Is there a future for Bitcoin? An investor and a skeptic make their case
Nilay Patel interviews two experts on different sides of the bitcoin argument: a bitcoin investor and bitcoin skeptic. The investor is Nic Carter. He’s a general partner at Castle Island Ventures, which funds startups that are building on top of the bitcoin infrastructure to make payments more accessible — basically, making sure bitcoin can function like a currency. The skeptic is Steve Hanke. He is a professor of Applied Economics at Johns Hopkins University, senior fellow and director of the Troubled Currencies Project at the Cato Institute, a former member of President Ronald Reagan’s Council of Economic Advisers, and was the president of Toronto Trust Argentina in Buenos Aires when it was the world’s best performing mutual fund in 1995. He has also advised other countries on how to deal with hyperinflation and how to stabilize currencies. Nilay asks them both questions about bitcoin’s place in the market and pushes them on the shakier parts of their arguments. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
6 Apr 20211h 18min
Facebook's VP of Global Affairs doesn’t think the platform is polarizing
In a bonus episode of Decoder, Platformer editor and Verge contributing editor Casey Newton talks with Facebook's VP of Global Affairs Nick Clegg about his lengthy Medium post addressing some of the criticisms that Facebook has endured, as well as unveiling some changes the company is making to give users more control over their experience. Host of Decoder Nilay Patel taks with Casey before the interview to discuss why this shift in Facebook's approach to the user experience is important, and what key issues listeners should pay attention to. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
31 Mar 202148min
Poshmark’s Tracy Sun on stitching e-commerce with social media
Nilay Patel talks with Tracy Sun, the co-founder and SVP of new markets at Poshmark, a fashion resale company that just went public earlier this year while riding the huge wave of e-commerce growth during the pandemic. Tracy has to manage regular e-commerce issues, like shipping logistics and customer service, as well as influencer economy problems, like burnout and the incessant need to grow follower counts — not to mention the universe of problems that comes with selling fashion, like dealing with fashion labels and brands. But if Poshmark can get it all right, Tracy thinks community is the future of retail. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
30 Mar 20211h 1min
The robots are coming for your office, with NYT’s Kevin Roose
Nilay Patel sits down with New York Times tech columnist Kevin Roose to discuss the impact of automation on our future — specifically, robotic process automation, or RPA. Kevin's new book, Futureproof: 9 Rules for Humans in the Age of Automation, is out and features a lengthy discussion of RPA, who's using it, who it will affect, and how to think about it as you design your career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
23 Mar 20211h 2min
Australia vs Facebook — and how regulation is splintering the internet, with Atlassian CEO Scott Farquhar
Nilay Patel talks with Atlassian CEO Scott Farquhar about Australia's Media Bargaining Code, which requires social platforms and search engines to pay news publishers for linking to their work. They also discuss how to run a global company in an increasingly fractured world and why understanding public policy is now key to running a tech company. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
16 Mar 20211h 6min
How Twitter is building its future, with Kayvon Beykpour
Nilay talks with Twitter’s Head of Consumer Product, Keyvon Beykpour about what it took to reset the team towards growth, how he decides what to prioritize, and what the timelines for success look like on different projects. They also talk about moderation, of course. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
9 Mar 20211h 13min
Underunderstood: Why is This Sheriff Arresting Fire TV Sellers?
An 88-year-old is being charged with a felony after selling ‘jailbroke firesticks’ at a Florida flea market. Why? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
4 Mar 202147min
Meet Austin Russell, the 25-year-old billionaire building the future of self-driving cars
Austin Russell, Luminar’s founder and CEO on why he thinks LIDAR is the future of self-driving technology, where he thinks the autonomous vehicle industry is headed, and proving Elon Musk wrong. Let us know what you think: http://theverge.com/survey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
2 Mar 202158min
