Business, Spoken

Latest Episodes:

Google Strikes at Strikers, Samsung Holds the Fold, and More News Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

Remember last week when Samsung unveiled its "foldable" phone? Well, it appears there are still a few wrinkles to iron out. Meanwhile, Google is striking back against strikes, a new Game of Thrones episode has come, and John Legend is putting Siri to shame. Here's the news you need to know in two minutes or less. Google retaliates against walkout organizers Two Google employees who worked to organize a walkout of thousands of employees last November say the company is now retaliating against them.

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When Workers Control the Code Apr 23, 2019

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You know what I hate? Rating drivers on Lyft. Three stars? Five stars? I know Lyft wants to feed the ravenous maw of its machine intelligence, but I worry that drivers will get punished for low ratings. In the app-dominated gig economy, platforms already hoover up as much as 30 percent of the fees, and workers barely eke out a living. So when Lyft asks me to rank drivers, I lie—I give everyone five stars.

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Angry Nerd: Just Get Out of My Space Apr 23, 2019

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Hustling is the default mode of the 21st century, and I'm not above listing my adorable split-level Victorian on Airbnb during my out-of-town weekends. Need to rent a car for the day? Take mine—I wasn't using it anyway. But whoring out my bed—my own private sanctuary, complete with sweat-stained sheets and raggedy stuffed elephant named Elephant—on Recharge, the “Airbnb for naps”? I'd rather sell a kidney.

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Platforms Want Centralized Censorship. That Should Scare You Apr 22, 2019

Show notes

In the immediate aftermath of the horrific attacks at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch, New Zealand, internet companies faced intense scrutiny over their efforts to control the proliferation of the shooter's propaganda.

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In the 2020 Race, What Is the Value of Social Media Stardom? Apr 22, 2019

Show notes

If you were to get all of your news last month from Twitter (and, well, maybe you did), you might reasonably conclude that the Democrat to beat in 2020 is none other than a 37-year-old Indiana mayor with a knack for linguistics and a tongue-twister of a name. According to the social media monitoring service Crowdtangle, Pete Buttigieg got the most interactions on Twitter of any Democratic candidate in the month of March.

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Want a Tech Job? Silicon Valley Is Still Your Best Bet Apr 19, 2019

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Communities across the country are trying to lure high-tech jobs away from Silicon Valley. It doesn’t seem like that should be hard. Silicon Valley is one of the most expensive places on earth, and as the home to some of the biggest and most valuable companies in the world, the competition for tech talent is fierce. But according to a report by job site Indeed, Silicon Valley’s share of tech job listings is growing, not shrinking. Tech job listings are growing elsewhere too.

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This Startup Could Sell You Crypto Tokens—With SEC Backing Apr 19, 2019

Show notes

Initial coin offerings have gotten a bad rap---in many cases, deservedly so. Sure, there were blockchain projects with sound dreams and solid business plans. But as the bitcoin bubble swelled in late 2017, ICOs became synonymous with predation: get-rich-quick schemes that involved taking money from anyone who was willing, in return for worthless crypto tokens. Since then, the Securities and Exchange Commission has been trying to clean up the mess.

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Apple and Qualcomm End Their Legal Beef and Drop Lawsuits Apr 18, 2019

Show notes

The convoluted legal battle between Apple and chipmaker Qualcomm may be coming to an end. The companies Tuesday said they're dismissing all litigation against each other. Apple will pay Qualcomm an undisclosed sum as part of the settlement, which includes a six-year licensing agreement between the companies.

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Jack Dorsey Is Captain of the Twittanic at TED 2019 Apr 18, 2019

Show notes

On Tuesday, Jack Dorsey, the CEO of Twitter, came to TED 2019 to answer for the sins of his platform. In his signature black hoodie and jeans, unkempt facial hair and black beanie, he sat with head of TED Chris Anderson and Whitney Pennington Rodgers, who curates current affairs for the conference, for a conversation that left all three members, and the audience, frustrated.

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China Says Bitcoin Is Wasteful. Now It Wants to Ban Mining Apr 17, 2019

Show notes

China’s bitcoin miners have long embodied a contradiction. Cryptocurrency trading is illegal in the country; initial coin offerings, used to fund new blockchain projects, are banned; and Chinese banks can hardly touch the stuff. And yet somehow the country has remained the epicenter of global cryptocurrency mining, home to more of the computing power used to mint new bitcoin than any other country. Now the Chinese government has proposed to ban mining.

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