Decoder with Nilay Patel

Latest Episodes:

Recode Decode: Psychologist Adam Grant Jun 30, 2018

Show notes

Psychologist Adam Grant, the author of “Originals” and “Give and Take” and co-author with Sheryl Sandberg of “Option B,” talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how to work smarter and more successfully with your colleagues. Grant says companies that think they have unique corporate cultures are generally wrong: Everyone wants safety, fairness, respect and control. He also explains how hiring for “culture fit” can hurt companies in the long run, why he hates the phrase “don’t bring me problems, bring me solutions” and why the best _and_ worst performers on a team are people he’d call “givers.”

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Recode Decode: How Nat Geo uses Instagram to stay relevant Jun 27, 2018

Show notes

National Geographic executives Courteney Monroe, Rachel Webber and Susan Goldberg talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about how the 130-year-old media company is staying relevant in the digital age. Monroe oversees its global network of TV channels, Webber leads the digital team and Goldberg edits the magazine, but they say all their teams work together on big stories from Day One, figuring out how to make them "work" across all different media. The most important digital channel for Nat Geo is Instagram, where its nearly 89 million followers make it the largest non-celebrity account; Webber talks about why it's been so successful there and how it's working to make sure that female photographers get represented more fairly in its posts. The trio also talk about the bigger challenges of media competition in 2018 and how unusual it is that eight of their company's top 11 executives are female.

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Recode Decode: How Silicon Valley is responding to the immigration crisis Jun 25, 2018

Show notes

Charlotte and Dave Willner, creators of the hugely successful Facebook fundraising campaign called “Reunite an immigrant parent with their child,” talk with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how they raised more than $20 million in one week for RAICES, a legal services nonprofit in Texas. Although the Willners originally set out to raise only $1,500, they say RAICES can and will use all the money it can get as it grapples with the Trump administration’s “zero tolerance” policy that separated immigrant children from their parents. Later in the show, Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky (who is Dave Willner’s boss) joins Swisher in studio to talk about the factors that tech executives must weigh if they want to be involved in political issues. Chesky first took a stand after the Muslim travel ban in early 2017, but speaking out about the immigration crisis was easier because, “I’m already on the wrong side of the White House.”

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Recode Decode: Microsoft President Brad Smith (Live at Code 2018) Jun 23, 2018

Show notes

Brad Smith, the president of Microsoft, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher at the 2018 Code Conference. Smith reflects on what Microsoft learned from losing the U.S. Justice Department’s antitrust lawsuit in 2001, which broke the company up. He explains what tech companies that are in the crosshairs today should be thinking about their responsibility to the public. He also talks about how Microsoft has become politically active in the Trump era, particularly around immigration. He predicts a “tough summer” ahead if no compromise can be reached on the Obama-era immigration policy DACA. Plus: How Microsoft thinks about artificial intelligence, the Facebook hearings and diversity.

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Recode Decode: Tom Peters, management expert and author of ‘The Excellence Dividend’ Jun 20, 2018

Show notes

Author and management expert Tom Peters talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about his new book, “The Excellence Dividend: Meeting the Tech Tide with Work That Wows and Jobs That Last.” Peters says artificial intelligence may have profound effects on the workforce, but workers who commit themselves to daily reeducation will “flourish” amid the turbulence. He also argues that Silicon Valley has become a “moral cesspool,” as leaders like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg dodge tough questions and shirk responsibility when their platforms are misused. Plus: Why companies with mixed-gender boards “wildly outperform” their competitors.

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Recode Decode: Michael Barbaro, host of the New York Times podcast The Daily (Live) Jun 18, 2018

Show notes

Michael Barbaro, who hosts the hit podcast The Daily for the New York Times, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher in front of a live audience at the 92nd Street Y in New York City. Barbaro explains why he fell in love with newspapers at a young age, how he got into journalism and how he transitioned from being a political reporter to a self-described audio "geek." He discusses what happens behind the scenes every day at the show and why, in the edited interviews, he sometimes can be heard taking long ... pauses. Plus: How The Daily staff decides what goes on the air, why Barbaro doesn't read the ads on his show and why he's not interested in talking about Donald Trump's tweets on the podcast.

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Recode Decode: Stitch Fix CEO Katrina Lake (Live at Code 2018) Jun 16, 2018

Show notes

Katrina Lake, the CEO of apparel delivery company Stitch Fix, talks with Recode’s Jason Del Rey at the 2018 Code Conference. Lake explains why Stitch Fix went public in 2017 even though it was healthy and profitable and what she has learned from the experience, as well as how much the company differentiates itself from commerce behemoth Amazon. Plus: Why Stitch Fix is introducing an annual “styling pass” rather than charging a $20 fee with every box of clothes it sends to its customers.

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Recode Decode: Linda McMahon, U.S. Small Business Administrator (Live at Code 2018) Jun 13, 2018

Show notes

Linda McMahon, the former pro wrestling executive who now leads the Trump administration’s Small Business Administration, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher at the 2018 Code Conference. McMahon explains how the nonpartisan SBA is reckoning with today’s charged and divisive politics, arguing that policy successes will heal those wounds. She also talks about how her administration is working to help small businesses thrive in an era of tech disruption and what responsibility the tech companies have to invest around the country. Plus: What the largely liberal Silicon Valley doesn’t understand about President Trump.

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Recode Decode: U.S. Senator Mark Warner (Live at Code 2018) Jun 11, 2018

Show notes

Mark Warner, the senior United States Senator from Virginia, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka at the 2018 Code Conference. Warner talks about the competing Senate and House reports on Russia’s use of tech platforms to meddle in the 2016 U.S. election. He also talks about the broader challenge of cybersecurity for policymakers, what has to be done to secure the 2018 midterms and what would prompt his fellow Democrats in Congress to impeach President Trump. Plus: Does cybersecurity need to be publicly funded like the military? And should American tech companies be regulated more?

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Recode Decode: How tech can fix its diversity problem: The Code 2018 panel Jun 09, 2018

Show notes

Recode’s Kara Swisher talks with three tech leaders about actual solutions for advancing diversity in the industry. Cowboy Ventures partner Aileen Lee, theBoardlist founder Sukhinder Singh Cassidy and former U.S. Chief Technology Officer Megan Smith talk about the factors that have historically held back women, people of color and other under-represented groups in tech, and what comes next after the reckoning of the #MeToo movement. The group debates how men can best help their female peers succeed and how companies can avoid falling into the trap of thinking that the solution is just to keep men and women apart.

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