Foundering

Do you ever spend time online watching people compete with each other at playing video games? Perhaps not (yet), but this pastime known as esports is turning into a popular and potentially lucrative category of sports entertainment. This week, Bloomberg Technology's Joshua Brustein meets a team of professional gamers, as well as the team owners (including former NBA star Rick Fox) helping them battle their way to the top of a League of Legends championship. In the process, Josh and Aki explore what it takes to build an esports league from scratch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When Jase Wilson launched his startup in Kansas City, Missouri, he didn't intend on leaving. But he struggled to get the funding he needed from local investors, and he decided to try his luck in California. Before long, Jase won the backing of, among others, the movie star Ashton Kutcher. This week, Bloomberg Technology's Sarah McBride visits Kansas City to figure out why Jase, and other founders like him across the country, find it so hard to thrive outside the big coastal tech hubs.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever since it was a tiny startup, Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, has been based in the quirky, bohemian Los Angeles beach town of Venice. Now, the social media app maker employs almost 2,000 workers and is about to become a publicly traded company. This week, Bloomberg Technology's Sarah Frier and Aki Ito visit Venice to hear from longtime residents and business owners, some of whom worry they're getting priced out of their neighborhood. They also speak to community members who say the company is doing its best to offset the pains that economic success can bring. As Snap prepares for its March IPO, which will turn some of its young employees into overnight millionaires, tensions are reaching a fever pitch.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the past two years, Cuba has started rolling out public access to the internet. Wifi is now available through a network of hotspots-- but access is expensive, and the connection can be patchy and slow. This week, Bloomberg Technology's Pia Gadkari visits Cuba, exploring what life looks like when a country's just starting to get online. Pia and Aki hear from local entrepreneurs how the Internet is helping them grow their businesses, and discuss the potential for U.S. tech companies on the island.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On his eighth day in office, President Trump signed an executive order banning the U.S. entry of people from seven Muslim-majority countries. The move sparked outrage from several tech companies, which rely heavily on the talent of skilled foreigners. This week, Bloomberg Technology’s Aki Ito and Olivia Zaleski speak to both tech workers directly affected by this ban as well as company executives who fear the order will hurt their businesses. More restrictions could be on the horizon, and Aki and Olivia discuss what those might mean for the industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

More than 1.5 million people drive for Uber in cities all over the world. And yet, as the company finds new ways to make rides cheaper for customers, it's become harder for the app's contractors to make a decent living. This week, Brad visits one of Uber's very first drivers, and, together, they explore the complicated history between the ride-sharing app and its workers. Brad and Bloomberg Technology's startups reporter Eric Newcomer also discuss where that relationship is headed.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We still don't know what Trump's presidency means for the broader tech industry, but one thing is clear: He loves Twitter. On the one hand, a president speaking directly with the people seems like a good thing. But will there be unintended consequences? This week, Bloomberg Technology's Brad Stone and Josh Brustein dig deep with two former Twitter employees, and also ask why a tool that's cemented its role in our public discourse is still struggling as a business.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

As cyber-spying gets ever more sophisticated, governments worldwide are rushing to get equipped with the most cutting-edge technology. This week, Bloomberg Technology's Jordan Robertson and Aki Ito take you into the heart of a multimillion-dollar deal to help a West African nation spy on its own people. But the deal goes south -- offering a rare glimpse into the shadowy world of the global cyber weapons industry.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's something that just about every technology company says it wants to address -- diversifying its workforce. So why is the industry so full of men, most of whom are white or Asian? Bloomberg Technology's Ellen Huet and Aki Ito follow Mitchell Lee, co-founder of a startup called Penny, as he tries to hire someone who doesn't look like your typical Silicon Valley programmer. The process raises some surprising challenges and poses plenty of uncomfortable questions.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

It's been a year full of surprising developments, from Brexit to the election of Donald Trump. This week we're bringing you our pessimist's guide to 2017: What might happen in the tech industry if it all goes horribly wrong? These are the most dire scenarios our team of reporters could come up with.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.