Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas – and other problems. Verge Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policy makers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future. Subscribe here!
Why Melanie Perkins is confident Canva can take on the big AI players.
The head of OpenAI has a reputation for deception. The New Yorker’s Ronan Farrow on why that matters.
CEO Sarah Personette’s big bet on the place where influencers and reporters might meet
It’s a make-or-break year for Anthropic and OpenAI, which are facing more pressure than ever to make more cash than they burn.
The head of the networking giant on energy, infrastructure, and why AI is writing Cisco code.
Why nuclear options like age limits and repealing Section 230 won’t make social media safer.
Why Todd McKinnon thinks it’s ‘naive’ not to prepare for the SaaSpocalypse
The Justice Department’s surprise Live Nation settlement raises big questions about the future of federal antitrust.
Superhuman CEO Shishir Mehrotra says the intention of Grammarly’s expert review feature was not to impersonate real-life journalists. But he wouldn’t defend it.
To take on Netflix and YouTube, Paramount has to break the Warner Bros. curse.
How Yahoo escaped its Verizon death spiral and became profitable again.
Techdirt’s Mike Masnick on the history of the NSA and mass surveillance in America, and why Anthropic’s fight with the Pentagon should worry us.
We just published our new Decoder interview with Chris Cocks, the head of Hasbro. I asked him directly about how he thinks about author J.K. Rowling’s politics and what it’s done to the Harry Potter fandom, following Hasbro’s major Harry Potter merchandising agreement announced just last month. Here’s what Chris had to say.
Chris Cocks on AI, KPop Demon Hunters, and why Harry Potter still matters.
Kalshi and Polymarket are cosplaying as the news, even as gambling on Iran, Venezuela, and nuclear war runs rampant.
Jeremy Wacksman on affordability, AI in listings, and the future of real estate.
Tom Warren joins Decoder to discuss what Phil Spencer’s departure means for the future of Xbox.
The former Complexly owner lets loose on YouTube, AI, and why he turned his educational company into a nonprofit.
The AI industry is rife with defections, FOMO, and radical mission statements. It’s about to get supercharged.
A new report from 404 Media today featured a leaked email from Ring founder Jamie Siminoff, who leads the camera maker inside Amazon, saying back in October that he has grander ambitions for the company’s controversial Search Party feature beyond just finding lost dogs.
We had Siminoff on Decoder a few months ago, when I asked him explicitly about using facial recognition to identify people, something the company has since claimed it has no plans to do. Check out what he had to say in the clip below.
The security camera maker’s Search Party feature, advertised during the Super Bowl, has sparked a surveillance backlash.
Bridget McCormack of the American Arbitration Association on AI-powered courts and the future of law.
Roland Busch on AI-powered factories, tariffs in the Trump era, trade, and the future of NATO.
We interviewed Docusign CEO Allan Thygesen on Decoder this week, and one standout moment was when I asked Allan about his headcount. Docusign now employs around 7,000 people, which is a staggering number of employees for a company with a core product many think of as straightforward and simple.
But as you’ll hear Allan explain, the business of Docusign is actually quite a bit more complex than it appears, and he says the company needs a lot more people than you might think.
Why you can’t label your way into consensus reality amid the AI deepfake apocalypse.
Docusign’s Allan Thygesen says ‘not providing an AI service isn’t really an option.’
What the bidding war over Warner Bros. Discovery says about the future of Hollywood, with Puck’s Julia Alexander.
Alex Lintner, Experian’s CEO of tech and software solutions, came on Decoder this week. When I asked Alex whether he thought the average person likes Experian as a company, he gave me one of the most memorable answers we’ve ever gotten. Check out the clip below, and catch the full interview here on The Verge.
Alex Lintner, head of tech for the global credit reporting company, on AI, privacy, and what data brokerages really do.
How Elon Musk and xAI are putting a nail in the coffin of content moderation.
Razer’s Min-Liang Tan says the backlash to AI slop is understandable, but that he sees a future where AI can “help game developers make better games.”
We’ve got something special for you today. It’s my friend Hank Green, longtime internet creator, science educator, and viral TikTok star, interviewing Dropout CEO Sam Reich, now in full video on our Decoder YouTube channel.
Hank did this episode as a guest host last summer while I was out with our new baby, and it’s a fan favorite, bringing together two internet personalities that’ve known each other for a very long time and who have a lot of inside knowledge about how the internet, Hollywood, and entertainment all intertwine. We think it’s one of the best episodes of Decoder we put out last year, and it’s honestly just a really fun conversation. Here’s the full transcript in case you want to read, rather than watch, the interview.
If you’re in Vegas this week, you can still RSVP for free tickets to our live podcast recordings on Wednesday, January 7th, at Brooklyn Bowl. Decoder will begin at 12:30PM PT, and Vergecast starts at 3:30PM PT. Both events are first-come, first-seated, and sure to be a blast. We’ll also be hosting a special reception following The Vergecast for all seated guests.
You can RSVP for Decoder here, and RSVP for Vergecast here. See you there!
The event takes place starting at 12PM PT / 3PM ET at Brooklyn Bowl in Las Vegas on Wednesday, January 7th. Nilay will be taking the stage with Min at 12:30PM to talk AI, the state of gaming, and everything Razer is announcing at the show, followed by a live Vergecast taping at 3:30PM PT.
If you’ll be in Vegas for the show, you can RSVP at the link below for free tickets. Otherwise, stay tuned for the Decoder Live recording to hit our pod feed and YouTube channel later in the month.
[The Verge]
The year AI exploded — and everybody has thoughts about it.
CEO Prashanth Chandrasekar on how ChatGPT became an “existential moment” for Stack Overflow.
“Grow up, Mr. President. Grow up, Brendan Carr.”
Square’s Willem Avé on AI automation, investing in crypto, and what it’s like working for Jack Dorsey.
The Verge’s Hayden Field joins Decoder to discuss the politically fraught climate around AI safety.
IBM was early, you might argue too early, to AI. Now, CEO Arvind Krishna thinks big bets like Watsonx and quantum computing will start to pay off.