Big Technology Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Why Ex-Google Ads Boss Sridhar Ramaswamy is Building An Ads-Free Search Engine May 06, 2021

Show notes

Sridhar Ramaswamy is CEO of Neeva, an ads-free search engine he helped found after running Google's ads and commerce business. Ramaswamy spent seventeen years inside Google, and eventually grew disillusioned with its business. Now he's trying to create the solution with $77.5 million in funding. In this conversation, we discuss his evolving view on advertising, what decoupling search from ads allows from a product standpoint, and how the current anti-trust environment is opening Google up to the competition.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook Oversight Board Member Julie Owono Takes Us Inside The Trump Decision May 05, 2021

Show notes

Julie Owono is a member of the Facebook Oversight Board, which today announced it's leaving Donald Trump's indefinite suspension in place. Owono joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the decision, the board's deliberations, and what comes next for Facebook and Trump.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doge, Bitcoin, NFTs, and Capital Gains: Ranjan Roy and Can Duruk of Margins Demystify Our Economy Apr 28, 2021

Show notes

Today's economy is a wild ride, and it's time to demystify it with Ranjan Roy and Can Duruk from Margins. Consider the following: Doge, a joke cryptocurrency, seems to be minting new millionaires daily. NFTs, tokens that enable the buying and selling of digital art, are going for millions. Bitcoin's price is volatile, up $10,000 one week, down by the same amount the next. The overall market, meanwhile, is cranking. In this week's episode, we go deep into what's actually taking place, and discuss whether Joe Biden's proposed capital gains tax increase will bring an end to the party.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Facebook vs. Clubhouse vs. Spotify vs. Apple: Casey Newton Returns Apr 21, 2021

Show notes

Platformer's Casey Newton returns to Big Technology Podcast to discuss the intensifying battle among Facebook, Clubhouse, Spotify, Apple, and Twitter in the new, social audio space. Fresh off a conversation with Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Newton discusses Facebook's plans, Clubhouse's potential for longevity, and what empowering the individual vs. the institution really means. Plus we discuss this week's big Apple release event.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How Amazon Automated My Job: A Conversation With Elaine Kwon Apr 14, 2021

Show notes

Elaine Kwon was a vendor manager in Amazon's retail organization when the company started to turn her tasks over to machine learning in a program called "Hands Off The Wheel." She joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss how and why Amazon rolled the program out, how she and her fellow vendor managers reacted, and what it portends for the rest of us.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Uneasy Amazon Coalition, With Fulfillment Author Alec MacGillis Apr 07, 2021

Show notes

ProPublica senior reporter Alec MacGillis highlights the growing economic divide in the U.S. — through the lens of Amazon — in his new book, Fulfillment. MacGillis joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss the state of the union push inside Amazon, how labor has changed more broadly in the U.S., and the uneasy political coalition between those packing and delivering Amazon packages and those receiving them.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Carole Cadwalladr and Yael Eisenstat on The Criticism of Tech Criticism Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

Carole Cadwalladr and Yael Eisenstat are two of the most prominent Facebook critics worldwide. Cadwalladr is the journalist who broke open the Cambridge Analytica story for the Guardian and The Observer. Eisenstat, a former CIA officer, worked on election integrity inside Facebook for six months before quitting and speaking out against the company. The two Facebook critics join Big Technology Podcast to discuss some people’s disenchantment with tech criticism, the role of Facebook’s Oversight Board, and how the company might fix its product.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

BuzzFeed News executive editor Mat Honan on the "Zoom Class," NFTs, and San Francisco Mar 24, 2021

Show notes

BuzzFeed News executive editor Mat Honan has long covered the way society interacts with technology. He joins Big Technology Podcast this week to discuss the “Zoom Class,” the rise of NFTs, and how San Francisco may change after the pandemic.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Why Rest of World wants to change international tech news, with Sophie Schmidt and Louise Matsakis Mar 17, 2021

Show notes

Rest Of World is a new publication that covers technology outside of North America and Europe. Sophie Schmidt and Louise Matsakis join Big Technology Podcast to discuss why they believe it's setting a new path forward for international tech coverage. Schmidt founded the publication in 2019 after growing convinced that the next tech decade belongs to the rising giants outside of the Western world. Growing up while her father, Eric Schmidt, ran Google taught her some important lessons along the way. Matsakis, formerly of Wired, joined the publication after pitching Schmidt on a role for herself. She is now a senior editor. In this conversation, we discuss the publication's editorial philosophy, along with tech in China, South Korea, Kenya, Nigeria, and elsewhere.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Bonus: Senator Amy Klobuchar On How Congress Will Take On Big Tech Mar 13, 2021

Show notes

Senator Amy Klobuchar will be leading the charge in Congress as the legislature interrogates the power of big tech, and potentially takes action to restrain it. She's the new Chairwoman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Competition Policy, Antitrust, and Consumer Rights, so it's in her hands now.

Klobuchar and I spoke this past week ahead of the first hearing she held to kick the off process. And rather than simply writing the conversation up, which I did on the Big Technology newsletter this week, I wanted to make it available for you to listen to, in full.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected