Decoder with Nilay Patel

Latest Episodes:

Recode Decode: DuckDuckGo CEO Gabe Weinberg May 27, 2019

Show notes

DuckDuckGo CEO Gabe Weinberg talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher in this live conversation recorded at Made By We in New York City.

In this episode: What DuckDuckGo does; why Weinberg started the company; contextual advertising; Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act; are people actually mad about privacy violations?; Weinberg’s proposal for national privacy legislation; competing against Google and the “filter bubble”; data interoperability and what good policies would look like; what can consumers do to protect themselves?; security and facial recognition; the small number of people making decisions for the whole world; should Americans have the right to be forgotten?; and can there be a DuckDuckGo for YouTube?

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Recode Decode: Facebook’s former security boss Alex Stamos and Twitter co-founder Ev Williams (Live) May 24, 2019

Show notes

Alex Stamos, the former Chief Security Officer at Facebook, and Ev Williams, the co-founder of Twitter and CEO of Medium, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher in these live interviews from the 2019 Collision conference in Toronto, Canada.

In the Stamos interview: Is Facebook misunderstood?; Stamos’ proposed solutions; legitimate candidates vs. the Russians; how to protect ourselves from all election attackers; the weaponization of Facebook’s products; America’s reluctance to regulate; breaking up Facebook and Google; why big companies need to stop rewarding employees with stock; Stamos’ recommendations for Mark Zuckerberg; and is Facebook actually committed to change?

And in the Williams interview: Why he left the board of Twitter; where social media is right now; why his venture firm Obvious Ventures doesn’t invest in social; its investment in Beyond Meat; Williams’ theories of venture investing; the lack of diversity in what companies get venture funding; how techlash has changed Silicon Valley; the many iterations of Medium; would Williams buy established media companies?; and is he worried about the media?

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Recode Decode: Anand Giridharadas May 22, 2019

Show notes

Winners Take All author Anand Giridharadas talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher in this live conversation recorded at Made By We in New York City.

In this episode: Why Giridharadas wrote the book; the Sackler family; why “giving back is a wingman of taking ruthlessly”; Mark Zuckerberg’s false image and outsized influence; Andrew Carnegie and the history of billionaire philanthropy; what should the ultra-rich do instead?; what should the government do?; the backlash to Jeff Bezos; Marc Benioff and San Francisco; the 2020 Democrats and "the primary about everything”; Bill McGlashan and the college admissions scandal; the “rise of the rest”; what about Constitutional amendments?; and why Giridharadas is grateful for Donald Trump.

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Recode Decode: Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse May 20, 2019

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Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about bringing legitimate financial institutions into the formerly-sketchy world of blockchain and cryptocurrencies.

In this episode: Garlinghouse's background at Excite@Home, Dialpad, and Yahoo; the "peanut butter manifesto" memo he wrote at Yahoo; moving on to Silver Lake Partners, AOL, and then becoming CEO of Hightail; being recruited to Ripple; the appeal of blockchain and cryptocurrency; working with the banks, not against them; the coming revolution in cross-border transactions; why bitcoin speculators were actually "forward progress"; will there be one cryptocurrency to rule them all?; the "unbanked" people of the world; potential problems facing cryptocurrency; convincing regulators and established banks; why should a big bank like Citi work with Ripple?; who will disrupt the incumbents?; the actual uses of crypto for consumers; and Facebook and tech's responsibility.

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Recode Decode: “Good to Great” author Jim Collins May 17, 2019

Show notes

Jim Collins, the author of business books such as Built to Last and Good to Great, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his latest work, Turning the Flywheel.

In this episode: Collins’ background in business education; his mentor and Stanford colleague Jerry Porras; his past books, including Built to Last and How the Mighty Fall; why he left Stanford and moved to Boulder, Colorado; teaching Jeff Bezos and Amazon how to save the company; how to be a “level-five” leader; what Bill Hewlett and David Packard understood about corporate responsibility; who today is a level-five leader?; the difference between your practices and the core of your beliefs; does tech even have a core?; why the innovators don’t always win; how important is luck?; how is the 2019 bubble different from 1999?; and how Jack Bogle and Steve Jobs stayed young until they died.

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Recode Decode: Preet Bharara May 15, 2019

Show notes

Preet Bharara, the former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and host of the podcast Stay Tuned With Preet, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher.

In this episode: Bharara’s background; digital crime and the “ticking time bomb” of hacking threats; why Bharara was fired by President Trump; what he did post-firing; his Twitter fatigue; the public’s newfound interest in the law; his new book, "Doing Justice"; the "first principles" of law that the entire country could benefit from; the Mueller report; how the Southern District of New York thinks about its work; Nancy Pelosi's declaration of a “constitutional crisis”; did social media undermine the Mueller report?; the problem with tech and whether companies will be held criminally liable; how tech will change the practice of law; and should we be optimistic about the future?

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Recode Decode: Former Secretary of Defense Ash Carter May 13, 2019

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In this live conversation recorded at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, Recode's Kara Swisher talks with Ash Carter, the former Secretary of Defense under President Obama who now runs the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.

In this episode: Government regulation vs. self-regulation in tech; CDA Section 230; privacy laws and the potential for new regulations around the world; antitrust action that doesn't require a breakup; does regulation ruin innovation?; Mark Zuckerberg's plea for regulation; the problems with automated algorithms; AI ethics in lethal warfare and beyond; can we keep AI in check with norms?; tech workers who don't want their companies partnering with the Defense Department; China's AI and surveillance habits; what Carter worries about in tech; Edward Snowden; encryption and the US intelligence agencies; is Congress savvy enough to regulate?; are the tech giants ready for attempt meddling in the 2020 elections?; what tech has done to journalism; and what will actually get Big Tech to change?

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Recode Decode: Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes May 10, 2019

Show notes

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his recent New York Times op-ed, "It's Time to Break Up Facebook."

In this episode: Why Hughes wrote the column; how he met Mark Zuckerberg; how the 2016 election changed his view of Facebook; Hughes' role in the early days of Facebook; the company's "missionary zeal"; Zuckerberg’s “unchecked power” and reactions to the column; "He cannot fix this"; how the FTC screwed up; Facebook Live; Zuckerberg’s interest in Roman emperors; why has Facebook continually failed to fix itself?; the backlash to Hughes' column; how a government-ordered breakup would work; Instagram and WhatsApp; Should Zuckerberg step down?; the FTC’s $3-5 billion fine; the case for a new digital regulatory agency; Tristan Harris' "human downgrading" theory; and will Zuckerberg listen?

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Recode Decode: Esther Wojcicki May 10, 2019

Show notes

Author and journalism educator Esther Wojcicki, Silicon Valley’s “mother of dragons,” talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, How to Raise Successful People: Simple Lessons for Radical Results.

In this episode: Why Wojcicki became a journalism educator and why she threw out her curriculum in the mid-1980s; how she became “the Woj” to her students; embracing the internet and news literacy; the state of journalism in 2019; the power of giving kids independence; how Esther raised her own daughters: YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki, 23andMe CEO Anne Wojcicki and epidemiologist Janet Wojcicki; persisting in the face of gender discrimination; why she wasn’t surprised by the college admissions cheating scandal; why relationships, not wealth, lead to happiness; being surrounded by the extreme wealth of Silicon Valley; is the internet corrosive to kids?; how to fix the internet; and how to train and prepare children for the digital age.

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Recode Decode: Sam Harris May 08, 2019

Show notes

Writer and podcaster Sam Harris talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his views on Islam, social media, and President Trump.

In this episode: Harris’ background; why he wrote his first book; the controversy around his books about religion and why Harris didn’t initially call himself an “atheist"; Islamophobia and Harris’ enemies; Christopher Hitchens and the performance of public debate; identity politics; feminism and hijabs; white supremacists online; the terror attacks in Sri Lanka and New Zealand; the Trump effect; Should Jack Dorsey delete Twitter?; Harris and Swisher’s Twitter history; free speech online; what should tech companies do and what should be done to them?; the “moral panic” side of #MeToo; and keeping focused on the right problems.

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