Decoder with Nilay Patel

DJ Patil, America's first Chief Data Scientist, talks about his nearly two years in the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy, working on initiatives around health care and policing. Patil grew up in Silicon Valley, and has worked at Skype, LinkedIn and eBay; he says that techies in the private sector should consider a "tour of duty" in the government to be one of their civic duties. He says opening up the vast amounts of data collected by government agencies can make everyone better-off — as long as personal data like health records can be properly secured. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this special bonus episode of Recode Decode, we look back at our past guests' most insightful comments about diversity in tech and media. Interviewees including Chamath Palihapitiya, Samantha Bee and Dick Costolo explain why discrimination based on sex, age and ethnicity are so common, and what might be done to fix the problem. You can find the full interviews excerpted in this show at Recode.net/Podcasts or in the podcast feeds for Recode Decode and Recode Media. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Foursquare co-founder Dennis Crowley and CEO Jeff Glueck talk with Recode's Kara Swisher about how the location intelligence company is generating sellable data for partners like Apple, Uber and Twitter based on its users' check-ins. Glueck, who took over as CEO for Crowley in January 2015, compares the company's new business model to "Robin Hood" because it simultaneously helps small businesses and charges the big ones. The two also discuss where they'd like to see location tech go, including the idea of a talking virtual assistant — similar to Scarlett Johansson's character Samantha from the movie "Her" — that speaks to you like a friend and recommends new places to go. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Revolution Growth founder and partner Ted Leonsis talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about being a longtime executive at AOL and how the company changed dramatically when it merged with Time Warner in 2000. Leonsis says AOL correctly anticipated the social nature of the internet, but left several windows open for Google to beat it at its own game. After the merger, it had to turn its energies toward defending Time Warner's legacy businesses and missed still more opportunities. He also discusses his majority ownership of several sports teams, including the NBA's Washington Wizards and the NHL's Washington Capitals, and why he thinks Vice's cable channel Viceland is "the biggest con ever." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Mr. Robot" creator Sam Esmail talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his hit TV show, whose star Rami Malek recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama. Esmail says he grew up loving both movies and technology, and was disappointed by Hollywood's seeming inability to portray hackers in TV shows and movies authentically. The secret to the success of 'Mr. Robot,' he says, is that he's more interested in the complex humanity of both the characters and the people who make technology, rather than the tech itself. He also discusses how platforms like Netflix and Amazon have shaped his line of work and explains why he's interested in working in several mediums, such as video games and virtual reality, simultaneously. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about cooperation between government and the tech industry and the new challenges of the digital economy. Secretary Pritzker says artificial intelligence will upend many jobs, but the solution is to focus on retraining workers for new industries like cybersecurity, where American companies have hundreds of thousands of open positions. She also explains the recent battle over the Commerce Department's oversight of the internet and why handing over that oversight to the international nonprofit ICANN was the best way to protect the open web. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Actor, producer and investor Ashton Kutcher talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his life as both a TV star and a tech obsessive. Kutcher, who starred in shows like "Two and a Half Men" and "That '70s Show," has invested over the past five years in companies like Uber, Airbnb and Square. But he passed on Snapchat — twice — because he hated the app's design and feared what would happen when it got hacked. He's currently starring in the Netflix sitcom "The Ranch," and says denying the rise of digital media platforms in Hollywood is like denying climate change. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jon Favreau, the actor and director known for films such as "Swingers," "Iron Man" and "The Jungle Book," talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about his new efforts in virtual reality, starting with the interactive short film "Gnomes & Goblins." Favreau says that VR is a powerful artists' tool, but advances in digital filmmaking won't replace actors, or the need for fundamental storytelling skills. He hopes to use virtual reality to create powerful connections between the viewer and virtual characters, and explains how other tech trends like Netflix have changed Hollywood forever. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

James Corden, host of "The Late Late Show" on CBS and viral video star, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about redesigning a talk show for the YouTube generation, built around segments like "Carpool Karaoke." Corden has a complicated relationship with technology, and worries that the internet's appearance of freedom of choice is making us all more narrow-minded. He also chats about encounters with drones and social media bullies and why he thinks the technology industry is misleading the public by using the term "the cloud." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Cowboy Ventures founder and managing partner Aileen Lee, previously a partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, talks with Recode's Kara Swisher about being one of the few female venture capitalists in Silicon Valley. After leaving Kleiner Perkins in 2012, Lee set out to amass data about the small percentage of startups that become breakout success stories, and she coined the term "unicorn" to describe the small fraction that would be valued at more than $1 billion. She says entrepreneurs today have to be tougher now that investors' fervor has cooled off, and says those investors will have to change, too, by becoming more diverse. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices