Podcast appearances and mentions of kate cox

Hey everyone, it's Nilay. Decoder is on a short summer break right now, but we'll be back starting June 23 with new episodes, and we're very excited for what we have on the schedule.  In the meantime, we have an episode from the excellent podcast Stay Tuned with Preet, with host and former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Last month, Preet sat down with former FTC Chair Lina Khan for a pretty high-level discussion about antitrust, monopoly power, and the ongoing shift from both political parties in the United States toward more aggressive, bipartisan regulation of Big Tech. I think you'll find it really interesting.    Links:  Stay Tuned with Preet | Apple Podcasts Google loses ad tech monopoly case | Verge Judge greenlights FTC's antitrust suit against Amazon | Verge Judge rules that Google ‘is a monopolist' in US antitrust case | Verge Illegally fired FTC commissioners on Meta, bribes, and fighting for privacy | Decoder The case for breaking up Google has never been stronger | Decoder DOJ antitrust chief is ‘overjoyed' after Google monopoly verdict | Decoder DOJ's Kanter says the antitrust fight against Big Tech is just beginning  | Decoder Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Janes analysts James Trigg and Aparna Iyer join Sean Corbett and Kate Cox to discuss the strategic depths of Yemen's role in global security. They unpack the complex military, political, and regional dynamics shaping this pivotal Middle Eastern country and how Yemen's conflict influences international shipping lanes, serves as a battleground for proxy wars, and impacts the delicate balance of power in the region. James and Aparna also discuss the challenges and techniques they use to monitor such a fluid situation.

Today, I'm talking with Taskrabbit CEO Ania Smith. Taskrabbit is an interesting company; it's known best for being a platform for hiring people to put together your furniture, so much so that IKEA acquired it in 2017. But Taskrabbit is still operating as a mostly independent company all these years later, and Ania is now in charge of maneuvering a fast-changing labor market during uncertain economic times and a potentially major AI disruption to the workforce on the horizon. Help us plan for the future of Decoder by filling out a brief survey: voxmedia.com/survey. We'd really appreciate it. Thanks! Links:  Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wants to build the everything app | Decoder Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is okay with reinventing the bus | Decoder Google's Project Mariner | Google Uber is testing a service that lets you hire drivers for chores | Verge Taskrabbit CEO on using empathy in leadership | Fortune Taskrabbit takes over on-demand moving service Dolly | GeekWire Ikea integrates Taskrabbit booking service into checkout | Retail Dive TaskRabbit to close its offices, go entirely remote | MarketWatch IKEA has bought TaskRabbit | TechCrunch Taskrabbit CEO: People will still power an AI workforce | Verge Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Runway CEO and co-founder Cris Valenzuela. This one's special: Cris and I were live at an event in New York City last month hosted by Alix Partners, so you'll hear the audience from time to time.  Runway is a leading AI video generation platform, and it's getting better all the time. That puts Cris and his company on the same collision course with creators, artists, and copyright law as every other part of the AI industry — and you'll hear Cris and I really get into all that here. Links:  AMC Networks inks deal with AI company Runway | Hollywood Reporter We made a film with AI. You'll be blown away — and freaked out | WSJ Mark Zuckerberg just declared war on the entire advertising industry | Verge Runway says its latest AI video model can generate consistent scenes, people | Verge Runway releases an impressive new video-generating AI model | TechCrunch Runway Trained on Thousands of YouTube Videos Without Permission | 404 Media Runway partners with Lionsgate to train on its catalog of video | Verge AI companies lose bid to dismiss parts of visual artists' copyright case | Reuters Help us plan for the future of Decoder by filling out this ⁠brief survey⁠. Thank you! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. This is Brian's fourth time on the show, and he's one of my favorite guests because he's so clearly obsessed with things like company structure, design, and decision making. You know, Decoder stuff. This time, Brian came on to talk about the company's new services product and the full-scale redesign and rebuild of the Airbnb app to support these broader ambitions. There's a lot of fun, very Decoder-y stuff in this one.  Links:  Airbnb's new app has all of your vacation extras in one place | Verge “Flat design is over” | Brian Chesky Airbnb Is in midlife crisis mode | Wired He revolutionized travel. Can Airbnb's founder redesign your entire life? | WSJ Airbnb's CEO explains how he helped Sam Altman during OpenAI fiasco | Fast Company A conversation with Airbnb's Brian Chesky | Figma Jony Ive is bringing his design talents to Airbnb | Verge Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on what founder mode really means | Decoder Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is taking it back to basics | Decoder Why the future of work is the future of travel, with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky | Decoder Help us plan for the future of Decoder by filling out a brief survey: voxmedia.com/survey. Thank you! Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with journalist Megan Greenwell about her new book Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream. It comes out June 10th. It's fantastic and maddening in equal measure. I highly recommend it. In this episode, we discussed the genesis of Megan's interest in the subject and its genesis in media — including her time as editor-in-chief of the website Deadspin, which underwent a very public PE takeover of its parent company. We also talk a lot about the healthcare industry, another major pillar of Megan's book. I'm excited to hear what you think of this one. Links:  Bad Company | HarperCollins Private equity bought out your doctor and bankrupted Toys ‘R' Us | Decoder Private equity Is gutting America — and getting away with it | NYT I was fired from Deadspin for refusing to ‘stick to sports' | NYT Will private equity be the next ‘Big Short'? | Marketplace The profit-obsessed monster destroying American ERs | Vox Why your vet bill is so high | The Atlantic The investment firms leave behind a barren wasteland' | Politico Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinde Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In what's become a bit of a Decoder tradition, I spoke with Google CEO Sundar Pichai in person after I/O. The conference this year was all about AI, particularly a slew of actual AI products, not just models and capabilities. To Sundar, this marks the beginning of a new era for search and the web overall. So I had to ask: what happens to the web when AI tools and eventually agents do most of the browsing for us? It was a very Decoder conversation. Read the full transcript here. Links:  Help us plan the future of Decoder! | AUDIENCE SURVEY The 15 biggest announcements at Google I/O 2025 | Verge We tried on Google's prototype AI smart glasses | Verge AI Mode is obviously the future of Google Search | Verge News publishers call Google's AI Mode ‘theft' | Verge Details leak about Jony Ive's OpenAI device | Verge DOJ says Google must sell Chrome to crack open monopoly | Verge Google Zero is here — now what? | Verge Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is okay reinventing the bus | Decoder Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Five years after their first episode of the World of Intelligence podcast, Kate Cox, director of Janes RD&A Strategic Programmes, turns the table on Harry Kemsley and Sean Corbett to uncover the origins of the podcast and how it has evolved alongside the prominence of OSINT for intelligence analysis, and to offer a glimpse into the future of intelligence.

Today, I'm talking with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. We recorded this conversation on the same day Uber announced a big set of product updates, including new options for shared rides. Dara was in New York for all that, so he came to our studio and we did this one together, which always makes for a great episode.  If you've been listening to Decoder recently, you know that I'm very curious about how service apps like Uber will handle things like AI agents. Dara had a lot of thoughts there. There's a lot in this one, and Dara didn't hold back. I think you're going to like it. Links:  Uber's new bus-like feature is nearly 50 percent cheaper than UberX | Verge Uber staff revolts over return-to-office mandate | Fast Company An interview with Dara Khosrowshahi | Stratechery Uber preps for Waymo's robotaxi launch in Atlanta | Verge Uber ends year in the black for the first time ever | Verge Uber's not out of the woods yet | Verge Uber CEO vows to be ‘hardcore' about costs, slow hiring | Verge Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Kevin Scott, the chief technology officer of Microsoft, and one of the company's AI leaders. Kevin is one of my favorite repeat Decoder guests, and he joined the show this time to talk about the future of search.  Microsoft just announced an open-source tool for websites to integrate AI powered natural language search with just a little bit of effort, in a way that lets them actually run whatever models they want and keep control of their data. I saw some demos before Kevin and I chatted, and the improvements over the bad local search on most sites was obvious. So we talked about what this will mean for AI, for search engines, and for the future of the web.  Links:  Microsoft's plan to fix the web: letting every website run AI search for cheap | Verge Introducing the Model Context Protocol | Anthropic Copyright Office head fired after reporting AI training isn't always fair use | Ars Technica Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on how AI and art will coexist in the future | Decoder Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott thinks Sydney might make a comeback | Decoder Microsoft's CTO explains how AI can help health care in the US right now | Vergecast Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/669409 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Xander Adams.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Gerrit Kazmaier, the brand-new president of product and technology at Workday. Gerrit's new on the job, maybe a little bit braver than most, and to his credit he came on the show and took the heat. We spent a lot of time talking about what enterprise software really is, what it does and why it has a reputation of being so deeply frustrating for so many people.  Links:  Workday names Gerrit Kazmaier president of product and technology | Workday AI Index Report | Stanford HAI IBM AI Study | IBM How generative AI will impact the future of work | Workday Workday launches platform for companies to manage all of their AI agents | TechCrunch Everyone hates Workday | Business Insider Judge: Workday must face novel AI bias lawsuit | Reuters Workday lays off 1,750, 8.5% of employees, in AI push | Associated Press Why Workday's CEO made a layoff decision to invest in AI | FastCompany Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/667538 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We're doing something a little different today — I asked my friend John Gruber of Daring Fireball to come on the show and talk about the future of Apple, and, importantly, the App Store. I wanted to talk about the most recent ruling in the Epic v. Apple legal saga. But I also wanted to talk about the big picture at Apple, and why the company seems to have found itself being hammered on all sides: by the developers that feel it's become too greedy, by federal court judges that no longer trust it, and by regulators now threatening some of its major cash cows.  Links:  Judge rules, in excoriating decision, that Apple violated 2021 order | Daring Fireball Steve Jobs' response on Section 3.3.1 | Tao Effect Blog Epic submitted Fortnite to Apple | Verge Eddy Cue is fighting to save Apple's $20 billion paycheck from Google | Verge Epic is offering developers an alternative to Apple's in-app purchases | Verge Epic says Fortnite is coming back to iOS in the US | Verge Apple files appeal to wrest back control of its App Store | Verge ‘Cook chose poorly': how Apple blew up its control over the App Store | Verge Apple changes App Store rules to allow external purchases | Verge Existential thoughts about Apple's reliance on Services revenue | Six Colors Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Paul Bascobert, who is the president of Reuters, as part of a special Thursday series we're running this month to explore how leaders at some world's biggest companies make decisions in such a rapidly changing environment. Reuters is a great company for us to kick off with, because it's been around since 1851, when the hot technology enabling mass media was the telegraph.  Here, today, in 2025, the tech driving media has clearly changed more than a little bit. Distribution in a world full of iPhones and generative AI is a really different proposition than distributing media 50 years before the invention of the radio. So there's a lot here, and you'll hear Paul and I get deep into basically every Decoder theme there is. Links:  The Trust Principles | Reuters Brendan Carr's FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine | Verge AP wins reinstatement to White House events | AP  NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy | Channels Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour on AI, press freedom, and the future of news | Decoder Platforms need the news — but they're killing it | Decoder Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder Platformer's Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse | Decoder Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hey everyone, it's Nilay. We're off today, but we'll be back Thursday, so stay tuned. In the meantime, we have an excellent episode from Business Insider Chief Correspondent Peter Kafka, who hosts the media podcast Channels. In this episode, Peter sat down with one of the biggest names in journalism: New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger. It's a fascinating conversation that covers some of the most pressing issues facing journalism and the news business today. We think you'll like it.  Links:  NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy | Channels New York Times Reports 350,000 Additional Digital Subscribers | NYT IGN and CNET owner Ziff Davis sues OpenAI | Verge The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement | Verge Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour on AI, press freedom, and the future of news | Decoder Platforms need the news — but they're killing it | Decoder Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder Platformer's Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse | Decoder Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A lot has happened in the first 100 days of Trump's second term. It's nearly too much to keep up with, really, but we're going to try. Verge policy editor Adi Robertson joins Decoder this week to talk through six of the biggest stories and themes we're covering, from tariffs to TikTok to DOGE. Links:  Donald Trump's first 100 days: all the news affecting the tech industry | The Verge The DOGE days have just begun | The Verge America is living in tariff limbo | The Verge MAGA's next wave of influencers saved TikTok | The Verge Whatever happened to the Kids' Online Safety Act? | The Verge Brendan Carr's FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine | The Verge Warning systems for floods, hurricanes, and famines are suffering from Trump's data purge | The Verge Why Trump can't be trusted with Congress' new anti-deepfake bill | Decoder How Trump's tariffs actually work on the ground | Decoder The FCC is a weapon in Trump's war on free speech | Decoder Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

A few days ago, I hosted a panel with FTC commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington, DC. We recorded the discussion, and we're bringing it to you today. Normal Decoder stuff, but these are anything but normal times. Becca and Alvaro were FTC commissioners until very recently, when President Donald Trump fired them — but he doesn't have that legal authority. They're suing to get their jobs back, and they're prepared to go all the way to SCOTUS if they have to. Links:  Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners | The Verge Fired FTC commissioners sue Trump | The Verge The case for breaking up Google has never been stronger | The Verge The government doesn't understand Meta | The Verge FTC v Meta live: updates from the battle for Instagram, WhatsApp | The Verge DOGE has arrived at the FTC | The Verge Inside Mark Zuckerberg's failed negotiations with the FTC | Wall Street Journal FTC chair says he'd drop Meta case if lawfully ordered to | The Verge Bedoya warns of “corrupting influence of billionaires”| The Verge The FTC has enough staff to sue Amazon, after all | The Verge Transcript: ⁠https://www.theverge.com/e/657115⁠ Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we're talking about the very real possibility that Google might be broken up by the United States government. And to do that, I'm talking to Jonathan Kanter, the former assistant attorney general for antitrust under the Biden administration. Kanter left the DOJ after Trump was elected, but he was the architect of the major antitrust cases the Trump administration continues to pursue against Google. That means he's much more free to share his thoughts on what it took to build and win both of these cases and what should happen next. Links:  Google loses ad tech monopoly case | Verge Google is in more danger than ever of being broken up | Verge OpenAI tells judge it would buy Chrome from Google | Verge The high stakes of Google's monopoly trial | Verge DOJ says Google must sell Chrome to crack open search monopoly | Verge Google makes history with rapid-fire antitrust losses | NYT Read the antitrust ruling against Google | NYT Google ad monopoly ruling's surprise winner: OpenAI | Axios DOJ antitrust chief is ‘overjoyed' after Google monopoly verdict | Decoder DOJ's Kanter says the antitrust fight against Big Tech is just beginning | Decoder Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 like net neutrality, the current Trump administration isn't nearly as hands-off when it comes to things like  holding up deals because of DEI policies — something that's happening to Verizon right now. So I had to ask Sampath if he was going to push back on that kind of government overreach as hard as Verizon has in the past. Links:  The US government makes a $42 million bet on OpenRAN | The Verge FCC scrutinizes Verizon's $9.6 billion Frontier deal over DEI | USA Today Verizon offers a three-year price lock — but there's a catch | The Verge T-Mobile updates its DEI policy to get Lumos deal approved | Fierce Network We don't need net neutrality; we need competition (2014) | Ars Technica Wireless and cable industries sue to kill net neutrality (2015) | The Verge Everything Verizon says in this terrible video against net neutrality (2017) | The Verge Report: Most Americans have no real choice in internet providers | ILSR T-Mobile's merger promises couldn't make a carrier out of Dish | The Verge Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 works, how it's supposed to work, and how it's working now, if it's working at all.  Links:  Flexport Tariff Live Blog | Flexport US tariffs: how Trump's tax is hitting Big Tech and beyond | Verge How much will Trump's tariffs cost U.S. importers? | NYT How much are tariffs on Chinese goods? It's tricky | NYT How Trump's tariff chaos is already changing global trade | Decoder Can software simplify the supply chain? Ryan Petersen thinks so | Decoder Why Flexport CEO Ryan Petersen took his company back | Decoder The U.S.-China decoupling arrives | Axios Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Robinhood is going, and why he's so adamant that certain big ideas, like prediction markets based around everything from sports games to presidential elections, are going to play a pivotal role in the future of finance. Links:  Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev on markets for everything | Hard Fork Robinhood is launching bank accounts | Verge Kalshi sues Nevada and New Jersey regulators | Esports Insider Kalshi CEO: ‘State law doesn't really apply' to us | TechCrunch Robinhood debuts a sports gambling hub | Verge The SEC has ended its investigation into Robinhood crypto | Verge Robinhood admits it's just a gambling app | Verge Massachusetts regulator subpoenas Robinhood over sports betting | CNN Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/645822 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 to fire him, who is currently responsible for the various policies of our government, and whether any of those things add up to a clear plan. Some of the most powerful executives in the world answer questions like this on Decoder all the time. But Rohit just didn't know — and that should probably be as worrying as anything. Links:  Trump fires CFPB director Rohit Chopra | Associated Press Trump orders CFPB to stop work, closes building | Associated Press CFPB workers reinstated after court order but still can't work | The Verge Trump admin to appeal order blocking CFPB shutdown | Bloomberg Law A shady tech bootcamp may be sneaking back online | The Verge CFPB won't enforce long-awaited payday lending rule | Bloomberg Law CFPB seeks to vacate redlining settlement, refund lender | Banking Dive CFPB signals it will drop rule regulating BNPL like credit cards | PYMTS CFPB drops fraud lawsuit against banks, Zelle | CNBC Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 company needs to shift, fast, to a world of agentic AI, which is radically changing the RPA business. We got into all that and more in this episode. It's a fun one.  Links:  UiPath's Daniel Dines thinks automation can fight the great resignation | Decoder Daniel Dines: Why Agents Do Not Mean RPA is Fucked | Harry Stebbings UiPath to re-appoint Daniel Dines as CEO | UiPath UiPath shares tank 30% after company announces CEO shakeup | CNBC UiPath to lay off 10% of workforce in companywide restructuring | CNBC UiPath looks for a path to growth with Peak agentic AI acquisition | TechCrunch How RPA vendors aim to remain relevant in a world of AI agents | TechCrunch  UiPath finds firmer footing with pivot to general automation, AI | TechCrunch Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/643562 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we're diving head first into the AI art debate, which to be honest, is an absolute mess. If you've been on the internet this past week, you've seen the Studio Ghibli memes. These images are everywhere — and they've widened an already pretty stark rift between AI boosters and critics. Brian Merchant, author of the newsletter and book Blood in the Machine, wrote one of the best analyses of the Ghibli trend last week. So I invited him onto the show not only to discuss this particular situation, but also to help me dissect the ongoing AI art debate more broadly.  Links:  OpenAI's Studio Ghibli meme factory is an insult to art itself | Brian Merchant Seattle engineer's Ghibli-style image goes viral Seattle Times OpenAI just raised another $40 billion round from SoftBank | Verge ChatGPT “added one million users in the last hour.” | Verge ChatGPT's Ghibli filter is political now, but it always was | Verge OpenAI, Google ask the government to let them train on content they don't own | Verge Studio Ghibli in the age of A.I. reproduction | Max Read OpenAI has a Studio Ghibli problem | Vergecast AI slop is a brute force attack on the algorithms that control reality | 404 Media The New Aesthetics of Fascism | New Socialist Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 about all that, and where Matt sees growth ahead: Unity isn't just a game engine provider, but the platform for everything from running those big live services and the monetization on top of them. Links:  Unity's struggles continue with fresh wave of layoffs | The Verge Unity attempts to turn things around with latest game engine release | The Verge Unity has eliminated its controversial runtime fee | The Verge ‘We want to be a fundamentally different and better company' | IGN John Riccitiello is out at Unity, effective immediately | The Verge Unity is laying off 25% of its staff | The Verge Unity cancels town hall over reported death threats | The Verge Unity has changed its pricing model and developers are pissed off | The Verge Toyota chooses Unity for next-generation interface | Unity Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Episode Topic In this episode of PayPd, host Kevin Rosenquist explores the urgent and growing issue of online impersonation and digital fraud with Kate Cox, Business Development Lead at Memcyco. As cyber threats become more sophisticated, Memcyco is pioneering real-time detection technology to uncover spoofed websites and protect both businesses and their customers from fraud. Lessons You'll Learn This episode dives deep into how fake websites are created, the mechanics of phishing and spoofing attacks, and the real-time tools being used to stop fraud before it starts. You'll gain insight into the role AI plays on both sides of the cybersecurity battle—enabling cybercriminals and empowering defenders. Kate also shares how businesses can protect their users and build long-term digital trust in an increasingly risky online world. About Our Guest Kate Cox is the Business Development Lead at Memcyco, a company at the forefront of digital fraud prevention. With a strong background in cybersecurity and business strategy, Kate works closely with organizations to implement proactive fraud protection solutions. Her mission is to make the internet safer by helping companies detect and block spoof sites in real time—before the damage is done. Topics Covered The rise and risk of spoofed websites The difference between phishing and spoofing attacks How Memcyco's real-time detection technology works The role of AI in modern cybercrime Building digital trust through proactive protection Emerging threats like session hijacking and man-in-the-browser attacks

Today we're talking about bird flu, but in a pretty Decoder way. Science journalist Lauren Leffer, who recently wrote a piece for The Verge about bird flu and how it's becoming a forever war, is joining me on the show. We're going to talk about the systems, structure, and culture that might control bird flu — and those that might make it worse. Links:  We've entered a forever war with bird flu | Verge Kennedy's alarming prescription for bird flu on poultry farms | NYT Shell shocked: how small eateries are dealing with record egg prices | NYT How to protect your pets from bird flu | Popular Science What to know about the bird flu outbreak in wild birds | AP Bird flu continues to spread as Trump experts are MIA | Ars Technica Egg prices see largest jump since 1980 as bird flu outbreaks continue | Think Global Health Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Kakul Srivastava, CEO of music creation platform Splice, which is one of the biggest marketplaces for loops and samples around. 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 samples.  Now, if you're a Decoder listener, you know that some of my favorite conversations are with people building technology products for creatives, and that I am obsessed with how technology changes the music industry, because it feels like whatever happens to music happens to everything else five years later. So this one was really interesting, because Splice is all wrapped in all of that.  Links:  Sabrina Carpenter's Espresso highlights the way new music is made | Bloomberg Major record labels sue AI company behind ‘BBL Drizzy' | Verge Splice CEO's message for AI sceptics? “Trust the artists” | MusicTech Splice launches voice recording on Splice Mobile at SXSW | Splice OpenAI & Google ask government to let them train AI on content they don't own | Verge AI Drake just set an impossible legal trap for Google | Verge Pharrell Williams: $7.3 million Blurred Lines verdict threatens all artists | Verge Lady Gaga, nostalgia, and the ‘reheated nachos' phenomenon in pop culture | Her World AI music startups say copyright violation is just rock and roll | Verge Suno CEO says musicians don't actually like making music | Vice Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/632036 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we're talking about the Tesla Takedown protest movement, which has emerged as a way for people to express how deeply unhappy they are with Elon Musk installing himself as a not-so-shadow president who is tearing the federal government apart, leaving confusion and destruction in his wake. Tesla's stock price is sinking, new car registrations and down, and hype around the company is fading rapidly. There's an opportunity there for the protestors, and I asked Ed Niedermeyer on the show to help me pull it all apart. Links:  Is Tesla cooked? | The Verge Tesla registrations — and public opinion — are in a free fall | The Verge Multiple Teslas set on fire in Las Vegas and Kansas City | The Verge Mark Rober's Tesla video was more than a little weird | The Verge Why Tesla isn't the AI powerhouse Elon Musk says it is | Forbes Tesla sales fell year-over-year for the first time | The Verge The cybertruck isn't all it's cracked up to be | The Verge Tesla autopilot, FSD linked to hundreds of crashes, dozens of deaths | The Verge Tesla crash victims' families worried about Musk influence on investigations | The Verge Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I'm talking to Evan Smith, who started Altana in 2019 because he predicted the first wave of globalized manufacturing and trade would end, and that companies would want new powerful tools to adapt their supply chains as the world grew more complex. Here in 2025, that looks like a pretty good bet — even if the way it's playing out is more stressful and chaotic than anyone really wants it to be. There are some big, unsettling ideas here, but talking about them directly and with clarity at least made me feel like I had a framework to understand the endless on-again, off-again news cycle on tariffs and trade. Links:  Globalization 2.0 Manifesto | Altana The ‘giant sucking sound' of NAFTA | The Conversation ‘Offensive Realism': The never-ending struggle for power | American Diplomacy (2002) Foreign Affairs Big Mac I | NYT (1996) The end of the Golden Arches Doctrine | Financial Times Trump could scale back tariffs, Lutnick says | CNBC China joined rule-based trading system — then broke the rules | Politico Open Source and China: Inverting Copyright? | Wisconsin International Law Journal How the US lost out on iPhone work | NYT Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking to Verge policy editor Adi Robertson about a bill called the Take It Down Act, which is one in a long line of bills that would make it illegal to distribute non-consensual intimate imagery, or NCII. This is a real and devastating problem on the internet, and AI is just making it worse.  But Adi just wrote a long piece arguing that giving the Trump administration new powers over speech in this way would be a mistake. So in this episode, Adi and I really get into the details of the Take it Down Act, how it might be weaponized, and why we ultimately can't trust anything the Trump administration says about wanting to solve this problem.  Links:  The Take It Down Act isn't a law, it's a weapon | Verge A bill combatting the spread of AI deepfakes just passed the Senate | Verge Welcome to the era of gangster tech regulation | Verge FTC workers are getting terminated | Verge Bluesky deletes AI protest video of Trump sucking Musk's toes | 404 Media Trump supports Take It Down Act so he can silence critics | EFF Scarlett Johansson calls for deepfake ban after AI video goes viral | Verge The FCC is a weapon in Trump's war on free speech | Decoder Trolls have flooded X with graphic Taylor Swift AI fakes | Verge Teen girls confront an epidemic of deepfake nudes in schools | NYT Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Almar Latour is the publisher of the Wall Street Journal and also CEO of its parent company, Dow Jones — itself a part of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. Almar's been with the paper since the 90s, and now he's got insight into all the modern messes. He's made a big deal with OpenAI, while also suing Perplexity — all while building his own AI data products for Dow Jones customers. He's also a strong defender of press freedom who fought to have Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich released from Russia after being imprisoned for more than a year — while News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch famously has deep ties to Trump and has overseen a vastly polarized and politicized era of news media. Links:  Here are the WSJ journalists whose jobs were eliminated | Talking Biz News OpenAI, WSJ parent strike content deal valued at over $250M | Wall Street Journal News Corp sues Perplexity for ripping off WSJ, New York Post | The Verge Dow Jones negotiates AI usage rights with 4,000 publishers | Nieman Lab Rupert Murdoch joins Trump in Oval Office | The Hollywood Reporter WSJ reporter Evan Gershkovich is free | Wall Street Journal Trump sues Iowa newspaper and top pollster | Reuters The FCC is a weapon in Trump's war on free speech | The Verge CBS considers caving on Trump lawsuit to save Skydance merger | The Verge Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/626229 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So today I'm talking to Andy Hawkins, The Verge's transportation editor, about what's going on in the skies. Andy just edited a big piece for us by writer Darryl Campbell that helps put a lot of what's happening in air travel right now in perspective. It has some very reassuring data points, but it also raises important questions about what we need to do next to reinstill confidence in air travel. Andy and I talked about how safe it really is to fly right now — extremely safe, it turns out — and how the current air traffic systems might change for better and worse. And, of course, we talked about Elon Musk. Links:  What's the deal with all these airplane crashes? | Verge How Elon Musk muscled his way into the FAA | Bloomberg Elon Musk says upgrade of FAA's air traffic control system is failing | CNN FAA targeting Verizon contract in favor of Musk's Starlink, sources say | WashPo FAA officials ordered staff to find funding for Elon Musk's Starlink | Rolling Stone FAA announces ‘hiring supercharge' for air traffic controllers | Forbes Air traffic control trainees to get raise, in nod to cost of living | NYT Some of the 400 jobs that were cut at the FAA helped support air safety | AP DC plane crash marks first major commercial crash in US since 2009 | ABC What the ATC controller sees | Flight Training Central Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Panos Panay is in charge of devices and services at Amazon — that's everything from Alexa and Kindle to Ring, Eero, and even the Project Kuiper satellite internet service that's meant to compete with Starlink. He's led the team through giving Alexa a big AI infusion which is what drew him to Amazon after nearly 20 years with Microsoft. Like so many folks in tech, he sees AI as a platform shift that will change the way we use computers. Fair warning: We talk about Alexa a lot in this one, so you might want to go mute your Alexa device mics now. Links:  With Alexa Plus, Amazon finally reinvents its best product | Verge The future of the Kindle with Panos Panay | Vergecast Amazon announces AI-powered Alexa Plus | Verge All of the announcements from Amazon's Alexa Plus event | Verge Alexa Plus arrives with promise but plenty of questions | Verge Amazon Leadership Principles | Amazon How Amazon runs Alexa, with Dave Limp (2021) | Decoder Alexa loses her voice | YouTube Humane is shutting down the AI pin | Verge Mike Krieger wants to build AI products that are worth the hype | Verge Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/621232 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is Alex Heath, deputy editor of The Verge. I'm guest hosting today's episode while Nilay is still away for a much-needed vacation. He'll be back next week. But today, we're diving into the bromance between Elon Musk and Donald Trump, and more specifically, how it's impacting the changing right-wing political movement here in the United States.  There's no better place to get that temperature check than CPAC. Musk showed up there this year for a wild interview — you may have seen clips of him waving around a literal chainsaw. Thankfully, Verge policy Gaby del Valle was on the ground this year, and as you'll hear her say, she barely slept. But she got a front-row look at how the world of MAGA really feels about Elon, DOGE, and regulating Big Tech.  Links:  I cannot describe how strange Elon Musk's CPAC appearance was | Verge At CPAC, the world's populists parrot the leader who inspired them | Politico Government still threatening to ‘semi-fire' workers who don't answer Musk email | Verge Saying ‘no' to Musk | NYT What that chainsaw was really about | NYT Sequins, merch, chainsaws: Trump's return to CPAC | NYT Bannon calls Musk a ‘parasitic illegal immigrant' | NYT New York got $80 Million for migrants. The White House took it back | NYT Federal technology staffers resign rather than help Musk and DOGE | AP National Park Service layoffs, hiring delays impact visitors | NPR Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Vimeo started many years ago as something of an artsier, more creative competitor to YouTube. Its last CEO, Anjali Sud, took the company through a pretty huge transformation into an enterprise software company, and we had her on the show to talk about that transformation a couple years ago. Now, her successor, new CEO Philip Moyer, not only has to decide what parts of that strategy are working, but also how to navigate the addition of AI to the mix, and deal with the basic math of the creator economy: The amount of video in the world is exploding, but the total amount of time a person can spend watching any of it is pretty fixed. So with AI adding to the volume, how is anyone going to be able to make any money at all? Links:  How Anjali Sud reinvented Vimeo | Decoder (2021) How Dropout is taking control with Vimeo OTT | Vimeo Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena on making a website in 2023 | Decoder Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami on why the web isn't dying | Decoder NBCU's streaming chief isn't worried about you canceling cable | Decoder Vimeo names new CMO as it focuses on business video | WSJ The truth about Vimeo and YouTube SEO | Vimeo Google's counteroffer to a breakup is unbundling Android apps | Verge China opens Google antitrust probe in retaliation to tariffs | Verge Vimeo's position on AI | Vimeo Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/616820 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is David Pierce, editor-at-large at The Verge. Nilay is off this week for a much-deserved break. So I'm filling in for him, and the Decoder team thought this would be a good opportunity to switch gears a little bit from the political apocalypse beat and talk about something completely different. So today we're diving into the video game industry and discussing a particular set of very thorny problems facing Microsoft and its Xbox division. I invited Ash Parrish, The Verge's video game reporter, to discuss the issues facing Xbox, Microsoft's big ambitions with its Game Pass subscription service, and why the game industry hasn't had its Netflix or Spotify moment yet. Links:  Xbox continues its push beyond consoles with new ad campaign | Verge The next Xbox is going to be very different | Verge 2025 looks like a great year for Xbox | Verge Microsoft prepares to take Xbox everywhere | Verge Microsoft and Google are fighting over the future of Xbox | Verge Microsoft was the No.1 games publisher in the world last month | VGC Xbox games in Game Pass ‘can lose 80% of premium sales' | VGC Phil Spencer: No ‘red lines' over Xbox games coming to Switch, PlayStation | Eurogamer Microsoft's Xbox turmoil isn't slowing down | Verge Microsoft says Game Pass is profitable as subscription growth slows | Verge Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The First Amendment, protecting free speech and free media, is a pillar of US law. It is, famously, the first one. We don't usually tolerate government interference with speech. So it's been disconcerting these first few weeks of the second Trump administration to realize suddenly, there's a nonzero chance the government will punish our work. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is absolutely determined to turn all that talk about the media being the enemy of the people into concrete legal action — incredibly serious, unprecedented attacks on free speech. Links:  Carr's emerging agenda and its dangerous effects | Tech Policy Press Trump's MAGA enforcer is having ‘the time of his life' | The Daily Beast FCC to investigate Comcast for having DEI programs | The Verge Trump amends CBS '60 Minutes' lawsuit & demands $20 billion | LA Times No Apology Over Trump Lawsuit, ‘60 Minutes' Top Producer Says | New York Times The FCC is investigating NPR and PBS | The Verge ABC News to pay $15 million to settle Trump defamation suit | Wall Street Journal Top Trump donor wants SCOTUS to reverse press protection | The New Republic Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Senator Ron Wyden, a democrat and the senior senator from Oregon. He's been in the Senate for almost 30 years, which makes him one of longest serving members of the institution. We scheduled this interview with Senator Wyden a while ago — he's got a new book out called “It Takes Chutzpah: How to Fight Fearlessly for Progressive Change.”  But recent events made it vastly more important to talk about the state of our federal government – and specifically, what Elon Musk and DOGE are doing as they seize power in various federal agencies. So right up front and very bluntly, I wanted to ask Wyden: What is even going on? And can even he and his fellow senators keep up with it? Links:  It Takes Chutzpah | Hachette Book Group DOGE wreaked havoc on the government in just one week | Verge “For all practical purposes, I'd call that a coup.” | Verge Elon Musk's presidency is just getting started | Decoder Elon Musk's computer coup | Vergecast Can anyone stop President Musk? | Verge Demand for GAO to investigate what Elon is doing at Treasury [PDF] Senator Has Dire Warning About Letting Elon Musk Run Wild | New Republic “Trump and Bessent are asking you not to believe what's playing out right in front of your eyes.” | Wyden (Bluesky) “My message to Musk is simple: get your hands off our money and get the hell out.” Wyden (Bluesky) Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we're discussing a very big problem with extremely far-reaching consequences: Do we still have a functional federal government here in the United States? And how much of it has been handed entirely to Elon Musk?  If you've been following the news, you know there's a lot here that's unfolding very fast, but I wanted to know how all these changes are affecting the people who've so far been the most newly supportive of Trump because they have the most to lose – the money, the billionaires. So I invited New York Times reporter Teddy Schleiffer, who's been covering this closely every day since the inauguration, on the show to help break it down. Links:  Inside Musk's aggressive incursion into the federal government | NYT ‘The biggest heist in American history': DC is just waking up to Musk's takeover | Verge ‘Scared and betrayed' — workers are reeling from chaos at federal agencies | Verge Treasury Department sued over DOGE takeover | Verge Can anyone stop President Musk? | Verge Elon Musk's team one has access to Treasury's payments system | NYT Elon Musk's bureaucratic coup | Atlantic Trump: Elon Musk won't do anything 'without our approval' | NBC News The young, inexperienced engineers aiding Musk's government takeover | Wired USDS head Mina Hsiang wants big tech to help fix government (2023) | Decoder Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andy Hunter is the CEO of Bookshop.org, a website he launched in 2020 that lets local bookshops sell all over the country. He always meant it to compete directly with Amazon, and the timing of that launch right into the teeth of the pandemic meant it was able to start strong and grow quickly. Now Bookshop is selling ebooks, which is another market hugely dominated by Amazon. For Andy and Bookshop to get what they want, they're probably going to have to gear up for a big fight. It's kind of the app store question all over again, just like the big cases Epic had against Apple and Google, and it's all prime Decoder territory. Links:  Bookshop is launching an ebook store to take on Amazon | The Verge As greenwashing soars, some question B Corp certification | BBC ‘The Goliath is Amazon': After 100 years, B&N wants to go back to its roots | Decoder How Bookshop survives and thrives in Amazon's world | Wired Apple to pay $450M after Supreme Court denies price-fixing appeal [2016] | The Verge Epic Games vs Apple | The Verge Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/604809 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Xander Adams.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, we're talking about DeepSeek, and how the open source AI model built by a Chinese startup has completely upended the conventional wisdom around chatbots, what they can do, and how much they should cost to develop.  We're also talking about Stargate, OpenAI's new $500 billion data center venture that's supposed to supercharge domestic AI infrastructure. Both stand in stark contrast with one another — and represent a new, escalating front in the US-China relationship and the geopolitics of AI. Verge senior AI reporter Kylie Robison joins me to break it all down.   Links:  Why everyone is freaking out about DeepSeek | Verge DeepSeek FAQ | Stratechery DeepSeek: all the news about the startup that's shaking up AI stocks | Verge OpenAI and Softbank are starting a $500 billion AI data center company | Verge The AI spending frenzy is just getting started | Command Line After DeepSeek, VCs face questions about AI investments | NYT Satya Nadella on Stargate: ‘All I know is I'm good for my $80 billion' | Verge OpenAI says it has evidence DeepSeek used its model to train competitor | FT DeepSeek sparks global AI selloff, Nvidia loses about $593 billion of value | Reuters Four big reasons to worry about DeepSeek (and four reasons to calm down) | Platformer Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Ursa Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Gary Smith, CEO of the networking company Ciena. You probably aren't familiar with Ciena — the company isn't really a household name. But every internet user has relied on the company's products; Ciena makes the hardware and software that makes the fiber optic cables connecting the world light up with data.  That's everything from local fiber networks for broadband ISPs to the massive undersea cables that connect continents. There's a high probability that this very podcast came to you over a Ciena network, in fact — the company is everywhere. That means almost every single Decoder idea is right here, sitting on the backbone of the internet. Links:  What is WDM or DWDM? | Ciena Southern Cross achieves first 1 Tb/s Transmission across Pacific with Ciena | Ciena The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat | Verge The internet really is a series of tubes | Vergecast Meta is building the ‘mother of all' subsea cables | Verge Ciena CEO: Prepare for the AI wave | Fierce Network The secret life of the 500-plus cables that run the internet CNET Fiber-Optic Technology Draws Record Stock Value | NYT Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24115288 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's been a messy couple of weeks for big tech companies as the second Trump administration kicks off an unprecedented era of how we think about who controls the internet. Right now, there's a major collision, or maybe merger, happening between billionaire power and state power, and everyone who uses tech to communicate — so, basically everyone — is stuck in the middle. I sat down with law professor and online speech expert Kate Klonick to break it all down.  Links:  Welcome to the era of gangster tech regulation | Verge Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days | Verge Inside Zuckerberg's sprint to remake Meta for Trump era | New York Times The internet's future is looking bleaker by the day | Wired Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech | Verge Mark Zuckerberg lies about content moderation to Joe Rogan's face | Verge Meta's ‘tipping point' is about aligning with power | WashPo Meta is preparing for an autocratic future | Tech Policy Press Meta surrenders to the right on speech | Platformer We're all trying to find the guy who did this | Atlantic Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright.  The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today, I'm talking with Matt Garman, the CEO of Amazon Web Services. Matt took over as CEO last June — you might recall that we had his predecessor Adam Selipsky on the show just over a year ago. That makes this episode terrific Decoder bait, since I love hearing how new CEOs will decide what to change and what to keep going after they've settled into their role. Links:  There's no AI without the cloud, says AWS CEO Adam Selipsky | Decoder Amazon's AWS to invest $11 bln in Georgia to boost AI infrastructure | Reuters Netflix's Ted Sarandos responds to Jake Paul-Mike Tyson glitches | THR The furious contest to unseat Nvidia as king of AI chips | NYT Amazon's moonshot plan to rival Nvidia in AI chips | Bloomberg Amazon invests another $4 billion in Anthropic | The Verge Why Netflix never goes down | The Verge Sam Altman lowers the bar for AGI | The Verge Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24102212 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Hello, Nilay here. We're still on winter break; we'll be back with brand-new Decoder interviews next week, and with our Thursday shows later this month. I'm excited for what we've got in the pipeline. I think you're going to love it. For today, though, we're sharing an episode of Peter Kafka's new show Channels – he's talking to disinformation researcher Renee DiResta about what's going on with speech online in an era where platforms seem less inclined to moderate than ever. Peter's an old friend and Renee is an expert on all this — there's a lot of core Decoder themes in this one. Enjoy, and we'll be back in a bit. Links:  Channels with Peter Kafka | Apple Podcasts The Stanford Internet Observatory is being dismantled | Platformer A major disinformation research center's future looks uncertain | The Verge Supreme Court to hear case on how government talks to social platforms | The Verge GOP targets researchers who study disinformation ahead of 2024 Election | NYT She warned of ‘peer-to-peer misinformation.' Congress listened | NYT Disinformation watchdogs are under pressure. This group refuses to stop | NYT Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Decoder team turns the tables on Nilay and makes him answer your burning listener questions in our end-of-year wrap up special. We also reflect on the year's biggest Decoder themes, discuss some of the most popular feedback we've received, and tease what we have planned for next year.  Links:  Here we go: The Verge now has a subscription | The Verge Intuit asked us to delete part of this Decoder episode | Decoder What's really behind Big Tech's return-to-office mandates? | Decoder Rabbit CEO Jesse Lyu isn't thinking too far ahead | Decoder Transparent Vice | The Verge UiPath CEO Daniel Dines thinks automation can fight the great resignation | Decoder Palmer Luckey, American Vulcan | Tablet  A revolution in how robots learn | The New Yorker Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today we're talking about antitrust policy and tech, which is at a particularly weird moment as we enter the second Trump administration. A lot of tech policy is at a weird moment, actually, but antitrust might be the weirdest of them all — the pendulum has swung back and forth on antitrust policy pretty wildly over the past few years, and it's about to swing again under Trump. So I asked Leah Nylen, an antitrust reporter for Bloomberg News and a leading expert on this subject, to come on the show and help break it all down.  Links:  Trump's antitrust trio heralds Big Tech crackdown to continue | Bloomberg Trump picks FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson to lead the agency | Politico Trump picks Gail Slater to head Justice Department's antitrust division | Reuters Trump names Brendan Carr as his FCC leader | The Verge Trump's FTC pick promises to go after ‘censorship' from tech companies | The Verge Breaking down the DOJ's plan to end Google's search monopoly | The Verge US v. Google redux: all the news from the ad tech trial | The Verge Tech leaders kiss the ring | The Verge DOJ antitrust chief is ‘overjoyed' after Google monopoly verdict | Decoder This is Big Tech's playbook for swallowing the AI industry | Command Line Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Alex Heath, Deputy Editor at The Verge, guest hosts this episode of Decoder featuring a live interview with Arm CEO Rene Haas about the future of AI and the semiconductor industry. The two discuss his thoughts on the struggles of Intel, the rumors Arm is developing its own AI chips to rival Nvidia's, and his thoughts on the incoming Trump administration.  Links:  What Arm's CEO makes of the Intel debacle | Command Line How Arm conquered the chip market without making a single chip | Decoder Arm could be the unexpected winner of the AI investment boom | FT Arm to reportedly launch AI chips by 2025 to capture explosive demand | CNBC Intel's CEO is out after only three years | The Verge What happened to Intel? | The Verge Nvidia plans ARM-based PC platform to rival Intel, AMD | DigiTimes Qualcomm x Arm beef escalates | The Verge Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24084728 Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've been talking a lot this year about the changing internet, and what it's doing to the media ecosystem — particularly journalism, which has taken a backseat to creators and influencers. But the tech platforms themselves have a lot of influence over what those creators and influencers make, too. If you're a Decoder listener, you'll recognize this as one of my common themes — the idea that the way we distribute media directly influences the media we make.  To break this all down, I invited media critic and labor union president Matt Pearce on the show to discuss a great blog he wrote titled “Lessons on media policy at the slaughter-bench of history.” We get into what mechanisms can be used to fund journalism, and how building a direct audience and exercising control over distribution is more pivotal than ever.  Links:  Lessons on media policy at the slaughter-bench of history | Matt Pearce Journalism's fight for survival in a postliterate democracy | Matt Pearce A deep dive into Google's shady (and shoddy) California journalism deal | Matt Pearce Google Zero is here — now what? | Decoder Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse and what comes next | Decoder Illusory Truth Effect | The Decision Lab The people who ruined the internet | The Verge Another independent site says Google killed its business | The Verge Google ‘can't guarantee' that independent sites will recover | The Verge Owner of Los Angeles Times Plans ‘Bias Meter' Next to Coverage | NYT Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's something strange happening these days in the podcast world — in particular, the way companies that deal in money have been using podcasting as not just an entertainment medium, but a unique kind of hybrid of marketing, thought leadership, and networking. Guest host David Pierce and Vulture podcast critic Nick Quah break it all down.  Links:  How Venture Capitalists Use Podcasts to Lure in Founders | Vanity Fair Your Next Podcast Interview Might Be a Meeting In Disguise | Bloomberg Elliott launches podcast in attack ploy aimed at Southwest | Axios How podcasts became the new battleground state | Vulture In the “Podcast Election,” Trump talked to vastly more people | Edison Research Podcasts become politician magnets | Axios Founders of podcast ‘Acquired' are raising an investment fund | GeekWire Podcaster-turned-VC Harry Stebbings raises $400m for third fund | Sifted Credits: Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James. The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices