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How Silicon Valley enshittified the internet
30 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 10 min
This is Sarah Jeong, features editor at The Verge. I’m standing in for Nilay for one final Thursday episode here as he settles back into full-time hosting duties. Today, we’ve got a fun one. I’m talking to Cory Doctorow, prolific author, internet activist, and arguably one of the fiercest tech critics writing today. Lees meer
He has a new book out called Enshittifcation: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It. So I sat down with Cory to discuss what enshittification is, why it’s happening, and how we might fight it.
Links:
Enshittification | Macmillan
Why every website you used to love is getting worse | Vox
The age of Enshittification | The New Yorker
Yes, everything online sucks now — but it doesn’t have to | Ars Technica
The enshittification of garage-door openers reveals vast, deadly rot | Cory Doctorow
Mark Zuckerberg emails outline plan to neutralize competitors | The Verge
Google gets to keep Chrome, judge rules in antitrust case | The Verge
How Amazon wins: by steamrolling rivals and partners | WSJ
A new web DRM standard has security researchers worried | The Verge
Netflix, Microsoft & Google just changed how the web works | The Outline
Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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LexisNexis CEO says the AI law era is already here
27 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 5 min
LexisNexis is one of the most important companies in the entire legal system. For ages it's been where you went to look up case law and do legal research. There isn’t a lawyer today who hasn’t used it — it’s fundamental infrastructure for the legal profession, just like email or a word processor. Lees meer
But in 2025, apparently nobody can resist the siren call of AI, and LexisNexis is no different. The first word Sean said to describe LexisNexis wasn’t “law” or “data,” it was “AI.” And I had questions, because so far AI has created just as much chaos and slop in the courts as anywhere else.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
Errors found in judge’s withdrawn decision stink of AI | The Verge
Why do lawyers keep using ChatGPT? | The Verge
Conservative judge says AI could strengthen originalist movement | Reuters
LexisNexis CEO says it’s ‘a matter of time’ before attorney loses a license | Fortune
Two companies ruled legal tech for decades. AI is blowing that open | BI
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Why GM will give you Gemini — but not CarPlay
22 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 18 min
Today’s guests are General Motors CEO Mary Barra and new GM Chief Product Officer Sterling Anderson. There’s a lot of big news the company just announced, including a Google Gemini-powered AI assistant that's coming to new cars and an entirely new hardware and software platform coming to the Escalade IQ in 2028 alongside true Level 3 autonomous driving. Lees meer
So I asked Mary about all of that and how she's navigating the current moment, and her company's relationship with the Trump administration. I also got into the details on GM’s platform with Sterling, including its decision to ditch Apple CarPlay on its EVs and what all this looks like in the future as AI voice assistants and more capable autonomy come into the mix.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
GM says hands-free, eyes-off driving is coming to Escalade IQ | The Verge
GM takes a $1.6 billion hit on EVs | The Verge
GM software boss on ditching CarPlay | Decoder
Ford CEO on China, tariffs, and the quest for a $30,000 EV | Decoder
The EV tax credit is gone — now the hard part begins | Decoder
GM blocks dealership from installing CarPlay retrofit kits in EVs | The Verge
Everybody hates GM’s decision to kill Apple CarPlay | The Verge
GM hires ex-Tesla, Aurora exec as chief product officer | CNBC
Cruise’s robotaxi service will shut down as GM pulls its funding | The Verge
Newsom names GM’s Mary Barra as villain in fight with feds | Streetlight CA
Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Zocdoc CEO: "Dr. Google is going to be replaced by Dr. AI"
20 oktober 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
Hey everyone, it’s Nilay. I’m back from parental leave, and I’m really excited to jump back into Decoder. Today’s episode is a special one: I’m talking to Zocdoc CEO Oliver Kharraz, and we chatted live on stage at the TechFutures conference in New York City. Lees meer
You’re almost certainly familiar with ZocDoc — it’s a platform that helps people find and book appointments with doctors. It’s a classic of the early app economy. The big difference is that Zocdoc plugs into the U.S. healthcare system, which is of course a giant mess, and that means Zocdoc has a big moat. So we talked about competition, navigating the US healthcare system, and, of course, what AI is doing to medicine.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
"Superhuman" AI could transform medicine, Zocdoc CEO says | Axios
How AI is changing your doctors appointments | Fast Company
This Strategy ‘Nearly Killed’ Zocdoc. | Inc.
Zocdoc Turns 18 | Oliver Kharraz / LinkedIn
Meet Zo, the AI Phone Assistant for healthcare | Zocdoc
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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The EV tax credit is dead. What now?
16 oktober 2025 · 40 min
This is Jake Kastrenakes, executive editor at The Verge. I’m filling in for Nilay here while he settles back into full-time hosting duties. We’ve got a very good episode for you today. My guest is Verge transportation editor Andy Hawkins, and we’re talking about the federal EV tax credit. Lees meer
The tax credit expired at the end of September, and there are a lot of questions about what happens to the auto industry after its demise. This is a really hard, complicated set of problems, with a lot of moving parts, so I was really excited to have Andy on the show to break down all of these components and give us a clearer picture about what’s coming next.
Links:
The EV tax credit is dead — here’s what happens next | The Verge
GM takes a $1.6 billion hit on EVs | The Verge
Ford CEO Jim Farley on China, tariffs, and affordable EV | The Verge
Ford lost $5 billion on EVs in 2024, teases new models | The Verge
EV makers fill tax-credit void with costly discounts | Automotive News
So much for Ford and GM’s scheme to extend the EV tax credit | The Verge
Stellantis replaces EV tax credit with its own discount | Automotive News
Tesla sales picking up thanks to expiring tax credit | The Verge
California Reverses Pledge To Revive EV Tax Credit | SF Chronicle
Global EV sales growth slows to 15% in August, research firm says | Reuters
Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Announcing an ad-free Decoder feed for Verge subscribers
15 oktober 2025 · 1 min
If you're a paid subscriber to the Verge, there's great news: you can now listen to Decoder, Version History, and The Vergecast completely ad-free. Just head to your Account Settings page to opt-in and start listening without ads. Not a member of The Verge yet? No worries! You can sign up at theverge.com/subscribe to get ad-free podcasts, plus other perks like exclusive newsletters and unlimited access to everything we publish.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Lees meer -
The AI industry is at a major crossroads
9 oktober 2025 · 44 min
This is Hayden Field, senior AI reporter at The Verge and your Thursday episode guest host. It’s been a very big news week in AI, and a lot of it had to do with OpenAI, its DevDay in San Francisco this week, and the viral explosion of AI-generated video thanks to the company’s new Sora app. Lees meer
So I brought in Kanjun Qiu, CEO of AI startup Imbue and a close watcher of the industry, to break down what’s really happening, why it’s happening, and the societal implications of it all.
Links:
All of the updates from OpenAI DevDay 2025 | The Verge
OpenAI wasn’t expecting Sora’s copyright drama | The Verge
I’ve fallen into Sora’s slippery slop | The Verge
Sora 2 users are having fun with Sam Altman’s face | The Verge
OpenAI will let developers build apps that work inside ChatGPT | The Verge
OpenAI wants ChatGPT to be your future operating system | Wired
Sora 2 watermark removers flood the web | 404 Media
What the arrival of AI-fabricated video means for us | NYT
Recruiters use AI to scan résumés — applicants are trying to trick it | NYT
Employers are buried in AI-generated résumés | NYT
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.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Rivian CEO on CarPlay, Lidar, and affordable EVs
6 oktober 2025 · 51 min
I’m Joanna Stern, the senior personal tech columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and this is my final Decoder episode filling in for Nilay while he’s out on parental leave. My guest today: Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe. This is RJ’s third time on the show, and it felt like the perfect follow-up to my conversation last week with Ford CEO Jim Farley. Lees meer
I loved the idea of going straight from Ford to Rivian. And if you listened to the Farley episode, this one flows nicely. RJ and I cover a lot of the same challenges: tariffs, China, EV pricing. Of course, I also asked about CarPlay.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
A pretty fascinating look under the hood of the Rivan R2 | The Verge
Rivian CEO says CarPlay isn’t going to happen | The Verge
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says too many carmakers are copying Tesla | Decoder
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe isn't scared of the Cybertruck | Decoder
Rivian breaks ground on $5 billion Georgia plant | AP
Rivian narrows 2025 delivery guidance Q3 as production slips | WSJ
Rivian R2 remains on track for $45,000 and 2026 production | Car and Driver
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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The good, the bad, and the future of AI agents
2 oktober 2025 · 47 min
This is Hayden Field, senior AI reporter at The Verge and your Thursday episode guest host. Today, I’m talking with David Hershey, who leads the applied AI team at Anthropic. I wanted to have David on because earlier this week, Anthropic released a brand-new AI model called Claude Sonnet 4.5 that’s been making waves. Lees meer
So I wanted to sit down with David, who spends a lot of time testing out what modes like Claude Sonnet 4.5 can and can’t do, to ask him where we are on this promise of AI agents, and also what the path forward looks like as agentic technology progresses.
Links:
Anthropic releases Claude Sonnet 4.5 in latest bid for AI agents | The Verge
ChatGPT’s built-in Buy Now button has arrived | The Verge
OpenAI really wants you to start your day with ChatGPT Pulse | The Verge
Anthropic’s Claude AI is playing Pokémon | The Verge
AI agents are science fiction not yet ready for primetime | The Verge
Agents are the future AI companies promise and need | The Verge
Amazon is betting on agents to win the AI race | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Ford CEO Jim Farley on China, tariffs, and the quest for a $30,000 EV
29 september 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
This is Joanna Stern, senior personal technology columnist at The Wall Street Journal. I’m the last Monday guest host filling in for Nilay here on Decoder while he’s out on parental leave with his adorable new son, and I’m very excited to be talking today to Ford CEO Jim Farley. Lees meer
I’m a longtime Decoder listener and my favorite episodes are car episodes. I think car CEOs are currently facing some of the most fascinating and complex challenges in both tech and business. So when I was asked to guest host the show I said, “That’s it, car CEOs.” And Farley was at the top of the list. This was a great conversation that covered a lot of ground. I think you’re going to like it.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
I’ve been driving an EV for a year. I have only one regret. | WSJ
Ford reveals breakthrough process for lower priced EVs | The Verge
Ford is betting the future on smaller EV batteries | The Verge
Ford is doubling down on EVs — the timing is awful | The Verge
Ford’s CEO on the essential economy and its untapped potential | Aspen Institute
Ford rejigs EV plans after suffering billions in losses | NYT
Why Americans can’t buy the world’s best electric car | NYT
Ford CEO Jim Farley on building the electric F-150 | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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How AI safety took a backseat to military money
25 september 2025 · 43 min
This is Hayden Field, senior AI reporter at The Verge — and your Thursday episode guest host. I have another couple of shows for you while Nilay is out on parental leave, and we’re going to be spending more time diving into some of the unforeseen consequences of the generative AI boom. Lees meer
Today, I’m talking with Heidy Khlaaf, who is chief AI scientist at the AI Now Institute, about the tech industry’s shift toward AI military applications. I wanted to know what’s motivated this shift, and why Heidy thinks leading AI firms are being far too cavalier about deploying generative AI in high-risk scenarios.
Links:
OpenAI is softening its stance on military use | The Verge
OpenAI awarded $200 million US defense contract | The Verge
OpenAI is partnering with defense tech company Anduril | The Verge
Anthropic launches new Claude service for military and intelligence use | The Verge
Anthropic, Palantir, Amazon team up on defense AI | Axios
Google scraps promise not to develop AI weapons | The Verge
Microsoft employees occupy headquarters in protest of Israel contracts | The Verge
Microsoft’s employee protests have reached a boiling point | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Dropout CEO Sam Reich on business, comedy, and keeping culture weird
22 september 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
Guest host Hank Green talks with his friend Dropout CEO Sam Reich about keeping a business simple, trying to run a company the “right way,” and why the internet should be full of as many weird little projects as possible. Lees meer
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
How CollegeHumor reinvented itself for the new internet age | People
CollegeHumor shaped online comedy. What went wrong? [2020] | Wired
‘I believe in this enough to try to do it myself’ [2020] | Digiday
Jacob Wysocki needed a minute to process that Game Changer | Vulture
Game Changer smartly weaponizes its online following | Mashable
Vimeo CEO Philip Moyer is betting on the human touch | Decoder
Vimeo to be acquired by Bending Spoons for $1.38B | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
How chatbots — and their makers — are enabling AI psychosis
18 september 2025 · 50 min
Verge senior AI reporter Hayden Field and New York Times reporter Kashmir Hill discuss the significant mental health impact AI chatbots, such as ChatGPT, can have on users — both people in crisis, and also people who seemed stable. Lees meer
This episode contains non-detailed discussions of suicide and mental illness. If you or someone you know is in crisis, considering self-harm, or needs to talk, please call the Lifeline at 988.
Links:
A teen was suicidal. ChatGPT was the friend he confided in. | New York Times
Sam Altman says ChatGPT will stop talking about suicide with teens | The Verge
Chatbots can go into a delusional spiral. Here’s how. | New York Times
Why is ChatGPT telling people to email me? | New York Times
They asked an AI chatbot questions. The answers sent them spiraling. | New York Times
She is in love with ChatGPT | The New York Times
‘I feel like I’m going crazy’: ChatGPT fuels delusional spirals | Wall Street Journal
Meta, OpenAI face FTC inquiry on chatbots’ impact on kids | Bloomberg
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
How brands and creators are fighting for your attention — and your money
15 september 2025 · 1 uur 1 min
This is Hank Green, the cofounder of Complexly. I’m back for my second guest hosting spot here on Decoder while Nilay is out on parental leave. Today, I’m talking with Digitas CEO Amy Lanzi, who runs a major marketing and ad agency. You might remember Amy; Nilay interviewed her for Decoder live at an event in New York City almost a year ago. But Nilay, who runs what might be the last website on Earth, has a very different perspective on the world of digital marketing than I do. So as a career YouTuber, I had a lot of questions for someone in a position like Amy’s. Lees meer
Links:
Digitas unveils new generative AI platform, Digitas AI | Digitas
Amy Lanzi on steering Digitas through the demands of modern marketing | Sightly
Introducing Reddit Community Intelligence | Reddit
Digitas North America announces Amy Lanzi as CEO | Digitas
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Sierra CEO Bret Taylor on why the AI bubble feels like the dotcom boom
11 september 2025 · 51 min
This is Alex Heath. For my final episode as your Thursday episode guest host, I recently sat down with Bret Taylor, the CEO of AI startup Sierra and the chairman of OpenAI, for a live event in San Francisco hosted by Alix Partners. Lees meer
Bret has worked at Google, Facebook, and Salesforce in high-level, executive roles, and he led Twitter’s board during Elon Musk’s takeover, so very few people have seen the tech industry up close like Bret has. Now, he’s all in on AI. We covered a lot of ground in this conversation, and I hope you find Bret’s perspective as fascinating as I did.
Links:
Ex-Salesforce co-CEO Bret Taylor’s Sierra is the latest $10 billion AI startup | CNBC
I talked to Sam Altman about the GPT-5 launch fiasco | Verge
Sam Altman says ‘yes,’ AI is in a bubble | Verge
MIT study on AI profits rattles tech investors | Axios
GPT-5 Pro can prove new, interesting mathematics | Sebastien Bubeck
AI chatbots are ready to talk to customers. Sort of. | WSJ
How is AI different than other technology waves? | Acquired Podcast
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Sal Khan is hopeful that AI won't destroy education
8 september 2025 · 1 uur 4 min
This is Hank Green, cofounder of Complexly. You might remember last year when I turned the tables on Nilay and interviewed him on his own show. That was a ton of fun, and it was so much fun that they’ve brought me back again. This time, I’m stepping in for Nilay to host the next few Decoder episodes while he’s out on parental leave. Lees meer
Today, I’m talking with a very special guest: Sal Khan, the founder and CEO of Khan Academy. Sal was actually Nilay’s second-ever guest on Decoder, back in 2020. And well, a whole lot has changed since then. So I wanted to have Sal back on to ask what it’s like running Khan Academy today, in the aftermath of the pandemic. But also how online learning is about to change, in really dramatic ways, due to artificial intelligence.
Links:
Sal Khan on A.I.'s promise and its risks | NBC News (YouTube)
The best-case scenario for AI in schools | BBC News
Meet Khanmigo: the student tutor AI being tested in schools | 60 Minutes| 60 Minutes
Remote learning is here to stay — can we make it better? | Decoder
Hank Green makes Nilay Patel explain why websites have a future | Decoder
In classrooms, teachers put AI tutoring bots to the test | NYT
Elite colleges have found a new virtue for applicants to fake | NYT
Everyone Is cheating their way through college | New York Magazine
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
The quest to keep OpenAI honest
4 september 2025 · 40 min
Despite being one of the most valuable companies in the world, OpenAI is still technically a nonprofit. That’s what set the stage for the dramatic board coup in 2023 that briefly ousted Sam Altman as CEO. And now, OpenAI is trying to shake this nonprofit structure so it can raise even more money and, eventually, go public. There’s a lot at stake here, and not just for OpenAI. Lees meer
Links:
OpenAI abandons plans to become a for-profit company | Verge
Why California’s AG must continue investigation into OpenAI | CalMatters
An open letter to OpenAI | EyesOnOpenAI
OpenAI eyes $50B valuation in potential employee share sale | Reuters
OpenAI thinks its critics are funded by billionaires | San Francisco Standard
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Rewind: Bookshop CEO's crusade to save books from Amazon
28 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
Hello, and welcome to Decoder! This is Senior Producer Nick Statt. We’re on a small break for the end of summer, and, sadly, Nilay will still be out a little while longer when we come back. But we have an excellent slate of guest host episodes starting up next month, so stay tuned for those. Lees meer
In the meantime, we wanted to bring back one of our favorite Decoder interviews from earlier this year. It’s with Bookshop CEO Andy Hunter, who back in January launched a pretty bold ebook initiative to take on Amazon and Kindle. It’s been about seven months, but Bookshop has seen big results, including more than $1 million in ebook sales. So we thought it was a good time to revisit our conversation with Andy.
Links:
Bookshop.org reports 65% growth, e-books add $1 Million in sales | Publishers Weekly
Bookshop CEO Andy Hunter’s crusade to save books from Amazon | Decoder
Bookshop.org is launching an ebook store to take on Amazon | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Is ChatGPT killing higher education?
25 augustus 2025 · 57 min
Hello! Decoder senior producer Kate Cox here. I’m afraid I’m still not Nilay, but I hope you’ve been enjoying our series of guest hosts this summer while he’s out on parental leave. We have a few more really great guest episodes coming up, before Nilay returns to the host chair later this fall, so stay tuned. Lees meer
The production team is taking our own break this week, so while we’re off we’re excited to share this episode of The Gray Area with you. Students all over the country — including my own kids, thank goodness — are back in school right around now, and so we thought it would be a perfect time to revisit host Sean Illing talking with journalist James Walsh about how AI tools like ChatGPT have kicked off a new cheating arms race that’s proving extremely disruptive to college education.
There are a lot of big Decoder ideas — and problems — wrapped up in all this. Okay, The Gray Area, with Sean Illing. Enjoy.
Links:
If AI can do your classwork, why go to college? | The Gray Area
Everyone Is cheating their way through college | New York Magazine
How to get students to stop using AI | Verge
I used the ‘cheat on everything’ AI tool and it didn’t help me cheat on anything | Verge
Inside the frat-bro startup that wants you to ‘cheat on everything' | SF Standard
A new headache for honest students: proving they didn’t use AI | NYT
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Amazon is betting on agents to win the AI race
21 augustus 2025 · 54 min
This is Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host and deputy editor at The Verge. One of the biggest topics in AI these days is agents — the idea that AI is going to move from chatbots to reliably completing tasks for us in the real world. But the problem with agents is that they really aren’t all that reliable right now. Lees meer
There’s a lot of work happening in the AI industry to try and fix that, and that brings me to my guest today: David Luan, the head of Amazon’s AGI research lab, a cofounder of Adept, and a former VP of engineering at OpenAI. David and I discussed the release of GPT-5, what Amazon wants with agents, and where he thinks the AI race is headed next.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
The Platonic Representation Hypothesis | Phillip Isola
Amazon plays catch-up with new Nova models to generate voices, video | Verge
Amazon’s new AI agent is designed to do your shopping | Verge
Microsoft is racing to build an AI ‘agent factory’ | Verge
OpenAI’s new ChatGPT Agent can control an entire computer | Verge
24 hours with Alexa Plus: we cooked, we chatted, and it kinda lied to me | Verge
Why AI researchers are getting paid like NBA All-Stars | Decoder
OpenAI’s Windsurf deal is off — and Windsurf’s CEO is going to Google | Verge
This is Big Tech’s playbook for swallowing the AI industry | Command Line
Amazon hires founders away from AI startup Adept | TechCrunch
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
How the head of Obsidian went from superfan to CEO
18 augustus 2025 · 54 min
Obsidian is a note-taking and productivity app that occupies the same "second brain" space as competitors like Notion — but in a lot of ways, it's also startlingly different. Obsidian's files are Markdown-based, stored locally on your own devices, and completely free to use. Lees meer
Steph Ango, the CEO, is also different in a lot of ways: He's not an Obsidian founder, but instead came to the role from being basically a member of the fan development community. His take on software, productivity, and business is refreshingly old-fashioned in a lot of good ways, while he's also leading a very 21st century startup.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
I’m joining Obsidian as CEO | Obsidian Blog
About Obsidian (Manifesto) | Obsidian
Narvar acquires Lumi (2021) | Narvar
After 15 years whipping the llama’s ass, Winamp shuts down | TechCrunch
Notion’s Ivan Zhao wants you to demand better from your tools | Decoder
Book Review: “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running” | National Geographic
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
ChatGPT chief Nick Turley doesn't want you too attached to AI
14 augustus 2025 · 55 min
This is Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host and deputy editor at The Verge. Today, I’m talking to a very special guest: Nick Turley, OpenAI’s head of ChatGPT. Lees meer
While Sam Altman is definitely the public face of OpenAI, Nick has been leading ChatGPT’s development since the very beginning, and it’s now the fastest-growing software product of all time with more than 700 million weekly users. So, Nick and I talk about the backlash against OpenAI’s removal of its GPT-4o model, the future of ChatGPT itself, solving hallucinations, and why he thinks it eventually won’t look like a chatbot at all.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
ChatGPT won’t remove old models without warning after GPT-5 backlash | Verge
ChatGPT is bringing back 4o as an option because people missed it | Verge
GPT-5 is being released to all ChatGPT users | Verge
The 6 biggest changes coming to ChatGPT | Verge
ChatGPT has 20 million paying subscribers | Verge
Elon Musk says he’s suing Apple for rigging App Store rankings | Verge
OpenAI’s ChatGPT to hit 700 million weekly users | CNBC
Chatbots can go into a delusional spiral. Here’s how it happens | NYT
ChatGPT gave instructions for murder, self-mutilation, and devil worship | The Atlantic
‘I feel like I’m going crazy’: ChatGPT fuels delusional spirals | WSJ
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.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Notion's CEO wants you to demand better from your tools
11 augustus 2025 · 56 min
This is Casey Newton, founder and editor of Platformer and cohost of the Hard Fork podcast. This is the second episode of my productivity-focused Decoder series I’m doing while Nilay is out on parental leave. Lees meer
Today, I’m talking with Notion cofounder and CEO Ivan Zhao. I’ve followed Notion for quite some time now — I’m a big fan, and I use Notion as part of my workflow with Platformer. So I was very excited to get Ivan on the show to discuss his philosophy on productivity, how he’s grown his company over the last decade, and where he sees the space going in the future.
Read the full interview transcript on The Verge.
Links:
Introducing Notion AI for Work | Notion
Notion Mail is a minimalist but powerful take on email | Verge
Notion’s new Q&A feature lets you ask an AI about your notes | Verge
Notion takes on AI notetakers with its own transcription feature | TechCrunch
The impossible dream of good workplace software | Decoder
When AI has better taste than you | Julie Zhuo / The Looking Glass
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 editor by Xander Adams.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
GitHub's CEO says AI coding is ‘here to stay’
7 augustus 2025 · 1 uur 1 min
This is Alex Heath, deputy editor at The Verge. My guest today is GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke. In many ways, GitHub Copilot set off the current AI coding boom. But since Thomas was on the show a year ago, the rise of vibe coding has shifted the buzz to newer platforms like Cursor and Windsurf. As you’ll hear in our conversation, Thomas is thinking a lot about the competition, and GitHub’s role in the future of software development. Lees meer
Links:
Developers, Reinvented | Thomas Dohmke / GitHub
Developer Odyssey | Thomas Dohmke / GitHub
Why tech is racing to adopt AI coding, with Cursor’s Michael Truell | Decoder
GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke says AI needs competition to thrive | Decoder
Up to 30 percent of some Microsoft code is now written by AI | Verge
GitHub launches its AI app-making tool in preview | Verge
Microsoft is getting ready for GPT-5 with a new Copilot smart mode | Verge
Zuckerberg: AI will write most Meta code within 18 months | Engadget
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.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Why tech is racing to adopt AI coding
4 augustus 2025 · 56 min
This is Casey Newton, founder and editor of the Platformer newsletter and cohost of the Hard Fork podcast. I’ll be guest hosting the next few episodes of Decoder while Nilay is out on parental leave. For the next three weeks, I’ll be talking to leaders in the productivity space about what they’re building, and how they can help us get things done. Lees meer
My guest today: Michael Truell, the CEO of Anysphere, the maker of automated programming platform Cursor AI. I sat down with Michael to talk about his product and how it works, why coding with AI has seen such incredible adoption, and what the future of automated programming really looks like.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
Anysphere, hailed as fastest growing startup ever, raises $900 Million | Bloomberg
AI coding assistant Cursor draws a million users without even trying | Bloomberg
Anthropic rehires AI leaders from Anysphere | The Information
Cursor apologizes for unclear pricing changes that upset users | TechCrunch
OpenAI looked at buying Cursor creator before turning to rival Windsurf | CNBC
Interview with Anysphere CEO Michael Truell about coding with AI | Stratechery
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Why AI researchers are getting paid like NBA All-Stars
31 juli 2025 · 40 min
This is Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host and deputy editor at The Verge. Today I'm joined by Hayden Field, The Verge’s new senior AI reporter to talk about the AI talent wars and why some researchers are suddenly getting traded like their NBA superstars. Lees meer
Both Hayden and I have been reporting on this for the past several weeks to get a sense of much these companies are paying for top talent, why Big Tech firms like Google are opting to hire instead of acquire, and what it means that some of the most sought-after AI experts in the world are no longer motivated by money alone.
Links:
OpenAI’s Windsurf deal is off — and Windsurf’s CEO is going to Google | Verge
Mark Zuckerberg promises you can trust him with superintelligent AI | Verge
Meta is trying to win the AI race with money — but not everyone can be bought | Verge
Meta says it’s winning the talent war with OpenAI | Command Line
Google gets its swag back | Command Line
The AI talent wars are just getting started | Command Line
Meta tried to buy Safe Superintelligence, hired its CEO instead | CNBC
Apple loses top AI models executive to Meta’s hiring spree | Bloomberg
Meta’s AI recruiting campaign finds a new target | Wired
Anthropic hires back two AI leaders from Anysphere | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Can we ever trust an AI lawyer?
28 juli 2025 · 55 min
This is CNBC journalist Jon Fortt. This is the last episode I’ll be guest-hosting for Nilay while he’s out on parental leave. My guest today is Richard Robinson, who is the cofounder and CEO of legal tech startup Robin AI. Lees meer
Richard is a corporate lawyer-turned-startup founder working on AI tools for the legal profession. But law and AI have not mixed well. So I wanted to ask Richard about hallucinations, how lawyers can use AI today, and what it will really take to place our trust in an AI lawyer.
Read the full transcript on The Verge.
Links:
Legal tech startup Robin AI raises another $25 million | Fortune
Why do lawyers keep using ChatGPT? | Verge
Judge slams lawyers for ‘bogus AI-generated research’ | Verge
Lawyers using AI must heed ethics rules, ABA says in first formal guidance | Reuters
Lawyers fined for submitting bogus case law created by ChatGPT | AP
The ChatGPT lawyer explains himself | NYT
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
We are not ready for better deepfakes
24 juli 2025 · 57 min
This is Alex Heath, your Thursday episode guest host. Today I'm talking with Gaurav Misra, the CEO of Captions. You may not have heard of Captions yet, but by now, you’ve probably seen a video that was generated using its AI models. The company’s Mirage Studio platform lets anyone generate AI versions of real people, and the results are alarmingly realistic. Lees meer
Captions just put out a blog post titled, “We Build Synthetic Humans. Here’s What’s Keeping Us Up at Night.” It’s a good overview of the state of deepfakes and where they’re headed. So Gauraav and I sat down to discuss the trajectory of deepfake technology and what might be done to prevent it from being misused.
Links:
We build synthetic humans. Here’s what’s keeping us up at night | Captions
Google’s Veo 3 AI video generator is a slop monger’s dream | Verge
Gemini AI can now turn photos into videos | Verge
Trump just unveiled his plan to put AI in everything | Verge
Racist videos made with AI are going viral on TikTok | Verge
Microsoft wants Congress to outlaw AI-generated deepfake fraud | Verge
YouTube is supporting the ‘No Fakes Act’ targeting unauthorized AI replicas | Verge
This Tom Cruise impersonator is using deepfake tech to impressive ends | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Why tech billionaires want a ‘corporate dictatorship’
21 juli 2025 · 1 uur 2 min
This is Jon Fortt, CNBC journalist. I’m guest-hosting for a couple more episodes of Decoder this summer while Nilay is out on parental leave. Today, I’m talking with a very special guest: Gil Duran, an old friend, journalist, and author of The Nerd Reich, a newsletter and forthcoming book about the shifting politics of Silicon Valley and the rise of tech authoritarianism. Lees meer
Links:
Is Peter Thiel the Antichrist? NYT didn’t think to ask | The Nerd Reich
How tech authoritarianism becomes reality | The Nerd Reich
Curtis Yarvin’s Plot Against America | The New Yorker
The rise of techno-authoritarianism | The Atlantic
JD Vance thinks monarchists have some good ideas | The Verge
Startups meeting with Trump officials to push for deregulated ‘Freedom Cities’ | Wired
Peter Thiel-linked startup wants to build the “next great city” in Greenland | Inside Hook
Bitcoin could replace dollar If US debt grows says Coinbase CEO | CryptoSlate
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Perplexity CEO on why the browser is AI's killer app
17 juli 2025 · 50 min
This is Alex Heath, deputy editor at The Verge. Nilay’s out on parental leave for the next few months, so I’ll be stepping in to host our Thursday episodes while he’s out. My guest today is Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas, who is betting that the browser is where more useful AI will get built. Lees meer
Perplexity just released Comet, an AI web browser for the Mac and Windows that’s still in an invite-only beta. I’ve been using it, and it’s very interesting. In this conversation, Aravind and I also discussed the future of Perplexity, the AI talent wars, and why he thinks people will eventually pay thousands of dollars for a single AI prompt.
Read the full transcript here on The Verge.
Links:
Perplexity just launched an AI web browser | Verge
Perplexity wants to buy Chrome if Google has to sell it | Verge
The Dia browser is a big bet on the. web and AI | Verge
Perplexity’s CEO on fighting Google & the AI browser war | Command Line
Perplexity launches a $200 monthly subscription plan | Verge
Meta says it’s winning the talent war with OpenAI | Verge
Meta is trying to win the AI race with money | Verge
Meta held talks to buy Perplexity and others | Command Line
Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s AI hiring spree | Command Line
Perplexity is ready to take on Google | Command Line
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
How decision making will change when AI answers are cheap and (too) easy
14 juli 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
This is Jon Fortt, CNBC journalist, co-host of Closing Bell Overtime, and creator and host of the Fortt Knox podcast. I’m stepping in to guest host a few episodes of Decoder this summer while he’s out on parental leave, and I’m very excited for what we’ve been working on. Lees meer
For my first episode of Decoder, a show about how people make decisions, I wanted to talk to an expert. So I sat down with Cassie Kozyrkov, the CEO and founder of AI consultancy Kozyr and the former chief decision scientist at Google. Read the full transcript over on The Verge.
Links:
Google’s ‘chief decision scientist’ explains why she left the company | Fortune
What is Decision Science? | DataCamp (YouTube)
Is It All About the Data? | DLD24 (YouTube)
Cassie Kozyrkov on how AI can be a leadership partner | WorkLab
Decision Intelligence with Cassie Kozyrkov | Google Cloud Platform Podcast
Why AI and decision-making are two sides of the same coin | Cassie Kozyrkov
Google's got a chief decision scientist. Here's what she does | Wired
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Inside the AI startup frenzy: ‘Everyone’s pivoting, then pivoting again’
10 juli 2025 · 49 min
On this episode of Decoder, Ellis Hamburger — former journalist at The Verge, early Snap employee, and founder of the brand strategy studio Meaning — joins guest host Alex Heath to share why many AI founders are missing the bigger picture. Lees meer
Links:
Meaning | Ellis Hamburger
Social media is doomed to die | Verge
I used the ‘cheat on everything’ AI tool and it didn’t help me cheat on anything | Verge
Hideo Kojima sees Death Stranding 2 as a cautionary tale | Verge
Apple heard your complaints about the Liquid Glass | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
How SharkNinja took over the home
7 juli 2025 · 1 uur 24 min
It’s summertime, which means it’s time for our annual grilling episode. In years past we’ve talked to the leaders of Big Green Egg, Traeger, and Blackstone, and it’s always fascinating how those companies have all the same kinds of problems and ideas as any of the tech companies we have on the show. Lees meer
This time, I finally had the opportunity to sit down with SharkNinja CEO Mark Barrocas. We’ve wanted to have SharkNinja on the show for years now, mostly because it has the best name of any company I think we’ve ever had on Decoder — it perfectly describes the structure of the company. And just in time for our grilling episode, the Ninja division of Mark’s business just launched its first ever grill.
Check out the full transcript here on The Verge.
Links:
Ninja announces its first ever propane grill with the FlexFlame | Tom’s Guide
How SharkNinja became a viral marketing machine | Ad Age
How airfryer brand SharkNinja became a $1bn UK household name | The Sunday Times
Mark Zuckerberg just declared war on the entire advertising industry | Verge
Dyson, SharkNinja settle patent lawsuits over bagless vacuums | Bloomberg
How arson led to a culture reboot at Traeger | Decoder
Big Green Egg is inviting zoomers to the cult of kamado cooking | Decoder
How Blackstone became the darling of grill TikTok | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Why Automattic CEO Matt Mullenweg went to war over WordPress
30 juni 2025 · 1 uur 9 min
Today, I’m talking with Matt Mullenweg, the founder and CEO of Automattic and the public face of WordPress. Last year, Matt essentially went to war, publicly and in the courts, against a hosting company called WP Engine, and there’s been significant fallout at Automattic and the broader WordPress community. Lees meer
It’s been a long, drawn-out saga. That said, Matt was willing to come on the show and talk through some of this thinking here, why he made some of the decisions he did, and also what he regrets about how some of this went down.
Links:
The messy WordPress drama, explained | Verge
Celebrating 20 Years of Automattic | Automattic
Matt Mullenweg: ‘WordPress.org just belongs to me’ | Verge
Automattic offered employees another chance to quit over | Verge
WordPress owner Automattic is laying off 16 percent of workers | Verge
Tumblr will move all of its blogs to WordPress | Verge
Beeper was just acquired by Automattic | Verge
Automattic acquires relationship manager Clay | TechCrunch
How WordPress and Tumblr are keeping the internet weird | Decoder
How to buy a social network, with Tumblr CEO Matt Mullenweg | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Hinge CEO Justin McLeod says dating AI chatbots is 'playing with fire'
23 juni 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
Today, I’m talking with Hinge founder and CEO Justin McLeod. Hinge is one of the biggest dating apps in the United States — it’s rivaled only by Tinder, and both are owned by the massive conglomerate Match Group, which has consolidated a huge chunk of the online dating ecosystem. Lees meer
Justin and I dug into that here, and we also explored some of the thorny issues around AI and dating, Hinge’s monetization, and data privacy in the second Trump administration. This is a fun one, with a whole lot going on. I think you’ll like it.
Read the full interview transcript here on The Verge.
Links:
How We Do Things | Hinge
Hinge’s First Gen Z Report | Hinge
Hinge’s new AI feature judges your prompt responses | TechCrunch
When Cupid Is a prying journalist | NYT / Modern Love
Tinder CEO Faye Iosotaluno to step down in July | CNBC
Match Group CEO Rascoff to lead struggling Tinder app | WSJ
Replika CEO says it’s okay if we end up marrying AI chatbots | Decoder
Apple ordered to keep web links in the App Store | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Monopoly isn’t a game (with Lina Khan)
12 juni 2025 · 1 uur 1 min
Hey everyone, it’s Nilay. Decoder is on a short summer break right now, but we’ll be back starting June 23 with new episodes, and we’re very excited for what we have on the schedule. Lees meer
In the meantime, we have an episode from the excellent podcast Stay Tuned with Preet, with host and former U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. Last month, Preet sat down with former FTC Chair Lina Khan for a pretty high-level discussion about antitrust, monopoly power, and the ongoing shift from both political parties in the United States toward more aggressive, bipartisan regulation of Big Tech. I think you’ll find it really interesting.
Links:
Stay Tuned with Preet | Apple Podcasts
Google loses ad tech monopoly case | Verge
Judge greenlights FTC’s antitrust suit against Amazon | Verge
Judge rules that Google ‘is a monopolist’ in US antitrust case | Verge
Illegally fired FTC commissioners on Meta, bribes, and fighting for privacy | Decoder
The case for breaking up Google has never been stronger | Decoder
DOJ antitrust chief is ‘overjoyed’ after Google monopoly verdict | Decoder
DOJ’s Kanter says the antitrust fight against Big Tech is just beginning | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Taskrabbit CEO Ania Smith isn’t afraid of AI robots replacing human labor
9 juni 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
Today, I’m talking with Taskrabbit CEO Ania Smith. Taskrabbit is an interesting company; it’s known best for being a platform for hiring people to put together your furniture, so much so that Ikea acquired it in 2017. But Taskrabbit is still operating as a mostly independent company all these years later, and Ania is now in charge of maneuvering a fast-changing labor market during uncertain economic times and a potentially major AI disruption to the workforce on the horizon. Lees meer
Help us plan for the future of Decoder by filling out a brief survey: voxmedia.com/survey. We’d really appreciate it. Thanks!
Links:
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wants to build the everything app | Decoder
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is okay with reinventing the bus | Decoder
Google’s Project Mariner | Google
Uber is testing a service that lets you hire drivers for chores | Verge
Taskrabbit CEO on using empathy in leadership | Fortune
Taskrabbit takes over on-demand moving service Dolly | GeekWire
Ikea integrates Taskrabbit booking service into checkout | Retail Dive
TaskRabbit to close its offices, go entirely remote | MarketWatch
IKEA has bought TaskRabbit | TechCrunch
Taskrabbit CEO: People will still power an AI workforce | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Why Runway CEO Cris Valenzuela thinks AI filmmaking is the future
5 juni 2025 · 53 min
Today, I’m talking with Runway CEO and co-founder Cris Valenzuela. This one’s special: Cris and I were live at an event in New York City last month hosted by Alix Partners, so you’ll hear the audience from time to time. Lees meer
Runway is a leading AI video generation platform, and it’s getting better all the time. That puts Cris and his company on the same collision course with creators, artists, and copyright law as every other part of the AI industry — and you’ll hear Cris and I really get into all that here.
Links:
AMC Networks inks deal with AI company Runway | Hollywood Reporter
We made a film with AI. You’ll be blown away — and freaked out | WSJ
Mark Zuckerberg just declared war on the entire advertising industry | Verge
Runway says its latest AI video model can generate consistent scenes, people | Verge
Runway releases an impressive new video-generating AI model | TechCrunch
Runway Trained on Thousands of YouTube Videos Without Permission | 404 Media
Runway partners with Lionsgate to train on its catalog of video | Verge
AI companies lose bid to dismiss parts of visual artists' copyright case | Reuters
Help us plan for the future of Decoder by filling out this brief survey. Thank you!
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky wants to build the everything app
2 juni 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
Today, I’m talking with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky. This is Brian’s fourth time on the show, and he’s one of my favorite guests because he’s so clearly obsessed with things like company structure, design, and decision making. You know, Decoder stuff. Lees meer
This time, Brian came on to talk about the company’s new services product and the full-scale redesign and rebuild of the Airbnb app to support these broader ambitions. There’s a lot of fun, very Decoder-y stuff in this one. Read the full transcript here on The Verge.
Links:
Airbnb’s new app has all of your vacation extras in one place | Verge
“Flat design is over” | Brian Chesky
Airbnb Is in midlife crisis mode | Wired
He revolutionized travel. Can Airbnb’s founder redesign your entire life? | WSJ
Airbnb’s CEO explains how he helped Sam Altman during OpenAI fiasco | Fast Company
A conversation with Airbnb’s Brian Chesky | Figma
Jony Ive is bringing his design talents to Airbnb | Verge
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky on what founder mode really means | Decoder
Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky is taking it back to basics | Decoder
Why the future of work is the future of travel, with Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky | Decoder
Help us plan for the future of Decoder by filling out this brief survey. Thank you!
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
How private equity kills companies and communities
29 mei 2025 · 49 min
Today, I’m talking with journalist Megan Greenwell about her new book Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream. It comes out June 10th. It's fantastic and maddening in equal measure. I highly recommend it. Lees meer
In this episode, we discussed the genesis of Megan’s interest in the subject and its genesis in media — including her time as editor-in-chief of the website Deadspin, which underwent a very public PE takeover of its parent company. We also talk a lot about the healthcare industry, another major pillar of Megan’s book. I'm excited to hear what you think of this one.
Links:
Bad Company | HarperCollins
Private equity bought out your doctor and bankrupted Toys ‘R’ Us | Decoder
Private equity Is gutting America — and getting away with it | NYT
I was fired from Deadspin for refusing to ‘stick to sports’ | NYT
Will private equity be the next ‘Big Short’? | Marketplace
The profit-obsessed monster destroying American ERs | Vox
Why your vet bill is so high | The Atlantic
The investment firms leave behind a barren wasteland’ | Politico
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinde
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Google CEO Sundar Pichai on the next phase of AI
27 mei 2025 · 46 min
In what's become a bit of a Decoder tradition, I spoke with Google CEO Sundar Pichai in person after I/O. The conference this year was all about AI, particularly a slew of actual AI products, not just models and capabilities. Lees meer
To Sundar, this marks the beginning of a new era for search and the web overall. So I had to ask: what happens to the web when AI tools and eventually agents do most of the browsing for us? It was a very Decoder conversation. Read the full transcript here.
Links:
Help us plan the future of Decoder! | AUDIENCE SURVEY
The 15 biggest announcements at Google I/O 2025 | Verge
We tried on Google’s prototype AI smart glasses | Verge
AI Mode is obviously the future of Google Search | Verge
News publishers call Google’s AI Mode ‘theft’ | Verge
Details leak about Jony Ive’s OpenAI device | Verge
DOJ says Google must sell Chrome to crack open monopoly | Verge
Google Zero is here — now what? | Verge
Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi is okay reinventing the bus | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
Why Uber's CEO is okay with reinventing the bus
22 mei 2025 · 1 uur 3 min
Today, I’m talking with Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi. We recorded this conversation on the same day Uber announced a big set of product updates, including new options for shared rides. Dara was in New York for all that, so he came to our studio and we did this one together, which always makes for a great episode. Lees meer
If you’ve been listening to Decoder recently, you know that I’m very curious about how service apps like Uber will handle things like AI agents. Dara had a lot of thoughts there. There’s a lot in this one, and Dara didn’t hold back. I think you’re going to like it.
Links:
Uber’s new bus-like feature is nearly 50 percent cheaper than UberX | Verge
An interview with Dara Khosrowshahi | Stratechery
Uber preps for Waymo’s robotaxi launch in Atlanta | Verge
Uber ends year in the black for the first time ever | Verge
Uber’s not out of the woods yet | Verge
UberX Share brings carpooling back to NYC and eight other cities | Verge
Uber CEO vows to be ‘hardcore’ about costs, slow hiring | 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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on how AI can save the web, not destroy it
19 mei 2025 · 1 uur 11 min
Today, I’m talking with Kevin Scott, the chief technology officer of Microsoft, and one of the company’s AI leaders. Kevin is one of my favorite repeat Decoder guests, and he joined the show this time to talk about the future of search. Lees meer
Microsoft just announced an open-source tool for websites to integrate AI powered natural language search with just a little bit of effort, in a way that lets them actually run whatever models they want and keep control of their data. I saw some demos before Kevin and I chatted, and the improvements over the bad local search on most sites was obvious. So we talked about what this will mean for AI, for search engines, and for the future of the web.
Links:
Microsoft’s plan to fix the web: letting every website run AI search for cheap | Verge
Microsoft Build 2025: news and announcements from the developer conference | Verge
Introducing the Model Context Protocol | Anthropic
Copyright Office head fired after reporting AI training isn’t always fair use | Ars Technica
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott on how AI and art will coexist in the future | Decoder
Microsoft CTO Kevin Scott thinks Sydney might make a comeback | Decoder
Microsoft’s CTO explains how AI can help health care in the US right now | Vergecast
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/669409
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.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Workday's new product head hopes he can make you like Workday
15 mei 2025 · 1 uur 14 min
Today, I’m talking with Gerrit Kazmaier, the brand-new president of product and technology at Workday. Gerrit’s new on the job, maybe a little bit braver than most, and to his credit he came on the show and took the heat. We spent a lot of time talking about what enterprise software really is, what it does and why it has a reputation of being so deeply frustrating for so many people. Lees meer
Links:
Workday names Gerrit Kazmaier president of product and technology | Workday
AI Index Report | Stanford HAI
IBM AI Study | IBM
How generative AI will impact the future of work | Workday
Workday launches platform for companies to manage all of their AI agents | TechCrunch
Everyone hates Workday | Business Insider
Judge: Workday must face novel AI bias lawsuit | Reuters
Workday lays off 1,750, 8.5% of employees, in AI push | Associated Press
Why Workday's CEO made a layoff decision to invest in AI | FastCompany
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/667538
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Did Apple get too big for its own good?
12 mei 2025 · 1 uur 19 min
We’re doing something a little different today — I asked my friend John Gruber of Daring Fireball to come on the show and talk about the future of Apple, and, importantly, the App Store. I wanted to talk about the most recent ruling in the Epic v. Apple legal saga. Lees meer
But I also wanted to talk about the big picture at Apple, and why the company seems to have found itself being hammered on all sides: by the developers that feel it’s become too greedy, by federal court judges that no longer trust it, and by regulators now threatening some of its major cash cows.
Links:
Judge rules, in excoriating decision, that Apple violated 2021 order | Daring Fireball
Steve Jobs’ response on Section 3.3.1 | Tao Effect Blog
Epic submitted Fortnite to Apple | Verge
Eddy Cue is fighting to save Apple’s $20 billion paycheck from Google | Verge
Epic is offering developers an alternative to Apple’s in-app purchases | Verge
Epic says Fortnite is coming back to iOS in the US | Verge
Apple files appeal to wrest back control of its App Store | Verge
‘Cook chose poorly’: how Apple blew up its control over the App Store | Verge
Apple changes App Store rules to allow external purchases | Verge
Existential thoughts about Apple’s reliance on Services revenue | Six Colors
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Reuters is ready to stand up for the press — and embrace AI
8 mei 2025 · 1 uur 6 min
Today, I’m talking with Paul Bascobert, who is the president of Reuters, as part of a special Thursday series we’re running this month to explore how leaders at some world’s biggest companies make decisions in such a rapidly changing environment. Reuters is a great company for us to kick off with, because it’s been around since 1851, when the hot technology enabling mass media was the telegraph. Lees meer
Here, today, in 2025, the tech driving media has clearly changed more than a little bit. Distribution in a world full of iPhones and generative AI is a really different proposition than distributing media 50 years before the invention of the radio. So there’s a lot here, and you’ll hear Paul and I get deep into basically every Decoder theme there is.
Links:
The Trust Principles | Reuters
Brendan Carr’s FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine | Verge
AP wins reinstatement to White House events | AP
NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy | Channels
Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour on AI, press freedom, and the future of news | Decoder
Platforms need the news — but they’re killing it | Decoder
Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder
Platformer’s Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI, and the economy
5 mei 2025 · 1 uur 7 min
Hey everyone, it’s Nilay. We’re off today, but we’ll be back Thursday, so stay tuned. In the meantime, we have an excellent episode from Business Insider Chief Correspondent Peter Kafka, who hosts the media podcast Channels. Lees meer
In this episode, Peter sat down with one of the biggest names in journalism: New York Times publisher AG Sulzberger. It’s a fascinating conversation that covers some of the most pressing issues facing journalism and the news business today. We think you’ll like it.
Links:
NYT publisher AG Sulzberger on Trump, OpenAI and the economy | Channels
New York Times Reports 350,000 Additional Digital Subscribers | NYT
IGN and CNET owner Ziff Davis sues OpenAI | Verge
The New York Times is suing OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement | Verge
Dow Jones CEO Almar Latour on AI, press freedom, and the future of news | Decoder
Platforms need the news — but they’re killing it | Decoder
Why The Atlantic signed a deal with OpenAI | Decoder
Platformer’s Casey Newton on surviving the great media collapse | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
What Trump has broken in 100 days
1 mei 2025 · 48 min
A lot has happened in the first 100 days of Trump's second term. It’s nearly too much to keep up with, really, but we're going to try. Verge policy editor Adi Robertson joins Decoder this week to talk through six of the biggest stories and themes we're covering, from tariffs to TikTok to DOGE. Lees meer
Links:
Donald Trump’s first 100 days: all the news affecting the tech industry | Verge
The DOGE days have just begun | Verge
America is living in tariff limbo | Verge
MAGA’s next wave of influencers saved TikTok | Verge
Whatever happened to the Kids’ Online Safety Act? | Verge
Brendan Carr’s FCC is an anti-consumer, rights-trampling harassment machine | Verge
Environmental warning systems are suffering from Trump’s data purge | Verge
Why Trump can’t be trusted with Congress’ new anti-deepfake bill | Decoder
How Trump’s tariffs actually work on the ground | Decoder
The FCC is a weapon in Trump’s war on free speech | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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Decoder Live: Fired FTC commissioners fight back
28 april 2025 · 55 min
A few days ago, I hosted a panel with FTC commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya at the IAPP Global Privacy Summit in Washington, DC. We recorded the discussion, and we’re bringing it to you today. Lees meer
Normal Decoder stuff, but these are anything but normal times. Becca and Alvaro were FTC commissioners until very recently, when President Donald Trump fired them — but he doesn't have that legal authority. They’re suing to get their jobs back, and they’re prepared to go all the way to SCOTUS if they have to.
Links:
Trump fires Democratic FTC commissioners | The Verge
Fired FTC commissioners sue Trump | The Verge
The case for breaking up Google has never been stronger | The Verge
The government doesn’t understand Meta | The Verge
FTC v Meta live: updates from the battle for Instagram, WhatsApp | The Verge
DOGE has arrived at the FTC | The Verge
Inside Mark Zuckerberg’s failed negotiations with the FTC | Wall Street Journal
FTC chair says he’d drop Meta case if lawfully ordered to | The Verge
Bedoya warns of “corrupting influence of billionaires”| The Verge
The FTC has enough staff to sue Amazon, after all | The Verge
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/657115
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices -
The case for breaking up Google has never been stronger
24 april 2025 · 1 uur 8 min
Today we’re talking about the very real possibility that Google might be broken up by the United States government. And to do that, I’m talking to Jonathan Kanter, the former assistant attorney general for antitrust under the Biden administration. Kanter left the DOJ after Trump was elected, but he was the architect of the major antitrust cases the Trump administration continues to pursue against Google. That means he’s much more free to share his thoughts on what it took to build and win both of these cases and what should happen next. Lees meer
Links:
Google loses ad tech monopoly case | Verge
Google is in more danger than ever of being broken up | Verge
OpenAI tells judge it would buy Chrome from Google | Verge
The high stakes of Google’s monopoly trial | Verge
DOJ says Google must sell Chrome to crack open search monopoly | Verge
Google makes history with rapid-fire antitrust losses | NYT
Read the antitrust ruling against Google | NYT
Google ad monopoly ruling's surprise winner: OpenAI | Axios
DOJ antitrust chief is ‘overjoyed’ after Google monopoly verdict | Decoder
DOJ’s Kanter says the antitrust fight against Big Tech is just beginning | Decoder
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 Ursa Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices