becoming just another boring tech podcast.