Recode Daily

By Recode

Society & Culture Technology

What's Recode Daily about?

Every story is a tech story. We live in a world where algorithms drive our interests, scientists are re-engineering our food supply, and a robot may be your next boss. Host Arielle Duhaime-Ross explores why–and how–tech is changing everything.

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Where on the internet is Do...

06.17.2021

The former president was kicked off social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in the wake of the Capitol riots, and it’s not clear when — or if — they’re going to let him back on. There’s been ...

Recode Daily episodes:

06.17.2021 Where on the internet is Donald Trump? The former president was kicked off social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube in the wake of the Capitol riots, and it’s not clear when — or if — they’re going to let him back on. There’s been ...
06.16.2021 Why the internet is a luxury Think about everything you did yesterday. Now imagine how the day would have gone if you didn’t have the internet. Access to the internet isn’t as universal as you might think. Millions of Americans don’t have access to broadband, because ...
06.15.2021 Congress’s plans to break up Big Tech Last week, House Democrats on the Antitrust Subcommittee announced legislation aimed to check the power of Big Tech: namely Amazon, Apple, Facebook, and Google. As a number of Republicans co-sponsored the bills, things seem promising that congress may soon upend ...
06.14.2021 I got my (digital) driver's license last week We’ve all done it, we’ve all left the house without our wallet. And that used to be a big problem. You couldn’t buy anything, and certainly couldn't get that after-work bottle of wine without your ID. But thanks to mobile ...
06.11.2021 Big events are back! Sports! Festivals! Concerts! After an 18-month hiatus, these big events (and more) are expected to return to — and possibly exceed — their pre-pandemic glory. Recode’s senior data reporter Rani Molla spoke to big ticket sellers like StubHub and Ticketmaster. ...
06.10.2021 The tradeoffs of the Substack hustle Journalist Rob Walker sits down with Recode’s Peter Kafka to discuss why he decided to go the independent route instead of writing for another publication after his buyout from Medium, his thoughts on the creator economy. This is just a ...
06.09.2021 The ugly truth about credit card points If you’re like most Americans, you probably have a credit card that offers rewards such as points, cash back, or miles. Credit card rewards programs are extremely popular: Nearly seven in 10 Americans use at least one rewards-earning card. Many ...
06.08.2021 Amazon wants to share your internet. With everyone. Starting today, owners of Amazon echo speakers will be part of something called Amazon Sidewalk. The basic idea is, Amazon’s about to share your internet with your neighbors — whether you like it or not. Recode’s Sara Morrison (@SaraMorrison) explains. ...
06.07.2021 Elon Musk is a stonckfluencer Back in 2018, Elon Musk tweeted about taking Tesla private. The SEC fined him and his company $40 million, he lost his Tesla chairmanship, and he was ordered to have his tweets reviewed by company lawyers. Three years later, his ...
06.04.2021 Ransomware is everywhere Hackers breached New York City’s MTA back in April, a few weeks ago the Colonial pipeline was a target, and most recently, a new attack shut down the world’s largest meat producer. Recode’s Sara Morrison (@SaraMorrison) explains why this seems ...
06.03.2021 Etsy just bought cooler Etsy The shopping site Etsy announced on Wednesday that it was buying Depop, a secondhand shopping platform designed for the age of influencers selling stuff on social media. Recode’s Rebecca Heilweil explains why Gen Z shoppers love Depop, and how it ...
06.02.2021 Why you should be wary of AI and your insurance claim Have you heard about Lemonade? The insurance company, not the drink or the album by Beyoncé. Lemonade is an insurance company that prides itself for being technology-forward, and promises to process claims efficiently thanks to chatbots and artificial intelligence. In ...
06.01.2021 Hot beach summer Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial official start of summer. And after a year of being stuck inside, many Americans are ready to get out of the house. Very ready. They’re booking flights, renting cars, and snagging rental homes for ...
05.28.2021 Biden’s antitrust brain trust Recode’s Jason Del Rey explains why President Biden’s early hires signal an administration serious about taking on Big Tech. Read Jason’s story on Lina Khan. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Recode Daily ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. What ...
05.27.2021 How websites trick you into saying “yes” From the Recode Daily archives (April 9, 2021): Dark patterns, the design tricks websites and apps use to get you to click “yes,” are all over the digital world. Recode’s Sara Morrison (@SaraMorrison) explains the movement to regulate them. You ...
05.26.2021 Bitcoin’s inconvenient truth From the Recode Daily archives (April 20, 2021): Cryptocurrencies are more popular than ever. But they require a mind-boggling amount of electricity to operate. The Verge's Justine Calma (@justcalma) explains whether crypto can go green. Read Justine’s piece on the ...
05.25.2021 Amazon Rx From the Recode Daily archives (Nov. 20, 2020): You can now fill your prescription at Amazon's pharmacy. Recode’s Jason Del Rey explains why the e-commerce giant is getting into healthcare. Enjoyed this episode? Rate Recode Daily ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ and leave a ...
05.24.2021 How Instacart’s harsh ratings system hurts grocery deliverers From the Recode Daily archives (March 25 2021): Instacart is a gig economy app, similar to Uber or Airbnb, but for grocery deliveries. It has two sets of users: the people who order groceries, and the people who shop for ...
05.21.2021 Would you ditch your doctor for an app? A growing number of startups are offering ways to make health care more accessible, but to those who can afford it —companies like One Medical and Parsley Health, often require a subscription. Recode's Adam Clark Estes has been looking into ...
05.20.2021 Why AT&T and WarnerMedia split AT&T bought WarnerMedia three years ago for more than $100 billion, so it could chase after Netflix. Now it’s getting out of streaming, and every other part of the media business. What happened? And what happens next? New York Times ...
05.19.2021 Bill Gates will never be the same Bill and Melinda Gates shocked the world when they announced their divorce in early May. It left many people wondering about the future of their global philanthropic work through the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has an endowment of ...
05.18.2021 Buy now, pay later...but read the fine print Thanks to Afterpay and Klarna, it’s easier than ever to buy in installments. Now, the model is coming for necessities. The buy now pay later concept isn’t new, but as startups make it more popular, what might be the unforeseen ...
05.17.2021 The FCC’s big bet on Elon Musk It remains to be seen if the satellite internet service, Starlink, from Elon Musk’s Space X, can live up to its potential. But it certainly has a lot of potential. And some problems. Recode’s Sara Morrison (@saramorrison) explains. Enjoyed this ...
05.14.2021 Young viewer discretion advised Since 2015, YouTube Kids has dominated the world of video streaming content for kids online. But over the years, the app has been criticized for its moderation failures and other safety concerns for young people. Recently congress has focused in ...
05.13.2021 How Alexa learned to talk Bloomberg's Brad Stone and Recode's Jason Del Rey report on all things Amazon and Jeff Bezos. They discuss the company’s underrated tech and how Amazon made Alexa smart (a tale of Xboxes, decoys, and apartments-in-disguise), plus the company’s ambitions in ...
05.12.2021 The Colonial Pipeline, hacked Last week, a major US oil pipeline was hacked and held for ransom. The Colonial Pipeline shut down in an effort to stop the hackers, causing a major disruption in the oil industry. The pipeline serves 14 states, and stretches ...
05.11.2021 India's Covid censorship If you remember how bad the coronavirus pandemic was in the US about a year ago, right now in India … it’s worse. In fact, it’s the worst outbreak the world has seen since the beginning of the pandemic. People ...
05.10.2021 The housing boom, but for renters America’s high-flying housing market might mean you’ll be renting forever — or, at least, for quite some time. Housing prices have soared during the pandemic as people have rushed to buy homes to escape cities and secure space for themselves ...
04.30.2021 Why you should be skeptical of Jeff Bezos’s worker satisfaction stat Earlier this month, Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos released his last annual letter to shareholders, it's his final farewell. Bezos mentioned a stat that said 94% of warehouse employees like working for Amazon so much that they'd recommend it to a ...
04.28.2021 iOS 14.5 lets you say no to data tracking The long-awaited Apple iOS 14.5 update comes with a new privacy tool called App Tracking Transparency. This tool prompts users to opt out of tracking in apps that collect and share their data. So what does that mean for users ...
04.26.2021 Apple and Facebook are all ears Recode’s Peter Kafka (@pkafka) explains why the two big tech companies are pushing into audio and could change how podcasts make money. References: Read Peter’s stories on Apple here and on Facebook here And listen to his podcast, Recode Media ...
04.23.2021 The surprisingly exciting future of batteries Batteries are crucial for the transition to an economy powered entirely by renewables. David Roberts (@drvolts), writer of the Volts newsletter, explains how lithium ion batteries will be used for a lot more than just electric cars. References: Read David’s ...
04.22.2021 If an atmospheric scientist had a billion dollars Billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, and Bill Gates have made pledges to commit their earnings to saving our heating planet, but are they going about it in the best way possible? And do we want the fate of ...
04.21.2021 Is remote work better for the environment? Working from home seems like it could be great for the climate. You don’t need to drive a car to work, and companies won’t need to heat and power large offices. But as Professor William O’Brien explains, the reality is ...
04.20.2021 Bitcoin’s inconvenient truth Cryptocurrencies are more popular than ever. But they require a mind-boggling amount of electricity to operate. The Verge's Justine Calma (@justcalma) explains whether crypto can go green. References: Read Justine’s piece on the movement to make crypto go green here ...
04.19.2021 The gas stove myth The oil industry spent decades convincing Americans that there was something special about cooking with gas. Rebecca Leber (@RebLeber), then of Mother Jones, explains why that assumption is now being questioned and why to go green, you should think about ...
04.16.2021 A wealth tax for tech billionaires A proposal in the Washington state legislature would impose a 1 percent wealth tax on assets over $1 billion. Recode’s Teddy Schleifer (@teddyschleifer) explains why the state’s billionaires — like Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and MacKenzie Scott — aren’t getting ...
04.15.2021 How do taxes work for remote employees? It's complicated. If you're one of the millions of employees who work remotely in the last year, your taxes could be changing. With a month left to file your income tax return, Recode’s Rani Molla is here to explain what you should ...
04.14.2021 Is AI really a national security threat? What do you think about when you're asked about artificial intelligence? You might think about search algorithms or social feeds or robots, but what you might not be thinking about is national security. That’s right, AI can be used for ...
04.13.2021 Twitter doesn't want Trump's tweets, but the National Archives does When a presidency ends, the National Archives and Records Administration's work begins. They play a key role in transferring millions of records and artifacts from the White House. And they even archive the Twitter accounts belonging to members of the ...
04.12.2021 A union drive at Amazon fails Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Alabama, voted overwhelmingly not to form a union. But as Recode's Jason Del Rey (@DelRey) explains, union organizers believe their fight isn't over. References: Read Jason’s story here Enjoyed this episode? Rate Recode ...
04.09.2021 Listen now! Offer ends soon Dark patterns, the design tricks websites and apps use to get you to click “yes,” are all over the digital world. Recode’s Sara Morrison (@SaraMorrison) explains the movement to regulate them. You can read Sara’s story on dark patterns here. ...
04.08.2021 Back to the movies? As we inch closer towards a post-pandemic world, will everyone go back to watching movies in theaters? Vox film critic Alissa Wilkinson talks with Peter Kafka about her observations and predictions as movie theaters start to open back up. References: ...
04.07.2021 Supreme code For years, two tech giants have been locked in a legal battle over lines of code. When Google built the Android operating system, it used software created and copyrighted by Oracle. So, Oracle sued Google. Earlier this week, the Supreme ...
04.06.2021 Vaccine passports, explained One way that America can get “back to normal” is through what's called a digital vaccine passport. America is well underway with its covid vaccination rollout and while we still have a long way to go, more and more people ...
04.05.2021 Why Covid-19 tests aren’t going away The FDA recently authorized at-home Covid-19 tests that are available without a prescription. Recode’s Sara Morrison explains why these kinds of tests remain important even as more people get vaccinated. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
04.02.2021 Should you buy your grandma a robot? From the Recode Daily archives (Sept. 21, 2020) :The pandemic has made robot caregivers a popular way to keep elderly people company. But as Vox's Sigal Samuel explains, they're not for everyone. Read Sigal's story here. Enjoyed this episode? Rate ...
04.01.2021 Don't get duped by these vaccine scams From the Recode Daily archives (Feb. 8, 2021): The latest innovation in pandemic scamming is fake vaccine doses and vaccine cards. Recode’s Rebecca Heilweil explains the tactics and how to avoid getting scammed. Read Rebecca's story here. Host: Teddy Schleifer ...
03.31.2021 The Internet, From Space From the Recode Daily archives (Oct. 5, 2020): The pandemic has boosted demand for satellite Internet connections. Recode's Adam Clark Estes explains why companies like SpaceX and Amazon are racing to build a new broadband network among the stars. Read ...
03.30.2021 How the pandemic broke Nextdoor From the Recode Daily archives (Feb. 19, 2021): The platform, which calls itself the social network for neighborhoods, was once used for things like selling used bikes, asking neighbors for an extra stick of butter, or passive aggressive complaints about ...

Older episodes

Recode Daily

What's Recode Daily about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Recode Daily episodes:

Where on the internet is Donald Trump?

Why the internet is a luxury

Congress’s plans to break up Big Tech

I got my (digital) driver's license last week

Big events are back!

The tradeoffs of the Substack hustle

The ugly truth about credit card points

Amazon wants to share your internet. With everyone.

Elon Musk is a stonckfluencer

Ransomware is everywhere

Etsy just bought cooler Etsy

Why you should be wary of AI and your insurance claim

Hot beach summer

Biden’s antitrust brain trust

How websites trick you into saying “yes”

Bitcoin’s inconvenient truth

Amazon Rx

How Instacart’s harsh ratings system hurts grocery deliverers

Would you ditch your doctor for an app?

Why AT&T and WarnerMedia split

Bill Gates will never be the same

Buy now, pay later...but read the fine print

The FCC’s big bet on Elon Musk

Young viewer discretion advised

How Alexa learned to talk

The Colonial Pipeline, hacked

India's Covid censorship

The housing boom, but for renters

Why you should be skeptical of Jeff Bezos’s worker satisfaction stat

iOS 14.5 lets you say no to data tracking

Apple and Facebook are all ears

The surprisingly exciting future of batteries

If an atmospheric scientist had a billion dollars

Is remote work better for the environment?

Bitcoin’s inconvenient truth

The gas stove myth

A wealth tax for tech billionaires

How do taxes work for remote employees? It's complicated.

Is AI really a national security threat?

Twitter doesn't want Trump's tweets, but the National Archives does

A union drive at Amazon fails

Listen now! Offer ends soon

Back to the movies?

Supreme code

Vaccine passports, explained

Why Covid-19 tests aren’t going away

Should you buy your grandma a robot?

Don't get duped by these vaccine scams

The Internet, From Space

How the pandemic broke Nextdoor

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