Decoder with Nilay Patel

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter talks with Kara Swisher about his efforts to unite the Pentagon and Silicon Valley behind common goals, including a new "innovation advisory board" chaired by Eric Schmidt. He also explains why he is a strong supporter of encryption, why he almost never uses a cell phone and why he does not want to cede control of the Internet to countries like China and Russia. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank talks with Kara Swisher about taking only 10 weeks to launch an online travel app. He explains how the startup worked to avoid being perceived as "another Groupon" and why he believes big hotel chains such as Hilton and Marriott are in danger. Plus: Despite turmoil in the markets, will HotelTonight go public? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom talks with Kara Swisher about why the government's approach to technology needs to be completely reimagined. A former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom argues that tech companies need to take an active role in fixing socioeconomic problems caused by their success. He also talks about self-driving cars, virtual reality sports and working with Napster co-founder Sean Parker to legalize marijuana. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi talks with Kara Swisher about how he discovered his love for programming, and how Steve Jobs' death spurred him to create a non-profit that would spread that love to others. He argues that, just as students learn chemistry but don't all become chemists, education should reform to make young people digitally literate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Andrew Jarecki joins Peter Kafka to talk about the success of true-crime documentary series such as "Making a Murderer," "Serial" and the show he directed, "The Jinx." He also discusses his history in tech as the founder of MovieFone and a new application called KnowMe, which makes it easier to share visual stories about your life from your phone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SoFi CEO Mike Cagney sits down with Kara Swisher to discuss why financial technology startups are suddenly hot and how SoFi hopes to eventually replace your bank, even though it has no permanent physical locations. He also talks about why SoFi is planning to launch a dating app (no, really) and why it ran an ad during Super Bowl 50. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Starry CEO Chet Kanojia, formerly the founder and CEO of Aereo, is back with another startup aimed at taking on the man. He sits down with Peter Kafka to talk about Starry, which aims to attack broadband monopolies and duopolies by delivering high-speed consumer Internet over the air. He also discusses fellow disruptor Google Fiber and what the Supreme Court didn't understand about Aereo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Eric Weiner, author of New York Times bestseller "The Geography of Bliss" and the new book "The Geography of Genius," talks with Kara Swisher about how where we live can make us smarter and more innovative. He traces genius from Athens to Calcutta to Silicon Valley, and warns that arrogance has ended every golden age in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gawker Media founder Nick Denton and new board member Jason Epstein, who just bought a minority share of the company, sit down with Peter Kafka to discuss the online media company's rapidly changing outlook. For example, Denton says he's no longer trying to fight against the growing force of Facebook. Plus: How will Gawker deal with the lawsuit from professional wrestler Hulk Hogan heading to trial? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lyft President John Zimmer sits down with Kara Swisher to talk about the company's transition from ridesharing to autonomous cars, the focus of a recently announced partnership with GM. He also discusses whether Lyft is being aggressive enough in its competition with Uber and the regulatory challenges both companies face in Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices