

TechTank
Brookings Institution
TechTank is a biweekly podcast from The Brookings Institution exploring the most consequential technology issues of our time. From artificial intelligence and racial bias in algorithms, to Big Tech, the future of work, and the digital divide, TechTank takes abstract ideas and makes them accessible. Moderators Dr. Nicol Turner Lee and Darrell West speak with leading technology experts and policymakers to share new data, ideas, and policy solutions to address the challenges of our new digital world. Sign up to receive the TechTank newsletter for more research and analysis from the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Mentioned books

May 22, 2023 • 35min
From The TechTank Archives: Twitter, Trump, and Online Speech
From November 28, 2022: In this episode of the podcast, co-host Darrell West speaks to Nicol Turner Lee, senior fellow in Governance Studies and director of the Center for Technology Innovation at Brookings and Tom Wheeler, a visiting fellow in Governance Studies and the author of a forthcoming Brookings book, “Techlash” about Twitter's future, and the consequences of recent tumultuous changes at the company. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 8, 2023 • 51min
Bank failures and the tech sector: For better or for worse?
In the last year, bank failures have dominated the news cycle. On this episode of the TechTank podcast,co-host Nicol Turner Lee will discuss why the technology sector has been particularly sensitive to recentbank failures, and what the future of banking looks like in the digital age. Joining the TechTank podcastto help discuss the future of banking is Aaron Klein, who is the Miriam K. Carliner Chair in EconomicStudies and Senior Fellow at the Center on Regulation and Markets at the Brookings Institution. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 24, 2023 • 46min
Will the U.S. attain a competitive global spectrum strategy?
Consumer demand for wireless services continue to increase in the U.S., prioritizing the need for more licensed and unlicensed spectrum as more services migrate to mobile platforms. On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host Nicol Turner Lee sits down with Scott Blake Harris, Senior Spectrum Advisor, Office of the Assistant Secretary, National Telecommunications Information Administration (NTIA) about the forthcoming National Spectrum Strategy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Apr 10, 2023 • 33min
Will Generative AI Kill Jobs?
There has been considerable interest in recent months in generative AI that can answer questions, develop videos, write code, and perform many other tasks. On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host, Darrell West, is joined by a distinguished expert, John Villasenor, professor of engineering, law, public policy, and management at UCLA and co-director of its Institute for Technology, Law, and Policy to discuss if generative AI will take jobs. Will it be possible for organizations to use these new tools to automate job tasks and reduce dependence on human labor? Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 27, 2023 • 37min
How Wikipedia Works
On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host, Darrell West, dives into howWikipedia handles content moderation, disinformation, and bias. The site is a trusted source ofinformation for many people, but little is known about how it makes decisions and handlescontroversies surrounding its material. Guests are Isabelle Langrock, a PhD candidate at theAnnenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, who is writing adissertation on Open Knowledge Production and Digital Access; and Kent Campbell, aStrategist at Reputation X, a firm that researches Wikipedia references, talk pages, and historicalediting patterns. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Mar 13, 2023 • 27min
How social media is changing politics
In this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, guest host Mishaela Robison, research assistant in Brookings Center for Technology Innovation, talks with Annie Wu Henry, former social media producer and strategist for U.S. Senator John Fetterman’s campaign. Described as Fetterman’s “TikTok Whisperer” by the New York Times, Henry discusses how social media and technology are changing the way voters, and society more generally engage with politics. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 27, 2023 • 53min
How Memes Are Impacting Democracy
On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, guest host Mishaela Robison will sit down with Dr. JoanDonovan, Research Director of Harvard Kennedy’s Shorenstein Center and Emily Dreyfuss, a journalist,who leads the Shorenstein Center News Leaders Program, to discuss their book, Meme Wars: The UntoldStory of the Online Battles Upending Democracy in America (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Feb 13, 2023 • 45min
Reclaiming local news in the age of the internet
On this week's episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host Nicol Turner Lee will discuss thefuture of local news and the effects of the internet on traditional business models and the qualityof investigative journalism. The episode will also correlate rising levels of misinformation to aneroding local news landscape. Podcast guests are Courtney Radsch, postdoctoral research fellowat UCLA, and Steve Waldman, founder and president of Rebuild Local News. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 30, 2023 • 43min
Is Economic Decoupling Possible for the United States?
On this episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-host Darrell West is joined by two distinguished experts to discuss if economic decoupling is possible for the United States. Melanie Sisson is a fellow in the Foreign Policy program at the Brookings Institution, where she focuses on national security in the Strobe Talbott Center for Security, Strategy, and Technology. Emily Weinstein is a research fellow at Georgetown University’s Center for Security and Emerging Technology, where she focuses on U.S.-China technological competition. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Jan 17, 2023 • 42min
What to expect for big tech, broadband, anti-trust, and other tech issues under the new Congress
On this week’s episode of the TechTank Podcast, co-hosts Darrell West, and Nicol Turner Lee discuss thefuture of Biden’s tech policy agenda under the new 118 th Congress, including broadband infrastructure,anti-trust, big tech accountability, data privacy, and AI, among other issues. With a GOP majority in theHouse of Representatives and a Democrat-led Senate, this episode dives into which policy areas showthe most promise for consensus, and where there may be challenges to gain cooperation within adivided Congress. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.