Techish

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This week on Techish, hosts Michael and Abadesi break down the rise and fall of beauty brand Plantmade — and what it says about the uphill battle Black founders face keeping control of their businesses. They also chat about viral ‘cheat at everything’ app pivoting to AI notetaking, the upcoming Michael Jackson biopic, and, for the Patreon folk, Zohran Mamdani’s historic NYC mayoral win.

This episode is sponsored by DeleteMe. Get 20% of DeleteMe at joindeleteme.com/techish with code TECHISH.

Chapters

00:25 Plantmade’s Black Woman Founder Exits the Company
10:10 ‘Cheat at Everything’ App Cluely Is Now an AI Meeting Assistant
17:56 Controversial Michael Jackson Biopic Drops Its First Trailer
28:17 Zohran Mamdani’s Historic NYC Mayoral Win [Patreon-Only]

Extra Reading & Resources

• Plantmade founder steps away from troubled skincare business [The Times] 
• This Isn't The Brand I Started: Why I'm Saying Goodbye To Afrocenchix After 15 Years [Black Ballad]
• Michael (2026) | Official Trailer [YouTube]
• Timbaland’s New Artist Is An AI-Generated Asian Woman [POCIT]

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

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This week on Techish, hosts Michael and Abadesi breakdown Amazon’s cutting 10% of its corporate workforce, the future of HR in tech, why networking and referrals matter more than ever, and leaving a toxic workplace. And for the Patreon folk, did Mango founder Isak Andic fall to his death or was he pushed?

This episode is sponsored by DeleteMe. Get 20% of DeleteMe at joindeleteme.com/techish with code TECHISH.

Chapters

00:30 Amazon Lays Off 30,000 Employees
14:22 Why Referrals Are Key to Beating the Job Market
19:10 Exit Interviews at a Toxic Company
24:31 Mango Founder Falls to His Death — Now His Son Is Under Investigation [Patreon Only]

Extra Reading & Resources

• Exclusive: Amazon targets as many as 30,000 corporate job cuts, sources say [Reuters]
• Amazon is planning a new wave of layoffs, sources say [Fortune]

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

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This week on Techish, Michael and Abadesi chat about Abadesi's new play, spies in Silicon Valley, and what “neutral” really means when it comes to racism and Islamophobia. They also dig into today’s growing wealth gap and the future of Rihanna's Fenty Beauty.

Chapters

00:00 Introductions and the First Woke War Play
02:18 Seductive Espionage in Silicon Valley
11:10 Sequoia Capital COO Resigns Over Islamophobia
17:42 Are We in the New Gilded Age?
23:57 LVMH Wants to Sell Its 50% Stake in Rihanna’s Fenty Beauty [Patreon-Only]

Extra Reading & Resources

• Female spies are waging ‘sex warfare’ to steal Silicon Valley secrets [The Times]
• 1,000 Founders Demand That Sequoia Capital Partner Is Reprimanded [Forbes]
• Making Money in the Gilded Age [The Lindy Newsletter]
• Exclusive: LVMH explores sale of its 50% stake in Rihanna-backed Fenty Beauty, sources say [Reuters]

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

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https://www.instagram.com/abadesi/
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Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Techish host Michael Berhane and TechCrunch reporter Dominic-Madori Davis unpack what’s really going on with funding for Black founders — and why so many are heading back to the 9-to-5. They also get into Elon Musk’s clash with X’s head of product, Nikita Bier, Meta’s smart glasses and the end of privacy, and why academics need to step out of the ivory tower.

Follow Dom on Instagram (@dominicmadori) and subscribe to her Substack, The Black Cat.

Chapters

00:28 Black Founders Are Facing an Uphill Battle

05:36 Sperm Racing Startup Raises $10M Seed

09:30 Elon Musk and Nikita Bier’s Bot Battle

18:24 The Future of Social Media

25:29 Marc Lamont Hill on the Joe Budden Podcast [Patreon-Only]

Extra Reading & Resources

• Q2 2025 Black Venture Funding Report [HBCU.vc]
• Sperm-racing investors blow $10 million on ‘seed round’ for sports venture [The San Francisco Standard]
• A new wave of social media apps provide hope in a doomscrolling world [TechCrunch]

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

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Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Techish is back! In this week's episode, hosts Michael and Abadesi break down Gen Z’s job market struggles, from AI shaking up entry-level roles to companies cutting costs and outsourcing instead of hiring fresh talent. They dig into why degrees aren’t translating into jobs, how AI panic is reshaping the workplace, and why some businesses are still dragging their feet on automation. 

And for our Patreon listeners: we dive into UK Black History Month losing steam, and Michael and Abadesi get personal about the need to uplift our own communities.

Chapters

00:30 What’s Really Driving the Gen Z Job-pocalypse?

06:59 Accenture Is Cutting Staff It Can't Retrain in the Age of AI

11:20 What Happened to UK Black History Month? [Patreon-Only]

Extra Reading & Resources

• Gen Z faces ‘job-pocalypse’ as global firms prioritise AI over new hires, report says [The Guardian] 
• What the graduate unemployment story gets wrong [Financial Times] 
• Accenture CEO Says It’s Sacking Employees Who Won’t Embrace AI [Futurism] 

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

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Techish is taking a short summer break, but we’ll be back in September! In the meantime, we’ve got a fantastic episode to share from our friends over at the IRL Podcast. 

You might remember we had IRL host Bridget Todd on Techish recently for our Falling in Love With Your AI episode. 

So trust us, you’re gonna love this one.

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Decoding the Planet: From Whales to Whistleblowers 

From season eight of the IRL podcast: AI and Us.

AI may be able to talk to animals, but at what cost to the planet. Who is making those decisions, and why it matters. From decoding whale language to protecting our oceans from unchecked offshore drilling, Bridget Todd talks to visionaries seeking to preserve our beautiful, fragile world. 

Holly Alpine left her job with Microsoft over the company’s role in providing fossil fuel companies with AI tools that could accelerate their production of oil and gas. 

As the AI and climate lead at Hugging Face, a platform for sharing open-source AI models, Sasha Luccioni calls for more transparency from tech companies about how much energy it takes to power AI. 

Aza Raskin, co-founder and president of the Earth Species Project, explains why using AI to decode animal communication could be the key to protecting our planet.

IRL is an original podcast from Mozilla, the non-profit behind Firefox.

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

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Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

This week on Techish, hosts Abadesi and Michael tackle the spicy career questions you've been asking ChatGPT but not your manager. They get into what really matters when it comes to getting promoted: performance or perception, how to choose a mentor, clout versus coin, and whether Black Excellence is pushing us forward or holding us back. And for the Patreon fam: Is it disloyal to job hunt while you're still employed? And how do you know when it's time to move on?

Chapters

00:48 Is Getting Promoted About Perception or Performance?

04:57 Choosing a Mentor: Identity or Influence?

08:13 Does Clout Matter More Than Coin?

15:55 Should We Retire “Black Excellence?"

21:47 Job Hunting While Employed [Patreon-Only]

Extra Reading & resources

• Build your dream team | Lisa Skeete Tatum | TEDxLASalon [YouTube]

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/

Advertise on Techish: https://goo.gl/forms/MY0F79gkRG6Jp8dJ2

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

https://www.instagram.com/techishpod/
https://www.instagram.com/abadesi/
https://www.instagram.com/michaelberhane_/

Email us at [email protected] 

Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

This week on Techish, host Michael Berhane teams up with TechCrunch reporter Dominic-Madori Davis to unpack how AI is shaking up the fashion and film industries. They also cover Vinod Khosla’s take on ditching traditional careers, Figma’s IPO, why former FTC chair Lina Khan feels vindicated, and why Apple is in need of a shake-up.
 
And for our Patreon listeners: could the UK’s new Online Safety Act spell the end of free speech?

Chapters

00:36 Guess's AI Model in Vogue Sparks Backlash

08:17 Billionaire Investor Says Ditch the Idea of a Fixed Career

13:21 Figma Goes Public 

20:10 Is It Time for Tim Cook to Step Down?

27:05 The UK’s Online Safety Act: The End of Free Speech? [Patreon-Only]

Follow Dom on Instagram (@dominicmadori) and subscribe to her Substack, The Black Cat.

 Extra Reading & Resources

• The Brutalist and Emilia Perez’s voice-cloning controversies make AI the new awards season battleground [The Guardian] 
• Amazon’s Alexa Fund Invests in ‘Netflix of AI’ Start-Up Fable, Which Launches Showrunner: A Tool for User-Directed TV Shows [Variety]
• Vinod Khosla says young people should plan their careers for flexibility instead of one profession [Business Insider, $] 
• Lina Khan points to Figma IPO as vindication of M&A scrutiny [TechCrunch] 

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/

Advertise on Techish: https://goo.gl/forms/MY0F79gkRG6Jp8dJ2

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

https://www.instagram.com/techishpod/
https://www.instagram.com/abadesi/
https://www.instagram.com/michaelberhane_/

Email us at [email protected] 

Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

This week, Techish host Michael Berhane teams up with TechCrunch reporter Dominic-Madori Davis to break down why Silicon Valley is leaning into the intense 996 work culture. They also dive into  Black beauty brands like Ami Colé struggling to stay afloat. Flo’s privacy trial, and Mira Murati’s $2 billion seed round. And for the Patreon subscribers: why the Tea app is in hot water and the dark side of tech’s H-1B visas.

Chapters

00:43 Silicon Valley Embraces Controversial 996 Workweek

07:11 Black-Owned Beauty Brand Ami Colé Shuts Down

13:33 Period-Tracking App Flo's Data Privacy Lawsuit

17:46 Former OpenAI CTO Raises $2 Billion With No Product

23:08 The Tea App Is In Hot Water [Patreon-Only]

31:25 Are Tech Companies Exploiting H-1B Visa Holders? [Patreon-Only]

Extra Reading & Resources

• Silicon Valley AI Startups Are Embracing China’s Controversial ‘996’ Work Schedule [Wired] 
• Why I Am Closing Ami Colé My beauty brand offered Black women shades they couldn’t find elsewhere. Why wasn’t that enough? [The Cut] 
• Sephora or Against? [Puck, $]
• As class action trial looms, Meta and Flo could face 'mind-boggling' damages [Reuters]
• Mira Murati’s Thinking Machines Lab valued at $10bn after $2bn fundraising [FT] 

Plus follow Dom on Instagram (@dominicmadori) and subscribe to her Substack, The Black Cat.

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/

Advertise on Techish: https://goo.gl/forms/MY0F79gkRG6Jp8dJ2

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

https://www.instagram.com/techishpod/
https://www.instagram.com/abadesi/
https://www.instagram.com/michaelberhane_/

Email us at [email protected] 

Join our Patreon for extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

This week, Techish hosts Michael and Abadesi dive into the incident that everyone is talking about: two execs spotted getting cozy at a Coldplay concert. They unpack the drama, talk about trust in the workplace, and explore how social media turns everything into a spectacle. They also chat about the blurry lines in work relationships, Hailey Bieber's Rhode, and ask if influencer culture is losing its grip? Let's get into it.

Chapters

00:26 Tech Execs Caught on Coldplay Kiss Cam

06:59 Trust, HR, and Cleaning Up Corporate Mess

12:37 Finding Love in the Workplace

19:15 Hailey Bieber's Rhode – Is Influencer Marketing Losing Its Grip?  [Patreon-Only]

Extra Reading & Resources

• Tech company CEO resigns after controversy over video captured at Coldplay concert [AP News] 
• Workplace Romance Statistics: Survey Shows Employees Engage Regularly In Office Relationships [Forbes]
• How This Cosmetic Chemist Helped Hailey Bieber Land A $1 Billion Deal For Her Beauty Brand Rhode [POCIT] 

Support the show

Join our Patreon for early content, extra-long episodes and ad-free content: https://www.patreon.com/techish

Watch us on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@techishpod/

Advertise on Techish: https://goo.gl/forms/MY0F79gkRG6Jp8dJ2

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Stay in touch with the hashtag #Techish

https://www.instagram.com/techishpod/
https://www.instagram.com/abadesi/
https://www.instagram.com/michaelberhane_/

Email us at [email protected]