Decoder with Nilay Patel

Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.

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Episodes

Verizon’s consumer chief: Net neutrality ‘went literally nowhere’

As CEO of Verizon's consumer division, Sowmyanarayan Sampath oversees the biggest part of the company, which does business with roughly a third of the entire country. He's a longtime Verge reader, so we talked very directly about whether the huge 5G investment had actually paid off, and whether – whether the “race” we were supposedly in with China was actually worth it, and what kinds of new apps and services actually come to light. And while Verizon fought tooth and nail against regulations lik...

Apr 21, 2025•1 hr 13 min

How Trump’s tariffs actually work on the ground

One of the ways I’ve been trying to sort out the chaos of tariffs and trade wars is by talking to the people behind the software that makes the global trade system go. So today I wanted to bring back one of my favorite Decoder guests: Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen, whose software manages the logistics of moving things around the world, from factory to doorstep. We didn’t get too much into the numbers — those tariff percentages keep changing — so instead Ryan and I really focused on how this system ...

Apr 17, 2025•1 hr 7 min

Are prediction markets gambling? Robinhood's Vlad Tenev is betting not

Today, I’m talking with Vlad Tenev, the co-founder and CEO of Robinhood, which started as a way to open up stock trading. But the company’s ambitions have grown over time – and they’re getting bigger. Just a day before Vlad and I talked, Robinhood announced it would soon be offering bank accounts and wealth management services, which would really allow Robinhood to be involved with your money at every possible level. So I was very interested to sit down with Vlad and really hash out where Robinh...

Apr 14, 2025•1 hr 19 min

Why DOGE is killing the agency that stops banks from ripping you off

Rohit Chopra was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau head until the end of January, when President Donald Trump fired him and Elon Musk’s DOGE began trying to dismantle the agency. The CFPB has been pretty popular since it was founded in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers, so shutting it down has kicked off a bunch of controversies — not least of which was whether Trump and Musk even had the power to do it. This all led me to ask several times who made the decision t...

Apr 10, 2025•52 min

UiPath CEO Daniel Dines on AI agents replacing our jobs

Today, I’m talking with Daniel Dines, the co-founder and once again the CEO of UiPath, a software company that specializes in something called robotic process automation. We’ve been featuring a lot of what I like to call full-circle Decoder guests on the show lately, and Daniel is a perfect example. He was first on the show in 2022, and UiPath has had a lot of changes since then, including a short stint with a different CEO. Daniel is now back at the helm, and the timing is important: the compan...

Apr 07, 2025•1 hr 11 min

What AI anime memes tell us about the future of art and humanity

Brian Merchant joins Nilay Patel to discuss the ongoing AI art debate, focusing on the controversy surrounding Studio Ghibli memes and the broader implications for art, artists, and copyright. They explore the economic pressures AI places on artists, the moral and ethical considerations of using AI art generators, and the tech industry's engagement with art. The conversation also covers potential solutions for supporting artists in the age of AI and the future of creative work.

Apr 03, 2025•1 hr

How Unity CEO Matt Bromberg stopped the ‘war’ against its customers

Unity is one of those hidden in plain sight companies we love here on Decoder, and CEO Matt Bromberg is in many ways the perfect Decoder guest. He's been on the job less than a year and took over in a moment of crisis. He describes the company as being "at war with its customers" before he joined, and he's not wrong. The game industry right now is also contracting overall — studios are closing, and some big bets on things like the metaverse and live service games haven’t paid off. So we talked a...

Mar 31, 2025•1 hr 14 min

Capitalism vs. the bird flu

Lauren Leffer discusses the complexities of the H5N1 bird flu outbreak, its spread among various animal populations, and the potential risks to humans. The conversation explores the failures and challenges of public health responses, the influence of political figures like RFK Jr., and the role of capitalism in addressing the crisis. Leffer offers practical advice for individuals to protect themselves and their pets, emphasizing the importance of monitoring data and avoiding raw animal products.

Mar 27, 2025•50 min

Splice CEO Kakul Srivastava on why push-button AI is “insulting” to musicians

Today, I’m talking with Kakul Srivastava, CEO of music creation platform Splice, which is one of the biggest marketplaces around for loops and samples. You can just go sign up, pay the money, and download these loops to try to make pop hits all day long. Take, for instance, Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso, which was composed almost entirely out of Splice loops. Now, if you’re a Decoder listener, you know that some of my favorite conversations are with people building technology products for creativ...

Mar 24, 2025•1 hr 11 min

The movement to take down Tesla

This episode of Decoder explores the Tesla Takedown protest movement and its potential impact on the company. Ed Niedermeyer joins Nilay Patel to discuss the disconnect between the myth and reality of Tesla, the vulnerabilities in its business model, and the reasons behind the protests. The conversation covers Tesla's leadership, product vision, and the challenges it faces in the evolving automotive landscape. Ultimately, the episode examines whether these protests can truly impact Tesla's stock and future.

Mar 20, 2025•51 min