Nick Bastone gives us an update on the digital advertising industry and compares the trajectories of Google and Facebook during the second quarter. Jessica Lessin gives her take on whether it matters that the annual Sun Valley conference was called off this year because of the pandemic. 

We talk with John Redgrave, the CEO of content moderation startup Sentropy about the challenges of curbing hate speech online. Then Cory checks in on the state of the travel industry with Jon Staff the CEO of vacation startup Getaway.

Alex joins to talk about how Facebook went from hero to heel as America careened from the coronavirus pandemic to the Black Lives Matter protests. Then Chris Stern discusses the state of the anti-trust investigations pending against big tech companies and the behind the scenes role Pierre Omidyar is playing in advancing the cases.

Background Reading

Facebook's Month of Whiplash

The Tech Billionaire Marshaling the Fight Against Big Tech

As part of our Juneteenth episode, we're focusing on how tech companies and tech products can contribute to major policy changes. We talk to Catherine Bracy, executive director of the Tech Equity Collaborative, about why tech companies should fight for racial justice through property tax reform. Then we hear from Nykidra Robinson, who runs Black Girls Vote, which helped drive higher voter turnout in Baltimore's primary election this year with a virtual election party.

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Tech companies: It’s time to show that Black lives really matter to you

Tech Took On Voter Turnout. It’s Still Working On It

We talk to Wayne Ma about Apple's attempts to have robots handle the manufacturing process at their factories and why it hasn't worked. Then we speak with Kate Clark about the federal paycheck protection program loan and the startups that took advantage of it. 

Special guests this episode included David Bourne, a scientist at the Robotics Institute at the Carnegie Mellon University and Jonathan Wasserstrum, the CEO of SquareFoot.

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What Apple Learned From Automation: Humans Are Better

After Chaotic Start, Federal Loan Program Helped Startups Avoid ‘Deep Layoffs’

Cory talks with two black women in tech to see what tech companies have done and still need to do to address racial inequality. Sherrell Dorsey, a journalist and entrepreneur and the founder of The Plug, has been cataloguing the responses from tech companies showing support for the black community. Sarah Kunst, a venture capitalist at Cleo Capital, explains the importance of firms funding more diverse founders.

Zoe and Cory join to discuss how the pandemic has hit the job market in tech. Zoe talks about the phenomenon of job postings that turn out not to be real. And Cory gives some historical context around how the current job losses in tech compare to previous recessions.

Cory joins to discuss Mark Zuckerberg's announcement that Facebook is fully embracing the work from home office. We explore the reasons tech is rushing to adopt the policy and whether it will have a big effect on cities. Then Tom gives the backstory on Kevin Mayer, TikTok's new US CEO. He explains what it means for Disney to lose its top streaming executive and the challenges Mayer will face coming to the controversial Chinese company.

Chris Stern gives us an update on the ongoing battle to win the Pentagon's cloud computing contract. He explains why Amazon is still fighting to win the account back from Microsoft in the courts. And how Oracle fits into the puzzle.

Background Reading

Microsoft’s Secret Ally Against Amazon in Cloud Deal: Oracle

Amir joins to talk all things ride hailing, including why Uber and Lyft had to undergo massive layoffs. We also explain how Uber's side businesses like food delivery and bikes are on diverging paths during the crisis.

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Uber Discusses Plan to Lay Off About 20% of Employees