Laurene Powell Jobs, the founder of the Emerson Collective, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about journalism, VR, and activism. In this episode: Why Powell Jobs is investing in media; President Trump's attacks on journalists; are billionaires buying outlets the only way forward?; Alejandro G. Iñárritu's VR border crossing film, Carne Y Arena; art and activism; how to fix the immigration impasse; how social media changes art; Powell Jobs' first education nonprofit, College Track; and when will S...
Mar 06, 2019•34 min•Ep 340•Transcript available on Metacast Social Capital CEO Chamath Palihapitiya talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher and Teddy Schleifer about an “identity crisis” that pitted his wealth and fame against personal happiness and relationships. In this episode: Social Capital’s attempts to disrupt venture capital; Palihapitiya’s “identity crisis” and search for happiness; nonwhite people aren’t allowed to appear crazy; “to all the people that worked for me ... you’re fucking welcome”; why Silicon Valley has never been unhappier; the lack of ...
Mar 04, 2019•1 hr 9 min•Ep 339•Transcript available on Metacast David Chavern, the president and CEO of the nonprofit News Media Alliance, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about advocating on behalf of journalists in Washington, D.C. In this episode: How Chavern got to the News Media Alliance; the unique challenges of representing the media business; the ripple effects of the declining print business; the impact of Google and Facebook; revenue sharing, algorithm changes and conspiracy theories online; the differences among how the platforms understand the me...
Mar 02, 2019•52 min•Ep 338•Transcript available on Metacast Lora DiCarlo CEO Lora Haddock talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the process of designing an innovative new sex toy for women — and the fight to get mainstream acceptance for her invention. In this episode: Why Haddock started Lora DiCarlo; how she designed its first product, Osé; how startups design and create new physical products; with advanced robotics, "what we're trying to elicit is a blended orgasm"; why Haddock is avoiding vibration; funding Osé's development; receiving a CES innovat...
Feb 27, 2019•44 min•Ep 337•Transcript available on Metacast Michael Connor, the artistic director of the digital art community Rhizome, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the group's museum exhibit, "The Art Happens Here," and the future of art made on the internet. In this episode: How Rhizome was founded and how the museum exhibit came together; the unique challenges of preserving internet art; the earliest works of art in Rhizome's Internet Art Anthology; what does "net art" mean?; what tools do net artists use?; the impact and legacy of the Net A...
Feb 25, 2019•51 min•Ep 336•Transcript available on Metacast Harvard Business School professor emerita Shoshana Zuboff talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power. In this episode: Zuboff's background and why she wrote the book; how the economy got digitized; maximizing shareholder value "scraped the life out of so many of our institutions and our businesses"; how surveillance capitalism was invented; why Zuboff uses the term "surveillance capitalism"; h...
Feb 20, 2019•53 min•Ep 335•Transcript available on Metacast Barry Diller, the chairman of IAC and the Expedia Group, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the state of the tech and media industries, problematic people in power and why Diller is building a new public park in New York. In this episode: What does he do as chairman of those companies?; the future of dating apps; how Diller evaluates the travel industry and Airbnb; how did Diller anticipate how the internet would change media?; why Netflix is beating Amazon and will beat all other competitor...
Feb 18, 2019•1 hr 5 min•Ep 334•Transcript available on Metacast Nuala O'Connor, the CEO of the Center for Democracy and Technology, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about how the group she leads is lobbying the government and private companies on issues like consumer privacy and free speech. In this episode: O'Connor's background in big companies and the Department of Homeland Security; what the Center for Democracy and Technology does; the "Summer of Snowden"; why antitrust isn't a cure-all; speech and responsibility are the biggest issues facing the intern...
Feb 13, 2019•53 min•Ep 333•Transcript available on Metacast Elevation Partners founding partner Roger McNamee talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about his new book, Zucked: Waking Up to the Facebook Catastrophe. In this episode: Transitioning from tech optimist to critic; the 1990 crash and rebound; starting Silver Lake Partners; McNamee’s health crisis and struggles with office politics; “then Bono calls up”; meeting and mentoring the 22-year-old CEO of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg; recruiting Sheryl Sandberg to be COO; the Beacon disaster and clashing with ...
Feb 11, 2019•1 hr 15 min•Ep 332•Transcript available on Metacast Journalist and Pop-Up Magazine co-founder Evan Ratliff talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new book, The Mastermind: Drugs, Empire, Murder, Betrayal. In this episode: How Pop-Up got started; what happened when Ratliff tried to become anonymous for a month; starting the digital-first magazine The Atavist; how Paul Calder Le Roux went from programmer to prescription drug kingpin; the intersection of the international drug trade and tech; how Le Roux got into harder drugs, Somalian militias ...
Feb 06, 2019•53 min•Ep 331•Transcript available on Metacast James Citrin, the head of Spencer Stuart CEO Practice, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about placing top executives at companies like Yahoo, PayPal, eBay, Twitter, Cisco, Pandora and Hulu. In this episode: Citrin's background as an analyst, consultant and CD-ROM true believer; how he was recruited to Spencer Stuart and how he recruits executives for his clients; do tech companies need a technical CEO?; the evolving power dynamics of talent in Silicon Valley; the triple threat of capability, cre...
Feb 04, 2019•58 min•Ep 330•Transcript available on Metacast Case Foundation CEO Jean Case, who was an early marketing and communications executive at AOL, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose." In this episode: Why Case never finished college; working at The Source and GE, and why she left GE for Quantum Computer Services, which became AOL; finding unlikely allies and pivoting the business; The Case Foundation and impact investing; Case's other role, chairing the National ...
Jan 30, 2019•1 hr 1 min•Ep 329•Transcript available on Metacast Boston University professor Ellen Shell talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, The Job: Work and Its Future in a Time of Radical Change. In this episode: Shell's background in science and culture journalism; her earlier books, "The Hungry Gene" and "Cheap"; how writing about 1800s department store sales in "Cheap" led to writing "The Job"; what jobs will be automated and how we should prepare; how this transition compares to the Industrial Revolution; the ripple effects of one job ...
Jan 28, 2019•54 min•Ep 328•Transcript available on Metacast Divorce attorney Laura Wasser talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about starting It's Over Easy, an online platform to help people who are getting divorced in New York and California. In this episode: Why Wasser launched It's Over Easy; the other services it provides besides legal help; why Wasser isn't afraid of losing her $850/hour clients; how she hopes to expand to more states this year; why some locations may require "doing an Uber"; why the legal world has been slow to embrace the internet; c...
Jan 26, 2019•51 min•Ep 327•Transcript available on Metacast Basecamp CEO Jason Fried talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his most recent book, It Doesn't Have to Be Crazy at Work, which he co-wrote with his business partner David Heinemeier Hansson. In this episode: How Basecamp got started; why chat apps like Slack and Basecamp's own Campfire are bad for productivity; the things that make work crazy, including access to coworkers' calendars, ASAP-response culture and codependent departments; why Basecamp does not set any goals internally other than "...
Jan 23, 2019•1 hr 2 min•Ep 326•Transcript available on Metacast Land O’Lakes CEO Beth Ford talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about running a modern dairy and food company, which is co-owned by thousands of farmers. In this episode: What Land O’Lakes does other than butter; Ford's thoughts on being an openly gay female leader; the changing role of a modern CEO; why farmers are the “ultimate entrepreneurs”; agriculture technology, aka agritech; automation and big data in farming; the future of food; why Land O’Lakes withdrew its support for Congressman Steve Ki...
Jan 21, 2019•58 min•Ep 325•Transcript available on Metacast Cindy Cohn, the executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Claire Boyle, the managing editor of McSweeney's Quarterly Concern, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about a special nonfiction issue the two organizations teamed up to produce, "The End of Trust." In this episode: Why the EFF and McSweeney's decided to work together; have consumers given up on having privacy?; why "Facebook doesn't really have users or customers, they have hostages"; the current copyright battles in Eu...
Jan 19, 2019•1 hr 3 min•Ep 324•Transcript available on Metacast In this live interview from the 92nd Street Y in New York City, Glossier founder and CEO Emily Weiss talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about running a "beauty company that's also a tech company." In this episode: How Glossier got started; the passionate fans of Glossier and Weiss; its Instagram strategy; its plans to make a social "utility" platform; why it's choosing to not grow as fast as possible; the pressures of being a leader and building a great team; could Amazon outmaneuver Glossier?; ad...
Jan 16, 2019•1 hr 13 min•Ep 323•Transcript available on Metacast CNN.com editor in chief Meredith Artley talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about overseeing some of the most popular news sites on the internet and how things may change in 2019. In this episode: Artley's background at the New York Times and International Herald Tribune; the "complete chaos" of working at the Los Angeles Times; what actually works in digital news?; How CNN has changed its approach to covering President Trump's tweets; its relationships with social media companies; what it's like w...
Jan 14, 2019•57 min•Ep 322•Transcript available on Metacast 99designs CEO Patrick Llewellyn talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about leading a design startup based in Australia. In this episode: How 99designs helps designers and their clients work together online; how it makes finding work easier for freelance designers; why design will never be completely done by computers; founding a startup in Australia; why 99designs sees itself as a "platform" and not just a marketplace; and where the company goes next. Plus, can places outsides Silicon Valley build e...
Jan 12, 2019•44 min•Ep 321•Transcript available on Metacast Tony Xu, the CEO and co-founder of DoorDash, and Christopher Payne, the COO, talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about how the delivery company's busy 2018 and why it's starting to think about delivering more than food. In this episode: (01:41) Where DoorDash is now and the delivery business; (05:25) Is Amazon a competitor?; (08:07) Xu and Payne's backgrounds; (11:32) Why DoorDash succeeded where Webvan failed; (15:10) Working with big restaurants and why they don't do it themselves; (21:03) How Doo...
Jan 09, 2019•57 min•Ep 320•Transcript available on Metacast Molly Barton, the CEO and co-founder of serialized reading app Serial Box, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about trying to make a Netflix-style digital platform for books. In this episode: (01:19) Barton's background and the early days of e-books; (06:45) Looking for digital innovation in publishing; (12:38) Combining e-books with audiobooks; (15:48) Why Barton started Serial Box; (20:13) How it works; (26:42) The business side and fundraising; (29:52) How the traditional publishing industry ha...
Jan 07, 2019•44 min•Ep 319•Transcript available on Metacast Khosla Ventures partner Keith Rabois talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the current startup and venture capital landscape, the Trump administration and more. In this episode: (01:18) Rabois's background; (04:28) Becoming a venture capitalist and how Khosla Ventures invests; (09:37) The startup and venture capital landscape; (15:06) Why startup fundraising was unusually hectic in December; (19:15) Investing in healthcare, aerospace and autonomous driving; (26:56) Artificial intelligence; (29:...
Jan 05, 2019•1 hr 12 min•Ep 318•Transcript available on Metacast WW International CEO Mindy Grossman talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about how her company, formerly known as Weight Watchers, has transitioned into modern "wellness" culture. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Jan 02, 2019•46 min•Ep 317•Transcript available on Metacast Inc. magazine senior writer Christine Lagorio-Chafkin talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "We Are the Nerds: The Birth and Tumultuous Life of Reddit, the Internet's Culture Laboratory." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Dec 31, 2018•46 min•Ep 316•Transcript available on Metacast Imgur CEO Alan Schaaf talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about starting the image-sharing site and moderating its content. In this episode: (00:59) Schaaf's background; (03:18) Launching Imgur; (07:56) Imgur's early business plan; (15:34) Where online images are going (and how to pronounce "gif"); (21:37) Famous memes and how entertainment is changing; (30:19) The ugliness of social media; (38:09) Why other social platforms don't moderate their content like Imgur does Learn more about your ad choi...
Dec 26, 2018•51 min•Ep 315•Transcript available on Metacast Bret Kinsella, the editor of the voice technology blog Voicebot.ai, talks with Recode’s Rani Molla about the future of virtual assistants like Alexa, Siri and Google Assistant. In this episode: (01:02) Kinsella’s background; (05:07) The history of voice tech; (11:19) How many people have smart speakers and what do they do with them?; (14:51) Music and podcasts on smart speakers; (16:51) Smart homes and voice; (20:51) Voice shopping; (24:40) Why brands are all in on voice; (28:04) Positioning pro...
Dec 24, 2018•52 min•Ep 314•Transcript available on Metacast Scott Belsky, a venture partner at Benchmark and the chief product officer at Adobe, talks with Recode's Teddy Schleifer about his book, "The Messy Middle: Finding Your Way Through the Hardest and Most Crucial Part of Any Bold Venture." In this episode: (02:32) Why Belsky came to California and started Behance; (07:14) Bootstrapping, taking investment and selling the company; (10:44) Leaving Adobe to join Benchmark; (14:53) Returning to Adobe; (18:36) Belsky's new book; (21:20) The difference be...
Dec 19, 2018•46 min•Ep 313•Transcript available on Metacast Jonathan Neman, the co-founder of fast food salad chain Sweetgreen, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the company's techie side and the future of restaurants. In this episode: (01:26) How Sweetgreen got started; (04:14) Starting up in Washington, D.C.; (07:28) Why Sweetgreen sees itself as a "food platform"; (10:58) The challenges of food; (18:01) Sweetgreen's competitors and how it sources ingredients; (23:05) Online ordering; (27:21) Delivery and why other restaurants are giving up too mu...
Dec 17, 2018•55 min•Ep 312•Transcript available on Metacast Award-winning filmmaker Peter Jackson talks about his new film, a World War I documentary with sound and color called "They Shall Not Grow Old." In this episode: (00:37) Why he made the documentary; (06:21) The technology of WWI filmmaking; (08:33) Jackson's studios in New Zealand; (11:30) Does Jackson consider himself to be a technical person?; (14:39) The colorization of the old footage and addition of audio; (19:22) How the colors of the film were picked; (26:30) Machines, blood and feet; (32...
Dec 15, 2018•49 min•Ep 311•Transcript available on Metacast