© 2026 Michigan State University Board of Trustees
Public Media from Michigan State University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

How governments use spyware to monitor citizens’ phones

Season 2024 Episode 344 | 7m 16s

This past week, the White House detailed the scope of a massive Chinese hacking campaign that reaped information from American cell phone networks. But an HBO original documentary, “Surveilled,” says some governments use commercial spyware to monitor their own citizens. To learn more, John Yang speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative journalist Ronan Farrow, who produced the documentary.

Major corporate funding for the PBS News Hour is provided by BDO, BNSF, Consumer Cellular, American Cruise Lines, and Raymond James. Funding for the PBS NewsHour Weekend is provided by Consumer Cellular and Cunard Cruise Line. For a complete list of funders for the PBS NewsHour and PBS NewsHour weekend, click here.
Extras
News Wrap: Deadlock over DHS funding shows no signs of ending
As attacks on oil sites continue, Trump dismisses ceasefire, says Iran is ‘finished'
March 20, 2026 - PBS News Hour full episode
Long lines, frustrations grow at airports as DHS shutdown strains TSA staffing
Zohran Mamdani on his bold agenda, tackling Islamophobia and working with Trump
Trump promised a manufacturing boom, but factory jobs continue to decline
Brooks and Capehart on Trump struggling to contain economic fallout of Iran war
David Hill and Geoff Bennett discuss the business of sports betting on 'Settle In'
'He took my son's life for nothing,' says mother of man killed by immigration agent
News Wrap: California seeks to rename César Chavez Day following sexual abuse revelation