Mike Volpi and Danny Rimer, the co-founders of the San Francisco office of Index Ventures, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher. In this episode: Volpi and Rimer's backgrounds and the early days of the internet; applying a global perspective to venture capital; being a smaller firm when capital is abundant; why the rise of other regions does not mean Silicon Valley is "over"; open-source culture in Europe; Latin America, Israel, and China; scooters, autonomous driving, and the future of urban mobilit...
Aug 19, 2019•55 min•Ep. 408
US Congressman Ro Khanna, who represents California's 17th district, joins Recode's Kara Swisher live onstage at Manny's in San Francisco to talk about the state of tech policy and the next elections. In this episode: Khanna's internet bill of rights; will we ever have a national privacy bill?; the problem with "break them up"; the FTC’s Facebook fine; President Trump's racist attacks on the “squad” and Democrats’ reactions; the current mood in Washington; is Silicon Valley "over?”; Trump’s cont...
Aug 16, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 407
Scott Kupor, the managing partner of Andreessen Horowitz, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher and Teddy Schleifer about his new book, Secrets of Sand Hill Road: Venture Capital and How to Get It. In this episode: How Kupor became a venture capitalist; his role at Andreessen Horowitz; what makes AH different from other venture firms; how other firms have copied it; why Kupor wrote his book; the “secrets” of how VCs think; stories that founders tell employees and investors; working with limited partn...
Aug 14, 2019•1 hr 7 min•Ep. 406
Inspired by the trendiness of intermittent fasting in the tech community, Kara Swisher's executive producer, Erica Anderson, talks with three eating habit experts — a biohacker, an academic, and an eating disorder specialist. In this episode: HVMN CEO Geoff Woo on the culture of body optimization, the mainstreaming of biohacking, and how humans are "approaching God"; aging and nutrition expert Dr. Valter Longo on the origins of biohacking, the science behind intermittent fasting, and the problem...
Aug 12, 2019•56 min•Ep. 405
Larry Diamond, a professor at Stanford University and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new book, Ill Winds: Saving Democracy from Russian Rage, Chinese Ambition, and American Complacency. In this episode: Diamond’s background studying the development and failure of democracies; authoritarian regimes and the internet; why the book is called “Ill Winds”; the right-wing populist backlash across Europe; the deeper frustrations underneath anti-immigr...
Aug 07, 2019•57 min•Ep. 404
Lauren Underwood, the US Congresswoman who represents Illinois' 14th district, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher in this live interview recorded on July 29, 2019 at Manny's in San Francisco. In this episode: Underwood’s background in healthcare and the Obama administration; why she decided to run for Congress at age 30; gerrymandering in Illinois; how Underwood won the Democratic primary; why she beat the incumbent Tea Party Republican, Randy Hultgren; "Pat, Barb, Sue and Marge"; being a congress...
Aug 05, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 403
Pearson CEO John Fallon talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about why the company is pivoting from print to digital textbooks. In this episode: Fallon’s background; the publishing industry’s slow-motion embrace of the internet; “the $300 textbook is dead”; how Pearson will make money from a cheaper digital textbook; competing with well-funded education startups; how Pearson’s Aida will grade calculus problems and, one day, essays; why teachers won’t be made obsolete; how the school of the future wi...
Aug 02, 2019•54 min•Ep. 402
In this live interview, Recode's Kara Swisher talks with former Cambridge Analytica COO Julian Wheatland, early Facebook investor Roger McNamee, and the director and writer of the new Netflix documentary The Great Hack — Karim Amer and Pedro Kos. Then, later in the show, Recode’s Jason Del Rey explores the origins of Amazon Prime, why it’s so effective at keeping us locked into their ecosystem, and how it became the source of the company’s power. In this episode: How Wheatland looks back on the ...
Jul 31, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep. 401
On the 400th episode of Recode Decode, Megan Rapinoe, the co-captain of the US Women's National Soccer Team, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher. This live conversation was recorded at the Mobile Marketing Association CEO & CMO Summit in Sonoma, CA. In this episode: Where Rapinoe's confidence comes from; her famous “victory” pose; the marginalization of women’s soccer; her favorite moments from the 2019 Women’s World Cup; how she focuses on the game; did Trump actually help her?; the fight for equa...
Jul 29, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 400
Reddit CEO Steve Huffman talks with Recode's Kara Swisher in this live interview recorded at Manny's in San Francisco. Huffman co-founded the company in 2005, left it in 2009, and returned in 2015 after the resignation of Reddit's previous CEO, Ellen Pao. In this episode: How Huffman thinks about Reddit today; how the site almost died; how it started and its early experience with backlash; tech leaders that don’t want to make content moderation decisions; why /r/The_Donald was quarantined and ho...
Jul 26, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 399
Stitch Fix founder and CEO Katrina Lake talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the future of fashion, how the company has changed in the past nine years, and the rarity of female tech CEOs. In this episode: Lake’s background and taking Stitch Fix public; the difficulties of raising venture capital for a fashion startup; the "myth" of staying private forever; is Stitch Fix a “tech company?”; its expansion into new verticals, including men’s fashion; the broader online fashion landscape; how Stitc...
Jul 24, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 398
Congressman Adam Schiff, who represents California’s 28th district and chairs the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the 2020 election, the Russia investigation, and more. In this episode: Schiff’s letters putting Facebook, Google and Twitter “on notice” for deepfakes in the 2020 campaign; the lack of tech regulation to date; Edward Snowden and the encryption fight; how things have changed since the Democrats gained a majority in the House of Representatives; pa...
Jul 22, 2019•57 min•Ep. 397
Entrepreneur and Venture for America founder Andrew Yang talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his campaign to be the Democratic nominee in the 2020 presidential race. In this episode: Being "the tech candidate" during the techlash; the the #YangGang; his version of universal basic income, the Freedom Dividend; the challenges of UBI and how to convince people that it's a good idea; job automation and the “robot apocalypse”; why the unemployment rate isn't as low as you think; what will future j...
Jul 19, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 396
Michael Bennet, the senior U.S. Senator from Colorado, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the intersection of social media and politics, and running for president in 2020. In this episode: Denver schools and the racial education gap; Bennet’s assessment of his past 10 years in the Senate; why people voted for Trump; the changes in Washington; why Frederick Douglass (and you) are founders of America; why Bennet believes he can win; politicians who over-index on Twitter and the "downward spira...
Jul 17, 2019•52 min•Ep. 395
Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind., talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his campaign for president of the United States. In this episode: Systemic racism and Buttigieg's "Douglass Plan"; mobilizing black women voters; how to appeal to Trump supporters who wanted to "burn the house down"; reforming the Supreme Court; the “mystical fascination” with the Rust Belt; climate change and rural America; why Buttigieg hasn’t attacked tech as much as some of his opponents; should Americans h...
Jul 15, 2019•50 min•Ep. 394
Harley-Davidson president and CEO Matthew Levatich talks with Recode's Kara Swisher live onstage at the 2019 Code Conference. In this episode: The impact of tariffs on Harley-Davidson’s global business; Trump's tweets attacking the company; managing a well-known brand during a trade war; is it possible to manufacture everything in the US?; the expertise required to make things domestically; Harley Davidson’s new electric bikes; the merits of a silent bike; the scooter market; omni-channel sales;...
Jul 12, 2019•41 min•Ep. 393
Writer Taffy Brodesser-Akner talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her popular profiles of celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow and her new novel, "Fleishman Is in Trouble." In this episode: Why Brodesser-Akner started writing profiles; how she got to the New York Times; working with editors and fact-checkers; Gwyneth Paltrow and Goop; Paltrow’s “radical” personality; her story about the transformation of Weight Watchers and contemporary fatness; how Brodesser-Akner chooses the topics of her sto...
Jul 10, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 392
Carole Cadwalladr, a reporter for the Guardian and Observer, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her investigations into the Cambridge Analytica scandal and the links between tech and political disinformation campaigns. In this episode: Cadwalladr's background; tech's impact on democracy; the "cancer" of the far-right internet; Google's lack of accountability; Cambridge Analytica and its co-founder Robert Mercer; talking to whistleblower Christopher Wylie; the links among Brexit, Donald Trump...
Jul 08, 2019•1 hr 18 min•Ep. 391
Eric Ries, the founder of the Long-Term Stock Exchange and author of The Lean Startup, talks with Vox.com's Ezra Klein at the 2019 Code Conference. In this episode: The LTSE’s recent SEC approval; what’s the point of a stock exchange and why do we need a new one?; the problem with short-term public markets; how would going public on the LTSE be different for CEOs?; how things would change for employees?; the culture of short-term vs. long-term leadership ownership; the values of “Lean Startups”;...
Jul 05, 2019•39 min•Ep. 390
Actor and producer Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll, Orange Is the New Black) and Netflix's vice president of original content Cindy Holland talk with Recode's Kara Swisher at the 2019 Code Conference. In this episode: How Lyonne got connected with Netflix; Holland’s background at Kozmo.com; Orange is the New Black; the Netflix way of doing things; developing Russian Doll; Netflix’s cancelation of One Day at a Time; how it evaluates creators like Lyonne; the production process of Russian Doll; how N...
Jul 03, 2019•46 min•Ep. 388
In these interviews from the 2019 Code Conference, Rockfeller Foundation president Raj Shah and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon talk with Recode's Teddy Schleifer. In the Shah interview: Rising inequality and the limits of private philanthropy; the growing scrutiny of wealthy endowments like Rockefeller; are "opportunity zones” just a tax giveaway?; what do Silicon Valley’s ultra-rich owe to people in need?; and the low percentage of billionaires who have committed to the Bill Gates and Warren B...
Jul 01, 2019•1 hr 6 min•Ep. 387
Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian talks with Recode's Kara Swisher and Jason Del Rey at the 2019 Code Conference. In this episode: How the Boeing 737 Max crashes affect the aviation industry; innovations in airplanes in that Delta would like to see; using facial recognition to replace paper tickets; RFID bag tracking and changing the layout of airports and gates; Delta’s investments in alternative fuels and its impact on climate change; Georgia's new abortion law and corporate activism; Delta's con...
Jun 28, 2019•45 min•Ep. 386
Joichi "Joi" Ito, the director of the MIT Media Lab, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about engineers who over-simplify the world's problems, the Media Lab's role in "surveillance capitalism," and why the values of the tech world will shift from within. In this episode: Ito's background and what the Media Lab does; techno-utopianism and the early days of the internet; how Ito got to MIT; computers implanted in the human body; Shoshana Zuboff and "surveillance capitalism"; the gap between technol...
Jun 26, 2019•56 min•Ep. 385
In these live interviews from the 2019 Code Conference, Casey Newton first talks to Instagram boss Adam Mosseri and Facebook's head of AR and VR, Andrew "Boz" Bosworth; then; later in the show, he interviews three former tech insiders: former Googler Jessica Powell, ex-Facebooker Antonio García-Martínez, and Twitter/Google veteran Nicole Wong. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jun 24, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep. 384
Georgia politician Stacey Abrams and her former campaign manager Lauren Groh-Wargo, now the co-founders of Fair Fight Action, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher and Vox.com's Ezra Klein at the 2019 Code Conference. In this episode: Abrams’ campaign for governor and what Fair Fight does; how Abrams defines the importance of voting rights; is America a democracy? “Yes, but…”; why Abrams doesn’t use the term “stolen election”; the Republican Party’s voter suppression habits; the problem with companies...
Jun 21, 2019•59 min•Ep. 383
Jonathan Ryan and Erika Andiola, the CEO and chief advocacy officer at RAICES, talk with Vox.com's Ezra Klein at the 2019 Code Conference. In this episode: The current situation at the US-Mexico border; the increasing power of the executive branch of the US government as you approach the border; how tech companies like Palantir, Amazon, Microsoft, and Dell are working with ICE; the history of corporations enabling unconstitutional behavior; alternatives for the government; what would be a non-ty...
Jun 19, 2019•39 min•Ep. 382
Andy Jassy, the CEO of Amazon's cloud computing service AWS, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher at the 2019 Code Conference. In this episode: How Jassy came to work at Amazon 22 years ago; how Jeff Bezos has changed in that time; how AWS differentiates itself from the competition; could it be disrupted by a small business?; facial recognition, sensor creep, and trust; alleged misuse of Amazon’s facial recognition tech by law enforcement; its work with the government, and employee objections to tha...
Jun 17, 2019•52 min•Ep. 381
Vijaya Gadde, who leads the legal and trust and safety teams at Twitter, and Periscope co-founder Kayvon Beykpour, who's now the company's head of product, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher and Peter Kafka at the 2019 Code Conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. In this episode: Twitter’s meeting with President Trump; CEO Jack Dorsey's level of contact with the policy team; cleaning the Twitter “cesspool”; could it operate without letting everyone speak?; its new policies around elections and anti-vaxxers...
Jun 14, 2019•52 min•Ep. 380
Mehdi Hasan, a columnist at the Intercept and host of its weekly podcast Deconstructed, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher. In this episode: How Hasan got into journalism; the timidity of the American press; cold comforts in the “horrible, horrible moment” of the Trump presidency; the Intercept and Hasan’s podcast, Deconstructed; his viral interview with Blackwater founder Erik Prince; Swisher’s interview with Sam Harris; liberals who only see racism on the right; the controversial speeches in Has...
Jun 12, 2019•1 hr 4 min•Ep. 379
CNN's chief national security correspondent Jim Sciutto talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new book, The Shadow War: Inside Russia’s and China's Secret Operations to Defeat America. In this episode: Sciutto’s background and the 30th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Protests; being a foreign correspondent; working for the Chinese ambassador and returning to journalism; being a journalist at CNN in the Trump era; Americans’ post-Cold War delusions about Russia; why failures to recognize...
Jun 10, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep. 378
