Decoder with Nilay Patel

Latest Episodes:

Is there a future for Bitcoin? An investor and a skeptic make their case Apr 06, 2021

Show notes

Nilay Patel interviews two experts on different sides of the bitcoin argument: a bitcoin investor and bitcoin skeptic.

The investor is Nic Carter. He’s a general partner at Castle Island Ventures, which funds startups that are building on top of the bitcoin infrastructure to make payments more accessible — basically, making sure bitcoin can function like a currency.

The skeptic is Steve Hanke. He is a professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University, senior fellow and director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute, a former member of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, and was the president of Toronto Trust Argentina in Buenos Aires when it was the world’s best performing mutual fund in 1995. He has also advised other countries on how to deal with hyperinflation and how to stabilize currencies.

Nilay asks them both questions about bitcoin’s place in the market and pushes them on the shakier parts of their arguments.

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Facebook's VP of Global Affairs doesn’t think the platform is polarizing Mar 31, 2021

Show notes

In a bonus episode of Decoder, Platformereditor and Verge contributing editor Casey Newton talks with Facebook's VP of Global Affairs Nick Clegg about his lengthy Medium post addressing some of the criticisms that Facebook has endured, as well as unveiling some changes the company is making to give users more control over their experience.

Host of Decoder Nilay Patel taks with Casey before the interview to discuss why this shift in Facebook's approach to the user experience is important, and what key issues listeners should pay attention to.

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Poshmark’s Tracy Sun on stitching e-commerce with social media Mar 30, 2021

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Nilay Patel talks with Tracy Sun, the co-founder and SVP of new markets at Poshmark, a fashion resale company that just went public earlier this year while riding the huge wave of e-commerce growth during the pandemic.

Tracy has to manage regular e-commerce issues, like shipping logistics and customer service, as well as influencer economy problems, like burnout and the incessant need to grow follower counts — not to mention the universe of problems that comes with selling fashion, like dealing with fashion labels and brands. But if Poshmark can get it all right, Tracy thinks community is the future of retail.

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The robots are coming for your office, with NYT’s Kevin Roose Mar 23, 2021

Show notes

Nilay Patel sits down with New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose to discuss the impact of automation on our future — specifically, robotic process automation, or RPA. Kevin's new book, Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation, is out and features a lengthy discussion of RPA, who's using it, who it will affect, and how to think about it as you design your career.

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Australia vs Facebook — and how regulation is splintering the internet, with Atlassian CEO Scott Farquhar Mar 16, 2021

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Nilay Patel talks with Atlassian CEO Scott Farquhar about Australia's Media Bargaining Code, which requires social platforms and search engines to pay news publishers for linking to their work. They also discuss how to run a global company in an increasingly fractured world and why understanding public policy is now key to running a tech company.

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How Twitter is building its future, with Kayvon Beykpour Mar 09, 2021

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Nilay talks with Twitter’s Head of Consumer Product, Keyvon Beykpour about what it took to reset the team towards growth, how he decides what to prioritize, and what the timelines for success look like on different projects. They also talk about moderation, of course.

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Underunderstood: Why is This Sheriff Arresting Fire TV Sellers? Mar 04, 2021

Show notes

An 88-year-old is being charged with a felony after selling ‘jailbroke firesticks’ at a Florida flea market. Why?

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Meet Austin Russell, the 25-year-old billionaire building the future of self-driving cars Mar 02, 2021

Show notes

Austin Russell, Luminar’s founder and CEO on why he thinks LIDAR is the future of self-driving technology, where he thinks the autonomous vehicle industry is headed, and proving Elon Musk wrong.

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Evil Geniuses' CEO Nicole LaPointe Jameson on how to run an esports company Feb 23, 2021

Show notes

Nilay Patel talks with CEO of Evil Geniuses about how an esports team makes money, where the industry is headed, and where she sees growth.

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CNBC’s Jon Fortt on GameStop, Robinhood, and wallstreetbets Feb 16, 2021

Show notes

CNBC anchor Jon Fortt unpacks how the GameStop stock story was covered by the media and if technology has the ability to democratize the markets through apps like Robinhood. Fortt also discusses his course ‘The Black Experience in America,’ which looks at race in the US https://www.forttmedia.com/

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