The Periphery

Latest Episodes:

Big Tech in Hindsight (with Obama Administration FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz) Mar 14, 2023

Show notes

Jon Leibowitz was at the FTC when Big Tech became... well... big, where he saw the landscape of mergers and acquisitions that have resulted in the monopolies we know oh so well today. Join the Periphery as we sit down with former FTC Chair Jon Leibowitz to discuss Big Tech then (at the industry's inception) and now, the Neo-Brandeisian movement attempting to revitalize antitrust, and more!

Executive Producers: Adam Shankman, Afi Blackshear, and August Gweon

Leave us a review, comment, or an e-mail (theperipherypodcast@gmail.com), and come back next week for more!

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Let's Talk About Tipping (with Duncan Harrison, Sommelier and Manager of Bar Zola) Mar 07, 2023

Show notes

Tipping has received a relatively high level of scrutiny over the last year or so. This week, Jess, Adam, and Marcus (new member!!) invite our favorite Bar Manager and Sommelier to talk about how complicated creating a fair restaurant business can be. Duncan also makes the first public announcement of the forthcoming bar opening where Palo Alto staple Old Pro used to be. Check it out!

As always, leave us a review, a rating, and send us an e-mail with your thoughts at theperipherypodcast@gmail.com. See you next week!

Executive Producers: Mercer Weis and Annie Reller

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Online Platforms and the First Amendment (with Jameel Jaffer, Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University) Feb 28, 2023

Show notes

Last week was the so-called "Internet Super Bowl" because the Supreme Court heard two cases that could change the internet as we know it. This week, The Periphery releases an episode from the vault that provides context for cases currently. Join our conversation from November where we talk to Professor Jameel Jaffer, Director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, about why it is so hard to get the internet right. We also talk about how our private lives may have died after 9/11.

Leave us a review, comment, or an e-mail (theperipherypodcast@gmail.com), and come back next week for more!

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Grandma Baby's Story (1932-2022) Feb 21, 2023

Show notes

This week, the Periphery releases a conversation recorded in 2018 between Afi and his great grandmother Baby (Maggie Pittman, 1932-2022). At just 4'9, Grandma Baby was an elite cotton-picker (best in the family), an ardent student (she integrated her schools), an early-stage technologist (i.e., career secretary), a homeowner, a fighter, and an inspiration to multiple generations of her Black community. It is our pleasure to share a part of her story in honor of Black History Month.

Leave us a review, comment, and subscribe! And we love feedback, so don't be afraid to shoot us an e-mail at: theperipherypodcast@gmail.com. See you next week!

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On the Periphery: Dating Apps Feb 14, 2023

Show notes

This week, the Periphery discusses dating apps with members of the periphery.

Executive Producers: Jessica Seamands, Ava Acevedo, Afi Blackshear

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The (Growing?) Power of Cities: Climate Edition Feb 07, 2023

Show notes

This week, The Periphery discusses the power of cities and the opportunity for them to fill the power vacuum that the Supreme Court has apparently created in its recent decision West Virginia v. The Environmental Protection Agency. We also speak with Tyler Zorn, a current Columbia graduate student with experience working in the environmental space at the local level in New York City. Thanks for joining the conversation!

0:00 - 10:12: Afi's San Diego City Council experience, how cities and climates interact, and new rulings from the Supreme Court

10:12 - 25:18: Tyler Zorn conversation

25:18 - close: debriefs, takeaways, and Adam (startup) v. Afi (government) disputes

Leave us an honest review, subscribe, and send us any ideas or feedback that you'd like to share at theperipherypodcast@gmail.com.

CREDITS:

Executive Producer: Afi Blackshear and Mercer Weis

Music: Finlay Mowat

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Reintroducing the Periphery Jan 27, 2023

Show notes

The Periphery used to have a tech focus, and we described ourselves as society and culture podcast disguised in tech.

But…here’s the thing. As we wrapped on season 2 and started brainstorming this season, we found ourselves feeling a bit boxed in. There are a lot of interesting peripheral conversations that are sometimes made less interesting, at least to us, when we’re restricted to discussing them through the lens of tech. So while the disruptive and powerful technologies that are transforming our society will always be an important element of this podcast, we are adopting a more sociological approach to understanding what technology means and its connections to culture and power. But do not fret. Our focus will always be geared toward bridging the two sides of the periphery: those empowered at the frontier and those on the margins that are left out.

See you Tuesday, February 7th!

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Silicon Valley: Then & Now (with Former New York Times Journalist John Markoff) Aug 30, 2022

Show notes

This week, The Periphery talks to former New York Times technology journalist John Markoff. Join us as we discuss Silicon Valley back when he grew up and began his career covering technology, and how that history has led to the current moment. This includes discussion on the blockchain (which Markoff first covered in 1992), artificial intelligence, demography, and automation.

Leave us an honest review, subscribe, and send us any ideas or feedback that you'd like to share at theperipherypodcast@gmail.com. And be sure to become a Conversationalist on our Patreon if you are eager to support our efforts to diversify tech.

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Radical Dreams: The Promise of Civic Tech and the Power of Memes (with Stephen Caines, Deputy Innovation Officer at San Jose MOTI) May 17, 2022

Show notes

This week, The Periphery talks to Stephen Caines, the Deputy Chief Innovation Officer at the San Jose Mayor's Office of Technology and Innovation (MOTI), about the potential of civic technology and the role of city governments in unlocking it, Stephen's path from law school to municipal government in the heart of Silicon Valley, and the strange and disturbing dynamics of radicalization online.

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Artificial Intelligence and the California Dream (with Ella Lucas, Engineering Team Lead at involve.ai) May 10, 2022

Show notes

This week, The Periphery talks to Ella Lucas, the Engineering Team Lead at involve.ai. We discuss artificial intelligence, its future, and the principles that can guide our relationship with the transformative technology. We also talk about the California Dream and whether it still exists as its sold.

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