On with Kara Swisher

Peering into the Future with Tony Fadell

Jan 5, 2023

Tony Fadell, the "father of the iPod," discusses his journey from revolutionizing music with pocket-sized devices to leading climate tech innovations. He shares insights on Apple's need to embrace broader ideas beyond cars, critiques Google's innovation struggles, and highlights the hopeful future of companies that address climate change. Fadell also entertains a candid debate on whether being an "asshole" is essential for success in tech, while advocating for responsible design in battling tech addiction.

01:04:09

Episode guests

Tony Fadell

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

The Future of Energy Storage

01:29

On with Cara Swisher: Episode 17

00:50

How South Asian Parents Keep Their Kids' Technology Addiction in Check

01:23

The Different Types of Ego Driven Assholes

01:07

Intro

1min

New Year Reflections on Technology and Innovation

2min

Tech Addiction and the Future of Innovation

33min

Leadership and Growth in Tech

16min

Ambition and Innovation in the Workplace

4min

Exploring Futuristic Innovations and Market Opportunities

2min

Less screen time: it’s on everyone’s list of new year’s resolutions — or, at least, it’s on ours! Today, Kara and Nayeema discuss the addictiveness of tech and social media, before Kara dives into a conversation about the present and future of tech with a person who’s been around Silicon Valley for decades: engineer and designer Tony Fadell. The “father of the iPod,” as he’s known, helped bring the famous 5,000 songs to your pocket before helping design the iPhone, co-founding Nest ( selling it to Google for $3.2 billion) and writing the bestselling book, “Build: An Unorthodox Guide to Making Things Worth Making.” These days, he is bullish on climate tech and excited about the newest product he's designed: Stax, a crypto hard wallet.

Kara and Tony trade notes on Silicon Valley, including why Apple should think beyond four-wheel cars, why Google struggles to innovate (coddling employees is part of it) and how the next Fortune 500 companies will be the ones who help solve climate change. Oh, and they talk about the different types of assholes — and whether you need to be an one in order to build something great.

You can find Kara and Nayeema on Twitter @karaswisher and @nayeema.

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