Decoder with Nilay Patel

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Recode Decode: Ezra Klein and Kara Swisher on the future of journalism Dec 12, 2018

Show notes

Vox.com founder and editor-at-large Ezra Klein talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the press, social media and President Trump in this live interview recorded in San Francisco. In this episode: (03:22) Why Ezra moved to DC; (07:22) Klein’s background and the “incestuous” Twitter culture of political journalists; (11:38) Media culture in the Trump era; (13:15) How DC has changed and “docile” journalists; (21:55) Ezra’s thesis about tech, media and Trump; (27:06) Media manipulation and the speed of journalism; (36:47) Ezra and Kara’s podcasts and how they report stories; (43:20) Social media and the decline of scoops; (49:22) Hot takes and the overabundance of political opinions; (58:57) The process of the news vs. the product and the future of local news; (1:05:06) Young journalists “training up” from the statehouse; (1:08:43) Bias in media, false equivalency and letting Trump control the story; (1:12:22) How journalists decide newsworthiness; (1:16:33) The pressure to cover trashy stories; (1:19:21) What is the purpose of political journalists now?; (1:22:39) Why Kara doesn’t care what people think of her; (1:24:12) Donald Trump’s tweets and the future of politics; (1:29:54) Ezra’s favorite journalism business model Notes from our sponsors:LEGO: In today's show you heard advertising content from The LEGO Store. With LEGO, every gift has a story. Start your story today at https://LEGO.build/Recode-Pop

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Recode Decode: Why it's OK to be analog in a digital world Dec 10, 2018

Show notes

Framebridge CEO Susan Tynan talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about starting and running the online framing startup. In this episode: (00:56) Tynan's background at the White House and LivingSocial; (03:53) What happened to LivingSocial; (06:53) Why Tynan started Framebridge; (10:19) The fundraising process; (15:27) Running Framebridge; (21:49) The challenges of being a leader; (25:58) Being a startup now in the era of Big Tech; (27:28) Amazon; (31:18) The move towards analog; (34:10) The weirdest things Framebridge has framed; (36:32) Digital frames and Instagram; (39:10) Finding talent outside Silicon Valley; (42:08) How Framebridge uses robots; (43:40) Meet your new neighbors, Amazon; (46:08) Mistakes and triumphs

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Recode Decode: Should Mark Zuckerberg fire himself? Dec 08, 2018

Show notes

Sam Altman, the president of YCombinator and co-chairman of OpenAI, joins Recode's Kara Swisher for this live interview at Manny's in San Francisco, moderated by Manny Yekutiel. In this episode: (01:45) What did techies think was going to happen?; (06:35) Would the techlash have been the same if Hillary Clinton had won?; (10:31) Did tech develop too quickly?; (18:06) What would change if tech's leaders were more diverse?; (19:47) Why Swisher and Altman considered running for office; (25:38) What does fixing Facebook actually look like? (33:30) Where does the techlash go next?; (37:55) What can we do other than sit and wait?; (42:56) How to respond to accusations of sexual misconduct; (49:17) Race, cities and making tech companies more diverse; (55:38) Who owns your data?; (59:17) What happens when AI gets smarter than humans?; (1:04:12) Outrage and tech addiction; (1:12:39) Should investors expect less revenue from responsible tech companies?; (1:16:56) The crypto “scam” and privacy; (1:19:48) Final takeaways

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Recode Decode: NBC's Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell and Hallie Jackson (Live) Dec 05, 2018

Show notes

In this live interview recorded in Washington, D.C., Recode's Kara Swisher talks with three NBC and MSNBC journalists — Chuck Todd, Andrea Mitchell and Hallie Jackson — about social media, politics in the Trump era and how the media is changing. In this episode: (04:57) The impact of social media; (09:19) What mistakes did TV media make in 2016?; (15:19) How covering politics has changed in the Trump era; (27:48) What NBC News and MSNBC are doing differently now; (34:13) Covering the 2020 presidential election; (46:10) The responsibility of (social) media companies; (56:06) Who's running in 2020?; (1:05:38) What's good about tech?; (1:09:56) The battle between the White House and Jim Acosta; (1:12:21) Getting back to a set of shared facts; (1:15:40) Would "accelerating" Trump's rhetoric undermine him?; (1:19:15) Is social media good for democracy?

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Recode Decode: Facebook and Google are “the enemies of independent thought” Dec 03, 2018

Show notes

The Atlantic national correspondent Franklin Foer talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his book, "World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech," which recently came out in paperback. In this episode: (01:37) Foer's background at Slate and the New Republic; (06:12) Chris Hughes and Guy Vidra; (13:59) Resigning from the New Republic; (19:26) How Foer started thinking about tech monopolies; (23:06) Why is the book called "World Without Mind?"; (28:23) Why did it take so long for people to turn on tech?; (35:03) Solutions; (41:33) What happens next?; (50:00) Will Trump do anything to break up tech? Subscribe to Recode Media with Peter Kafka Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast | Pocket Casts Subscribe to Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast | Pocket Casts

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Recode Decode: Casey Newton and Louie Swisher Dec 01, 2018

Show notes

Recode's Kara Swisher talks with her older son, Louie Swisher, and the Silicon Valley editor of the Verge, Casey Newton. Thank you to all of our listeners for 300 episodes. Here's to 300 more! In this episode: (01:27) The mess at Facebook and blaming Sheryl Sandberg; (06:01) Why Louie is cutting back on Snapchat and why Instagram is a “museum”; (08:38) The return of the group chat and the future of Instagram; (16:42) New social networks and Vine 2.0; (21:52) TikTok, teens and Facebook’s Lasso; (25:04) The integrity of memes and Reddit; (28:29) Gab, Donald Trump and becoming desensitized to nastiness; (35:17) Twitter, Snap Maps and privacy; (42:18) What tech hardware do Louie and Casey rely on?; (47:52) “Spider-Man,” “Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey” and “Red Dead Redemption 2”; (51:21) The PS4 Pro and "Wii Sports Resort" (53:15) Kara reads quotes about death; (56:26) Predictions for 2019 in tech Subscribe to Recode Media with Peter Kafka Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast | Pocket Casts Subscribe to Pivot with Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Overcast | Pocket Casts Read The Interface by Casey Newton theverge.com/interface

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Recode Decode: Silicon Valley loves to break the rules. Is that a good thing? Nov 28, 2018

Show notes

University of Maryland professor and cultural psychologist Michele Gelfand talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our Minds." In this episode: (01:14) How Gelfand became a cultural psychologist; (03:12) Why some countries have more rules than others; (08:35) Are techies rule breakers?; (13:28) What changes as successful companies get bigger?; (18:38) Why didn't anyone think about the psychological impact of the internet?; (23:18) Is there really a "Goldilocks" solution to rule culture?; (28:39) Are we entering an era of rule making?; (32:03) Can people find common ground on the internet?; (34:46) What should tech leaders be thinking about?; (39:53) What they should do now

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Recode Decode: How disinformation poisoned a ‘Facebook nation’ Nov 26, 2018

Show notes

Rappler co-founder Maria Ressa talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about doing investigative journalism in the Philippines, where social media has emboldened an autocratic president. In this episode: (01:20) Ressa's background and the People Power Movement; (05:49) How she became a TV journalist on CNN and ABS-CBN; (10:35) Leaving ABS-CBN for the internet; (15:18) Starting Rappler; (25:54) "The Philippines is the cautionary tale for the United States"; (30:55) Bots and Facebook's non-response; (42:36) The lawsuits against Rappler; (48:37) What Ressa wants Facebook to do; (50:42) Why she's going back to the Philippines Notes from our sponsors:LEGO: In today's show you heard advertising content from The LEGO Store. With LEGO, every gift has a story. Start your story today at https://LEGO.build/Recode-Ship

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Recode Decode: Undocumented immigrants are people, not political props Nov 24, 2018

Show notes

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his book, "Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen," and how the shift the cultural conversation about immigration. In this episode: (01:34) Vargas' background and why he became a journalist; (06:54) How he became an undocumented immigrant; (16:38) Class differences and telling the truth; (22:19) Did Vargas have any other options?; (27:09) Legality, politics and power; (32:42) Coming out as undocumented; (38:16) Storytelling and humanizing immigrants; (42:53) How social media factors in; (45:58) How Vargas defines "citizen"; (50:01) What he will do next

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Recode Decode: After 20,000 workers walked out, Google said it got the message. The workers disagree. Nov 21, 2018

Show notes

Six of the organizers of the Nov. 1 Google walkouts — Erica Anderson, Claire Stapleton, Meredith Whittaker, Stephanie Parker, Cecelia O'Neil-Hart and Amr Gaber — talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about how the worldwide protests came together and why Google's response has been inadequate. In this episode: (02:20) How the protests started; (07:13) The divide between tech rhetoric and tech reality; (10:24) How the organizers formulated their demands; (14:05) The rights of contractors at Google; (22:04) Why Googlers were ready to walk out; (29:31) Google's response and the organizers' reactions; (42:13) The post-walkout town hall meeting; (46:50) The privileges of being a tech worker; (50:25) What needs to happen next; (1:02:41) Are the walkout organizers hopeful? Fan of the show? It helps to leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts.

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