Business, Spoken

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Are Rare Earths the Next Pawn in the US-China Trade War? Jun 18, 2019

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Since the Trump administration blocked sales by US companies to Chinese telecom giant Huawei last month, the world has waited for Beijing to retaliate. Previously, the trade conflict between the US and China centered on escalating tariffs. While tariffs make things more expensive; they don't cut off supplies entirely.

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State Attorneys General Sue to Block T-Mobile/Sprint Merger Jun 17, 2019

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Nine states and the District of Columbia filed suit Tuesday to block T-Mobile and Sprint's planned $26.5 billion merger, complicating the companies’ path to completing the deal. The merger would cut the number of major wireless carriers in the US from four to three, but the two companies have argued the deal would help consumers by enabling the companies to expand coverage and build a nationwide 5G network more quickly than they would be able to on their own.

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How Amazon Cloned a Neighborhood to Test Its Delivery Robots Jun 17, 2019

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In March, Matt Bratlien saw something odd in the spacious suburb of Silver Firs, north of Seattle. A six-wheeled robot with the Amazon Prime logo on its sky-blue carapace was driving up and down the sidewalks and curbs, watched by a company representative. “I was surprised, excited, and very curious,” says Bratlien, a partner at Net-Tech, an IT services company in nearby Bellevue. Tom Simonite covers artificial intelligence for WIRED.

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The Newest Haven for Cryptocurrency Companies? Wyoming Jun 14, 2019

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If you believe you may have stumbled into a cryptocurrency conference (godspeed, my friend), there are a few telltale signs. First, look for the live bulls and the yellow Lambos. But if they’ve fallen victim to cost-cutting or newfound modesty, then look for a procession of cream-colored cowboy hats. They belong to a retinue of lobbyists and legislators from Wyoming, preaching the virtues of their state as a mecca for blockchain.

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Bitcoin's Climate Impact Is Global. The Cures Are Local. Jun 14, 2019

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The operators of the only bitcoin mine in Missoula County, Montana, thought they were doing everything right. They set up shop in an abandoned mill on the edge of town, made a plan to recycle the computers when they conked out, and contracted with a nearby dam for cheap renewable power. Sure, it might be a warehouse full of energy-intensive computers and cooling systems, designed to churn out digital money day and night. But it would be a low-carbon, low-impact operation all the same.

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A $100M Bet That Online Coaching Can Make a Better Manager Jun 13, 2019

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The way Alexi Robichaux tells it, his online executive coaching company BetterUp didn’t start because he was a bummed-out, burned-out mid-level manager on a vision quest. Sure, he spent nine months of post-employment with self-improvement books, sports psychology, life coaching, executive coaching, and all sorts of other precision-guided gazes at his own navel. But that wasn’t what did it.

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Russia Targets Tinder as a Warning to Facebook and Twitter Jun 13, 2019

Show notes

Russia has millions of internet users. But if you want them to use your search engine, network on your social media platform, or use your messenger to share their favorite memes, then Russia wants you to know one thing: You have to play by its data-sharing rules. Tinder is the most recent platform to get the message.

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Big Tech Can Stay Ahead of Regulators by Breaking Itself Up Jun 12, 2019

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Rumblings about the role of Big Tech in American society have coalesced into a storm long coming, with revelations that the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are contemplating sweeping antitrust investigations of Facebook, Google, Amazon, and Apple. WIRED Opinion About Zachary Karabell is a WIRED contributor and president of River Twice Research. At any point in the past few years, these companies could have acted preemptively to head off the storm.

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Break Up Big Tech? Some Say Not So Fast Jun 12, 2019

Show notes

For years, the US government stood by as big tech companies like Facebook and Google growth hacked and gobbled up competitors on their way to dominance, with barely a mention of “anticompetitive” concerns. But that lax attitude is changing. Word continued to leak this week about possible antitrust investigations by the Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission, who reportedly divvied up companies like a couple might divide household chores.

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Choosing the Wrong Lane in the Race to 5G Jun 11, 2019

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The chatter about 5G is everywhere. It’s a worldwide race. It’s a security challenge. It’s a geopolitical battle between the United States and China. By some accounts, 5G is already here; by others, true 5G is still years away. There is more than a kernel of truth in this rhetorical excess. That’s because the next generation of essential infrastructure in this country will be built using wireless technology.

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