
Decoder with Nilay Patel
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 policymakers 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.
Latest episodes

Apr 28, 2018 • 1h 7min
Recode Decode: New York Times tech columnist Farhad Manjoo explains the 'Frightful Five'
Farhad Manjoo, a technology columnist for the New York Times, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher in front of a live audience at the University of California, Berkeley's journalism school. Manjoo explains why he refers to five of the world's largest tech companies as the "Frightful Five": Amazon, Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and Alphabet (which owns Google and YouTube). He diagnoses long-running issues at several of those companies, but argues that solving the problems they've created or at least enabled would necessitate giving them even more power. Plus: Why Twitter's toxicity problem may be beyond saving. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 25, 2018 • 54min
Recode Decode: John Hennessy and Dave Patterson, winners, 2017 Turing Award
Alphabet chairman John Hennessy and Google distinguished engineer Dave Patterson talk with Recode’s Kara Swisher about winning the 2017 Turing Award, a prestigious achievement in computer science. In the 1980s, Hennessy and Patterson developed a revolutionary new type of computer processor called RISC, which allowed computers to run faster and more efficiently — a breakthrough that became especially important in the era of mobile devices and the internet of things. They talk about the intense pushback they received from the computing industry at the time and why we're now in a "new golden age of computer architecture," filled with difficult problems that businesses have thus far been unable to crack. The upshot: Another RISC-like revolution needs to happen. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 23, 2018 • 1h 7min
Recode Decode: Joanna Coles, author, 'Love Rules'
Joanna Coles, the chief content officer at Hearst, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "Love Rules: How to Find a Real Relationship in a Digital World." Coles says dating apps can be a great tool for meeting new people, but they can encourage the wrong attitudes among their users: Seeing potential mates as interchangeable, wasting weeks to texting in the buildup to one conversation and fantasizing about whether a stranger is "the one." She also talks about the negative impact of online porn on women's satisfaction in heterosexual relationships and how to manage an ongoing relationship despite digital distractions. Plus: Why Coles joined the board of Snap, what she thinks of the future of magazines and what happens after #MeToo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 18, 2018 • 1h 10min
Recode Decode: Mark Suster, managing partner, Upfront Ventures
Upfront Ventures Managing Partner Mark Suster talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about leading the oldest and largest venture capital firm in Los Angeles. He explains why he rejects the term “Silicon Beach,” preferring “LA Tech,” and what people miss when they think of Southern California as a less-techie place than Silicon Valley. Suster says the increasingly common overfunding of tech companies and overpaying of tech workers in the San Francisco area are discouraging innovation. He also discusses how the geography of entrepreneurship in SoCal is changing, why Upfront-backed smart doorbell maker Ring sold to Amazon, and what people get wrong about one of LA's sexiest tech companies, Snap. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 16, 2018 • 53min
Recode Decode: BlackBerry CEO John Chen
BlackBerry CEO John Chen talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how the once-pioneering mobile phone company has happily pivoted into a new business model, focusing on enterprise security and embedded technology for connected cars. Chen says “somebody should make” a new version of the BlackBerry Bold 9900, explaining that there’s still a sizable audience of professionals and government workers who want their phones to be ultra secure. He also discusses why he took the CEO job in 2013, why he just committed to another five years and how governments should direct their regulation of self-driving cars. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 11, 2018 • 55min
Recode Decode: Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman: Silicon Valley has 'lost its purpose'
Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about the phenomenon of techlash and why people are just now "waking up" to Silicon Valley's dark side. Stoppelman's company has feuded for years with its much larger rival Google, which Yelp says has unfairly weighted local search results to its own product. He says the Google of 2004 would laugh at how the company does business today, and praises the new regulations being brought against tech giants by the EU. However, Stoppelman suggests he's not optimistic about U.S. lawmakers taking similar action, even though scrutiny of the big companies seems to have united Democrats and Republicans for once. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 9, 2018 • 1h 11min
Recode Decode: Hillary Clinton advisor and "Dear Madam President" author Jennifer Palmieri
Jennifer Palmieri, the communications director for Hillary Clinton's 2016 Presidential campaign, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "Dear Madam President: An Open Letter to the Women Who Will Run the World." Palmieri reflects on the obstacles — fair and unfair — that Clinton faced while running against now-President Trump and says part of the problem was that she held herself back, discounting the value of telling her own story to the American people. She also shares some advice for the woman who will one day be President of the United States and talks about how much has changed in the media and technology strategies of political campaigns in just two years. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 7, 2018 • 1h 17min
Recode Decode: Apple CEO Tim Cook
Recode's Kara Swisher and MSNBC's Chris Hayes talk with Apple CEO Tim Cook on the second episode of "Revolution." The interview was held in front of a live audience the day after Apple's education-focused event in Chicago, but Cook also talks about privacy, Facebook, Amazon, DACA and more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 4, 2018 • 51min
Recode Decode: Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki (Live)
Recode's Kara Swisher and MSNBC's Ari Melber interview Google CEO Sundar Pichai and YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki in this episode of 'Revolution,' which first aired on MSNBC in January. Make sure to tune in this Friday for a new episode of 'Revolution,' in which Swisher and Chris Hayes interview Apple CEO Tim Cook about education, privacy, DACA and more; that episode airs on MSNBC on Friday, April 6 at 5:00 p.m. PT, 8:00 p.m. ET. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Apr 2, 2018 • 1h 9min
Recode Decode: Former White House advisor Valerie Jarrett
Valerie Jarrett, a former senior advisor to President Obama, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher at South by Southwest 2018. Jarrett is now on the boards of two tech companies, but when she first got to the White House, she didn't know what Twitter was — an important reminder of how quickly tech is changing everything. Jarrett says Obama made the best decisions he could while in office based on what he knew about Russia's election meddling, and explains what the Democrats need to do to regain their footing in 2018 and 2020. She also discusses her recently announced book deal, which is based on a question her daughter had asked her: What advice would she give to a 30-year-old version of herself today? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices