Decoder with Nilay Patel

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Recode Decode: The Google walkout organizers, one year later Nov 04, 2019

Show notes

In this special episode of Recode Decode, Kara Swisher checks in with some of the organizers of the Google walkout, who came on her show in November 2018 after leading a 20,000-worker protest. Later in the show, Kara's executive producer Erica Anderson (herself one of the organizers who has since left Google) talks with some of the people who were inspired by the 2018 walkouts to continue fighting for the workers of Google and other tech companies.

Featuring:

Stephanie Parker (@sparker2), policy specialist at Google and co-organizer of 2018 Google walkout

Meredith Whittaker (@mer__edith), co-director of AI Now Institute and co-organizer of 2018 Google walkout

Claire Stapleton, co-organizer of 2018 Google walkout

Nicole Moore, part-time Lyft driver and organizing committee member of Rideshare Drivers United

Ben Gwin, contractor at HCL working on Google Shopping, union leader

Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary), Recode reporter

Hosts:

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

Erica Anderson (@EricaAmerica), executive producer of Recode Decode and co-organizer of 2018 Google walkout

More to explore:

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

If you haven't already, make sure to listen to Kara's original podcast with the walkout organizers from November 2018.

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Recode Decode: Edward Snowden Nov 01, 2019

Show notes

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about why he leaked highly classified information in 2013, why that doesn't make him a "traitor," and his new book, Permanent Record. Snowden also talks about how his youthful love of the US government and the early internet turned into skepticism; how his life has changed since going to Moscow; and why he believes Facebook is as untrustworthy as the NSA. Plus: Why people who say they have "nothing to hide" are missing the point about invasions of privacy.

Featuring:

Edward Snowden (@Snowden), author of Permanent Record and president of Freedom of the Press Foundation (@FreedomofPress)

Hosts:

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.

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Recode Decode: Ben Horowitz Oct 30, 2019

Show notes

Andreessen Horowitz co-founder Ben Horowitz talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the state of venture capital, diversity in tech, and his new book, What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture. Horowitz also discusses the impact of SoftBank's $100 billion Vision Fund on Silicon Valley, why he wouldn't invest in a social or mobile startup today, and what former CEO Travis Kalanick got right — and very wrong — with Uber’s culture. Plus: Why "break" was the exact right word for Facebook to use in its "move fast and break things" era.

Featuring:

Ben Horowitz (@bhorowitz), co-founder of Andreessen Horowitz (@a16z) and author of What You Do Is Who You Are: How to Create Your Business Culture.

Hosts:

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.

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Twitter: @Recode and @voxdotcom

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Recode Decode: Bill Kristol Oct 28, 2019

Show notes

Conservative analyst Bill Kristol talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the impeachment effort against President Trump, how politics has entered a "crisis of truth" in the era of Fox News and social media, and the steps that should be taken pre-emptively to ensure that the 2020 elections are free and fair. Kristol also predicts that Trump could be "impeached by Thanksgiving," and explains why he doesn't think "Trumpism" goes away even if its namesake does, outlining one scenario for future elections that would be even worse for American political stability than today's circumstances. Plus: Why we should be talking more about China's technological prowess and why Kristol would "prefer if the Republican Party could be saved, but I'm not sure it can be."

Featuring:

Bill Kristol (@billkristol), director of Defending Democracy Together and host of Conversations with Bill Kristol

Hosts:

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.

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

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Recode Decode: Gary Cohn Oct 25, 2019

Show notes

Gary Cohn, the former Director of the National Economic Council and former chief economic adviser to President Trump, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about what he's done since leaving the Trump administration, including a "significant" investment and advisory position he's taken up in a mobile security company called Hoyos Integrity. Cohn explains how Hoyos is developing a more secure phone for people who deal in confidential information, such as government workers; how it's trying to advance digital wallets as an alternative to credit cards in the US; and the political backlash to Facebook's Libra cryptocurrency. Cohn, who's also the former president and chief operating officer of Goldman Sachs, also talks about the powerful tech companies that went public during his tenure there, how private investors are over-valuing companies like WeWork before they are profitable, and why he doesn't think a recession is coming. Plus: How he feels about the way his former boss Trump uses Twitter.

Featuring:

Gary Cohn, investor and adviser to Hoyos Integrity (@HOYOSINTEGRITY)

Hosts:

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: Politics and tech onstage Oct 23, 2019

Show notes

Recode's Kara Swisher talks to the creators of two new plays that intersect with tech issues: Heidi Schreck, the former star and playwright of What the Constitution Means to Me, and the writer and director of Right to Be Forgotten — Sharyn Rothstein and Seema Sueko. Schreck took the name of her play from a series of debate competitions she competed in as a teenager, but has developed a more complicated appreciation for the Constitution as an adult, and discusses how its flaws connect to her own life story. Later in the show, Rothstein and Sueko talk about the thorny political question of how permanent our communications online should be, and whether people have a "right to be forgiven" for past misdeeds.

Featuring:

Heidi Schreck (@heidibschreck), writer and former actor, What the Constitution Means to Me

Sharyn Rothstein, writer, Right to Be Forgotten

Seema Sueko (@Seemasue), director, Right to Be Forgotten

Hosts:

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: Ronan Farrow Oct 21, 2019

Show notes

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Ronan Farrow talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about his new book, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators, which details the extreme lengths men like Harvey Weinstein have gone to escape accountability for sexual abuse. He discusses why other journalists before him couldn’t nail the Weinstein story, and how the powerful Hollywood producer tapped into a network of shady allies in his attempt to suppress it — including some of Farrow's former bosses at NBC News. He also talks about how the public and the press mistreated women like Rose McGowan, his recent story about the MIT-Jeffrey Epstein cover-up, and why the book is ultimately optimistic about the future. Plus: Will Catch and Kill be a movie?

Featuring:

Ronan Farrow, author, Catch and Kill: Lies, Spies, and a Conspiracy to Protect Predators

Hosts:

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.

Listen to Kara's last interview with Farrow (about his previous book, War on Peace), former MIT Media Lab director Joi Ito (recorded before Farrow's New Yorker story that led to Ito's resignation), and She Said authors Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.

About Recode by Vox:

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Recode Decode: Ken Burns Oct 18, 2019

Show notes

Filmmaker Ken Burns talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his latest documentary series "Country Music," in which he explores the history of the genre, its place in the larger American musical landscape, and the powerful universality of "three chords and the truth." Burns says that unlike rock and jazz, country music is largely a story about powerful women, and also unpacks the ways in which it reflects the intermingling ethnic diversity of the US. He also discusses his online video destination Unum, which lets people curate "mixtapes" of history by drawing connections among Burns' 38 years of docuumentaries, and why he's glad he wasn't one of the first people to make the leap to digital filmmaking. Plus: Burns previews the next seven films he's working on, including the American Revolution, the Great Society, and the Buffalo.

Featuring:

Ken Burns, director and producer, Country Music, and founder of Unum

Hosts:

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: The inside story of the Cambridge Analytica scandal Oct 16, 2019

Show notes

Cambridge Analytica’s former business development director Brittany Kaiser talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about her new book TARGETED: The Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower's Inside Story of How Big Data, Trump, and Facebook Broke Democracy and How It Can Happen Again. Kaiser talks about how she first observed the dangers of social media while working on Barack Obama's 2008 campaign, why she mistakenly believed Cambridge Analytica was using technology as a force for good, and what happened when she decided to turn on the company and testify about its abuses in the UK Parliament. She also deconstructs Facebook's excuses for the scandal and its slow response, and predicts that 2020 could be "exponentially worse" than 2016 for election interference.

Featuring:

Brittany Kaiser, author of TARGETED: The Cambridge Analytica Whistleblower's Inside Story of How Big Data, Trump, and Facebook Broke Democracy and How It Can Happen Again.

Hosts:

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

More to explore:

Listen to Kara's interview with the creators of The Great Hack, a Netflix documentary about Cambridge Analytica, including former COO Julian Wheatland.

Read Vox's Alissa Wilkinson's review of The Great Hack.

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: Rosetta Stone President Matt Hulett Oct 14, 2019

Show notes

Matt Hulett, the president of education company Rosetta Stone, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about the company’s pivot away from language-learning CDs and into a more advanced and “approachable” mobile app. He also talks about his “promiscuous” background in the tech industry; Rosetta Stone’s literacy catch-up program for children, Lexia Learning; and the bigger picture of how language education is changing around the world. Plus: What’s the best way to make learning stick, and will Elon Musk’s Neuralink or some other moonshot technical development make learning languages unnecessary?

Featuring:

Matt Hulett, president of Rosetta Stone (@matt_hulett / @RosettaStone)

Hosts:

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

More to explore:

Subscribe for free to Pivot, Kara’s podcast with NYU Professor Scott Galloway that offer sharp, unfiltered insights into the biggest stories in tech, business, and politics.

About Recode by Vox:

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

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