This week we're responding to listener questions put to us via the Down Round Twitter: @downroundpod This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
As Bob replaces Bob (who in turn replaced Bob) we look at the recent goings on at The Walt Disney Company, and how it all fits into the streaming landscape. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
We’re checking back in on Twitter under the Musk regime. It’s all going great! This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Where do we begin with this mess?The world's second biggest exchange, and crypto's golden boy has collapsed in a matter of days - from $36b to nothing. Even by crypto standards this story is absurd. Allow us to take you through it. Links The FTX "balance sheet" How Sam Bankman-Fried’s Crypto Empire Collapsed – NY Times This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener ...
Airbnb sort of sucks now, and it seems like the company realises it. It has announced guest-friendly changes, but are they enough? Raph and James dive into all the thorny problems surrounding the company, and come to a final decision on whether you should be forced to do the dishes in your Byron Bay short-term stay. (The answer is no.) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystu...
The EU is forcing Apple change its iPhone cable, and they’re huffy even though they were definitely going to do it anyway. The boys discuss European regulation more generally. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
A recent series of high-profile hacks of Australian companies including Optus and Medibank have people worried about user data and privacy. Given Raph and James are both terminally chill about their own data, they brought on someone who actually knows what they're talking about: ABC journalist Ariel Bogle. Links The biggest hack in history: Australians scramble to change passports and driver licences after Optus telco data debacle – The Guardian ‘The damage here is potentially irreparable’: Scal...
Elon's first few days at Twitter HQ have been eventful. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Productivity software. Our many and valued white collar listeners will know it very well. But will they be able to respect Microsoft Teams after the Down Round boys give it a skewering? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music are changing the way music is made. We discuss. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
We've plugged into blockchain metaverses, but how is Facebook/Meta's multi-billion dollar attempt going? Company Documents Show Meta’s Flagship Metaverse Falling Short - Wall Street Journal ($) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Kanye says he's going to buy Parler, the 'free speech'-focused Twitter clone. But more broadly, what is a platform's responsibility when it comes to removing speech? Do we want our tech overlords to determine what is allowed to be said and what isn't? If not them... then who? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
AI is once again all the rage – with investor money, engineering talent and media interest flooding into the sector once again. What does the future hold? Dan Nolan, notorious poster and AI entrepreneur, joins us to discuss. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
An anti-woke bank, a conservative safe-space for the desperate and dateless, a censorship-proof YouTube and a free speech Twitter. We check in on right-wing tech. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Google. You know it as a search engine, an email provider, a cloud hosting service, a mobile operating system, a friend. But did you know that Google is also a killer ? Join us on a spooky pre-Halloween journey into the many products Google has unceremoniously killed before their time. Links Google Is Killing Stadia, And Refunding Every Purchase Ever Made - Forbes Killed by Google This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visi...
As part of the ongoing ' Does Elon Have to Buy Twitter?' drama a court has ordered the messages between Elon and many wealthy business leaders and VCs to be made public. It's a treasure trove. Leave us a review if you have something to say... This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
The relationship between frictionless payment, recreational drugs and attempting to find a greater purpose. Silicon Valley's weird relationship with drugs. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Saudi Arabia is building the city of the future which includes a 250 metre wide, 500 meter tall and 170km long vertical city. It's supposed to be ready in 8 years time. How's it looking? On track, we bet. Links : MBS’s $500 Billion Desert Dream Just Keeps Getting Weirder - Bloomberg This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Have the grand promises of Uber come to pass? Or are we living in an endless nightmare from which we might never wake, endlessly begging from a release that surely never to come? No? Just us? OK. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Adobe has announced it will acquire the much-loved design platform Figma. What does it all mean, and why does everyone hate Adobe so much? Down Round investigates. (By which we mean we discussed it, with no investigation or reporting whatsoever.) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
You asked for a longer episode, and now we've delivered. We are joined by the Mark Di Stefano of the AFR – and formerly of BuzzFeed and The Information – who dispensed the dirt on Amazon for longer than our usual 15-20 minutes. Are you happy now? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Is AI generated art going to put every graphic designer, writer and podcaster out of a job and win every small town local fete art competition? DALL-E, MidJourney, Stable Diffusion et al. Where Does Alex Jones Go From Here? By Charlie Warzel This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
OnlyFans, the adult content platform that has become a cultural force, made a lot of money last year. So you can understand why Twitter wanted a slice of that pie. Right? Right? What happened next? Listen and find out. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
A scheduling hitch leaves Raph and James unprepared, but little did they know, they'd been preparing for this episode their whole lives... Instead of going deep on one topic, we touch on 7 things that are broken on the internet/in the tech we use every day. Introducing, The Rant Zone. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
The crypto world is in a tizz about the biggest change to Ethereum since it launched. Will Ethereum moving from proof-of-work to proof-of-stake be a black swan disaster event, or the beginning of a new global blockchain reality? Well, we know two guys who are ready and willing to pontificate baselessly on that very question. (Hint: it's us.) This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See o...
A whistleblower complaint by renowned hacker Mudge gives us a peek behind the curtain at the alleged shitshow that is Twitter Inc. Photo of Mudge and Bill Clinton: https://twitter.com/dotMudge/status/1235223136334995457?s=20&t=v0rD3-FAuNEIgUeRP5fttQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3CKgkyc7Qo This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information...
A sad mea culpa on Adam Neumann, then we talk the latest Metaverse happenings. Raph immersed himself in Decentraland, James immersed himself in Matthew Ball's new book, The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything. They both report back. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
How did kickboxing champion, manosphere influencer and general ne'er-do-well Andrew Tate hack the algorithms to appear in everyone's feed and become the world's most Googled person? And what the heck does it mean? This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Tornado Cash is a decentralised "mixer" that allows users to obscure their crypto transactions. It's been sanctioned by the US government, who say it is used to launder money. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
Adam Neumann, the man who set $40 billion on fire during the WeWork IPO debacle, is back – and he's just been given $350 million for another crack. Links – Flowcarbon "Lite Paper" - FT: WeWork’s Adam Neumann on investing, startups, surfing and Masayoshi Son This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit downround.substack.com/subscribe See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information....
