Episodes

  • Bluesky has really taken off since the election, and since the Decoder team took some time off for Thanksgiving break, we felt it was a great time to bring back the interview we did earlier this year with Jay Graber, the CEO of Bluesky, the upstart competitor to Meta’s Threads and the platform formerly known as Twitter. 

    At the time, Bluesky was a pretty small platform. It had just reached 5 million users when Jay and I spoke. But since the election, Bluesky’s growth has absolutely skyrocketed to more than 20 million users, and it's starting to put real competitive pressure on Threads at the feature level. As Bluesky really ramps up, it seemed like a great time to engage with some of the core questions behind its design and see if Jay and her team can keep it up.

    Links: 

    Twitter’s heir apparent isn’t X or Threads — it’s Bluesky | The Verge


    Bluesky now has more than 20 million users | The Verge


    Bluesky moves deeper into moderation hell | The Verge


    Twitter is funding research into a decentralized version of its platform | The Verge


    Bluesky built a decentralized protocol for Twitter | The Verge


    The fediverse, explained | The Verge


    Bluesky showed everyone’s ass | The Verge


    Can ActivityPub save the internet? | The Verge


    Bluesky snags former Twitter/X Trust & Safety exec cut by Musk | TechCrunch


    Protocols, Not Platforms: A Technological Approach to Free Speech — Mike Masnick



    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/23872913

    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

  • I spoke with GoDaddy CEO Aman Bhutani live on stage last week at an event hosted by Alix Partners in Palo Alto. GoDaddy is one of those companies that feels tied to an earlier era, but Aman’s been CEO since 2019, and he’s been building out what he calls adjacencies.

    The business of the web has really changed in the past few years: the walled-garden, social network era really took over in the past decade, and now huge changes to Google Search and the addition of generative AI have really put a massive strain on the very foundations of the open web. So I started out by asking Aman the question I’ve asked so many other guests on Decoder in the past year: What is the point of a website in 2024?


    Links: 

    If GoDaddy can turn the corner on sexism, who can’t? | New York Times (2017)

    Google Zero is here – now what? | Decoder


    Five for the Future – GoDaddy | WordPress.org


    2024 is shaping up to be the smallest Black Friday ever | GoDaddy


    GoDaddy’s mission to get entrepreneurs up and running fast | Forbes


    GoDaddy launches a suite of AI tools for small businesses | Fast Company


    Why make a website? Squarespace CEO Anthony Casalena has ideas | Decoder


    Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami on why the web isn’t dying after all | Decoder


    How WordPress and Tumblr are keeping the internet weird | Decoder


    Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi | Decoder




    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24069405


    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 Travis Larchuck and 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

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  • For nearly 20 years now, the web has been Google’s platform; we’ve all just lived on it. Google is constantly changing that platform — it launched another attempt to combat ‘parasite SEO’ just this week — and not all of those changes have worked well.Earlier this year I talked to a lot of people who have built on that platform. For a lot of small businesses and content creators, that’s suddenly not stable anymore. The number one question I have for anyone building things on someone else’s platform is: What are you going to do when that platform changes the rules?Links: Google is cracking down on sites publishing parasite SEO content | The VergeHow Google is killing independent sites like ours | HouseFreshHouseFresh has virtually disappeared from Google results. Now what? | HouseFreshGoogle Is Killing Retro Dodo & Other Independent Sites | Retro DodoGoogle CEO Sundar Pichai on AI-powered search and the future of the web | The VergeWill AI break the internet? Or save it? | The New York TimesThe biggest findings in the Google Search leak | The VergeMountain Weekly NewsTelly VisionsE-ride HeroThat Fit FriendCredits:Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.Today’s episode was produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and was edited by Callie Wright.The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Hey everyone, it’s Nilay — Decoder is on a short break this week. We’ll be back with a special live interview episode on Monday of next week, and then regular programming will resume in December. I’m very excited for what we have coming up on the schedule. 

    But while we’re out, we’d like to highlight a great episode of a new podcast from our friends over at Vox called Explain It To Me. On this episode, host Jonquilyn Hill and her team tackle a decision that looms large for a lot of young people in America: How and when should you start saving for retirement — and will it even matter in a future of big, often scary uncertainties about work in the age of AI and the climate crisis? 

    Links: 

    Explain It To Me | Apple Podcasts


    Will the world end before I can retire? | Vox


    Vox launches Explain It to Me franchise to answer audience questions | Explain It To Me


    The doomers are wrong about humanity’s future — and its past | Vox


    Against doomerism | Vox


    End Times: A Brief Guide to the End of the World | Bryan Walsh


    Here's how self-made millionaire Vivian Tu created wealth | 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 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 Elon Musk, Donald Trump, and Tesla — and I have to say, it feels like the first of many episodes about these three characters that we’ll be doing over the course of the next four years. Because when Elon used his wealth and influence to help Trump get elected, he also bought himself a seat at the president-elect’s inner circle. But what does the world’s richest person really want in return?

    And how is the CEO of an electric car company, an outspoken advocate for combating climate change, going to square his support for Trump and a Republican policy agenda centered on climate change denial? Verge transportation editor Andy Hawkins joins me this week to make sense of it all, and to figure out how Elon and Tesla may still benefit, even if Trump's climate policy reversals and tariffs lay waste to the auto industry.


    Links: 

    What does Trump’s election mean for EVs, Tesla, and Elon Musk? | The Verge


    This election will decide what kind of car you’ll buy | The Verge


    Trump says Musk will lead ‘DOGE’ office to cut ‘wasteful’ government spending | The Verge


    Elon Musk attends Trump's first post-election meeting with House Republicans | CNBC


    At Mar-a-Lago, ‘Uncle’ Elon Musk puts his imprint on the Trump transition | NYT


    Musk believes in global warming. Trump does not. Will that change? | NYT


    Elon Musk helped elect Trump? What does he expect in return? | NYT


    With ready orders and an energy czar, Trump plots pivot to fossil fuels | NYT


    Tesla hits $1 trillion market value as Musk-backed Trump win fans optimism | Reuters


    Trump’s return dims outlook for Chinese EV makers amid tariff threats | SCMP




    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

  • Harvey Mason, Jr is CEO of the Recording Academy, the nonprofit organization most famous for the Grammy Awards. We spoke right before this year's Grammy nominations came out, and you'll hear us talk a whole lot about the changes he's tried to make with how the awarding membership works.

    I always say to watch what’s happening to the music industry because it’s a preview into what will happen to every other creative industry five years later. My chat with Harvey really drove the point home: AI, diversity, streaming distribution... it's all here, and all the tensions that come with.

    Links: 


    2025 Grammy nominations: The complete list | NPR


    The Grammys Move From CBS To Disney In Major 10-Year Deal | Deadline


    Recording Academy boots Grammy voters | Los Angeles Times


    Chappell Roan and the problem with fandom | Vox


    Grammys CEO: Music that contains AI-created elements is eligible | AP News


    Deborah Dugan Grammys Controversy: What to Know | Time


    For Taylor Swift, the Future of Music Is a Love Story | Wall Street Journal (2014)


    AI is on a collision course with music | Decoder


    Elvis Costello defends Olivia Rodrigo over ‘Brutal’ plagiarism claim | BBC


    Why Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen thinks AI is the future | Decoder


    Transcript: 

    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 work. Specifically, where we work, how our expectations of working remotely were radically changed by the pandemic, and how those expectations feel like they’re on the verge of changing yet again. For many people, the pendulum has swung wildly between working fully remote and now a push to return to the office from their bosses, and there are a lot of theories about what might really be motivating big companies to try and bring everyone back.

    To explain it, I caught up with two experts on the subject: Stephan Meier, a professor of business strategy at Columbia Business School, and Jessica Kriegel, the chief strategy officer at workplace culture consultancy Culture Partners. We dive into what’s been happening to the nature of work today, and whether Amazon, which just announced a major return to the office five days a week, is part of a bigger trend. 

    Links:

    Amazon is making its employees come back to the office five days a week | The Verge


    Amazon CEO denies 5-day office mandate is a ‘backdoor layoff’ | CNBC


    Bob Iger tells Disney employees they must return to the office four days a week | CNBC


    A quarter of bosses admit return-to-office mandates meant to make staff quit | Fortune


    More Americans now prefer hybrid over fully remote work, survey finds | Axios


    Google tells staff: stay productive and we’ll stay flexible | BI


    The list of major companies requiring employees to return to the office | BI


    Thinking Inside the Box: Why Virtual Meetings Generate Fewer Ideas | Columbia


    Duolingo CEO Luis von Ahn wants you addicted to learning | Decoder


    Sundar Pichai on managing Google through the pandemic | Vergecast



    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, I’m talking with Baris Cetinok, who is in charge of all the software in the cars that GM makes, which is a lot of cars. And if you’ve been following any of the drama in the world of car software, you know it also means Baris is the guy who has to defend GM’s decision to drop Apple CarPlay and Android Auto from most of its cars, especially EVs. 

    I’ve had versions of this conversation with the CEOs of car companies before, but Baris is in charge of actually building this stuff. So we really got into the weeds here on what this looks like, the major trade-offs, and why he thinks it’s ultimately the right path for GM. 

    Links: 

    GM names new leaders of software organization | The Detroit News


    GM is cutting off access to Apple CarPlay & Android Auto for its future EVs | The Verge


    Will GM Regret Kicking Apple CarPlay off the Dashboard? | Bloomberg


    Rivian CEO: CarPlay isn’t going to happen | Decoder


    Volvo CEO thinks dropping CarPlay is a mistake | Decoder


    GM Ultifi software platform will roll out in 2023 | The Verge


    Android Auto vs. Android Automotive vs. Google Automotive Services | Android Police


    GM plans another big Super Cruise hands-free expansion | The Verge


    GM will start making money on EVs this year | The Verge


    How GM plans to beat Google, Apple at car software | Motor Trend



    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24049622

    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

  • Trump and a bunch of billionaires, like Elon Musk, are calling for the FCC to punish TV stations by revoking their licenses and using the spectrum for other stuff. In a normal world, this would be idle billionaire wishcasting. Punishing news organizations is one of those things we have a First Amendment to protect against. You know — the one that protects free speech by prohibiting the government from making speech regulations or punishing people for what they say?  

    But, it turns out, there is a long and complex history of the government regulating speech on broadcast platforms like radio and television — and that history dovetails into many of the problems we have regulating tech companies and social platforms today. Verge senior tech and policy editor Adi Robertson joins me to dive in.

    Links: 

    The Verge guide to the 2024 US presidential election | The Verge


    FCC chair rejects Trump’s call to revoke CBS license over Harris interview | The Verge


    Florida official who resigned after letter to TV stations blames DeSantis’ office | MSNBC


    “To keep it simple for the state of Florida: It’s the First Amendment, stupid” | The Verge


    How America turned against the First Amendment | The Verge


    Why Sen. Brian Schatz thinks child safety can trump the First Amendment | The Verge


    How the Kids Online Safety Act puts us all at risk | The Verge


    Here’s a bunch of bananas shit Trump said today about breaking up Google | The Verge


    Barack Obama on AI, free speech, and the future of the internet | The Verge


    Why you’re seeing those gross political ads during the World Series | 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 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, I’m talking with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky, who is only the second person to be on Decoder three times — the other is Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Brian made a lot of waves earlier this year when he started talking about something called “founder mode,” or at least, when well-known investor Paul Graham wrote a blog post about Brian’s approach to running Airbnb that gave it that name.

    Founder mode has since become a little bit of a meme, and I was excited to have Brian back on to talk about it, and what specifically he thinks it means. Talking to Brian is a ride, but I think I held my own, and I think you’ll really like this one.

    Links:

    Founder Mode | Paul Graham


    Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is taking it back to basics (2023) | Decoder


    Why the future of work is the future of travel, with Airbnb’s Brian Chesky (2021) | Decoder


    Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky: ‘I Never Called it Founder Mode’ | Skift


    Why Silicon Valley is abuzz over ‘Founder Mode’ | NYT


    After Apple, Jony Ive Is Building an Empire of His Own | NYT


    Airbnb can now help you find somebody to manage your listing | The Verge


    Airbnb creates new chief business officer role | Reuters


    Why Jeff Bezos Says Your Goal Is to Make 3 Good Decisions per Day | Inc


    Taking the Mystery out of Scaling a Company | Ben Horowtiz



    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24043611

    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 going to try and figure out "digital god." I figured we’ve been doing Decoder long enough, let’s just get after it. Can we build an artificial intelligence so powerful it changes the world and answers all our questions? The AI industry has decided the answer is yes. 

    In September, OpenAI’s Sam Altman published a blog post claiming we’ll have superintelligent AI in “a few thousand days.” And earlier this month, Dario Amodei, the CEO of Anthropic published a 14,000-word post laying out what he thinks such a system will be capable of when it does arrive, which he says could be as soon as 2026. Verge senior AI reporter Kylie Robison joins me on the show to break it all down. 

    Links: 

    Machines of Loving Grace | Dario Amodei


    The Intelligence Age | Sam Altman


    Anthropic’s CEO thinks AI will lead to a utopia | The Verge


    AI manifestos flood the tech zone | Axios


    OpenAI just raised $6.6 billion to build ever-larger AI models | The Verge


    OpenAI was a research lab — now it’s just another tech company | The Verge


    California governor vetoes major AI safety bill | The Verge


    Inside the white-hot center of AI doomerism | NYT


    Microsoft and OpenAI’s close partnership shows signs of fraying | NYT


    The $14 Billion question dividing OpenAI and Microsoft | WSJ


    Anthropic has floated $40 Billion valuation in funding talks | The Information



    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’s episode, well — it’s a ride. I’m talking to Intuit CEO Sasan Goodarzi, who’s built Intuit into a juggernaut business software company in part through a series of major acquisitions: TurboTax, MailChimp, CreditKarma, and loads more. There’s a lot of good Decoder material there, and we get into it. 

    But it’s TurboTax, and the company’s tax lobbying efforts to protect it, that really drives a major narrative about Intuit, for better and worse. So you can bet I asked Sasan about all this, and it got a bit contentious. In fact, the company's chief communications officer even demanded we delete a portion of this interview over an exchange with Sasan on TurboTax. Don’t worry — we don’t do that here at The Verge. So expect to hear that section right up top, with the rest of the interview following after.

    Links:

    Inside TurboTax’s 20-year fight to stop Americans from filing taxes for free| ProPublica


    TurboTax deliberately hid free file page from Google Search | ProPublica


    TurboTax maker Intuit spent millions in record lobbying blitz | OpenSecrets


    FTC: Intuit’s “free” TurboTax ads misled consumers | The Verge


    TurboTax isn’t allowed to say it’s ‘free’ anymore | The Verge


    Intuit owes you money if it made you pay for TurboTax “free” | The Verge


    IRS extends its Free File tax program for five more years | The Verge


    IRS Direct File set to expand availability in a dozen new states | IRS


    Mint is shutting down, and it’s pushing users toward Credit Karma | The Verge


    Intuit Mailchimp CEO Rania Succar on Decoder | Decoder


    Ethics Statement | The Verge



    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24037861

    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’s episode is a little different: Digitas CEO Amy Lanzi and I recorded this conversation live on stage during advertising week in New York City at an event graciously hosted by Adweek. 

    I've actually been dying to talk to Amy. Digitas is one of the most important agencies in the entire advertising business with huge clients and massive influence over big platforms like Instagram and YouTube. After all, they're the ones buying the ads that keep all of those companies afloat. As you'd expect, she has a lot of thoughts about influencers, creators, AI, and everything that is going to change the advertising industry in the months and years to come.


    Links: 


    Publicis Groupe acquires influencer-marketing giant Influential | Marketing Dive


    Epsilon has first Digital CDP to provide native omni-channel activation | Epsilon


    Stagwell is on the hunt for adtech as the ad company continues its acquisition spree | BI


    Emma Chamberlain Is the People’s Influencer | Allure


    Inside the World of Sephora Squad | Marketing Scoop


    Fanatics Launches Fanatics Live, a Next-Gen Live Commerce Platform | Fanatics


    There’s no AI without the cloud, says AWS CEO Adam Selipsky | The Verge


    A Google breakup is on the table, say DOJ lawyers | The Verge


    For Gen Z, TikTok Is the New Search Engine | The New York Times




    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. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
    The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Luis von Ahn is the co-founder and CEO of Duolingo. There are lots of opportunities to enhance a product like Duolingo with AI, and we talk about all that — but I also wanted to talk to Luis about learning, generally. Duolingo is a global product, and there are a lot of tech tensions there, dealing with different user needs worldwide. We talk about it all in a pretty direct way... including all those unhinged things the owl does on social media.

    Links: 


    Duolingo Introduces AI-Powered Innovations at Duocon 2024 (Duolingo)


    Video Call with Lily (Duolingo / YouTube)


    AI Boosts Duolingo As Company Posts First Profit (Nasdaq)


    Foreign Language Training (US State Department)


    Exploring My Villain Origin Story (Duolingo / TikTok)


    Duolingo cuts workers as it relies more on AI (The Washington Post)


    Why Silicon Valley Is Talking About Founder Mode (The New York Times)


    Duolingo's Math and Music lessons finally hit Android a year after iOS (Android Police)


    Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on taking it back to basics (Decoder / The Verge)


    How Duolingo is using its 'unhinged content' with Duo the Owl (Digiday)


    How we turned Duo's butt into a viral Super Bowl commercial (Duolingo)


    A Duolingo employee has apologised for joking about Amber Heard (The Tab) 



    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24031882

    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. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
    The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • I’m talking with my good friend David Pierce, Vergecast co-host and The Verge’s editor-at-large, about something he spends an ungodly amount of time thinking and writing about: software.

    Scores of new workplace apps are cropping with clever metaphors to try to make us work differently. Sometimes that works… and sometimes it really, really doesn’t. And it feels like the addition of AI to the mix will accelerate the pace of experimentation here in pretty radical ways.


    Links: 


    Why software is eating the world | Wall Street Journal (2011)

    Mailchimp CEO Rania Succar on why email makes sense for Intuit | The Verge


    Why would anyone make a website in 2023? | The Verge


    Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami isn’t worried AI will kill the web | The Verge


    Figma CEO Dylan Field is optimistic about AI | The Verge


    We don’t sell saddles here | Stewart Butterfield (2014)

    The CEO of Zoom wants AI clones in meetings | The Verge


    Dropbox CEO Drew Houston wants you to embrace AI | 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. This episode was edited by Xander Adams. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
    The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Rabbit’s adorable R1 gadget launched with a lot of hype, but early reviews of the device were universally bad. Now, a core feature, its long-promised LAM Playground has arrived. I had a lot of big questions for CEO Jesse Lyu about how it all works — not just technologically, but if his plans are sustainable from a business and legal perspective. 

    Links: 


    Rabbit R1 review: an unfinished, unhelpful AI gadget | The Verge


    Loopholes aren’t a technology | Buzzfeed News (2012)

    I tested Rabbit R1's next generation LAM — and it tried to gaslight me | Tom’s Hardware


    I tried Rabbit's LAM Playground, and I'm still disappointed | Android Authority


    Rabbit's AI bot will try to help you do anything (keyword is 'try') | Fast Company


    Rabbit’s web-based ‘large action model’ agent arrives on R1 October 1 | TechCrunch


    Rabbit R1 founder defends “unfinished” AI gadget | City AM


    AI hardware is in its flip-phone phase | Fast Company


    The iPhone 16 will ship as a work in progress | The Verge


    Humane AI Pin review: Not even close | The Verge


    Marques Brownlee says ‘I hear you’ after fans criticize his new wallpaper app | The Verge



    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24024222

    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, I’m talking to Jason Schreier, a Bloomberg journalist and author of the new book Play Nice: The Rise, Fall, and Future of Blizzard Entertainment. If you don’t know Blizzard, you do know its games — the studio behind Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch has achieved legendary status over three decades. At the same time, the company has become emblematic of many of gaming’s biggest failings.

    Jason’s book is out on October 8th, and it’s an incredible, detailed accounting of how Blizzard started, grew into a hitmaker and, eventually, became a victim of its own mismanagement. Oh, and there are a series of chaotic acquisitions along the way, culminating in Microsoft’s purchase of Activision Blizzard last year. In this episode, Jason and I get into all of this and more. 

    Links: 

    Play Nice: The Rise, Fall and Future of Blizzard Entertainment | Hachette 

    How Blizzard’s canceled MMO Titan fell apart | Polygon


    Blizzard was built on crunch, co-founder says, but it’s ‘not sustainable’ | Polygon


    Inside Activision and Blizzard’s corporate warcraft | Bloomberg


    Blizzard cofounder’s new company Dreamhaven aims to recreate old magic | Bloomberg


    Activision Blizzard’s rot goes all the way to the CEO, alleges report | The Verge


    Activision Blizzard’s workplace problems spurred $75 billion microsoft Deal | WSJ


    California settles Activision Blizzard gender discrimination lawsuit | The Verge


    Microsoft completes Activision Blizzard acquisition | The Verge


    Microsoft lays off 1,900 Activision Blizzard and Xbox employees | 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 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

  • Matt Strauss is the Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer at NBC Universal. That’s a big fancy title that means he’s not only in charge of Peacock but also every other streaming video offering the company has worldwide. So you can bet Matt and I got into what that structure even looks like, and how it all operates under the overall ownership of Comcast, which is in the middle of its own massive transition as its traditional cable TV business continues to fade. There’s a lot in this one – tech, media, sports, and culture, all at once. It’s quite a ride.

    Links: 


    Comcast's new DVR ditches the hard drive, stores your recordings in the cloud (The Verge, 2013)


    Comcast and Charter Lost Another 269,000 Broadband Customers Last Quarter (The Motley Fool)


    It's official, people aren't watching TV as much as they used to (The Verge)


    The future of TV is up in the air (The Verge)


    Peacock Quarterly Loss Narrows to $348M as Subscribers Drop to 33M (THR)


    OTA and free online video drives higher US TV-video viewing hours (S&P Global)


    Streaming was part of the future — now it’s the only future (The Verge)


    US pay-TV losses reach a nadir (Light Reading)


    The 2024 Olympics were a big win for TV of all kinds (The Verge)


    Court blocks Disney-Fox-WBD sports streaming bundle (The Verge)


    An AI version of Al Michaels will deliver Olympic recaps on Peacock  (The Verge)


    Transcript: 

    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 have a very special episode of Decoder today. It’s become a tradition every fall to have Verge deputy editor Alex Heath interview Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on the show at Meta Connect. This year, before his interview with Mark, Alex got to try a new pair of experimental AR glasses the company is calling Orion. 

    Alex talked to Mark about a whole lot more, including why the company is investing so heavily in AR, why he's shifted away from politics, Mark's thoughts on the link between teen mental health and social media, and why the Meta chief executive is done apologizing for corporate scandals like Cambridge Analytica that he feels were overblown and misrepresented.  

    Links:

    Hands-on with Orion, Meta’s first pair of AR glasses | The Verge


    The biggest news from Meta Connect 2024 | The Verge


    Mark Zuckerberg: publishers ‘overestimate the value’ of their work for training AI | The Verge


    Meta extends its Ray-Ban smart glasses deal beyond 2030 | The Verge


    The Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses actually make the future look cool | The Verge


    Meta has a major opportunity to win the AI hardware race | The Verge


    Instagram is putting every teen into more private and restrictive new account | The Verge


    Threads isn’t for news and politics, says Instagram’s boss | The Verge


    Facebook puts news on the back burner | The Verge


    Meta is losing a billion dollars on VR and AR every single month | The Verge



    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24017522

    Credits: 
    Decoder is a production of The Verge and is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
    Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt; our editor is Callie Wright. This episode was additionally produced by Brett Putman and Vjeran Pavic. Our supervising producer is Liam James. 
    The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. 
    Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

  • Today, I’m talking with Josh Miller, co-founder and CEO of The Browser Company, a relatively new software maker that develops the Arc browser. The company also has a mobile app called Arc Search that does AI summaries of webpages, which puts it right in the middle of a contentious debate in the tech industry around paying web creators for their work. 

    We’ve been talking about these topics pretty much nonstop for last year here on Decoder. So I was really excited to have Josh on the show to explore why he built Arc, what he hopes it will accomplish, and what might happen to browsers, search engines, and the web itself as these trends evolve. 

    Links: 

    Researcher reveals ‘catastrophic’ security flaw in the Arc browser | The Verge


    The Arc browser is the Chrome replacement I’ve been waiting for | The Verge


    Arc’s mobile browser is here — and it’s not really a web browser at all | The Verge


    Arc is getting better bookmarks and search results, all thanks to AI | The Verge


    Arc Search combines browser, search engine, and AI into something new | The Verge


    Judge rules that Google ‘is a monopolist’ in US antitrust case | The Verge


    Google paid Apple $20 billion in 2022 to be Safari’s default search engine | The Verge


    One startup's quest to take on Chrome and reinvent the web browser | Protocol


    Scenes from a dying web | Platformer


    Perplexity’s grand theft AI | The Verge



    Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24011410

    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