Decoder with Nilay Patel

Latest Episodes:

Recode Decode: Sarah Kendzior Apr 24, 2020

Show notes

Bestselling author and Gaslit Nation co-host Sarah Kendzior talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America; what pundits get wrong about propaganda and election interference; and the “insane way” journalists treat Donald Trump’s Twitter bully pulpit. In the new book and her previous one, The View From Flyover Country, Kendzior argues that Trump's rise to the presidency was no accident — rather, it was the result of decades of socioeconomic trends, including income inequality, "disaster capitalism," and the growth of the internet. She also talks about why Trump's base isn't as big as you think it is, and whether there's reason for hope and optimism right now.

Featuring:

Sarah Kendzior (@sarahkendzior), author, Hiding in Plain Sight: The Invention of Donald Trump and the Erosion of America

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

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Recode Decode: Tim Ferriss Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

Bestselling author, investor, and podcaster Tim Ferriss talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his advice for people coping with the coronavirus quarantine, which includes giving yourself slack for being unproductive, afraid, and fatigued; the crucial difference between fast decisions and rushed ones; and why the pandemic crisis is a "natural culling of the herd" for businesses in a "bloated capitalist system" that have no resilience. Ferriss also discusses what he's starting to invest in after taking a five-year break, why he's holding onto his early stake in Uber, and why he's been funding research into psychedelic drugs at Imperial College London and Johns Hopkins Medicine. Plus: How being a pessimist and keeping expectations low can lead to greater happiness.

Previously: Listen to Tim's earlier appearance on Recode Decode, from January 2017.

Featuring:

Tim Ferriss (@tferriss), host, The Tim Ferriss Show

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recode Decode: Mark Cuban Apr 20, 2020

Show notes

Investor, Dallas Mavericks owner, and Shark Tank co-host Mark Cuban talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about what capitalism and entrepreneurship looks like in a post-coronavirus world; whether he's planning to run for political office, and what his platform would be if he did; and what it will take for professional sports to come back. Cuban, who was recently announced as a member of President Trump's panel to re-open the economy, says the government hasn't done enough yet for small businesses and explains why "America 2.0" will require putting more money in the hands of workers — in good times and bad — and much more investment in technology. Plus: What companies would he create now if he were a young entrepreneur?

Featuring:

Mark Cuban (@mcuban), investor and entrepreneur

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recode Decode: Mayor London Breed Apr 17, 2020

Show notes

San Francisco Mayor London Breed talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about why she was one of the first local leaders in the US to act on the spread of covid-19, how she thinks about the slow and dishonest response from President Trump, and what long-term recovery will look like for SF and beyond. Breed also discusses why sheltering the city's homeless population in vacant hotels is harder and more complicated than it seems, what the tech sector can do to be part of the solution, and when she expects the crisis to be "over." Plus: Does she want to run for higher office?

Featuring:

London Breed (@londonbreed), mayor, San Francisco

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recode Decode: Jeffrey Katzenberg Apr 15, 2020

Show notes

Quibi founder Jeffrey Katzenberg talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the first week of the short-form video app — which was intended for on-the-go consumers, but still racked up 1.7 million downloads, even though most of the world is currently staying at home. Katzenberg makes the case for short video episodes as a logical next step for entertainment, and explains how the economics of producing shows such as Dishmantled and Chrissy's Court compares to Netflix, traditional TV and YouTube. He also explains why he's not worried about skepticism from TV purists, why he desperately wanted former eBay and HP CEO Meg Whitman to lead Quibi, and how the platform is attracting top talent from across Hollywood and the broader entertainment business to make shows. Plus: Why is Quibi trading lawsuits with an Israeli firm called Eko, and is Katzenberg bullish on Hollywood right now?

Featuring:

Jeffrey Katzenberg, founder, Quibi

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recode Decode: Sarah Frier Apr 13, 2020

Show notes

Bloomberg technology reporter Sarah Frier talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram. Frier discusses how co-founders Mike Systrom and Danny Krieger met, why they sold Instagram to Facebook and not Twitter, and why Systrom and Krieger left in 2018. She also talks about how they and Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg clashed over growth and power, how Instagram changes us psychologically, and the looming "reckoning" it faces as TikTok becomes more popular. Plus: How do current and former Instagram employees feel about the company's shift towards becoming a commerce platform?

Featuring:

Sarah Frier (@sarahfrier), author, No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recode Decode: Adam Grant Apr 10, 2020

Show notes

Organizational psychologist Adam Grant, the author of "Originals" and host of the podcast "WorkLife," talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the benefits of working from home, and how work will change during the COVID-19 quarantine — and after. Grant also discusses burnout, loneliness, collaboration, procrastination, and why employees don’t need to be micromanaged. Plus: Has online communication made us worse at trusting each other?

Featuring:

Adam Grant (@AdamMGrant), host of WorkLife and professor at University of Pennsylvania Wharton School

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recode Decode: Niall Ferguson Apr 08, 2020

Show notes

Historian Niall Ferguson, the author of bestselling books such as The Ascent of Money and The Square and the Tower, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new PBS series, Networld, which explores the history and science of networks. He discusses why it's important to understand networks, and how they can become the sources of revolutions; the economic implications of misinformation about coronavirus, which has been exacerbated by lax tech regulation; and why it's dangerous to invite Silicon Valley to track private individuals even more closely. "We actually are a form of China already," Ferguson says. "It’s just that the data are in the hands of Mark Zuckerberg and his counterparts at Google." Plus: How the US is doing the worst combination of things in response to coronavirus: "Half-assed social distancing" while still shutting down the economy.

Featuring:

Niall Ferguson (@nfergus), host, Networld, and author, The Square and the Tower

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recode Decode: Kevin Systrom Apr 06, 2020

Show notes

Instagram co-founder and former CEO Kevin Systrom talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the data analysis he has conducted and publicized about the global spread of coronavirus, and what it tells us the future looks like. He says he applied the same data-minded approach to the virus that he did while at Instagram because "data is data," and says the rapid word of mouth spread of "viral" technology can help us understand what happens when communities and governments don't act to prevent an outbreak. Systrom also talks about people's natural inclination to doubt data, and says the numbers suggest that new cases of covid-19 will peak in mid-May. Plus: Why he hopes his data model is wrong, and what he's been doing since he and fellow Instagram co-founder Mike Krieger left Facebook in 2018.

Featuring:

Kevin Systrom (@kevin), Instagram co-founder and former CEO

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

Follow Us:

Newsletter: Recode Daily

Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Recode Decode: David Plouffe Apr 03, 2020

Show notes

Former Obama advisor David Plouffe — who since leaving the White House has worked with Uber, the Chan-Zuckerberg Initiative, and Acronym — talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new book, A Citizen's Guide to Beating Donald Trump. He talks about how the coronavirus pandemic affects the 2020 election and popular perception of Trump and Joe Biden; the disastrous Iowa caucus how Democrats can get better at technology; and what regular people can do now if they want Trump to lose in November, including engaging relatives in political arguments on Facebook. Plouffe also discusses who Biden should pick as his VP nominee, how he thinks about Facebook in the aftermath of the 2016 election, and why we need every state to embrace vote-by-mail this year, and online voting in future years. Plus: What he likes and doesn't like about the Silicon Valley mentality.

Featuring:

David Plouffe (@davidplouffe), author, A Citizen's Guide to Beating Donald Trump

Host:

Kara Swisher (@karaswisher), Recode co-founder and editor-at-large

More to explore:

On Reset, Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

On Recode Media, Peter Kafka interviews business titans, journalists, comedians and podcasters about the collision of tech and media.

On Pivot, Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway talk about the big tech news stories of the week, who's winning, who's failing, and what comes next.

And on Land of the Giants, Jason Del Rey chronicled the rise of Amazon. Season 2 will focus on Netflix and is coming soon!

About Recode by Vox:

Recode by Vox helps you understand how tech is changing the world — and changing us.

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