
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

Mar 31, 2018 • 50min
Recode Decode: Maria Shriver and Christina Schwarzenegger discuss 'Take Your Pills'
Maria Shriver, the former first lady of California, and her daughter Christina Schwarzenegger talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about "Take Your Pills," a new Netflix documentary they executive produced. Schwarzenegger says her experience at Georgetown University made her realize that no one had yet made a documentary about the prevalence of adderall among college students, as well as Wall Street traders and Silicon Valley engineers. The trio is also joined by NBC Television Medical Editor Corey Hébert, who talks about his contributions to the documentary and whether 23andMe can be a reliable indicator of ADHD. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 28, 2018 • 54min
Recode Decode: Flying cars are the future of military transportation
Christopher Kirchhoff, a former partner at DIUx, the Pentagon’s Silicon Valley office, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about how the Defense Department is trying to be smarter about technology. Kirchhoff says the U.S. military can benefit greatly from innovations in drones, robotics, satellites and more, and DIUx was developed to let the Pentagon proactively find that technology and quickly buy it at scale quickly before it becomes obsolete. He talks in detail about how electric flying cars are being developed to replace military helicopters, and why it’s vitally important that people working in Silicon Valley help the government modernize all departments, including commerce and education. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 26, 2018 • 1h 6min
Recode Decode: What men and women need to know about working together
Journalist and writer Joanne Lipman talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new book, "That's What She Said: What Men Need to Know (and Women Need to Tell Them) About Working Together." Lipman, previously the editor in chief of USA Today and deputy managing editor at the Wall Street Journal, spent three years researching discrimination, sexism and the failures of HR-led "diversity training" in the workplace. She argues that the push for greater equality must be owned by a company's top executives, rather than outsourced, and she shares several actions that people can take now to help their female colleagues succeed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 21, 2018 • 56min
Recode Decode: Therapist Esther Perel
Sex and relationship therapist Esther Perel, the host of the podcast "Where Should We Begin?", talks with Recode's Kara Swisher at South by Southwest 2018 in Austin, Texas. Perel's new book "The State of Affairs" sets out to change the popular conversation about sexual infidelity, but she says many partners are cheating on each other with their phones. She says dating apps, such as Tinder, wind up discouraging their users from pursuing committed relationships, and also explains the psychology of the sexual harassers and abusers who have been exposed by the #MeToo movement. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 19, 2018 • 1h 30min
Recode Decode: Anthony 'The Mooch' Scaramucci
Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his infamous 11-day stint in the Trump administration, his recently announced book deal and why he thinks the president will win re-election in 2020. 'The Mooch' unloads on Reince Priebus, Steve Bannon and the culture of backstabbing in Washington and predicts that President Trump won't be hurt by Robert Mueller's investigation. Plus: Scaramucci says Trump has many supporters in Silicon Valley, but that "leftist fascism" has scared them into silence. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 17, 2018 • 59min
Recode Decode: CNN’s Christiane Amanpour on sex, #MeToo and North Korea (Live from SXSW)
CNN Chief International Correspondent Christiane Amanpour talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about her new series, "Sex and Love Around the World." Speaking in front of a live audience at South By Southwest 2018, Amanpour says the show convinced her that women won't be "totally satisfied," in all aspects of their lives, until men have shed obsolete attitudes about gender roles, power and sexuality. She also talks about the global implications of the #MeToo movement, the dangers of "false news" and why the unwillingness of YouTube and other platforms to call themselves media companies is "bullshit." Plus: Why she's concerned about the Trump administration's planned negotiations with North Korea's Kim Jong-un. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 14, 2018 • 1h 3min
Recode Decode: Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes
Chris Hughes, the co-founder of Facebook and former owner of The New Republic, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher about his new book, “Fair Shot: Rethinking Inequality and How We Earn.” In it, Hughes argues that working people should receive a guaranteed income, paid for by the top one percent of earners in the U.S. He cites an “immense amount of evidence” that cash improves health, education and more, and talks about how his Economic Security Project is working to advance a modernization of the Earned Income Tax Credit, which he calls “guaranteed income.” Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 12, 2018 • 45min
Recode Decode: Sen. Chuck Schumer
Chuck Schumer, the senior U.S. Senator from New York, talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher and Democratic strategist Hilary Rosen about a range of tech-related issues, including immigration, net neutrality and Russian election meddling. He hopes to enlist tech companies like Netflix in the fight to bring net neutrality back after it was overturned by the FCC last year. Schumer also talks about his “sympathetic” attitude to the tech giants, saying the world would be a worse place overall if Amazon were not in it, even though “there’s lots of problems” with its impact on retail. Plus: Why the senior Democrat is optimistic about the midterm elections later this year. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 7, 2018 • 34min
Recode Decode: Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg on techlash and #MeToo (Live)
Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg talks with Recode’s Kara Swisher at the 2018 Lesbians Who Tech Summit in San Francisco, Calif. Sandberg talks about how Facebook is responding to reports of Russian election-meddling on its platform, why people are lashing out at tech companies this year, and how much responsibility Facebook has to help those people. She also discusses the good and the bad of the #MeToo movement, including the “unintended consequences,” such as men who are afraid to take meetings with their female colleagues, which endangers women’s ability to advance in the workplace. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mar 5, 2018 • 49min
Recode Decode: Is 'Uber meets Harvard' the future of learning?
GLG President and CEO Alexander Saint-Amand talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about running a learning platform for investors and business professionals. Saint-Amand describes the company as "Uber meets Harvard" because it facilitates on-demand and one-on-one conversations between customers and experts from a wide range of subjects, including faculty of universities like Stanford, Harvard and Duke. He explains why other attempts to revolutionize learning online have fizzled out and how GLG is able to offer "millions of courses" without breaking the bank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices