Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers ...
Today, we’re discussing a very big problem with extremely far-reaching consequences: Do we still have a functional federal government here in the United States? And how much of it has been handed entirely to Elon Musk?
If you’ve been following the news, you know there’s a lot here that’s unfolding very fast, but I wanted to know how all these changes are affecting the people who’ve so far been the most newly supportive of Trump because they have the most to lose – the money, the billionaires. So I invited New York Times reporter Teddy Schleiffer, who’s been covering this closely every day since the inauguration, on the show to help break it down.
Links:
Inside Musk's aggressive incursion into the federal government | NYT
‘The biggest heist in American history’: DC is just waking up to Musk’s takeover | Verge
‘Scared and betrayed’ — workers are reeling from chaos at federal agencies | Verge
Treasury Department sued over DOGE takeover | Verge
Can anyone stop President Musk? | Verge
Elon Musk’s team one has access to Treasury’s payments system | NYT
Elon Musk’s bureaucratic coup | Atlantic
Trump: Elon Musk won't do anything 'without our approval' | NBC News
The young, inexperienced engineers aiding Musk’s government takeover | Wired
USDS head Mina Hsiang wants big tech to help fix government (2023) | 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
--------
45:02
Bookshop CEO Andy Hunter's crusade to save books from Amazon
Andy Hunter is the CEO of Bookshop.org, a website he launched in 2020 that lets local bookshops sell all over the country. He always meant it to compete directly with Amazon, and the timing of that launch right into the teeth of the pandemic meant it was able to start strong and grow quickly.
Now Bookshop is selling ebooks, which is another market hugely dominated by Amazon. For Andy and Bookshop to get what they want, they’re probably going to have to gear up for a big fight. It’s kind of the app store question all over again, just like the big cases Epic had against Apple and Google, and it's all prime Decoder territory.
Links:
Bookshop is launching an ebook store to take on Amazon | The Verge
As greenwashing soars, some question B Corp certification | BBC
‘The Goliath is Amazon’: After 100 years, B&N wants to go back to its roots | Decoder
How Bookshop survives and thrives in Amazon’s world | Wired
Apple to pay $450M after Supreme Court denies price-fixing appeal [2016] | The Verge
Epic Games vs Apple | The Verge
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/604809
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
--------
1:10:24
DeepSeek, Stargate, and the new AI arms race
Today, we’re talking about DeepSeek, and how the open source AI model built by a Chinese startup has completely upended the conventional wisdom around chatbots, what they can do, and how much they should cost to develop.
We’re also talking about Stargate, OpenAI’s new $500 billion data center venture that’s supposed to supercharge domestic AI infrastructure. Both stand in stark contrast with one another — and represent a new, escalating front in the US-China relationship and the geopolitics of AI. Verge senior AI reporter Kylie Robison joins me to break it all down.
Links:
Why everyone is freaking out about DeepSeek | Verge
DeepSeek FAQ | Stratechery
DeepSeek: all the news about the startup that’s shaking up AI stocks | Verge
OpenAI and Softbank are starting a $500 billion AI data center company | Verge
The AI spending frenzy is just getting started | Command Line
After DeepSeek, VCs face questions about AI investments | NYT
Satya Nadella on Stargate: ‘All I know is I’m good for my $80 billion’ | Verge
OpenAI says it has evidence DeepSeek used its model to train competitor | FT
DeepSeek sparks global AI selloff, Nvidia loses about $593 billion of value | Reuters
Four big reasons to worry about DeepSeek (and four reasons to calm down) | Platformer
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
--------
33:24
How Ciena keeps the internet online, with CEO Gary Smith
Today, I’m talking with Gary Smith, CEO of the networking company Ciena. You probably aren’t familiar with Ciena — the company isn’t really a household name. But every internet user has relied on the company’s products; Ciena makes the hardware and software that makes the fiber optic cables connecting the world light up with data.
That’s everything from local fiber networks for broadband ISPs to the massive undersea cables that connect continents. There’s a high probability that this very podcast came to you over a Ciena network, in fact — the company is everywhere. That means almost every single Decoder idea is right here, sitting on the backbone of the internet.
Links:
What is WDM or DWDM? | Ciena
Southern Cross achieves first 1 Tb/s Transmission across Pacific with Ciena | Ciena
The invisible seafaring industry that keeps the internet afloat | Verge
The internet really is a series of tubes | Vergecast
Meta is building the ‘mother of all’ subsea cables | Verge
Ciena CEO: Prepare for the AI wave | Fierce Network
The secret life of the 500-plus cables that run the internet CNET
Fiber-Optic Technology Draws Record Stock Value | NYT
Transcript: https://www.theverge.com/e/24115288
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
--------
1:17:25
How Meta's MAGA heel turn is a play for global power
It’s been a messy couple of weeks for big tech companies as the second Trump administration kicks off an unprecedented era of how we think about who controls the internet. Right now, there's a major collision, or maybe merger, happening between billionaire power and state power, and everyone who uses tech to communicate — so, basically everyone — is stuck in the middle. I sat down with law professor and online speech expert Kate Klonick to break it all down.
Links:
Welcome to the era of gangster tech regulation | Verge
Trump signs order refusing to enforce TikTok ban for 75 days | Verge
Inside Zuckerberg’s sprint to remake Meta for Trump era | New York Times
The internet’s future is looking bleaker by the day | Wired
Meta is highlighting a splintering global approach to online speech | Verge
Mark Zuckerberg lies about content moderation to Joe Rogan’s face | Verge
Meta’s ‘tipping point’ is about aligning with power | WashPo
Meta is preparing for an autocratic future | Tech Policy Press
Meta surrenders to the right on speech | Platformer
We’re all trying to find the guy who did this | Atlantic
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.
Netherlands