Technology
**Innovation Files: Where Tech Meets Public Policy**

Explore the intersection of technology, innovation, and public policy with the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF), the world’s leading think tank for science and tech policy. Innovation Files serves up expert interviews, insights, and commentary on topics ranging from the broad economics of innovation to specific policy and regulatory questions about new technologies. Expect to hear some unconventional wisdom.

Latest Episodes:

Creative Discussion: A New Antitrust Podcast From ITIF Jan 20, 2026

Show notes

Join Joseph Coniglio, Director of Antitrust and Innovation at The Schumpeter Project, ITIF, as he inaugurates Creative Discussion: An Antitrust Podcast. In this first episode, Coniglio engages in an in-depth discussion with Herb Hovenkamp, James G. Dinan Professor at the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Dubbed the 'Dean of Antitrust' by the New York Times, Hovenkamp shares his career journey, insights on his influential Areeda-Hovenkamp treatise, and perspectives on significant antitrust issues.

The Case for Smarter AI Regulation, With Matt Perault Jul 07, 2025

Show notes

Regulating how AI is used—not how it's built—is the only way to protect innovation and give small startups a fair shot. Rob and Jackie sit down with Matt Perault, Head of Artificial Intelligence Policy at Andreessen Horowitz, to discuss the significant burden regulatory frameworks can place on smaller tech companies and the critical role of government in AI regulation.

Mentioned

Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson, Abundance, (Simon and Schuster, March 2025).
Robert D. Atkinson and Meghan Ostertag, “Congress Should Fully Fund NSF’s TIP Directorate to Make America More Competitive Versus China,” (ITIF, June 2025).
Robert D. Atkinson, “2025 Bromley Memorial Lecture: US Science Policy at a Crossroads,” (ITIF, March 2025).

Matt Perault, “A Policy Blueprint for US Investment in AI Talent and Infrastructure,” (Andreessen Horowitz, Marc 2025).

mRNA and the Future of Personalized Medicine, With Andrew Geall and Deborah Barbara Jun 23, 2025

Show notes

Continued innovation and investment is vital to maintaining the U.S.'s leadership in the biopharma sector. Rob and Jackie sit down with Andrew Geall, Chief Development Officer at Replicate Bioscience, and Deborah Barbara, strategic advisor to Primrose Bio, to discuss the development and potential of mRNA as the fourth pillar of pharmaceutical innovation.

Mentioned

Sandra Barbosu, “Harnessing AI to Accelerate Innovation in the Biopharmaceutical Industry,” (ITIF, November 2024)
Richard Fleischer, dir. Fantastic Voyage, (20th Century-Fox, 1966).

Stephen Ezell and Meghan Ostertag, “The Bayh-Dole Act’s Role in Stimulating University-Led Regional Economic Growth,” (ITIF, June 2025)

Decoding the Techno-Economic Power Struggle, With Alex Capri May 12, 2025

Show notes

There is a clear linkage between technology and national security, economic strength and social stability. Rob and Jackie sit down with Alex Capri, author of Techno-Nationalism: How It's Reshaping Trade, Geopolitics and Society to discuss how nations leverage technological innovation for national security and stability and how that applies to evolving United States-China competition.

Mentioned

Alex Capri, Techno-Nationalism: How It's Reshaping Trade, Geopolitics and Society, (Wiley, December 2024).
Orville Schell and John Delury, Wealth and Power: China's Long March to the Twenty-first Century, (Random House, July 2013).
Robert D. Atkinson, “Liberation Day: Explaining Trump’s Tariffs,” (ITIF, April 2025)

New Podcast: The Trade War With Stan McCoy Feb 24, 2025

Show notes

In the inaugural episode of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation's Trade War Podcast, host Stan McCoy discusses recent developments and challenges in global trade policy with Ambassador Susan C. Schwab and Rob Atkinson. The conversation covers the latest U.S. tariffs on steel and aluminum, the implications of President Trump's protectionist stance, and the strategic importance of recognizing China as the main adversary.
Subscribe and rate The Trade War Podcast: YouTube | Apple | Spotify | Buzzsprout Home

The United States Needs a Robust Industrial Policy, With Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher Dec 16, 2024

Show notes

What is the correct economic strategy for a nation? Rob and Jackie sat down with Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher, authors of Industrial Policy for the United States, to discuss how industrial policy, done right, will develop the kind of economy the United States wants.

Mentioned

Marc Fasteau and Ian Fletcher, Industrial Policy for the United States, (Cambridge University Press, November 2024).
Ian Fletcher, Free Trade Doesn't Work: What Should Replace It and Why, (Coalition for a Prosperous America, February 2011).
“Are You a “Marketist” or a “Producerist” on Economic Policy?,” (ITIF, December 2024).

Leveraging Data to Improve Communities, With Rochelle Haynes Oct 07, 2024

Show notes

Data-informed and evidence-based decision making can drive optimum outcomes in local governments. Rob and Jackie sat down with Rochelle Haynes, managing director of What Works Cities, to discuss how technology and innovation are being used in cities to equitably deliver services and solve problems.

Rochelle Haynes, “How Cities Can Harness the Power of AI in 2024,” (What Works Cities, 2024)
Ash Johnson. “Balancing Privacy and Innovation in Smart Cities and Communities,” (ITIF, 2023).

Europe Needs to Focus on Solving Its 30-Year Innovation Problem, With David Evans Sep 09, 2024

Show notes

Europe has been enormously unsuccessful in creating substantial digital businesses for over three decades. Rob and Jackie sat down with David Evans, chairman of Market Platform Dynamics, to discuss why it’s imperative that Europe ends this ‘digital winter’.

Mentioned

David S. Evans, “Why Europe Must End Its 30-Year Digital Winter to Ensure Its Long-Run Future,” (SSRN, April 2024).
Robert D. Atkinson and David Moschella. Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths about Privacy, Jobs, AI, and Today’s Innovation Economy, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2024).

General-Purpose Technologies and the Rise of Great Nations, With Jeffrey Ding Aug 05, 2024

Show notes

It’s easy to get excited about new breakthroughs, but the real power lies in diffusing technological advances throughout the entire economy. Rob and Jackie sat down with Jeffrey Ding, Assistant Professor of Political Science at George Washington University, to discuss how technological revolutions influence competition and the implications for the United States and China.

Mentioned

Jeffrey Ding. Technology and the Rise of Great Powers: How Diffusion Shapes Economic Competition, (Princeton University Press, 2024).
Robert D. Atkinson. The Past and Future of America’s Economy: Long Waves of Innovation that Power Cycles of Growth, (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005).
Victor Appleton. Tom Swift Sr. Series, (Stratemeyer Syndicate, published between 1910 and 1941).

Information Technology Is Increasingly Critical and Increasingly Demonized, With Daniel Castro Jul 01, 2024

Show notes

Over the last several years, public opinion on technology and the use of data has shifted from excitement to skepticism to fear. Rob and Jackie sat down with Daniel Castro, Vice President of ITIF and Director of the Center for Data Innovation, to discuss the negative effect of techlash on human outcomes.