The Information's TITV

Reporters Alex Heath and Wayne Ma discuss their exclusive reporting on Facebook's efforts to build a smartwatch and Apple's work on a mixed-reality headset. This is another Facebook vs. Apple battle worth following. 

Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel discuss their reporting on how NBCUniversal is trying to pluck its way to streaming success, and why a merger with WarnerMedia might make sense. Then, Wayne Ma explains the logistical feats that helped Apple avoid the kind of shipping delays that plagued other companies.

This week, we bring you two of the most revealing interviews from The Information's Future of Startups conference. Expensify CEO David Barrett and Cameo CEO Steven Galanis spar over the right way to lead a startup in an extreme political climate. Then, Jessica Lessin interviews former Google CEO Eric Schmidt about antitrust scrutiny and employee activism. 

The Information columnist and former Facebook executive Sam Lessin talks to Cory and helps us make sense of online communities, internet populism and the GameStop stock surge. Then, reporters Tom Dotan and Jessica Toonkel explain why ESPN is no longer the favorite child of parent company Disney.

What happens when VC firms become publishers? Tom talks with The Information's Zoe Bernard and Newcomer.co's Eric Newcomer about Andreessen Horowitz' latest moves, and startups' relationships with journalists. Then, Cory breaks down his reporting on Airbnb's efforts to keep white nationalists and hate groups off of the travel site. 

Cory and Alex tell the story of the messaging app Telegram and its mysterious founder, who find themselves in the global spotlight after rapid growth recently. Can the company figure out a business model? And will it crack down further on chat groups with the potential to spark real-world violence?

Following the announcement of the new union of Alphabet employees, we dive into the rising trend of worker unionization in the tech industry. Then Cory talks to Alex about how social media companies will handle President Trump's presence on their platforms after his incitement of the riot at the Capitol.

Our year end episode features an interview with musical artist Pharrell Williams and non-profit advisor Willa Seldon who talked about their experiences as black entrepreneurs. They also shared their views on what most investors and executives who aren't racial or ethnic minorities don't understand about the headwinds that minorities face in the business world. 

Their new organization supporting Black and Latinx entrepreneurs is called Black Ambition, and the website for their startup competition is www.blackambitionprize.com

As the year winds down we look ahead to what we think will transpire in 2021. Tom chats with Jessica Toonkel and Martin Peers about the tumult in media and whether Hollywood really is abandoning theaters. Then Cory talks with Zoe Bernard and Kate Clark about upcoming changes in the investing space and why financial services startups took off this year.

Amir and Cory explain what DoorDash and Airbnb's specatular debuts on the markets means about both companies and about the tech world as a whole. Then we chat with Peter Hamby of Snapchat, who hosts its popular political series Good Luck America. He talks about whether social media platforms are doing enough to root out misinformation from politicians and if Obama still is in tune with the way young people consume news.