Modest Conversations - The Information
Sam Lessin
The Information presents Modest Conversations hosted by Sam Lessin, who writes the site's regular 'Modest Conversations' column. Modest Conversations are short conversations with interesting people about technology, culture, politics, and whatever else strikes our fancy.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 29, 2017 • 33min
21 - On Product Management - Rousseau Kazi of FB and TBA
Rousseau joins to discuss lessons from product management.
Jul 23, 2017 • 38min
20 - Building Platform Products - Raylene Yung of Stripe & FB
Raylene currently leads the applications team at Stripe, and formerly was an engineering manager at Facebook. She joins me to discuss building platforms from a product and engineering perspective.
Jul 16, 2017 • 24min
19 - Viewpoint From The Silicon Valley Entering Class of ‘17 - Samantha Wiener
Samantha joins as a representative of the Silicon Valley entering class of 2017 having just graduated from Columbia CS and moving on to Facebook engineering. talks about her projects and what interests her at the intersection of tech and the broader world.
Jul 9, 2017 • 28min
18 - Congestion & Inequality, The Problems of The Modern City - Eran Shir of Nexar
Eran joins me to discuss autonomy & the problem of the modern city - in particular congestion, inequality and autonomy.
Jul 1, 2017 • 25min
17 - What You Know vs. Who You Know - Auren Hoffman of SafeGraph and LiveRamp
Auren Hoffman joins me to discuss whether it is better to know things or know people.. And how technology is changing the dynamic.
Jun 25, 2017 • 34min
16 - Building Things Competitors Can't Measure - Sriram Krishnan, Fmr Snap & FB
Sriram Krishnan who worked on monetization products at Snap talks about building things your competitors can't measure.
Jun 11, 2017 • 24min
15 - Jobs, UBI, and Inequality - Joe Lonsdale, 8VC
Joe Lonsdale, founder of 8VC and investor-entrepreneur, weighs in on jobs, UBI, and inequality. He critiques universal basic income and tech messianism about AI. They debate how AI reshapes work, the value of new service and care jobs, housing and anti-NIMBYism, and income-share models for education.
Jun 4, 2017 • 27min
14 - On Bitcoin, Ethereum, ICOs vs. Venture Capital - Alexia Tsotsis, Fmr TechCrunch
Alexia and I discuss crypto-currencies and the evolving conversation about the future of fundraising - initial coin offerings and venture capital.
May 29, 2017 • 21min
13 - How You Build Meaningful Relationships with Kids and Others - Tod Francis, Shasta Ventures
Tod Francis, founding partner at Shasta Ventures and avid outdoorsman, discusses building meaningful relationships with children and others. He contrasts routine logistical parenting with side-by-side, exploratory activities. He highlights how shared adventures and vulnerability create lasting memories and offers practical ways to prioritize those horizontal experiences.
May 21, 2017 • 30min
12 - The YC AI vertical and big-company AI advantages - Daniel Gross of YC, Apple, Greplin
Daniel and I discuss the new YC AI vertical and how he is trying to empower startups with the AI advantages that big companies usually have unto themselves
