Big Technology Podcast

Latest Episodes:

Twitter Product Head Kayvon Beykpour On The Story Behind Twitter’s Revival Mar 10, 2021

Show notes

Kayvon Beykpour is one of Silicon Valley’s busiest product executives. As Twitter’s head of product, he’s survived for years in a formerly-cursed role that seemed to turn over every few months. Now, Beykpour’s team is shipping. Twitter just released a Clubhouse clone, called Spaces. It bought Revue, a newsletter platform. And it just announced Super Follow, a feature that wraps it all together by letting you pay for added access and content from people you follow on Twitter. This is new territory for Twitter, which spent the past few years

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

Will Artificial Intelligence Take Our Jobs? A Conversation with Kevin Roose, NYT Columnist and Futureproof author Mar 09, 2021

Show notes

Artificial intelligence may take our jobs, or it may give us new freedom in the workplace. The debate is heating up as this technology is starting to enter the workplace in a real way. New York Times columnist Kevin Roose returns to Big Technology Podcast for a bonus episode for a discussion on what's actually happening based on the research. His book on the subject — Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation — comes out today.

You can order Futureproof here: https://www.kevinroose.com/futureproof

If you liked this episode, would you be willing to rate us? ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

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

WhatsApp Head Will Cathcart on Privacy, Content Moderation, and Apple Mar 03, 2021

Show notes

Will Cathcart runs WhatsApp, the 2 billion user app that's the de facto tool for messaging and calling for many across the globe. Cathcart joins Big Technology Podcast to discuss Facebook's feud with Apple, its battle with Signal, its bungled privacy update, new laws in India that might force it to break encryption, the way it thinks about content moderation and advertising, and plenty more.

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

Arab Spring Leader Wael Ghonim on Modern Social Media's Promise And Peril Feb 24, 2021

Show notes

In 2011, Wael Ghonim created a Facebook page that sparked the overthrow of the Egyptian regime. Since then, the former Google marketing director has kept a close eye on social media's evolution, and has plenty to say about where it's gone wrong, and how it can get better. Ten years after Cairo residents painted "Facebook" on the walls after the revolution, Ghonim stops by Big Technology Podcast to revisit what happened and where we go from here.

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

Three Mayors On The Future Of Tech in the U.S. Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

Mayor Francis Suarez of Miami, Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway of Madison, and Mayor Steve Adler of Austin join Big Technology Podcast to discuss the future of tech in the U.S.

They’re showing up on a tech podcast because they see an opportunity to take some of the growth once headed to the Bay Area, and bring it home. They may have a chance. Out of the four mayors I asked to be on the show, only San Francisco Mayor London Breed declined. That says something.

What’s clear from speaking with the mayors is that remote work is not going away anytime soon, and that presents opportunities for people and cities that simply were not there before. This will have an impact on the country’s economy, and the tech industry as well, for reasons we discuss.

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

Bonus: India vs. Twitter, with Pranav Dixit of BuzzFeed News Feb 13, 2021

Show notes

In India, the Narendra Modi government is threatening to put Twitter officials in jail unless they block approximately 250 accounts of people they don’t like. They include activists, political commentators, a movie star, and an investigative news magazine.

That’s why we’re doing a bonus, emergency podcast on this quick developing situation, and what it means for the future of speech on the internet, and social media more broadly.

Joining us to discuss is Pranav Dixit, a reporter at BuzzFeed News based in India who has been covering this closely and brings us the perspective from the ground.

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

Will Amazon Be Kinder After Jeff Bezos? A Conversation With Recode's Jason Del Rey Feb 10, 2021

Show notes

Jeff Bezos is headed for the door at Amazon, and because 2021 is the craziest news year on record, we mostly haven’t stopped to consider this seismic story and what it means for the business world.

Joining us to discuss what Amazon looks like after Bezos is Jason Del Rey, a senior correspondent at Recode and author of a forthcoming book on Amazon’s battle with Walmart.

Here's Jason's story on what to expect from incoming CEO Andy Jassy:

https://www.vox.com/recode/22264330/amazon-ceo-andy-jassy-jeff-bezos-aws

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

Glenn Greenwald on Substack, Content Moderation, and Joe Rogan Feb 03, 2021

Show notes

In January, I wrote a story for OneZero about the content moderation war in store for smaller social platforms like Clubhouse, Spotify, and Substack. As part of my reporting, I reached out to Glenn Greenwald, a strident voice against moderation who left The Intercept for Substack last year. While I'm not in lockstep with Greenwald ideologically, I wanted to hear his thoughts at length.

This week’s Big Technology Podcast features my full conversation with Greenwald, where we discuss his move to Substack, the line between content moderation and censorship, and Joe Rogan.

Story: https://onezero.medium.com/the-moderation-war-is-coming-to-spotify-substack-and-clubhouse-9fe00672091b

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

Emergency Podcast: The Story Behind Gamestop, A Conversation With Ranjan Roy of Margins Jan 29, 2021

Show notes

Ranjan Roy has documented the fundamental issues driving today's market volatility, from Zero Interest Rate Policy to the rise of Robinhood. He joins Big Technology Podcast for an emergency episode on the Gamestop madness, explaining the forces behind the surge.

You can read Margins here on Substack: https://themargins.substack.com/

And two specific articles we discuss:

https://themargins.substack.com/p/robinhood-and-how-to-lose-money

https://themargins.substack.com/p/game-stop

https://themargins.substack.com/p/zirp-explains-the-world

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

The U.S. and Tech After Trump: A Conversation With the Realignment's Marshall Kosloff and Saagar Enjeti Jan 27, 2021

Show notes

Marshall Kosloff and Saagar Enjeti, hosts of the hit podcast The Realignment, speak about the shifting state of U.S. politics on their show each week. And while they focus on political change, they spend a surprising amount of time focusing on technology, recognizing the industry’s power. The two joined this week’s Big Technology Podcast to discuss how they see the U.S. political system realigning after Trump and what that will mean for the tech industry.

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected