RNZ: This Way Up

Facebook blames Cambridge Analytica for allegedly obtaining personal information from millions of American Facebook users in an attempt to manipulate elections – but are the UK consulting firm really the only ones at fault?

Our brain's reward centres help keep us alive, but they also make us susceptible to manipulation on the internet. Ramsay Brown is exploring more transparent (and ethical) ways to harvest online attention.

Most of the bacon we eat is processed using sodium nitrite, which has been linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancer. But many New Zealand firms are producing nitrite-free bacon.  

Making bacon (nitrite free), online design to hack your attention, and Facebook's data breach.

This week, a warning about electric vehicles from a group of NZ citizen scientists, flying taxis to be trialled here, and why the people who sift through and remove disturbing YouTube content work a 4-day week.

Algorithms and artificial intelligence are being used to screen job candidates. The problem for jobseekers is whether the system is open or fair.   Sifting through millions of job applications costs global businesses billions of dollars every year. So could algorithms, robots and machine learning do a better job and find the best applicants at a fraction of the cost? That's the idea being explored by tech businesses offering automated services to the 'pre-hire assessment' recruitment market. But there are worries about the hidden biases and the accountability of algorithms and automation, and the dehumanising effect all this has on job seekers. Stephen Buranyi's been reviewing this emerging area for The Observer.

As we head into the European professional cycling season, pro cycling is still dominated by rumours of drug taking and cheating thanks to a select committee report in the UK that's just been published. The report concluded Sir Bradley Wiggins had taken performance enhancing drugs to win the 2012 Tour de France under the guise of treating asthma. The report also questions how Team Sky became so dominant in pro cycling, and claims the team has abused the anti-doping system and allowed riders to take drugs. Cycling journalist and host of the Cycling Podcast Richard Moore has been following the Team Sky controversy and talks about the implications of the report and how ongoing doping investigations could affect upcoming races.

Farrell Monaco researches and recreates recipes from ancient history. Her culinary exploration ranges from cheese made to Roman farmer Columella's recipe, to Roman porridge, and Cato the Elder's Globi – that’s deep fried honey-soaked ricotta and wheat balls.

Edible archaeology: recreating Pompeii's bread, pro cycling's latest doping scandal, robotic recruitment and Bits+Bytes (Nissan Leaf battery warning, Facebook and politics, flying taxis's NZ trial, You Tube moderators and RealMe ID system).

Joining Peter Griffin to navigate the world of tech and analysing the latest news from the digital world. This week plans are afoot to position New Zealand as a base station for the global satellites sector. Also competition heats up in the broadband market pushing prices down, but will regulation see a hike in rates for consumers? Google rolls out free calls to mobile phones and landlines from their home assistant Google Home. Plus Emily Wang of Datacom on reports that users of Amazon's Alexa system are hearing the unit emit strange, "witch-like" laughter (if you do a search of #AlexaLaugh on Twitter, you'll see many funny/creepy examples).

An Australian family-run business called Wombaroo has carved out an unusual niche for itself making baby formula for a whole menagerie of exotic animals. Gordon Rich of Wombaroo tells us how his father started up the business, and what it's making today.

According to food writer Bee Wilson, the meat industry has been well aware of the dangers of eating processed meat for decades and has been concealing this from consumers, a cover-up she compares to Big Tobacco's attempts to obscure the real dangers of smoking.

Telling porkies: the big bacon cover up, baby formula for exotic animals and Bits+Bytes (broadband, space race and #Alexalaughs)

Bits and Bytes with Peter Griffin helping you navigate the world of tech and analysing the latest news from the digital world. This week, Spotify goes public (well sort of!). But can it continue to dominate in the world of streaming? With over 70 million paying subscribers, it has nearly half of the global music streaming market, and users average 25 hours on the platform per month. Sky TV slashes prices this week as it loses subscribers and revenue to competitors like Netflix and Lightbox. And finally a listener questions about charging cables: why do Apple cables seem to fail so frequently?

He Huarahi Tamaraki (HHT)is a school for teenage parents set up in Linden, north of Wellington, more than 20 years ago.