On with Kara Swisher

Look Ma, No Hands! With Waymo Co-CEO Tekedra Mawakana

Jun 8, 2023

Tekedra Mawakana, Co-CEO of Waymo and a pioneer in autonomous vehicle technology, dives deep into the future of transportation. She discusses the challenges of societal acceptance amid concerns from regulators and unions. Kara shares her optimism about driverless cars, emphasizing their potential to transform mobility. The conversation also touches on the intricate relationship between innovation and public trust, as well as the evolving job landscape impacted by technological advances. Mawakana provides insights on the day-to-day functionality of Waymo's autonomous taxi service and its implications for accessibility.

57:29

Episode guests

Tekedra Mawakana

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Intro

2min

Media Leadership and Tech Advances

10min

Navigating the Future of Autonomous Vehicles and Technological Change

3min

Navigating the Future: Waymo's Autonomous Taxis

16min

Navigating Trust and Safety in Autonomous Vehicles

9min

Navigating the Autonomous Landscape

17min

After Kara and Nayeema discuss recent moves at CNN and the ducking cool innovation at Apple, we launch into part two of “Car Week” and an interview with Tekedra Mawakana. The Co-CEO of Waymo (formerly the Google self-driving car project) discusses trying to change how society moves while dealing with obstacles to the autonomous vehicle transition, like angsty Teamsters and tetchy regulators. And Kara explains why she’s so bullish on driverless cars.

BTW, do you have any burning questions on career, love or life where you’d like Kara or Nayeema’s advice? Call 1-888-KARA-PLZ and leave us a voicemail.

Questions? Comments? Email us at on@voxmedia.com or find us on Instagram. We’re @karaswisher and @nayeemaraza.

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