Raw Data

Within 15 years, social media has become the dominant force shaping the Valley. What does it mean for individuals around the world and for society at large to be publicly performing in so many aspects of our lives? Andrew Smith, Alice Marwick.

Silicon Valley reveres garage start-ups and the myth of the entrepreneur. But, in the wake of the dotcom crash, power dynamics shift. Have the entrepreneurs, these quintessential American characters,captured too much power? Steve Blank, Sarah Lacy.

Netscape’s IPO electrifies the dotcom era, and “New Economy” proponents insist that cyberspace will redefine the rules of prosperity. The data economy is born. Guests: Fred Turner, Kevin Kelly, Lou Montulli, Rosanne Siino, Tim Wu.

In the post-Watergate era, two academics battle the NSA and establish the technology that protects our online information. Cryptography remains a fundamental tool, but can it save us from entering a post-privacy world? Guests: Michal Kosinski, Whit Diffie, Marty Hellman, and Henry Corrigan-Gibbs

The Valley comes of age as the center of innovation and personal computing. Doug Englebart delivers the Mother of All Demos. Steve Jobs makes a fateful visit to Xerox PARC. On The WELL, people learn what it means to socialize online. Guests: Leslie Berlin, John Markoff, and Howard Rheingold.

Inspired by cybernetics and LSD, Stewart Brand creates the Whole Earth Catalog as a how-to manual for the commune movement. The catalog articulates a philosophy of tech idealism and individual empowerment. Guests: Fred Turner, John Markoff, and Kevin Kelly.

Before tech, there were orchards in the “Valley of Heart’s Delight.” Federal funding for Cold War research changes everything, and the semiconductor industry brings silicon to the Valley. The Traitorous Eight create Fairchild Semiconductor. And the weather here is “perfect.” Guests: Daniel Swain, Steve Blank, Margaret O’Mara, Leslie Berlin.

The seeds of Silicon Valley were sown long ago. The Gold Rush, the railroad barons, the founding of Stanford University, and myths of the American West still echo today.

Introducing the series. Silicon Valley’s power: how did we get here?

How are algorithms and data science making their way into the American criminal justice system? The U.S. has the highest incarceration rate of any country in the world, and it’s clear from the statistics that minorities – most notably, black Americans – are locked up at disproportionate rates. So there are good reasons to take a close look at how new technologies are creeping into police departments and courts. Perhaps we can "code" for more equality and fairness by taking some decision making power away from humans and giving it to algorithms...but given this country’s inescapable history of discrimination, do we run the risk of ossifying a system that some describe as “the new Jim Crow?" Thank you so much for listening to this season of Raw Data. This episode is our season finale! We’ll be back in a few months. Please get in touch with feedback and episode ideas anytime at [email protected]. Peace – Leslie & Mike