What is privacy in the digital age and how do we defend it for the consumer? Especially when we want to have Pokemon Go. Our guest this week is Federal Trade Commissioner Maureen Ohlhausen, who talks about the role of her agency is defending consumer privacy. And then there is Maddie, our 8-year old entrepreneur … Continue reading 16370: Emvisible Friends: Privacy in an Connected Age →

With a week off for How We Manage Stuff, we offer a little snippet of Maddie, our 8-year old entrepreneur who is visiting Washington. Maddie represents all that is right with American business. Its energy. Its vision. Its optimism. She is also the side of it that is 8 years old. Enjoy the introduction of … Continue reading Maddie, the Eight-Year Old Entrepreneur →

It’s the last idea in Vannevar Bush’s list of principles to guide science policy and it is enshrined in law but it is really an observation of a fundamental conflict, the conflict between the interests of scientists and the interests of the public. The balance between these two communities is dynamic, we make adjustments as … Continue reading 16365: The Final Principle of Science Policy ( & Maddie comes to DC) →

Guests Bruce McMillin and Gerry Howser talk about their recent article on Computer magazine article that compares the problems of cybersecurity to those of defending a medieval castle. In case you are not familiar with European fortifications from the 12th to 15th century, our intern explains how they work using the only example that she … Continue reading 16360: The Cybersecurity Episode →

Guest Steve Crocker from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers talks about errors, errors in software, and how we accept minor errors in almost every system we use. And our CTO, Vinny,has a great new idea for a business. Plus he finds every possible error in our own software, while Rohit, poor Rohit, … Continue reading 16355: Innovative Organization with Guest Steve Crocker →

With this episode, we approach the 4th principle of science & technology policy, the 4th fundamental idea of Vannevar Bush. The principle is simple: in funding research the government has the right to alter the organization of the recipient and yet, government-sponsored research is one of the driving forces behind the industrialization of the university. … Continue reading 16350: You Can Touch the Merchandise but You Can’t Run the Store →

It’s one thing to have principles to guide the US Government in its dealing with science and technology. It’s another thing to follow them and something more to see them work. This week George K. Thiruvathukal talks about how the National Science Foundation implements the third of Vannevar Bush’s fundamental principle and suggests that, for … Continue reading 16345: The Third Principle with George K. Thiruvathukal →

A good friend always says that solo acts don’t work, that a board is always smarter than a a CEO. In podcasts, the rule seems to be that the collective adds interests. Over the past year, we have created a staff to illustrate the main points of the podcast and identify some of the absurdities … Continue reading 16347: Who Are These People? & What Do They Do? →

The Third principle of governments and science. It is the most familiar and the least understood. Vannevar Bush argued that governments should do research by contract, not by building independent labs. We will look at that idea and ask how well it works, in application and in breech. [16340]

What do we expect to learn about innovation from a government? Why did we take the podcast to Washington? And why did we take an office next to the Capitol Power Plant, other than the obvious benefits that the rents are cheaper than the tonier stuff and yet we are still near the center of … Continue reading 16337: Governments and Innovative Technology, A Binge →