Podcast appearances and mentions of megan rose dickey

2025 will be the inagural season of the Golden State WNBA team. We are SO excited to welcome this franchise, the players, and all the amazing WNBA energy to our city. On April 17th, the President of the new team, Jess Smith, will sit down with Danette Leighton, CEO of the Women's Sports Foundation, and Axios reporter, Megan Rose Dickey, to talk about the future of the team, the impact it will have on our city, and what's involved in this exciting process! Come with all your questions for Jess and Danette and let's show this team some love.

This Sunday, Phoenix hit a new record: 31 straight days of temperatures of at least t 110°F. It's part of the extreme heat hitting the U.S. hard this summer, and it's especially hurting low-income households. We take a closer look at extreme heat's affect on Americans' access to food. Plus, how fatigue illustrates the challenges with long COVID treatment. And, what lab-grown meat tastes like. Guests: Axios' Ayurella Horn-Muller and Megan Rose Dickey; Journalist Ed Yong. Credits: Axios Today is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, Fonda Mwangi, Lydia McMullen-Laird and Ben O'Brien. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893. Go deeper: How extreme heat hits America's hungry Fatigue Can Shatter a Person Lab-grown meat's big ambitions Ed Yong's Newsletter Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Supreme Court on Thursday struck down the use of affirmative action. Colleges and universities may no longer explicitly consider an applicant's race when deciding admissions. Plus, bringing lesbian bars back from the brink of extinction. Guests: Axios' Sam Baker, Megan Rose Dickey, Jessica Boehm, Alissa Widman Neese and Arika Herron. Credits: Axios Today is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, Fonda Mwangi, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Robin Linn and Ben O'Brien. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893. Go deeper: Supreme Court strikes down affirmative action at colleges Ending affirmative action is watershed moment for higher education Why finding a lesbian bar near you is almost impossible Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The DEA has proposed new rules that would require doctors to see patients in person before they can prescribe medications like Oxytocin and Adderall. The rules would also impact medications like buprenorphine, which is used to treat opioid addiction. Plus, San Francisco weighs a hefty reparations plan. Guests: Axios' Sabrina Moreno and Megan Rose Dickey. Credits: Axios Today is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Alexandra Botti, Naomi Shavin, Lydia McMullen-Laird and Alex Sugiura. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893. Go Deeper: DEA rules on prescribing controlled substances roil behavioral health San Francisco's reparations plan set for public hearing Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Russia has stopped gas flow to Europe. The Nord Stream pipeline has been a key source of natural gas for decades, providing heat and electricity across the region. And the result of Russia's actions are already being felt keenly in Europe - even before cold weather sets in. Plus, could zero-down mortgages close the racial homeownership gap? And, the California power grid struggles against more extreme heat. Guests: Axios' Matt Phillips and Megan Rose Dickey; Logan Mohtashami, Lead Data Analyst for HousingWire Credits: Axios Today is produced by Niala Boodhoo, Sara Kehaulani Goo, Alexandra Botti, Lydia McMullen-Laird, Fonda Mwangi, Robin Linn, Alex Sugiura, and Ben O'Brien. Music is composed by Evan Viola. You can reach us at podcasts@axios.com. You can text questions, comments and story ideas to Niala as a text or voice memo to 202-918-4893. Go deeper: Bank of America Tests No-Down-Payment Mortgages in Black and Hispanic Neighborhoods R.I.P. Europe's energy system [please update] Heat wave in West breaks records, threatens California grid Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Highlights from their conversation include:Megan's activity journey (3:07)How Megan started running (10:40)Long-term relationship with running (16:12)Self-talk when you don't feel like running (17:20)Underrated parts of running (19:03)Megan's favorite thing about running (21:00)Separating work for the sake of self-care (23:41)Balancing self-care and work (30:13)Quick-fire round: book recommendation, childhood dream job, running is ___, one song repeat, favorite running app, favorite self aspect (31:26)Backstage Capital is a VC firm that boasts one of the largest portfolios of underrepresented founders in venture. To learn more about Backstage, visit backstagecapital.com.

This week marks one year since a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd. The year has seen national, even global, protests, demanding justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black victims of police killings as well as a racial reckoning in society and business. Many tech companies came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and made promises to make their companies more diverse and equitable in a notoriously nondiverse industry. One year later, is it possible to measure their progress? “Marketplace Tech” host Molly Wood speaks with Megan Rose Dickey, a senior reporter at Protocol who covers labor and diversity in tech. Cheers to making it through this year! Donate today and get our new Mason Jar Mug and stock market-inspired drink recipes: marketplace.org/givetech

This week marks one year since a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd. The year has seen national, even global, protests, demanding justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black victims of police killings as well as a racial reckoning in society and business. Many tech companies came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and made promises to make their companies more diverse and equitable in a notoriously nondiverse industry. One year later, is it possible to measure their progress? “Marketplace Tech” host Molly Wood speaks with Megan Rose Dickey, a senior reporter at Protocol who covers labor and diversity in tech. Cheers to making it through this year! Donate today and get our new Mason Jar Mug and stock market-inspired drink recipes: marketplace.org/givetech

This week marks one year since a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd. The year has seen national, even global, protests, demanding justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black victims of police killings as well as a racial reckoning in society and business. Many tech companies came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and made promises to make their companies more diverse and equitable in a notoriously nondiverse industry. One year later, is it possible to measure their progress? “Marketplace Tech” host Molly Wood speaks with Megan Rose Dickey, a senior reporter at Protocol who covers labor and diversity in tech. Cheers to making it through this year! Donate today and get our new Mason Jar Mug and stock market-inspired drink recipes: marketplace.org/givetech

This week marks one year since a Minneapolis police officer murdered George Floyd. The year has seen national, even global, protests, demanding justice for Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other Black victims of police killings as well as a racial reckoning in society and business. Many tech companies came out in support of the Black Lives Matter movement and made promises to make their companies more diverse and equitable in a notoriously nondiverse industry. One year later, is it possible to measure their progress? “Marketplace Tech” host Molly Wood speaks with Megan Rose Dickey, a senior reporter at Protocol who covers labor and diversity in tech. Cheers to making it through this year! Donate today and get our new Mason Jar Mug and stock market-inspired drink recipes: marketplace.org/givetech

Tomio Geron joins the show to discuss a wild week in the crypto world, and what the U.S. government is trying to do to calm things down. Then, Megan Rose Dickey explains what we’ve learned from a recent set of tech company diversity reports, and where the industry still has the most work to do. Finally, Nick Statt catches us up on another week of Epic v. Apple, and tells us what happens after the trial wraps up this week.For more on the topics in this episode:Tomio Geron on TwitterCrypto is crashing. Is this a dip or the end?Washington is rushing to regulate crypto. It’s a mess.How Blockchain Can Fix One Of Wall Street's Thorniest ProblemsMegan Rose Dickey on TwitterA year after blockbuster accusations and lawsuits, Pinterest says it's 'committed to doing better'Did Coinbase screw up? Survey says workers want to talk about race.Banning politics at work? Not at Asana, says DEI chief.Salesforce's diversity report shows progressNick Statt on TwitterApple's Craig Federighi throws Mac security under the busNot even Phil Schiller knows the App Store's profitability, and that's great news for AppleApple says Fortnite commissions totaled more than $100 million, but the real number is likely higherFor all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage. 

First, we go over what’s in the Biden administration’s $2 trillion infrastructure plan, and what it might mean for tech. Then Shen Lu Shen joins the show to talk about the Chinese government’s recent crackdowns on Alibaba, Baidu, Tencent and other local tech giants. Finally, Megan Rose Dickey discusses the Asian American experience in the tech industry right now, and why the “model minority” myth continues to be a problem.For more on the topics in this episode:President Biden wants to spend $500 billion on techShen Lu Shen on TwitterChinese Big Tech's shadiest practicesMegan Rose Dickey on TwitterAsian Americans in tech say they face ‘a unique flavor of oppression’For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines.Your humble Equity team is pretty tired but in good spirits, as there was a lot to talk about this week. But, first, three things to start us off:First: Read this piece from TechCrunch's Megan Rose Dickey about Juneteenth and tech companies. This podcast is going out on Juneteenth, so before you hit play, please take a minute to learn more about the day and its significance.Second: Danny and Arman from the TechCrunch team have finally launched TechCrunch List, a huge effort to determine which investors are really willing to write early checks. You can find out more here.Third: Equity is now on Twitter. Follow us here or understand that you are not cool.All that said, here's what we talked about on the show: Epic Games is looking to raise a huge stack of cash (Bloomberg, VentureBeat) at a new, higher valuation. We were curious about how its lower-cut store could help it gain inroads with developers big and small. That part of the chat, the take-rate of the Fortnite parent company on the work of others was very cogent to the other main topic of the day:Apple vs. DHH. So Hey launched this week, and the new spin on email quickly overshadowed its product launch by getting into a spat with Apple about whether it needs to add the ability to sign up for the paid service on iOS, thus giving Apple a cut of its revenue. DHH and crew do not agree. Apple is under fire for anti-competitive practices at home and abroad -- of varying intensity, and from different sources -- making this all the more spicy.Upgrade raises $40 million for its credit-focused neobank.Degreed raises $32 million for its upskilling platform.And, at the end, our take on the current health of the startup market. There have been a sheaf of reports lately about what is going on in startup land. We gave our take.And that's that. Have a lovely weekend and catch up on some sleep.

Arlan Hamilton's story is one made for the movies. In 2015, she was homeless, sleeping on the floors of the San Francisco airport, and dreaming of making it big in the venture capital world. As a gay black woman, she knew she didn't fit the typical mold of a VC superstar, but she also knew that there were countless other founders and funders whose potential remained underestimated and untapped because they were different. With zero connections in Silicon Valley and a single laptop, she founded Backstage Capital—a seed-stage investment fund that has since garnered national recognition and invested $5 million in more than 100 start-ups founded by minorities. Join Hamilton at INFORUM, where she will share her incredible story of triumph in the face of systematic adversity, and how she defied expectations in hopes of inspiring an entire industry to change for the better. This conversation will be moderated by Megan Rose Dickey, senior reporter at TechCrunch. NOTES Part of our Good Lit series, underwritten by the Bernard Osher Foundation Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, we're joined by Megan Rose Dickey to review Netflix's first music competition series, "Rhythm + Flow." (It feels like you can't really "spoil" a reality TV series that's been out for a month, but just to warn you: We reveal who wins.) Before that, we discuss how our impressions of Disney+ have changed as we've spent more time with the service.And if you'd like to skip ahead, here's how the episode breaks down:0:00 Intro1:30 Disney+ follow-up8:28 Rhythm + Flow review

Hello and welcome back to Equity, TechCrunch’s venture capital-focused podcast, where we unpack the numbers behind the headlines. Our esteemed co-host Alex Wilhelm was out again this week, but Kate Clark was in the studio with the lovely TechCrunch editor Connie Loizos and Canvas Ventures' general partner Rebecca Lynn. The wonderful Chris Gates is on vacation this week, so TechCrunch's Megan Rose Dickey sat in the producer's chair. That made this episode extra special, as it was our first all-female group on the mics and behind the scenes. First on the docket was news from StockX and Cameo. The buzzy startups both raised big rounds this week. The former, a sneaker resale marketplace, closed on $110 million at a $1 billion valuation, while the latter attracted $50 million at a reported $300 million valuation. Rebecca shared her thoughts on the rise of influencer marketing and how its made way for the success of mobile apps and websites like Cameo, which caters to celebrities and influencers. Next up was Brandless. The direct-to-consumer business made headlines this week after a report from The Information outlined internal drama following a big investment from SoftBank in 2018. Amid the turmoil, detailed here and here, the business brought on a brand-new CEO, former Walmart chief operating officer John Rittenhouse. Whether he can meet SoftBank's steep demands remains to be seen. The whole thing leaves us wondering: Do any of SoftBank's portfolio companies regret taking the firm's money? Finally, we talked about WeWork's latest acquisition. The co-working giant bought Waltz, a smartphone app and reader that allows users to enter different properties with a single credential. The deal will make it easier for WeWork’s enterprise clients, such as GE Healthcare and Microsoft, to manage their employees’ on-demand memberships to WeWork spaces. WeWork has been quite acquisitive in 2019. Will its M&A activity help it prepare for an IPO? And why the hell does it still have an all-male board? We have more questions than answers. That's all for now. See you next week.

The Internet enabled a new era of child sexual abuse. Now tech nonprofits, tech giants, and the latest advances in artificial intelligence have set out to defeat it. Julie Cordua, CEO of Thorn, and Megan Rose Dickey, Senior Reporter at TechCrunch, discuss. This was recorded at Fast Forward's tech for good summit, Accelerate Good Global. 

This week, we're joined by Megan Rose Dickey to discuss Jordan Peel's latest horror film — the awkwardly-titled "Us" — and to the first trailer for the next Star Wars movie, "The Rise of Skywalker." Links: [Watch the first trailer for 'Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker'][1] [1]: https://techcrunch.com/2019/04/12/star-wars-rise-of-skywalker-trailer/

It’s that time of the week again when Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet talk about the good and could-be-better tech companies. This week, we talked about Instacart getting caught shorting its shoppers out of dough they rightfully deserved. Of course the company apologized for its “misguided” approach. Which at least sounds better than apologizing for getting caught — and getting caught, the company did. And wouldn’t you know it, scooter drama persists in San Francisco. The city this week shot down an appeal by JUMP to let it deploy its Uber-run scooters. The company it seems could have filed a better application in the first place, so back to the drawing board it goes to try to convince the municipality to relent. Finally this week we talk about Tyra Banks’s Modelland, a physical space that will open in Santa Monica, California, later this year. It will give visitors an opportunity to experience life in a tech environment. I am intrigued. But she was very clear that it is not for models or people who want to be models.

Screen time for kids, corporations not paying people from underrepresented groups and IBM offers some hope for the future of facial recognition technology: These are the topics that Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet dive into on this week’s episode of Mixtape.  According to research by psychologists from the University of Calgary, spending too much time in front of screens can stung the development of toddlers. The study found that kids 2-5 years old who engage in more screen time received worse scores in developmental screening tests.” We talk a bit about this then wax nostalgically about "screen time" of yore.  We then turn to a filing against Oracle by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs that states the enterprise company allegedly withheld upwards of $400 million to employees from underrepresented minority groups. The company initially declined to comment, but then thought better of itself and returned the very next day with its thoughts on the matter.  And finally, IBM is trying to make facial recognition technology a thing that doesn’t unfairly target people of color. Technology! The positive news comes a week after Amazon shareholders demanded that the company stop selling Rekognition, its very own facial recognition tech that it sells to law enforcement and government agencies. 

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mixtape, the podcast that goes a bit behind the headlines to bring tech to culture. This week Megan Rose Dickey and I welcome Tiana Kara, the head of partnerships and growth at #builtbygirls (which, like TechCrunch, is owned by Verizon Media Group). The organization connects girls and women between the ages of 15 and 22 with mentors of all stripes in the tech industry based on their interests.

This week Megan Rose Dickey and I welcome Tiana Kara, the head of partnerships and growth at #builtbygirls (which, like TechCrunch, is owned by Verizon Media Group). The organization connects girls and women between the ages of 15 and 22 with mentors of all stripes in the tech industry based on their interests. The idea here is that not all tech jobs include coding, and #builtbygirls wants all young girls who want in the industry to know that. We also take a look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her near-perfect ability to troll the GOP through her social media presence. Sparking our conversation, and Catherine Shu’s look into Ocasio-Cortez’s internet prowess, was a story about AOC voicing her support of transgender youth group Mermaids on Twitch. And we already knew that the algorithms of some of those DNA services can yield different results. But it’s harder to take when they’re twins. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey Henry Pickavet

We’re coming to you with another episode of Mixtape, the TechCrunch podcast that takes a peek behind the headlines that go beyond tech.  This week, Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet get into a discussion about women’s sexuality, because the world’s biggest "consumer electronics show” revoked an innovation award from Lora DiCarlo, a company that created a sex toy for women. In its initial objection, the CTA cited a clause that entries they believed “in their sole discretion to be immoral, obscene, indecent, profane or not in keeping with the CTA’s image will be disqualified.” That’s not great. Of course it walked the comments back, saying that the product, called Osé, didn’t fit into an existing product category. Except that the product falls squarely in the robotics category.  We also discussed robot delivery dogs, because those things don’t seem like they’re ever going to go away. And finally, people continue to do stupid "Bird Box" challenges based on dumb ideas they have after watching Netflix’s hit movie starring Sandra Bullock. Stop it.  CES revokes award from female-founded sex tech company Robot delivery dogs deployed by self-driving cars are coming Blindfolded Bird Box Challenger crashes car

We speak with Black Girl Ventures founder Shelly Bell about the lack of diversity and inclusion within the venture capital space and the ways we can work to combat the issue.Find out more about Black Girl Ventures: https://www.blackgirlventures.org/Learn about Bumble Bizz here: https://bumble.com/bizzConnect with us: https://linktr.ee/livingcorporateTRANSCRIPTAde: "The fact that African-American founders have limited access to investment has been well-documented, but you might not know that that problem is replicated in the venture capital world too. In recent years, several black-owned or directed VC funds and firms have opened their doors with a focus on minority and women-owned businesses, but as it turns out, many VCs are hitting the same obstacles as the founders they're trying to invest in - access to capital. According to PitchBook, American VC funds raised approximately $40.6 billion in 2016, with this year on course to make 2017 the fourth consecutive year with more than $40 billion raised. But with less than 3% of VC funds employing black [inaudible] investment professionals, only a small fraction of that sum will find its way to businesses owned or run by people of color." This excerpt is from Barry A. Williams' article "One Reason Black Founders Don't Get Enough Funding - Black VCs Don't Either." It explains the methods that entrepreneurs of color employ to support their startups, none of them nearly as effective as their white counterparts. The data doesn't lie. Less than 3% of all VC funding goes to entrepreneurs of color. In a world that is more empowered now than ever before to pursue entrepreneurial ventures, what can people of color do to garner the financial support they need? My name is Ade, and this is Living Corporate.Zach: [singing] Money, money, money... money! Ade: Child, what? [laughs] What are you talking about?Zach: [laughing] What? Listen, today is all about the lack of diversity in venture capital, specifically the reality that there's a huge disparity in the distribution of funds between white and brown and black entrepreneurs. So it comes down to...Ade: Oh, right. Money. Okay, all right. Capital. I'm with you now. Well, you're right. I mean, we live in a capitalistic society. We need money to do anything, so money is the life of startups.Zach: Yep, and you know what? I have an excerpt from an article I want to share. This is from Megan Rose Dickey of TechCrunch called "Venture Capital's Diversity Disaster." Here we go. Quote, "Just 1% of venture capitalists are Latinx. Only 3% are black. White people, unsurprisingly, make up 70% of the venture capital industry, according to a recent analysis by Richard Kerby, a partner at Equal Ventures. Compared to Kerby's 2016 analysis, women now make up 18% of the VC industry versus just 11% back then. At an intersectional level, black and Latinx women make zero percent of the venture capital industry," end quote. So this is talking about the industry, whereas your initial commentary was about VC recipients. But I would contend that the lack of diversity within the industry supports the disparate funding between white and ethnic minorities, especially women of color. Ade: Right. And to be clear, minorities are out here. Like, we are out here pursuing entrepreneurship, and we do seek funding for our startups. I know we've been sharing articles throughout the show, but I have another one. This excerpt is from a Forbes article written by Daniel Applewhite called "Founders in Venture Capital: Racism Is Costing Us Billions." So it says, "In 2016, the Center for Global Policy Solutions reported that, due to discriminatory financing practices and a bias towards companies primarily operated by white males, America is losing out on over 1.1 million minority-owned businesses, and as a result forgoing over 9 million potential jobs and $300 billion in collective national income. Less than 1% of American venture capital-backed founders are black, and the percentage of blacks in decision-making roles within venture capital isn't much better. Pattern recognition has enabled VCs to mitigate risks, but has also limited their profit potential and created an inherent funding bias. This bias stems from barriers to early stage capital, a lack of representation in the investing space, and is perpetuated by systems of racism that destroy opportunities within communities of color." So having read all that, wouldn't it be great if we could get someone, maybe a person of color--a woman of color, even, who has created a non-profit organization specifically built to acquire VC for ethnic minority-owned businesses? That's very, very specific, but, I mean, if we can get J Prince on here, if we can get DeRay Mckesson on here, I feel like, you know, big things poppin'. We can be a little picky. What you feel?Zach: I feel you, and I think you mean our guest, owner of Black Girl Ventures, Shelly Bell. Ade and Zach: Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?Zach: [imitating air horns] Sound Man, come on. Drop 'em on in there. Let's go.[Sound Man complies]Ade: [laughing] All right, all right. Still extra. Next up, we're gonna get into our interview with our guest Shelly Bell. Hope y'all enjoy.Zach: And we're back. And as we said before the break, we have Shelly Bell, founder of Black Girl Ventures. Shelly, welcome to the show. How are you?Shelly: Hi, thank you. I'm good. How are you?Zach: I'm doing really good. So look, I feel as if you have one of the most straight-forward organization names out there, but talk to us about how Black Girl Ventures came about and what was the inspiration behind it.Shelly: So with Black Girl Ventures, we work to create access to capital for black and brown women entrepreneurs. It started because I'm an entrepreneur myself. I have a couple of my own ventures. My mom invested in me, and I really hit the ground running in building my t-shirt line called Made By A Black Woman, which fed into me actually starting my own print shop called Misprint USA, and I was grinding so hard at that, but I realized that during the process of me being on my grind I didn't have a community. And so I'm an artist. I've done performance poetry, and so through that I had done a lot of community building. So I'm like, "Hey, you know what? I know how to build community. I know how to bring people together. Why don't we just throw everybody together and give the money away?" 'Cause at this time, a lot of the news was coming out about women not having access to capital. And I'm like, "All right. This is a simple solution." So when I started it, it was really just a matter of bringing people together, everybody throwing some money into the pot, and then us creating, you know, some capital for women entrepreneurs. The first one, I barely even marketed it. We had about 30 women in a house in southeast D.C. We got together. I cooked all the food myself, which I will never do again. [laughs] Yeah, we had about four women pitch. We voted with, like, marbles and coffee cups. Like, I put each person's, like, name in a coffee cup, and then after they did their pitch, we had everybody in the audience ask questions and then vote by using their marble. So we just gave the money right back out in cash at that time. Like, I wasn't even thinking that it would be as huge as it's become. Now here we are two years later, over 20,000 people in our audience. We're in three states - D.C., Philly, and Balt--I'm sorry, in three--in three--yeah, three states, but three cities - D.C., Baltimore, and Philly. We're about to do--in the fall we have Chicago, Atlanta, and then another D.C., and we're in conversation with a lot of the small- to mid-sized cities about coming there next year. We're talking to people in Kansas City. We're talking to people in Durham, in Memphis, New Orleans, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, because the larger cities we found are some really great, like, validators to say, "Oh, we did New York, we did Chicago, we did D.C., we did Atlanta," but really we're looking at, like, where do people have the most need with the least, like, activity that is culturally censored for them?Zach: That's amazing, and again, I'm just so excited that you're here. You know, I'm curious, what are some of the common misconceptions about venture capital that Black Girl Ventures seeks to clarify?Shelly: Yeah. So common misconceptions about venture capital. Huh. I'm not--like, I'm not exactly sure that I would say there's common misconceptions about venture capital per se. Maybe that it's, like--venture capital has become very sexy, and I think that people just don't understand who should get it, why they give it. Like, venture capitalists want to make money. Like, that's it. Like, the center of the day, the center of the round, how can your thing bring return? And if you are not so hardcore about that on your business, then you're gonna have a long road to go with venture capital. It's not grant capital. It's not a loan. Well, I mean, there's different kinds of deals that can be what you call a convertible note, which is basically a loan and [inaudible] and some other investment jargon, but ultimately you should just know that it's about the returns. Like, can you give return on investment? And fairly quick, you know? But quick in this sense means, you know, five years, three to five years. Like, it's a long game too, but the people want to see that the potential for returns are there. Zach: So in building out Black Girl Ventures, at what point did you realize, like, "Wow, this is a--this is really significant." Like, "This has some serious traction to it?"Shelly: Probably I would say at the beginning of 2017. I had a volunteer team of seven people where we decided to do it quarterly, and the first one we did, it was in March of 2017, and we started getting in applications at that time, and so we got a nice amount of applications with a low amount of marketing. 'Cause again, like, I'm just kind of throwing it out there, my network and the word of mouth being spread. Over the course of the year, just seeing it move and grow and grow and grow and then winning Entrepreneur of the Year for 2017 for [inaudible] D.C. and the people who voted for that. I mean, just like, I think the reaction from the women we serve is really what was caused me to be like, "Wow." Like, "We're really doing something." Like, our Baltimore winner from October of 2017, when she won, she cried. We did South by Southwest, and the girl who won, she cried for, like, 5 minutes, and they're--and the things that they're saying to me is that sometimes this is maybe their first win, is coming into a place where a group of people are supporting you, and, like, a group of people are just there to support you, a space that is created [inaudible] and then an audience of people who are there to support you. So I think, like, as the--as the audience has grown and as our traction has grown and the feedback that we're getting back, I'm just like, "Wow, okay. So we're not stopping this." Like, we're gonna keep going. Yeah, just seeing the reaction from the audience, seeing the reaction from the people that are pitching has been the thing.Zach: So how important--how important would you say resilience is for those who are seeking venture capital and really seeking to engage that space? People who are seeking to gain capital.Shelly: It's everything. I mean, resilience is it. Like, there's nothing else. [laughs] Because you've got to keep pushing. You want to keep refining your idea or your business to get to know where those returns are coming back, and venture capital is not for everybody. So, you know, you could be the person that needs to crowdfund. You could be the person who needs a loan. You could be the person that needs to focus on customer acquisition. Venture capital may or may not be the thing for you. I think it's--again, it's become sexy now because you can get a large amount of money at once, but at the same time, you know, you're building a relationship where you have to--you have to make sure that you're getting ret--that the returns are coming back. So, I mean, the resilience comes when you get a no, you know? Like, a "No, that's not gonna work for me," or a "No, I don't think that idea is gonna bring returns, or "No--" Nos are kind of hard to get when you're in need. So when you're, like, really wanting, needing the money to get to a certain place and you feel like you just can't get it, when you're focused on venture capital in particular, it can be hard, and especially because, like, there's a lot of translation work that needs to be done. There's a lot of cultural misunderstanding between, like, VCs and entrepreneurs. There's still a lot of work to be done on, like, you know, women getting invested in and women of color getting invested in and, like, diversity and inclusion when it comes to people's portfolios, because the pattern that has been consistently matched is white male who can sleep on couches for months and, you know, not eat to build a business, and so people, you know, venture capitalists have traditionally said, "Okay, this is the model for who builds successful companies." I think we're seeing that shift a little bit with the rise in investment in the beauty industry for black women in particular. I think we're gonna see a shift more as more people start pushing out that, like, "Hey, these industries," and even black and brown folks that own tech companies can also be invested in and show returns and that, like, the only pattern--I think we're gonna start seeing or showcasing a new pattern to match. This is one of the things that we at Black Girl Ventures are passionate about, is saying like, "Hey, yes, the white guy that sleeps on couches for months, goes home and just doesn't eat and builds a major tech company, yes, that's one pattern and that has worked, but also it's the, you know, black woman straight out of college who has been working on her idea the entire time. Also it's the, you know, woman of color in general who has, you know, pulled together as much money as she can from her family and her community to put into her idea and is now seeing, you know, 3X, 5X, 10X returns. Like, also it's the beauty business--the beauty industry, also it's the feminine care industry, also--you know, also it's the hair industry. Also it's the child care ind--you know, I think that as we--the health care industry. You know, I think that as we--as many people as we can push out into the open that are doing different kinds of businesses that also can show returns, that also can match up to what VCs are looking for, we can start to create a new pattern for people to match.Zach: So, you know, I wanted to ask this a little bit earlier, but I don't want to end this interview without asking now. So I--what really caught my eye about making sure that we wanted to have you on this show was a blog post that you wrote on Medium where someone reached out to you and said, "Okay, yeah. Black Girl Ventures. How would you feel if it was White Male Ventures?" Would you mind talking about the blog that you wrote in response to that? And I believe it got a ton of traction. Would you mind just talking a little bit more about that particular piece?Shelly: Yeah. So I was on Bumble, the dating app, looking for dates, and I swiped this white guy right, he swipes me right. On Bumble, you know, women have to do the initial greeting, so I greet him, and then he comes back and says, "Oh, well, if I started a company called White Male Ventures, you would go ape[shit?]," and my response to him was, "No, that would be venture capital. Have you seen who's getting it?" And he said some other rude things, but not before I could get it--he deleted the thread, but not before I could get a screenshot of the message. And so I was just--something was just, like, [inaudible] about it, so I did. I went to Medium, wrote the article, posted [inaudible], and then instead of having, like, an emotional response towards him or, like, racism or, you know, all of these kind of discrimination, diversity and inclusion type stuff, I decided to just use it to talk about what we are doing and the work that we do want to see in the world and the work that all of these amazing women's organizations are doing, and I listed the women's organizations in the article. And so I just--I pushed it to Twitter, you know, like any other Medium post that you write, and I didn't--I didn't think twice about it. So I noticed that people--you know, I was getting some traction on it, and Bumble actually tweeted me back, you know? But I'm thinking, "Oh, okay." You know how sometimes if you tweet things, people will say, like, "Oh, thank you," or, you know, "Thank you for your mention," or "We're sorry you went through that," or something like that, so I'm just thinking it's just a regular post. I didn't even look at it at first, and then something was just telling me to look at the post, so I looked at the post, and it is one of the content editors, and she's just like, "Oh, my gosh. I'm sorry you went through this, but we love what you're doing, you know? Send me an inbox message." So I DM'd her my email. We end up--she emails me and says, you know, "We don't stand for this kind of thing on our platform. We're sorry that you had to go through this. We're a woman-owned company, and we see that you're a woman-owned company, and we love what you're doing. We want to figure out how we can get involved with what you're doing. Can we sponsor a pitch competition? Can we see if we can offer mentors? Whatever you want. The ball is in your court." So from there, I'm just--I see the email and I'm almost in tears because I'm just like, "Oh, my God." Like, one, my journey as building this movement, like, I'm constantly figuring out and pressing for corporate sponsors, and, like, now I'm looking at engaging, like, employee resource groups as well because we learned that, through Black Girl Ventures being on internal calendars and being shared internally, that it's actually activating black and brown employees to be able to, like, feel like they can be a part of the community and what other community work they can do. So then I'm just like, "Oh, my God." Like, I've been really saying, like, if we could just start with one really great corporate sponsor, we could push into some different directions to improve some of the cases that we want. So we've been in conversation with them ever since then, and that was about three months ago. So now Bumble is actually--and this will be my first announcement of it, Bumble is our--one of our official sponsors right now for three pitch competitions. They're sponsoring us for the Chicago, Atlanta, and the next D.C. competition, which are all coming up in October. Atlanta is October 12th, Chicago is October 19th, and D.C. will be October 26th. Bumble has a Bumble Bizz side, so on Bumble you can look for people you want to date, you can look for people just for friends, and then you can look for professionals. And so we're being sponsored by Bumble Bizz, which is the professional side, and the awesome thing about it is we're gonna make it so that people can find each other at the event by using their proximity. So they can register for the Bumble Bizz app, and then you'll be able to actually connect with people in the room. It will be the official app for the [inaudible] pitch competitions and hopefully beyond because it's such a great tool, and you can find people that you want to hire, you can find people to mentor you, you can find people who are doing the work that you're doing just to ask questions of. So it's a powerful business, actual professional app on that side.Zach: That's incredible, and definitely shout out to Bumble Bizz. Air horns for that, and you know what? Also, Shelly, what's really incredible is that--what I'm hearing is the fact that you took the time to speak truth to power and not kind of shrink away from one, a frustrating and insulting moment, and you used it for a platform to speak to what you actually, to your point, are doing, so that's amazing. Where can people learn more about Black Girl Ventures?Shelly: Yeah. You can find us at BlackGirlVentures.org. You can also follow us on Instagram @BlackGirlVentures, you can follow us on Twitter @BGirlVentures, and on Facebook it's Facebook.com/BlackGirlVentures.Zach: Okay, that's great. So we're gonna make sure that we have all of that in the show notes as well as the Medium link to that amazing post, and we'll make sure to have the Bumble Bizz info in there as well. Before we let you go, do you have any shout outs? Any parting words?Shelly: Yeah. I wanted to just--I wanted to just mention a couple of our BGV alum who are killing it right now. We have Brittany Young, who has--the name of her company is B-360 Baltimore. B-360 works with kids who ride dirt bikes, 'cause dirt bikes are typically illegal to ride on the street, and she transforms them into engineers by helping them learn how to actually fix their dirt bikes and, like, actually, like, create 3D helmets and some really cool things. She is now an Echoing Green fellow and was just featured on the Afropunk stage for their solution session. We have Miracle Olatunji, who just--the name of her app is OpportuniME, and she's 18 years old. She placed third in our competition. Her web app helps students find opportunities for scholarships and internships, and she just made it into the Y Combinator virtual startup school, which is major. Y Combinator puts out--their incubator, that's where Twitter came from and a couple of others, like Airbnb. Like, your huge apps that are out right now. So I just wanted to mention them 'cause they are, like, doing such great work. And, I mean, there is a ton of other women that we work with and serve that I'm super proud of and rallying for, so shout out to all the BGV alum, and check us out. We'll be coming to a city near you soon.Zach: Shelly, this has been amazing. I just want to thank you again for taking the time to be on the show. We definitely consider you a friend of the pod, and we can't wait to have you back.Shelly: Thank you. This was great. Thank you so much for having me.Zach: No problem. I'll talk to you soon. Peace.Ade: And we're back. Wow, so shout out to Shelly and Black Girl Ventures. They're addressing such a need.Zach: Yeah, and she has so much going on. We really appreciated her being on the show. Like, make sure y'all check out the show notes to learn more about Shelly and everything happening over at Black Girl Ventures.Ade: Exactly. Well, look, up next we're gonna get into our Favorite Things. Join us.Zach: So my favorite thing right now has to be Jamaican food. Sheesh. Let me tell y'all, so good. Rice and beans. Like, just rice and beans. [laughing] Why is it so good? I did not know something so straight-forward could taste so delicious, but it does.Ade: So I have this theory. Stick with me here.Zach: Okay. All right.Ade: That, hands down, pound for pound, dollar for dollar, taste bud for taste bud, the Diaspora has the most flavorful food in the world. Like, the entire African Diaspora put together just, like, will punch you in your taste buds every single time.Zach: I just--I really agree with that, right? I mean, 'cause my two other favorite dishes are Thai food and Indian food. Now, I don't know where they land in the Diaspora, but I know they're brown, right? Ade: Bloop.Zach: Yeah, no, it's delicious, and so shout out to all my real Jamaicans. That's right, shout out to my Jamaicans. [laughs]Ade: [laughing] As opposed to fake ones? Zach: [laughing] As opposed to fake Jamaicans. Shout out to my real Jamaicans out there. Would it be offensive to add some air horns right here?Ade: I do not know. Let's, like, move on from the Rachel Dolezal section. [laughing] But I'm gonna go ahead and oblige your need for your air horns.Zach: Thank you. Sound Man, go ahead and drop some air horns specifically for jerked chicken, rice and beans, beef patties, salt fish. You know what? I'm 'bout to name the whole menu. Sound Man! Just drop the air horns.[Sound Man complies]Ade: [laughing] All right, okay. Just don't run off to Jamaica on me, because I will join you and never leave the beach. All right, so my favorite thing right now actually is a book called So Long A Letter by Mariama Ba. It is one of the very first novels written by a Senegalese woman in French, and it is a seminal work in African literature, particularly written by a woman. It is an account of one woman writing to another--they're both widows--written within the context of Muslim women in mourning, one writing to the other and trying to kind of talk her through this extremely patriarchal process of grief and trauma, and it is--it is a story of sisterhood, it is a story of anxiety, of motherhood, of grief, of independence, of women sustaining each other, and obviously this is something--maybe not obviously, but it's something that appeals to me as a feminist and as a woman who one day hopes to raise strong women and who hopes to, you know, hold my sisters up in the same way. So I'm gonna use the term woes, as much as I dislike the originator there, but I'm certainly gonna get a hard copy of So Long A Letter for all my woes. It is very much a book that lends itself to having a conversation about what it means to have a sisterhood. So that's my favorite thing. [laughing] You went from this high of "Let's eat, I'm 'bout it," and I was like, "Let me tell you about how solid we need to be right now."Zach: [laughing] No, but the juxtaposition is what makes us great. We're like the PB and jelly sandwich of podcasting. I don't want to say of all podcasts.Ade: Okay, but first--but first, I need to know - what kind of jelly are you? This will make or break our relationship. I want you to know this right now.Zach: #JellyBandit. I love jelly, but let's figure it out.Ade: Wow. You think you know someone. Goodness.Zach: [laughs] I love jelly. Jelly is great. Actually in Houston, there's a jalapeno jelly, jalapeno strawberry jelly, and it is amazing.Ade: [air horns going off] #StrawberryJelly. #StrawberryPreserves. #--you are just not [inaudible]. Like, I don't--I don't--Zach: So that is my--that is my favorite jelly though. Like, what is your favorite?Ade: I feel like I'm about to get kicked out the gang for this, but I like fig preserves. Now, hear me out.Zach: Fig preserves are good. I like fig preserves.Ade: Okay, and just like that, you saved our friendship. Okay.Zach: [laughs] That's very funny. Fig preserves are great.Ade: Fig preserves. I have--I made a cornbread once with goat cheese, rosemary and fig preserves, and I know somebody is going to say something along the lines of, "Die, you monster," and I want you to know that it was delicious and I'm willing to take that. I'm going to die on that particular hill. Great. Preserves are great.Zach: So anyway, I do feel as if--again, I feel as if it's this type of repertoire, right? This tit-for-tat, as it were, that makes us special, so I appreciate you.Ade: Oh, okay. [inaudible]. Appreciate you too.Zach: Anyway, [laughs] thank y'all for joining us on the Living Corporate podcast. Make sure to follow us on Instagram @LivingCorporate, Twitter @LivingCorp_Pod, and subscribe to our newsletter through living-corporate.com. If you have a question you'd like for us to answer and read on the show, make sure you email us at livingcorporatepodcast@gmail.com. Check us out--Ade: You're--Zach: [laughing] All right. Make sure to check us out on Patreon as well. Again, we're Living Corporate, so just pull us up anywhere and you'll find us. That does it for us on this show. This has been Zach.Ade: And I'm Ade.Zach and Ade: Peace.Kiara: Living Corporate is a podcast by Living Corporate, LLC. Our logo was designed by David Dawkins. Our theme music was produced by Ken Brown. Additional music production by Antoine Franklin from Musical Elevation. Post-production is handled by Jeremy Jackson. Got a topic suggestion? Email us at livingcorporatepodcast@gmail.com. You can find us online on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and living-corporate.com. Thanks for listening. Stay tuned.

This week, Megan Rose Dickey joins us to discuss Season 6 of Orange Is The New Black. We also cover Netflix's pickup of an Andy Serkis-directed version Animal Farm, the streamer's plans for a Madam CJ Walker series starring Octavia Spencer, and the ongoing troubles at MoviePass. Links: [Netflix Acquires George Orwell’s ‘Animal Farm’; Andy Serkis Directs & Matt Reeves Produces][1] [Octavia Spencer to Star in ‘Madam C.J. Walker’ on Netflix][2] [MoviePass will raise prices to $15 a month while limiting access to blockbuster films][3] [1]:https://deadline.com/2018/08/animal-farm-andy-serkis-directs-netflix-george-orwell-matt-reeves-1202438261/ [2]:https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/30/arts/television/octavia-spencer-madam-cj-walker-netflix.html [3]:https://techcrunch.com/2018/07/31/moviepass-will-raise-prices-to-15-a-month-while-limiting-access-to-blockbuster-films/

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mixtape. This week, Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet talk about mental health apps, Nintendo (did Megan buy a Switch or not?!) and a suit-making company that uses your musical tastes to find you looks to choose from. That’s right. It’s pretty cool and Henry went through the process. Watch and read about suit-making AI-style Nintendo blowing up with the Switch Megan on Twitter Henry on Twitter

What's the state of diversity in tech and are the steps used to help improve the situation working? Plus YouTube announces new revenue options for creators and US Supreme Court rules that privacy in the digital age includes cellphone data held by 3rd parties.Starring Tom Merritt, Sarah Lane, Megan Rose Dickey, Roger Chang and Len Peralta.MP3Using a Screen Reader? Click hereMultiple versions (ogg, video etc.) from Archive.org.Please SUBSCRIBE HERE.Subscribe through Apple Podcasts.Follow us on Soundcloud.A special thanks to all our supporters–without you, none of this would be possible.If you are willing to support the show or give as little as 5 cents a day on Patreon. Thank you!Big thanks to Dan Lueders for the headlines music and Martin Bell for the opening theme!Big thanks to Mustafa A. from thepolarcat.com for the logo!Thanks to Anthony Lemos of Ritual Misery for the expanded show notes!Thanks to our mods, Kylde, Jack_Shid, KAPT_Kipper, and scottierowland on the subredditShow Notes To read the show notes in a separate page click here!Quick Hits(00:55) Sinemia preempts MoviePass with family-plan subscriptions from $9 per month | cnet(01:10) Twitter ‘smytes' customers | tech crunch(01:35) Pocket Casts opens beta testing to all users | android policeMore Top Stories(02:00) Uber car's ‘safety' driver streamed TV show before fatal crash: police | reuters(06:30) YouTube introduces channel memberships, merchandise and premieres | tech crunch(09:50) Supreme Court decides against warrantless location searches in a major privacy decision | the verge(11:40) Facebook expands its Messenger Kids app beyond the U.S. to Canada and Peru | venture beat(14:25)

Welcome back to CTRL+T. This week, Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet talk about the World Health Organization identifying 'gaming disorder' as a mental health issue. We disagree. Gamers gonna game. Also this week we were joined by Adina Tecklu, VC at Canaan Partners. She was here to talk about Canaan Beta, which is essentially a fund within the larger Canaan fund designed to seek out "category-defining and category-creating companies."

This week, we're joined by Megan Rose Dickey to discuss the new season of the Netflix series 'Dear White People.' We also talk about Netflix's ambitious originals schedule for the rest of the year, Amazon's upcoming show from Jordan People and the fact that Megan has never seen The Godfather. Links: [Netflix exec says 85 percent of new spending will go towards original content][1] [Amazon picks up Nazi-hunting series produced by Jordan Peele][2] [1]:https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/14/netflix-original-content-spending/ [2]:https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/17/amazon-studios-jordan-peele/

Yes uberAIR is a thing and one day the company wants to make taxis fly you around your congested cities. But first, regular readers of TechCrunch might already know about the root canal Megan was told to get by a startup. Click play so you can hear the story first-hand. Till next week, y'all. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet

Henry's back this week and tells a harrowing tale about his appendix. Then he and Megan get into the fight to deliver your groceries, Amazon's desire to put packages in all kinds of places, and the overabundance of scooters that have taken over SF's streets. San Francisco's scooter saga You can now give Amazon the keys to your car Whole Foods grocery delivery expands BONUS LINK!! Black Panther mixtape Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet

Artificial Intelligence engineer Laura Montoya is joined by TechCrunch diversity reporter, Megan Rose Dickey to explore the role of gender in Artificial Intelligence and how it impacts society. This conversation was part of our series on Technology and Consciousness.

On this week's episode, Megan Rose Dickey chats with Kevin Adler of Miracle Messages, a non-profit organization that aims to connect homeless people with their loved ones.

Cash bail systems are unjust and disproportionately affect low-income people. On this week's episode of CTRL+ T, Megan Rose Dickey chats with Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins of Promise, a startup that looks to provide an alternative to cash bail systems. Ellis-Lamkins discusses the issues with cash bail systems, what led her to start Promise and what it was like participating in Silicon Valley's Y Combinator accelerator.

On this week's episode of CTRL+T, Henry Pickavet and Megan Rose Dickey chat about Facebook's privacy drama involving Cambridge Analytica, an Airbnb experience gone wrong and a new camera for your car. Links: Airbnb hosts can kick you out after you've check in What it's like using the Owl car security camera Facebook-Cambridge Analytica

There is a company out of startup accelerator Y Combinator that says it's "committed to the goal of archiving your mind." Okay. We also talk software developer ethics and the alleged inaccessibility of Lyft. Links: Here are some real things people said about brain preservation startup Nectome A startup is pitching a mind-uploading service that is “100 percent fatal” (MIT Technology Review) Chelsea Manning says software developers need a code of ethics Lyft faces discrimination lawsuit Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer and editor: Christopher Gates Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni

This week we talk MoviePass's tracking drama and the way the local world works - media-style. We're joined in the studio by Eric Eldon, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hoodline (and former co-editor of TechCrunch), a local news site that covers hoods in San Francisco and Oakland "near you." As in down the street from where you are. He talks the local news media landscape and a new data wire service Hoodline just launched to make your hood even more your hood. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer and editor: Christopher Gates Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni

When Birmingham led the charge in the civil rights movement in the sixties, the city inadvertently created big shoes for itself to later fill. Just how Birmingham was the birthplace of many civil rights actions in the sixties, the city wants to be the birthplace of true diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. Megan found that out and more when she visited Birmingham and explored its tech scene a couple of weeks ago. On this week's episode of CTRL+T, Megan and Henry explore a bit of the Birmingham tech scene, diversity and inclusion in tech, as well as the slave insurance industry. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni

You might have heard that a film called “Black Panther” came out last week and saw near-record crowds descend on theaters all over the world. The CTRL+T podcast team was among them. We headed to Oakland on an unseasonably cold-for-California evening to wait in line for about 90 minutes. While in that line, we talked to a few people to see how they felt about this moment in time. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni

We’ve had plenty of time to get used to our robot overlords and Boston Dynamics is helping us get there. This week we talk about the company’s addition of a door-opening arm to its SpotMini robot. It’s not spooky at all. We then switch gears and discuss Facebook’s Messenger for Kids. Is it good, bad or the company’s master plan to get every last human being with a smartphone on the platform. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni Linkage: Boston Dynamics CEO at Disrupt SF 2016 BigDog robot designed for DARPA by Boston Dynamics in 2008 Facebook Messenger for Kids (announcement) Why a TechCrunch writer installed Facebook Messenger for Kids Netflix: "black mirror is a documentary"

This week's episode is all about the future. Thanks to technology, the highest capacity rocket platform ever, the Falcon Heavy, blasted into space.
 Meanwhile, down here on Earth, Uber is working to make urban air travel a thing, and companies are developing products and conducting studies that can detect diabetes, just by wearing the Apple Watch. This is the world we live in.
 On this week's episode, we also chat with Uber Head of Policy of Autonomous Vehicles and Urban Aviation Justin Erlich.
 Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive Producer: Yashad Kulkarni

On this week's episode of CTRL+T, it's all about flamethrowers (yes, the devices that throw flames), startups trying to get inside your mouth and education in the prison system. Later on, I chat with the one and only DeRay Mckesson, who is known for his social justice activism via #BlackLivesMatter protests in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Maryland. He's also the host of Crooked Media's Pod Save the People and co-founder of policy platform Campaign Zero. This year, McKesson and his team are focused on two areas: the racial wealth gap and mass incarceration, Mckesson told me on CTRL+T. Specifically, Campaign Zero is trying to "create an entrance for people that's an easy entrance but also high impact" and solutions-oriented, he said. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive Producer: Yashad Kulkarni

Welcome back to another glorious episode of CTRL+T. This week, Henry Pickavet and I explore Amazon's new cashier-less stores that promise no waiting in line -- except to get in -- and Uber's newest C-level executive hire. Later in the episode, I rage with Safiya Umoja Noble, a professor at the University of Southern California and author of "Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism." Full disclosure, I went to USC but Noble was not a professor there at the time. Additional disclosure, I wish I could have had her as a teacher because she's smart as hell. Final disclosure, Henry applied to USC but was rejected. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni

Wait, what? Yeah, this week a company called SuperMeat announced that it raised $3 million to create chicken in a lab. It requires real chicken cells, Petrie dishes probably and some patience. The benefits for fake (fake real?) chicken are numerous, not the least of which it's better for the environment. But we wonder how it will taste. Like chicken? Like fake chicken? In the lead-up to CES 2018, the topic of robots that fold laundry is on our minds. Apparently it's a thing and it costs a lot of money. Like, a lot of money. Two companies, FoldiMate and Seven Dreamers (which is working with Panasonic) don't want you to have to fold your clean clothes, which is arguably not the worst part of doing laundry (at least according to Henry). And finally, Volkswagen and Hyundai announced that, by 2021, they intend to have autonomous taxi fleets on the roads. Autonomous cars are coming, so why not start with taxis? The only thing better would be autonomous pizza-delivery vehicles. Our guest this week is Ryan Rzepecki, CEO of Social Bicycles, the startup behind Jump, a dockless, electric bike-sharing startup. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Producer: Christopher Gates Executive Producer: Yashad Kulkarni

People can be lazy. So it's no wonder why on this week's episode of CTRL+T, we were drawn to some news that touched on home assistants and personal assistants for when you're out in the wild. Amazon's Echo Dot was the top-selling product on all of Amazon this holiday season and startup Fin recently launched its human/AI personal assistant. We also explored the HQ Trivia craze. This past week, HQ Trivia launched its Android app in Canada and opened up pre-registration for U.S.-based Android users. HQ plans to launch its Android app in the U.S. on January 1. In the vein of getting people or AI to do things for you, I spoke with Omni founder and CEO Thomas McLeod about his on-demand storage and rental startup. McLeod described Omni as an "operating system for things."  Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Guest: Thomas McLeod, CEO of Omni Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni Producer: Christopher Gates

This week we wondered if cell phones can adversely affect your health (or kill you), the goggles of Magic Leap and the problem Twitter has with the hateful people on its platform. Then later in the ep, Megan chats up Jeremy Burge, the Aussie founder of Emojipedia. They talk about the need for a pedia for emoji, Simpsons yellow and the skin-shade identity politics of mobile communication. It’s complicated. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Guest: Jeremy Burge, founder of Emojipedia Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni Producer: Christopher Gates

On this week's episode, hear about Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya's declaration that the social network is effectively "destroying how society works," the FCC's vote on repealing net neutrality and Netflix reminding everyone it's spying on its customers. Later in the show, MRD chats with Shonda Rhimes, the creator of network hits like Scandal, Grey's Anatomy and How to Get Away with Murder. We discussed her new contract with Netflix, what we can expect to see from her on the streaming media platform, differences between network and streaming media and strong black women. Links: Facebook bats back after a second former exec accuses it of negatively impacting society Net neutrality repeal Netflix reminds everyone it's creeping on them Shonda Rhimes is bringing her award-winning talents to Netflix Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet Guest: Shonda Rhimes Executive producer: Yashad Kulkarni Producer: Christopher Gates

Welcome to CTRL+T, the TechCrunch podcast that looks at how technology impacts culture. Listen to TechCrunch reporter Megan Rose Dickey and Editorial Director Henry Pickavet as they dive into the week's headlines followed by interviews with influencers and innovators in the field. Premier episode launches December 16th.

This week was a fun one. Matthew Lynley is out on vacation, so TechCrunch's own Megan Rose Dickey (the current host of Bullish and general badass) joined Katie Roof and myself -- Alex Wilhelm -- to dive into the news of the week.And news there was. We kicked off with a deep dive into the continuing venture capital harassment scandal, which has already brought down one firm, led to a number of smashed reputations, and most recently led to dramatic shakeups at 500 Startups.We also dug into Blue Apron's recent market woes, Tintri's slack performance, and what those disappointments could mean for other unicorns looking to go public.We wrapped the week staring at the day's breaking news, that Jawbone is over. The firm, which burned through hundreds of millions of dollars of capital, and torched billions of dollars in value on its descent, is now kaput.

This week was a fun one. Matthew Lynley is out on vacation, so TechCrunch's own Megan Rose Dickey (the current host of Bullish and general badass) joined Katie Roof and myself -- Alex Wilhelm -- to dive into the news of the week.And news there was. We kicked off with a deep dive into the continuing venture capital harassment scandal, which has already brought down one firm, led to a number of smashed reputations, and most recently led to dramatic shakeups at 500 Startups.We also dug into Blue Apron's recent market woes, Tintri's slack performance, and what those disappointments could mean for other unicorns looking to go public.We wrapped the week staring at the day's breaking news, that Jawbone is over. The firm, which burned through hundreds of millions of dollars of capital, and torched billions of dollars in value on its descent, is now kaput.

On this episode, I chat with the phenomenal Charles Hudson of SoftTech VC on part 1. At SoftTech, Charles is a partner and focuses on identifying investment opportunities in mobile infrastructure, mobile applications, and marketplaces. We discuss venture capital, the perfect pitch, music, and Charles drops knowledge bombs one after another. Part 2: Megan Rose Dickey. A rockstar personality, recovering journalist, and all around tech enthusiast. We discuss her journey in technology and startup storytelling.