Decoder with Nilay Patel

Latest Episodes:

Recode Decode: David Kaye Feb 14, 2020

Show notes

David Kaye, the special rapporteur for freedom of opinion and expression at the United Nations, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the hacking of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos' phone by the Saudi Arabian government; why it’s easier than ever for governments to suppress information spread by journalists and dissidents; and the inherent danger of internet companies and governments collecting massive amounts of data about us. He also talks about how the UN responded to the murder of Washington Post columnist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 and why "repression of the mind” can lead to massive human rights abuses like the Holocaust.

Click here to read a full transcript of this interview.

Featuring:

David Kaye (@davidakaye), UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion & expression and author of Speech Police: The Global Struggle to Govern the Internet

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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Recode Decode: Larry Ingrassia Feb 12, 2020

Show notes

Journalist Larry Ingrassia talks with Recode’s Jason Del Rey about his new book, Billion Dollar Brand Club: How Dollar Shave Club, Warby Parker, and Other Disruptors Are Remaking What We Buy. Ingrassia, a longtime editor for the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and Los Angeles Times, returned to his journalistic roots to report and write the book, which was triggered by the news that the upstart direct-to-consumer razor company Dollar Shave Club had been bought by Unilever for $1 billion. He explains how the relatively inexperienced outsiders who founded the companies he profiles exploited a “customer experience” gap that established retailers weren’t addressing; the inverse correlation between competition and venture capital among e-commerce startups; and how going directly to your customer may change what they expect of your culture and service. Plus: Why, in the end, these companies can’t ignore Amazon forever.

Featuring:

Larry Ingrassia (@IngrassiaLA), author, Billion Dollar Brand Club

Host:

Jason Del Rey (@delrey), senior commerce editor, Recode

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

About Recode by Vox:

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

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Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

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Recode Decode: Carol Leonnig and Phil Rucker Feb 10, 2020

Show notes

Washington Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Phil Rucker talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about their new book, A Very Stable Genius: Donald J. Trump's Testing of America. In it, they draw from more than 200 interviews with Trump administration insiders to paint a picture of Washington in 2020, Trump's frequent lies, and how he retaliates against the people who dare to cross him. They discuss how they convinced sources to talk to them, why Trump is actually a genius from a certain point of view, and how his tweeting may have changed the presidency. Plus: What is it like working at the Washington Post now, in the aftermath of the controversial suspension of one of their colleagues, Felicia Sonmez?

Featuring:

Carole Leonnig (@CarolLeonnig), reporter, Washington Post

Phil Rucker (@PhilipRucker), White House Bureau Chief, Washington Post

Host:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

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: Mark Surman Feb 07, 2020

Show notes

Mozilla Foundation executive director Mark Surman talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about why the internet needs a "public option," how Mozilla's browser Firefox is positioning itself for the future, and the future of tech regulation. Surman also discusses how punk rock and small-town censorship shaped his worldview, and why being the number one browser isn't actually Firefox's main goal.

Featuring:

Mark Surman (@msurman), executive director, Mozilla Foundation

Host:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

About Recode by Vox:

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

Follow Us:

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Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

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Recode Decode: Anna Wiener Feb 05, 2020

Show notes

Anna Wiener, a contributing writer for the New Yorker and the author of the new book Uncanny Valley: A Memoir, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about why she left an old industry — book publishing — to work in tech, the "intoxicating" start to her new career, and how her views on tech culture changed over time. Wiener also discusses the problems that people in the industry won’t talk about; why she doesn't agree with reviews that paint her book as a polemic; and how Silicon Valley incorrectly came to see it as the victim. Plus: The insane baby-themed party Kara and Gavin Newsom attended, which was not a sex party.

Click here to read a full transcript of this interview.

Featuring:

Anna Wiener (@annawiener), author, Uncanny Valley: A Memoir

Host:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

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: Dave Eggers Feb 03, 2020

Show notes

Writer and McSweeney's founder Dave Eggers talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his latest novel, The Captain and the Glory, why he chose to write a satirical novel about the Trump era, and what he's learned from interviewing Trump supporters that most people on the left wouldn't expect. Eggers also discusses his writing nonprofit, 826 Valencia; why he has a flip phone rather than a smartphone; and what he thinks of his novel about a technology company, The Circle, in hindsight. Plus: Why Trump, not Obama, is the first social media president.

Featuring:

Dave Eggers, author, The Captain and the Glory

Host:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

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: Franklin Leonard Jan 31, 2020

Show notes

The Black List founder Franklin Leonard talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about how he accidentally created one of the most important lists in Hollywood and how he turned it into a real business for connecting screenwriters with producers. Leonard also talks about the statistics that show the benefits of reading scripts from diverse writers and the mostly-white 2020 Oscar nominations, about which he wrote a satirical op-ed for the Washington Post. Plus: Why he doesn't expect AI to replace human readers.

Click here to read a full transcript of this interview.

Featuring:

Franklin Leonard (@FranklinLeonard), founder, The Black List (@theblcklst)

Host:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

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: Ezra Klein Jan 29, 2020

Show notes

Vox.com co-founder Ezra Klein talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new book, Why We're Polarized, the rise of systemic "zero sum" party politics, and how Klein himself has been polarizing in the Trump era. Klein and Swisher also discuss the racial, religious, and urban/rural splits between Democrats and Republicans, the (good and bad) impact of social media on the public discourse, and the one thing regular people can do to combat polarization in their own lives. Plus: Why "Congress should stop being such a bunch of wimps."

Featuring:

Ezra Klein (@EzraKlein), host of The Ezra Klein Show and author, Why We're Polarized

Host:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

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: Annalee Newitz Jan 27, 2020

Show notes

Sci-fi novelist and science journalist Annalee Newitz talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about their new book, The Future of Another Timeline. Newitz, who was previously a founding editor of io9 and the editor in chief of Gizmodo, talks about their winding route to becoming a writer, by way of monster movies; how their first book Autonomous addresses AI, software patents, and the pharma industry; and how they worked out the mechanics and limitations of time travel and "editing" history for their latest book. Plus: How does technology affect our memory of history, and what will happen to all our digital communications once we're gone?

Featuring:

Annalee Newitz (@Annaleen), author, The Future of Another Timeline

Host:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

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: Numa Perrier and Tiffany Tenille Jan 24, 2020

Show notes

Numa Perrier and Tiffany Tenille, the director and star of the new Netflix film Jezebel, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about Perrier's real-life experience as an online sex worker in the 1990s and turning that into a movie. They also discuss how the rise of digital filmmaking has opened doors for directors of color like Perrier, how Tenille educated herself about life on the early internet, and how state and local regulators wrestled with the rise of digital peep shows. Plus: How the internet changed the relationship between sex workers and their clients, and what creators and Hollywood should do to encourage more diversity.

Featuring:

Numa Perrier (@missnuma), writer/director/costar, Jezebel

Tiffany Tenille (@Tiffany_Tenille), star, Jezebel

Host:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Reset, Recode's new podcast that explores why — and how — tech is changing everything.

About Recode by Vox:

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