Podcasts by The Informations 411

Special Episode: Kara Swisher interviewed by Jessica Lessin from 2023-04-06T10:00:17

Jessica sits down with journalist and Pivot host Kara Swisher to discuss what's wrong with Silicon Valley and next in news. 

Chock-a-blockchain from 2021-12-17T19:49:32

Sand Hill Road has gone crypto-crazy, making it the best time ever to be a cryptocurrency or blockchain-based startup. Six such companies drew our attention enough to make it into this year’s Listen

Dollar Bill Y’all from 2021-12-10T20:54:32

Cryptocurrency is soaking up attention, but financial services technologies involving fiat currency have also never been hotter. This week we continue our special five-episode series on The Info...

The Talent Cloud from 2021-12-03T22:38:45

This week we continue our special five-episode series on The Information 50, our annual list of the most promising startups valued at less than $1 billion, by taking a look at the B2B categ...

Apple Upsets the Shopping Cart from 2021-11-19T21:53:10

This week we continue our special five episode series on The Information 50, our annual list of the most promising startups valued at less than $1 billion.

In episode two, executive ...

AI Candy - The Information's 411 from 2021-11-12T19:58:17

This week, The Information released TI50, our annual list of the most promising startups valued at less than $1 billion. Over the next five episodes of The Information 411 podcast, you’ll hear f...

Gorillas in the Wild from 2021-07-16T21:47:50

Why are so many instant delivery startups popping up? Cory talks to The Information's Mark Di Stefano about the buzzy sector and one controversial company in particular, Gorillas. Then, Steve Le...

A Town Fights Amazon Trucks from 2021-07-09T20:50:58

What happens when a small town becomes a choke point for tens of thousands of Amazon deliveries every day? Cory talks to The Information’s Paris Martineau about what residents’ struggles in a sm...

Benchmark’s Dilemma from 2021-07-02T16:34:31

Does one of the most storied venture capital firms need to adapt to a changing startup environment? Cory talks to The Information’s Berber Jin about his profile of Benchmark, known for a deliber...

Amazon's China Whistleblower from 2021-06-25T17:53:04

Why did Amazon fail to protect an employee who disclosed labor violations at a Foxconn factory that makes Amazon devices? Cory talks to The Information’s Wayne Ma about the lack of corporate whi...

Playbook of Jonah from 2021-06-18T19:31:44

BuzzFeed might become the first of its generation of digital media upstarts to go public. How is CEO Jonah Peretti trying to grow the company? Cory talks to The Information's Jessica Toonkel and...

Are You Better Than the Average Human? from 2021-06-11T14:57:49

It’s been a difficult couple of years for self-driving car developers trying to bring robotaxis to the public. How do they get out of the so-called "trough of disillusionment?" Listen to highlig...

Amazon's Next Chapter from 2021-06-04T21:42:43

Amazon has been making big moves in Hollywood. What does that tell us about the company's new CEO Andy Jassy? Cory talks to The Information's Kevin McLaughlin and Jessica Toonkel about their rec...

Tip Your Influencers from 2021-05-28T18:30:23

Why are Instagram, Snap and TikTok rushing to build ways for influencers to make money? Cory talks to The Information’s Kaya Yurieff about what she is tracking with her new creator eco...

Amazon's Highway Tragedies from 2021-05-21T19:38:48

Fast deliveries by Amazon and other online retailers have brought tremendous convenience for consumers, but the e-commerce boom has come at a cost. A five-month investigation by The Information ...

Apple and Uyghur Labor from 2021-05-14T23:24:53

The Information found evidence of Apple working with suppliers suspected of using forced labor. How? Cory talks to Wayne Ma about how he discovered Apple's links to the Xinjiang region of China....

Extreme Makeover: Zuck Edition from 2021-05-07T20:48:07

How is Mark Zuckerberg planning to revamp his public image? Cory talks to The Information's Sylvia Varnham O'Regan and Alex Heath about why Facebook's co-founder is going on another charm offens...

Will Epic Fail? from 2021-04-30T20:19:29

Apple's app store in on trial. Will Epic Games be able to loosen Apple's grip on app developers? Cory talks to The Information's legal reporter Josh Sisco about how Apple got in this situation a...

The Andreessen Effect from 2021-04-23T19:05:02

Cory talks to Kate Clark about what her recent reporting on Andreessen Horowitz tells us about the firm's history and strategy to win deals. Then, Kevin McLaughlin discusses his story on why hig...

Jab Credentials from 2021-04-16T20:33:45

We dive into some of the tech questions facing the potential rollout of vaccine passports. Paul Meyer, CEO of the nonprofit Commons Project, discusses why it is important that people's proof of ...

Tech's Tiger King from 2021-04-09T18:02:19

Cory talks to Kate Clark about the new king of venture capital deals: Tiger Global Management. The New York hedge fund has invested at a rapid pace, at higher and higher valuations. What does it...

Behind the Fintech Frenzy from 2021-04-02T17:54:51

Why are startups like Stripe, Plaid, Brex, Ramp and Fast raising so much money so quickly? Cory talks about the phenomenon with Bain Capital Ventures partner Merritt Hummer and The Information's...

Google’s Cloudy Future from 2021-03-26T22:31:31

Cory and Kevin McLaughlin talk about why Google Cloud loses so much money, and why this year will be crucial for the company. Then, The Information’s Kevin Delaney talks with former Google execu...

Katerra's Shaky Foundations from 2021-03-19T21:59:58

Cory and Wendy dive into the disaster that befell Katerra, the construction tech startup that's struggling to stay alive. They also explore what the future of construction tech is.

Also, ...

Condé Nast Turns A New Page from 2021-03-12T22:46:56

Tom speaks to Roger Lynch, the CEO of magazine giant Conde Nast about how he's trying to turn the company around and build out newer businesses like e-commerce, longform video and digital subscr...

BONUS EPISODE — Mark Zuckerberg on the Future of AR and VR from 2021-03-08T14:44:19

Alex Heath and Mathew Olson interview Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg about the promise of augmented and virtual reality. They discuss why he's investing so much time and money on the technology, h...

Facebook Needs Kustomer Support from 2021-03-06T00:14:21

Cory chats with Josh Sisco about the reason regulators are probing Facebook's deal to acquire Kustomer. Tom talks to Kevin McLaughlin about the next group of enterprise software companies to go ...

IPOs and Female CEOs from 2021-02-27T00:15:18

Tom talks to Zoe about the next wave of companies going public that are led by female CEOs. Cory chats with Katie and Ross about the reason SPACs are looking at early-stage companies.

Facebook on My Wrist, Apple on Your Eyes from 2021-02-19T20:45:29

Reporters Alex Heath and Wayne Ma discuss their exclusive reporting on Facebook's efforts to build a smartwatch and Apple's work on a mixed-reality headset. This is another Facebook vs. Apple ba...

Around the World With Apple from 2021-02-12T22:39:28

Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel discuss their reporting on how NBCUniversal is trying to pluck its way to streaming success, and why a merger with WarnerMedia might make sense. Then, Wayne Ma expl...

When Startups Get Political from 2021-02-05T23:10:56

This week, we bring you two of the most revealing interviews from The Information's Future of Startups conference. Expensify CEO David Barrett and Cameo CEO Steven Galanis spar over the right wa...

How GameStop Disrupts 'Consensus Reality' from 2021-01-29T21:13:19

The Information columnist and former Facebook executive Sam Lessin talks to Cory and helps us make sense of online communities, internet populism and the GameStop stock surge. Then, reporters To...

Self Promotion as a Service from 2021-01-22T21:38:21

What happens when VC firms become publishers? Tom talks with The Information's Zoe Bernard and Newcomer.co's Eric Newcomer about Andreessen Horowitz' latest moves, and startups' relationships wi...

Urgent Telegram from 2021-01-15T21:47:03

Cory and Alex tell the story of the messaging app Telegram and its mysterious founder, who find themselves in the global spotlight after rapid growth recently. Can the company figure out a busin...

Googlers of the World, Unite! from 2021-01-08T22:29:46

Following the announcement of the new union of Alphabet employees, we dive into the rising trend of worker unionization in the tech industry. Then Cory talks to Alex about how social media compa...

Closing the Racial Equity Gap from 2020-12-24T22:10:07

Our year end episode features an interview with musical artist Pharrell Williams and non-profit advisor Willa Seldon who talked about their experiences as black entrepreneurs. They also shared t...

Is 2020 a One-Off For Business? from 2020-12-18T21:53:45

As the year winds down we look ahead to what we think will transpire in 2021. Tom chats with Jessica Toonkel and Martin Peers about the tumult in media and whether Hollywood really is abandoning...

IPO My God from 2020-12-11T23:26:38

Amir and Cory explain what DoorDash and Airbnb's specatular debuts on the markets means about both companies and about the tech world as a whole. Then we chat with Peter Hamby of Snapchat, who h...

Slacking Benioff's Thirst from 2020-12-05T00:03:41

Cory speaks with Kevin McLaughlin, our enterprise reporter and soothsayer, about the reasons Salesforce spent big to acquire Slack. Tom talked to Paris about why Generation Z is both Amazon's bi...

I Left My Startup in San Francisco from 2020-11-27T19:22:35

Cory talks to Scott Wiener, a member of the California state senate, about how the future of the tech industry in San Francisco. We wrote this week about the CEOs of Dropbox, Brex and Splunk lea...

Dark Side of The Loon from 2020-11-20T20:58:54

Alex talks about the struggle inside Facebook over how to deal with misleading posts from politicians. Cory gets the inside story from Nick Bastone about struggles at Alphabet's Loon, the experi...

500 Middle Miles from 2020-11-14T00:06:59

Paris explores Amazon's plan to own more parts of the delivery process with the building out of its trucking fleets. Wayne talks about Apple's fraying relationship with manufacturer Foxconn.

Before the Dust Settles from 2020-11-06T21:37:29

How can we start to make sense of the implications of this election for tech? Cory talks to three tech-savvy political veterans for early takeaways.

Guests:

• Jim Messina, CEO...
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Contractors With Benefits from 2020-10-30T20:01:27

Will Uber and Lyft drivers become full-time employees, or something more like contractors with benefits? California's Proposition 22 will help determine the fate of "gig" work, as well as the fi...

Quibi, We Hardly Knew Ye from 2020-10-23T19:08:48

Nick Bastone and Chris Stern join to talk about the DOJ's antitrust suit against Google and where things go from here. And Jessica Toonkel and Tom dive in the the brief life and sudden death of ...

Working Remotely or Not Remotely Working? from 2020-10-16T21:16:44

Tom talks to Kate Clark about the state of funding for female-led startups, which has sunk even lower during the pandemic. We also interview Tracy Chou, founder of Blockparty and Sara Mauskopf, ...

The Appiest Place on Earth from 2020-10-09T19:23:04

Cory Weinberg talks to Tom Dotan about the success of Disney+ and why the app's importance has bred tensions at the entertainment giant. Then, Cory talks antitrust and tech culture with Maelle G...

Slacktivism from 2020-10-02T23:29:03

Zoe talks about this week's Coinbase controversy and how different CEOs feel about taking activist stands as a company. Then Alex talks about Facebook's battle with Apple, this time over messagi...

SPACs: A Love Story from 2020-09-25T19:50:16

It seems like in Silicon Valley is starting a SPAC. Reid Hoffman, Peter Thiel, Kevin Hartz, Chamath Palihapitiya, maybe even your roommate.

Reporters Cory Weinberg and Ross Matican trace ...

Laurene Powell Jobs and Jenna Lyons (2020 WTF Summit) from 2020-09-18T19:57:10

This week we're presenting highlights from two interviews from the WTF Summit earlier this month. Emerson Collective's president Laurene Powell Jobs discusses her group's work on voting access a...

Sanitation Theater from 2020-09-11T20:20:26

We speak to some brave souls around the world who ventured back into the movie theater. And Richard Rushfield of The Ankler joins to give his take on how well the movie industry has faired these...

Stripe Tease from 2020-09-04T21:42:59

With the TikTok drama getting even messier and tech relations between the US and China at an all time low, we check in with Jessica Lessin about the latest. Then Cory talks to Kate Clark about h...

Wherefore Art Thou Domio from 2020-08-28T20:18:06

The second part of our Airbnb series looks at Domio, a startup that tried to build a business on the Airbnb platform. Paris tells us how she stumbled across the Domio story and how the company g...

Airbnb Fights the Right to Party from 2020-08-21T21:09:51

Cory talks about the rise of parties at Airbnb rentals and how it's poised to be a huge headache for the company as it heads down the path of going public.

Benioff at Sea from 2020-08-14T19:12:51

Kevin talks about his profile of Marc Benioff, the Salesforce CEO and philanthropist, which looked at how he and his company are managing during the pandemic. Especially when Salesforce's marque...

Tik Talk from 2020-08-08T00:45

Yunan joins to explain why the TikTok saga and the US government's decision to ban the app, unless it sells to an American company, has hurt the reputation of Zhang Yiming, the CEO of the app's ...

Cyberpunk Barons from 2020-08-01T00:05:12

It was a big week for tech and politics as the four leaders of the major US tech companies testified in front of the House Antitrust subcommittee. We spoke to Alex Heath and Chris Stern about wh...

I'm a Celebrity...Get Me On Here! from 2020-07-24T17:04:52

Cory Weinberg interviews Steven Galanis, the CEO of Cameo, a fast-growing startup that allows major and minor celebrities can send messages to fans. Steven discusses Cameo's growth story, why th...

Haven Help Me from 2020-07-17T19:03:34

Paris Martineau discusses her reporting on problems at the secretive healthcare initiative Haven, and what the turmoil tells us about its benefactor Amazon. Four Information reporters give their...

Billionaires Without Summer Camp from 2020-07-10T22:53:10

Nick Bastone gives us an update on the digital advertising industry and compares the trajectories of Google and Facebook during the second quarter. Jessica Lessin gives her take on whether it ma...

A Little More Moderation, A Little More Action, Please from 2020-07-03T19:07:03

We talk with John Redgrave, the CEO of content moderation startup Sentropy about the challenges of curbing hate speech online. Then Cory checks in on the state of the travel industry with Jon St...

Facebook v Speech from 2020-06-26T22:24:04

Alex joins to talk about how Facebook went from hero to heel as America careened from the coronavirus pandemic to the Black Lives Matter protests. Then Chris Stern discusses the state of the ant...

Party at the Mailbox from 2020-06-19T19:02:45

As part of our Juneteenth episode, we're focusing on how tech companies and tech products can contribute to major policy changes. We talk to Catherine Bracy, executive director of the Tech Equit...

iRobot from 2020-06-12T21:23:39

We talk to Wayne Ma about Apple's attempts to have robots handle the manufacturing process at their factories and why it hasn't worked. Then we speak with Kate Clark about the federal paycheck p...

Representation Matters from 2020-06-06T00:21:58

Cory talks with two black women in tech to see what tech companies have done and still need to do to address racial inequality. Sherrell Dorsey, a journalist and entrepreneur and the founder of ...

Job Mirages from 2020-05-29T23:11:06

Zoe and Cory join to discuss how the pandemic has hit the job market in tech. Zoe talks about the phenomenon of job postings that turn out not to be real. And Cory gives some historical context ...

TikTok on the Clock from 2020-05-22T22:02:07

Cory joins to discuss Mark Zuckerberg's announcement that Facebook is fully embracing the work from home office. We explore the reasons tech is rushing to adopt the policy and whether it will ha...

The Oracle and the JEDI from 2020-05-15T20:43:20

Chris Stern gives us an update on the ongoing battle to win the Pentagon's cloud computing contract. He explains why Amazon is still fighting to win the account back from Microsoft in the courts...

Uber in a Pandemic from 2020-05-09T01:21:51

Amir joins to talk all things ride hailing, including why Uber and Lyft had to undergo massive layoffs. We also explain how Uber's side businesses like food delivery and bikes are on diverging p...

Earnings and Learnings from 2020-05-01T22:27:14

Alex walks us through the first quarter earnings for Snap, Twitter and Facebook to see how they faired at the onset of the pandemic.

Let's Not Go Out To The Movies from 2020-04-24T20:44:01

Tom and Jessica Toonkel talk about the chaotic world of the movie industry as theaters across the world remain shuttered. We discuss what it will take to get people to feel comfortable again goi...

Pimp My Zoom from 2020-04-18T22:56:05

Nick Wingfield walks us through the ways Silicon Valley execs—and the rest of us—step up their at home video conference technology.

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How Viruses Affect Hosts from 2020-04-16T02:30:38

Cory joins to talk about the major layoffs at Opendoor. We also discuss how Brian Chesky is leading Airbnb through this bleak period in the company's business and if it stands a chance of going ...

Tangled Up In Azure from 2020-04-11T00:01

Kevin talks about the problems that Azure has had providing service to its customers. It's cropped up before the pandemic, but the surge in use during the work-from-home era has made things even...

Mind Your Zs and Qs from 2020-04-03T23:31:27

Zoe breaks down the new strange world of video conference etiquette. We discuss how the new remote lifestyle has raised a handful of questions about the proper way to interact over video chat. A...

Apple's Remote Control from 2020-04-02T01:11:34

Nick Bastone dives into the way Apple has tried to manage the work-from-home era, where employees have to keep the secret products under wraps while working in a non secretive location

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Are You There, Pod? It's Me, Spotify from 2020-03-27T22:58:18

Jessica Toonkel talks about why Spotify decided to go on a spending spree to get into the podcasting space. We discuss how this can actually pay off for the company and how long it could take to...

Is Amazon Too Essential? from 2020-03-25T23:57:29

Priya dives into how Amazon has become one of the central pieces holding things together as large swaths of the country remains under stay-at-home orders. We also discuss whether Amazon's increa...

There's Hope, There's Hope, There's Light from 2020-03-20T20:19:03

We talk to Shai Oster, our Hong Kong bureau chief, about his experience leaving the country as the coronavirus began threatening from China. Then returning to Hong Kong once the US started seein...

Gimme Shelter from 2020-03-18T19:54:38

The first of our special midweek podcasts during the COVID-19 pandemic looks at Airbnb. Cory explores the company's decision to give guests full refunds on trips that had to be cancelled because...

Bear Market Necessities from 2020-03-13T20:56:36

Martin talks about the effects of the market downturn in response to the global pandemic. And we discuss which companies are the most affected and how long it will take for investors to regain c...

When the VCs Start to Worry from 2020-03-06T21:39:04

Kate talks about the messages that investors are giving to their portfolio companies about the coronavirus and how to prepare for an economic downturn.

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