Source Code
243 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 42 ratingsWelcome to Source Code, Protocol's show about the people, power and politics of tech. Twice a week, we talk to the most important people, and about the most important stories, happening all over the world of tech.
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Episodes
Tech vs. researchers and DocuSign vs. everybody
March 21, 2021 07:00 - 33 minutes - 15.6 MBIssie Lapowsky joins the show to talk about why researchers and social platforms want to work together, and why that’s a lot more complicated than it sounds. Then, Joe Williams explains why the digital signature industry is so hot right now, and where it goes from here. For more on the topics in this episode: Issie Lapowsky on Twitter Platforms vs. PhDs: How tech giants court and crush the people who study them Joe Williams on Twitter The e-signature war is going beyond the dotted line ...
How a pipe-smoking alien became the 'digital Mona Lisa'
March 17, 2021 07:00 - 33 minutes - 16 MBTwo of the most important sales in NFT history happened last week: Beeple’s $69 million auction through Christie’s, and the $7.5 million sale of CryptoPunk #7804. Dylan Field, the CEO of Figma, was 7804’s previous owner. He joins the show to talk about what selling the punk meant to him, why crypto art is important — and why it’s booming right now — and where the real art lies. For more on the topics in this episode: Dylan Field on Twitter CryptoPunk #7804 LarvaLabs’ Autoglyph project M...
Hackers, trustbusters, and internet librarians
March 14, 2021 07:00 - 36 minutes - 34.1 MBJoe Williams joins the show to talk about SolarWinds and the Hafnium hack, and what it means for the future of enterprise software (and for Microsoft). Then Emily Birnbaum explains who Tim Wu, Vanita Gupta and Lina Khan are and what they mean for the Biden administration’s antitrust plan. Finally, Anna Kramer discusses her story about the Internet Archive’s attempt to preserve the internet forever. For more on the topics in this episode: Joe Williams on Twitter Microsoft Exchange hack: Ch...
How to avoid the next World War
March 10, 2021 10:00 - 32 minutes - 15.4 MBAdmiral Jim Stavridis and Elliot Ackerman join the show to talk about their book, “2034: A Novel of the Next World War,” and what the future holds for China, the U.S., cyberwarfare and hoverboards. For more on the topics in this episode: “2034: A Novel of the Next World War” Admiral James Stavridis on Twitter Elliot Ackerman on Twitter Wired’s six-part series of excerpts For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Square buys Tidal, App store laws, and Microsoft AR
March 07, 2021 07:00 - 33 minutes - 15.8 MBFirst, an update on the Google ad-tracking change. Then Ben Pimentel joins the show to discuss Square buying Tidal, and what it means for the fintech and music worlds. Later, Emily Birnbaum explains the bill moving through the Arizona legislature that has Google and Apple worried about the future of app stores. And finally, Janko Roettgers discusses Microsoft Mesh, the state of AR and VR headsets, and when we’re all going to be doing meetings as holograms. For more on the topics in this epi...
Google's vision for the future of work
March 04, 2021 07:00 - 39 minutes - 18.3 MBJavier Soltero, the head of Google Workspace, joins the show to talk about his ideas about the future of work, building software that helps bosses and employees, work-life balance, privacy, and why calendars matter much more than you might think. For more on the topics in this episode: Javier Soltero on Twitter Google’s recent Workspace announcements David’s interview with Javier from last year For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Vaccine passports, Facebook in Australia, and chess on Twitch
February 28, 2021 07:00 - 33 minutes - 31.2 MBMike Murphy joins the show to talk about the tech industry's push for vaccine passports. Then Issie Lapowsky talks about Facebook's latest moves in Australia, before Hirsh Chitkara joins to discuss how chess became a streaming giant. For more on the topics in this episode: Mike on Twitter Blockchain, QR codes and your phone: the race to build vaccine passports Issie on Twitter Facebook says it gladly pays for news, but rejects 'open ended subsidies' Facebook made a deal to get news bac...
Citizen’s plan to keep people safe (and beat COVID) with an app
February 24, 2021 07:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBAndrew Frame is the CEO of Citizen, an app meant to help people know more about what’s going on in their community. Citizen has been scrutinized for enabling voyeurs, encouraging people to put themselves in danger, and glorifying crime through livestreaming videos. But Frame said that’s not how Citizen works, and that it actually just helps people stay safe and aware. For more on the topics in this episode: Citizen’s website Vice’s rundown of the criticism of Citizen More on Citizen’s C...
Facebook bails on Australia and Airbnb heads to Atlanta
February 21, 2021 07:00 - 30 minutes - 14.6 MBIssie Lapowsky dissects what's happening between Facebook, Google and the Australian government. Then Anna Kramer joins to explain why Atlanta is the next big US tech hub. For more on the topics in this episode: Issie on Twitter Facebook blocks all news in and from Australia Anna on Twitter Airbnb is building a new hub in Atlanta For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Bumble’s IPO, digital books and PayPal’s future
February 14, 2021 05:00 - 35 minutes - 16.9 MBHirsh Chitkara on Bumble’s big IPO, Anna Kramer on Libby and the future of digital books, and Tomio Geron PayPal’s plan to win the future of finance. For more on the topics in this episode: Hirsh on Twitter Bumble IPO: Everything you need to know Anna on Twitter Libby is stuck between libraries and e-book publishers Tomio on Twitter PayPal wants to be an all-in-one super app. It has its work cut out. For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Inside Vimeo’s reinvention
February 10, 2021 07:00 - 37 minutes - 17.5 MBAnjali Sud, the CEO of Vimeo, joins the show to talk about all things video. She explains how she changed Vimeo’s products and culture completely, how it’s now trying to help businesses make great video for practically everything they do, and why the video industry is set to boom over the next few years. She also talks about changing Vimeo’s image, and what it takes to get out of the shadow of YouTube. For more on the topics in this episode: Anjali Sud on Twitter Vimeo’s website More on ...
Amazon after Bezos
February 07, 2021 07:00 - 28 minutes - 13.5 MBTom Krazit joins the show to talk about Jeff Bezos stepping down as Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy stepping into the role, and where Amazon and AWS go from here. Then, Emily Birnbaum talks about two new tech-focused proposals — one on antitrust reform and one on Section 230 — that might matter more than most. For more on the topics in this episode: Tom on Twitter Andy Jassy, Amazon's new CEO, built a tech juggernaut Why the next CEO of AWS (most likely) already works for AWS Emily on Twitter T...
Proton’s plan for a more private internet
February 03, 2021 07:00 - 43 minutes - 20.2 MBProton Technologies CEO Andy Yen joins Source Code to talk about ProtonMail, building products with privacy in mind, the encryption debate, and whether Apple is really fighting for its users. For more on the topics in this episode: Andy Yen on LinkedIn ProtonMail Proton’s post on the EU’s anti-encryption proposal More on Apple’s pro-privacy stance For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Making sense of GameStop madness
January 31, 2021 07:00 - 35 minutes - 16.8 MBShakeel Hashim comes on the show to talk about GameStop’s craziest week ever: what it means that Reddit seems to run the stock market, whether Robinhood can survive the chaos, what regulators might be looking into, and what to about the fact that Elon Musk can tweet anything into existence. Then, Issie Lapowsky joins to talk about the first five decisions made by the Facebook Oversight Board, and what they tell us about the Internet Supreme Court’s plans going forward … and what they might d...
Why the stock market went crazy — and one way to fix it
January 28, 2021 07:00 - 37 minutes - 17.5 MBPublic co-CEO Leif Abraham comes on the Source Code podcast to talk about the future of investing for everyday people, what in the world is happening with GameStop, how to make a fintech app that’s fun to use without feeling like gambling, and much more. For more on the topics in this episode: Leif Abraham on Twitter Public’s website What’s going on with GameStop How bored tech workers started playing games with money The history of r/WallStreetBets For all the links and stories, head...
Biden's first tech moves
January 24, 2021 07:00 - 31 minutes - 15 MBEmily Birnbaum comes on the show to talk about President Biden’s early nominees and appointees, and what they might mean for the tech industry. Then, Joe Williams comes on to talk about SAP, its new(ish) CEO Christian Klein, and what it takes to turn around a tech giant. For more on the topics in this episode: Emily and Issie on the new names of the Biden administration Issie’s interview with Becca Slaughter Emily’s interview with Jessica Rosenworcel Issie’s profile of Vanita Gupta Joe...
The future of the cell phone, from the man who invented it
January 21, 2021 07:00 - 33 minutes - 15.8 MBMartin Cooper, the inventor of the cell phone, comes on the show to talk about his new book, “Cutting the Cord,” and his thoughts on the tech industry as a whole. He dives into how he convinced Motorola to bet the company on a new technology, why he’s still optimistic about the cell phone’s potential, and what it will look like when robots replace us. For more on the topics in this episode: Marty Cooper’s book, Cutting the Cord: The Cell Phone Has Transformed Humanity Marty Cooper on Twit...
The best, worst and weirdest of CES 2021
January 17, 2021 07:00 - 58 minutes - 27.3 MBIt’s CES week! Because, you know, there’s nothing else going on. Mike Murphy comes on the show with Starship Technologies CEO Ahti Heinla to talk about all the robots, delivery vehicles and autonomous everything that showed up at the show. Then Emily Birnbaum comes on to talk about the increasing intersection between tech and politics. Finally, Janko Roettgers updates us on the state of TVs, and the ever-increasing streaming wars. For more on the topics in this episode: Mike on all the rob...
One man’s plan to build a new internet
January 13, 2021 07:00 - 35 minutes - 16.8 MBDfinity Chief Scientist Dominic Williams comes on the Source Code Podcast to talk about his vision for a decentralized internet, what “The Internet Computer” looks like, and why the future of the internet looks less like hyperscale data centers and more like the blockchain. For more on the topics in this episode: Dominic Williams on Twitter Dfinity’s whitepaper Last week’s big Internet Computer status update For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
The great Trump deplatforming
January 10, 2021 07:00 - 29 minutes - 14.1 MBEmily Birnbaum and Issie Lapowsky join Source Code to talk about social networks’ handling of President Trump after the riots in the Capitol. Then, Tom Krazit comes on to talk about whether having all those unauthorized people in the building created a security risk, and what the government and tech companies are doing about it. For more on the topics in this episode: The other reason Facebook silenced Trump? Republicans just lost their power. Social networks didn’t create a coup. But th...
‘Everyone's in the space industry. They just don't know it yet.’
January 06, 2021 07:00 - 36 minutes - 17 MBDylan Taylor, the CEO of Voyager Space Holdings, comes on the show to talk about the business of space. When will space tourism become a thing? Who’s building the first hotel in space? And where’s the money going to be in a year, or a decade, or a century? Are we all going to live on Mars? Taylor has thoughts on all of that and more. For more on the topics in this episode: Dylan Taylor on Twitter Voyager Space Holdings’ website Dylan’s blog on all things space More info on Robert Heinle...
How to build a better Facebook
December 23, 2020 08:00 - 43 minutes - 20.3 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: MeWe Mark Weinstein on Twitter Mark’s TED Talk: The Rise of Surveillance Capitalism Mark’s thoughts on government regulation and social networks For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Tech fights the government — and itself
December 20, 2020 08:00 - 26 minutes - 12.5 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Emily’s antitrust rankings Anna Kramer on the tech workers turned Robinhood day traders Robinhood Financial to Pay $65 Million to Settle SEC Prob — WSJ Massachusetts Regulators File Complaint Against Robinhood — WSJ For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
What made Silicon Valley special (and where might be next)
December 16, 2020 07:00 - 34 minutes - 16.1 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Margaret O’Mara on Twitter The Code: Silicon Valley and the Remaking of America Goodbye, San Francisco. Hello, Austin. For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Why video is the biggest thing since the internet
December 09, 2020 07:00 - 33 minutes - 16 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Phil Libin on Twitter Mmhmm Our story on Zoom’s big platform ambitions Biz Carson on the rise of “Zoom for X” startups For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Slack billions, cloud futures and Facebook lawsuits
December 06, 2020 08:00 - 43 minutes - 20.3 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Protocol’s latest Manual: The New Enterprise Tom on AWS entering the multicloud era Issie and Emily Birnbaum on the weird Section 230 fight Issie’s story on the DOJ’s Facebook suit Issie on Van Buren v. United States Ajit Pai’s departure announcement For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
IPOs for everyone, and how remote work changes companies
November 22, 2020 08:00 - 48 minutes - 22.8 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Shakeel on Airbnb’s IPO The S-1s: Roblox, Wish, Affirm, and Airbnb Rahul Vohra on Twitter Superhuman For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
The privacy fight comes to work
November 15, 2020 08:00 - 44 minutes - 20.6 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Shakeel’s story on the DoorDash IPO Trump’s China-investment Executive Order Vaping Xboxes Biz’s story on Hopin Vanessa Wu on Twitter Rippling’s website For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Election 2020: Platforms survive, right to repair wins
November 08, 2020 08:00 - 41 minutes - 19.5 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Issie’s story on social’s election performance Emily and Issie’s story on whether labeling bad content actually works iFixit’s website Kyle Wiens on Twitter For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
How tech can win the election
November 01, 2020 08:00 - 48 minutes - 22.6 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Biz’s story on SF’s office reopening Bradley Tusk on Twitter Bradley Tusk’s election memo to companies and founders Brian Armstrong’s Coinbase memo Biz’s inside story of the Expensify Biden email For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Mozilla's plan to fix social media (at least until Election Day)
October 25, 2020 07:00 - 37 minutes - 17.7 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: The Source Code newsletter on Quibi’s demise Janko’s story on how Quibi changes T-Mobile’s fortunes Emily’s look at what the Google antitrust case means for Big Tech Ashley Boyd on Twitter Mozilla’s “Unfck the Internet” plan Mozilla’s call for Twitter and Facebook to turn off recommendations For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Zoom school, banned links and the future of Tumblr
October 18, 2020 07:00 - 41 minutes - 19.5 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Biz’s story on the new pitch deck Biz’s story on Engageli Issie on the NY Post story Jeff D’Onofrio on Twitter Matt Mullenweg on the Tumblr acquisition For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Inside the antitrust report, and the future of payments
October 11, 2020 10:00 - 34 minutes - 16.1 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Protocol’s story on the antitrust report’s most important findings Emily’s story on the small group of House staffers What critics say the antitrust report got wrong Jodie Kelley on Twitter The Electronic Transactions Association’s website
Amazon gadgets, Section 230 rewrites and Twitter hacks
September 27, 2020 10:00 - 33 minutes - 15.4 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: The Verge’s roundup of Amazon’s product event Janko Roettgers’ story on Luna Issie on the DOJ’s Section 230 proposal Damien Kieran on Twitter David’s Q&A with Damien from February Wired’s story on the Twitter hack from this summer Twitter’s latest security blog post For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Apple One, Facebook VR, and TikTok Global
September 20, 2020 10:00 - 31 minutes - 15.1 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: David’s story on Apple One Tom Krazit’s story on Snowflake’s IPO Shakeel’s story on Warren Buffett’s involvement Shakeel’s story on Unity’s unusual, successful IPO Janko’s story on Facebook’s AR and VR plans Issie Lapowsky’s story on the latest with TikTok For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Stocks, San Francisco, and the next big smartphone
September 13, 2020 10:00 - 29 minutes - 13.7 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Biz’s story on the Long-Term Stock Exchange Is everyone actually leaving San Francisco? Emily’s interview with Jessica Rosenworcel Emily’s story on the Biden FCC frontrunners David’s story on Microsoft and Google For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
VR, 230 and the case for the open web
August 30, 2020 10:00 - 34 minutes - 16 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: Janko’s story on Apple acquiring Spaces More on the Zoom outage from Monday Why MelodyVR acquired Napster Issie’s story on the latest Section 230 lawsuit David’s story on Koji For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Fortnite, Facebook, and the future of work
August 16, 2020 10:00 - 31 minutes - 15.1 MB(Programming note: the podcast is off next week.) For more on the topics in this episode: Issie’s story on Facebook’s moderation data BuzzFeed’s story on Facebook’s fact-checkers More on Ethan Schulman’s ruling against Uber and Lyft Biz’s story on Epic’s fight with Apple and Google Biz’s interview with Tim Sweeney Coda Shishir Mehrotra on Twitter For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
TikTok, Reels and the big business of social
August 09, 2020 10:00 - 31 minutes - 14.9 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: The BBC on Uber’s Autocab acquisition More on the App Store’s controversial game policy Bloomberg on Rackspace’s rough week The latest on the Trump / China story Emily’s story on CFIUS and TikTok Fanbytes Tim Armoo on Twitter For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Antitrust hearings, TikTok bans, and @NatGeo
August 02, 2020 10:00 - 36 minutes - 33.6 MBFor more on the topics in this episode: All of Protocol’s tech hearing coverage A video of the full 5.5-hour hearing David’s story on Trump’s TikTok ban @NatGeo on Instagram Josh Raab For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s homepage.
Here comes the antitrust hearing, plus Affirm CEO Max Levchin
July 26, 2020 10:00 - 30 minutes - 28.3 MBThis week on the show, Emily Birnbaum on the big tech CEO hearing and section 230 silliness, Tom Krazit on Slack’s antitrust fight with Microsoft, and Affirm CEO Max Levchin on why every tech company wants to be your bank. For more on the topics in this episode: Protocol’s primer on this week’s tech CEO hearings Emily’s story on the structure of the hearings Tom’s story on Slack’s antitrust complaint Affirm Max Levchin on Twitter For all the links and stories, head to Source Code’s ho...
Internet security is a mess, but we can fix it
July 19, 2020 10:00 - 31 minutes - 28.7 MBThis week on the show, Shakeel Hashim on Jio deals and Airbnb “kindness cards,” Emily Birnbaum on the Privacy Shield fiasco, and Yubico CEO Stina Ehrensvard on fixing the internet’s gaping security holes. For more on the topics in this episode More on the Jio / Google deal The brutal response to Airbnb’s kindness cards The New York Times interviewed the Twitter hackers Emily’s story on the EU-US Privacy Shield issue Yubico The FIDO Alliance For all the links and stories, head to Sour...
Why Uber wants to deliver much more than just food
July 12, 2020 11:00 - 28 minutes - 26.1 MBIn this week’s episode: Biz Carson on Peter Thiel and a network of cameras hidden all over San Francisco, Mike Murphy on the high-tech future of post-COVID healthcare, and NYU’s Arun Sundararajan on the Uber-Postmates acquisition, the future of delivery, and what every company needs to learn from the pandemic. For more on the topics in this episode: Source Code on the Uber-Postmates details The WSJ on Peter Thiel’s changing relationship with Trump The NYT on Chris Larson and his networ...
Matthew Prince's plan to secure the internet — and democracy
July 05, 2020 10:00 - 32 minutes - 29.4 MBIn this week’s episode: Janko Roettgers on AR acquisitions and moderation decisions, Emily Birnbaum on how NDAs changed Silicon Valley, and Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince on what internet companies should do about the bad people on the internet. For more on the topics in this episode: Source Code on the skinny bundle price hikes Google’s announcement of the North acquisition Emily’s story on NDAs in tech Cloudflare Matthew Prince on Twitter For all the links and stories, head to Source...
The COVID-fighting future of wearables
June 28, 2020 10:00 - 28 minutes - 26.3 MBWelcome to the new, weekly Source Code! In this week’s episode: Issie Lapowsky on H-1B visas, Tom Krazit on everyone’s new favorite programming language, and Oura CEO Harpreet Singh Rai on whether wearables are the future of health care (and the NBA). For more on the topics in this episode: The WSJ on H-1B suspensions The Washington Post on the burden placed on Black employee groups Tom's story on Rust Oura's website Slate's story on Oura's COVID-detection abilities For all the links a...
Sony’s future of gaming looks like … a router
June 12, 2020 09:14 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MBToday, what it’ll take to get us back to the movie theater, the looming antitrust action against Amazon, and the PlayStation 5. For more on today’s stories: Janko Roettgers’ story on AMC’s reopening Brad Smith’s Washington Post interview on facial recognition The WSJ story on the looming antitrust action against Amazon More details on the PlayStation 5 Source Code is produced by Sofie Kodner, Shakeel Hashim, Jamie Condliffe, and David Pierce. For all the links and stories in today’s episod...
The upside-down delivery app world
June 11, 2020 09:33 - 9 minutes - 8.87 MBToday, Grubhub finds a buyer that isn’t Uber, a TikTok clones flies too close to the sun, and Amazon takes a (small) stand on facial recognition. For more on today’s stories: Shakeel Hashim’s story on the Grubhub/JET deal Emily Birnbaum’s story on the Rekognition moratorium Wired’s story on Zynn’s rise and fall Source Code is produced by Sofie Kodner, Shakeel Hashim, Jamie Condliffe, and David Pierce. For all the links and stories in today’s episode, head to Source Code’s homepage.
The many questions with facial recognition
June 10, 2020 09:35 - 8 minutes - 7.78 MBToday, there’s a new debate over facial recognition, Intel-free Macs might be coming soon, and your next office lunch will come in a box. For more on today’s stories: Issie Lapowsky’s story on IBM’s announcement Emily Birnbaum’s story on the Democrat police bill Bloomberg’s report on Apple chips Source Code is produced by Sofie Kodner, Shakeel Hashim, Jamie Condliffe, and David Pierce. For all the links and stories in today’s episode, head to Source Code’s homepage.
The man behind Microsoft’s passwordless future
June 09, 2020 09:36 - 9 minutes - 8.94 MBToday, an inside look at the Microsoft exec killing the password, the fight over scooter data brewing in LA, For more on today’s stories: Tom Krazit’s profile of Bret Arsenault The ACLU’s lawsuit against LADOT David Pierce’s story on the scooter-data wars The million-mile car battery WeWork’s getting out of apartments Twitter’s verification revamp Source Code is produced by Sofie Kodner, Shakeel Hashim, Jamie Condliffe, and David Pierce. For all the links and stories in today’s episode, h...
All the Apple gear, one monthly price
June 08, 2020 09:28 - 7 minutes - 6.61 MBThis Monday, Facebook makes a moderation to-do list, Apple will finance all your gadgets, and Amazon’s almost ready for drone deliveries. For more on today’s stories: Bloomberg’s report on Apple’s financing plans Mark Zuckerberg’s post from Friday Business Insider’s story on Prime Air Jio’s investments keep coming For all the links and stories in today’s episode, head to Source Code’s homepage. Source Code is produced by Sofie Kodner, Shakeel Hashim, Jamie Condliffe, and David Pierce.