Techdirt

Many people have tried to figure out what factors contributed to making Silicon Valley a center of rapid innovation, usually so that they might replicate it elsewhere. But most of these efforts focus on superficial aspects and miss the most important feature of Silicon Valley's culture: the open and free flow of ideas, information and talent. This week, Mike, Dennis and Hersh discuss their personal experiences with Silicon Valley and their observations about what really makes it so special.

Last week, we discussed the many misconceptions that run rampant in the public understanding of copyright. This week, the EFF's Parker Higgins returns for part two of the conversation, looking at how to begin addressing and moving past these false facts.

Copyright is one of the most important fields of law in the digital age, and also one of the most widely misunderstood. The EFF's Parker Higgins joins us to discuss to most common misconceptions about how copyright works, and how it's been abused.

AirBnB has become a massive, popular service despite many people balking at its introduction. But in the big picture, what effect is it having on the urban centers where it thrives?

Following the recent shutdowns of GigaOm and San Francisco's The Bold Italic, we ask a critical question: how can smaller online media players survive in this age of goliaths like Buzzfeed?

Last week, Hersh Reddy helped us navigate the many ways in which the patent system is broken. This week, we turn our attentions to the ways in which it might be fixed, whether by small changes or sweeping reforms. For music, we've got more of Destroy All Patent Trolls by https://soundcloud.com/jonathanmann (CC-BY).

Hersh Reddy, co-host of the podcast, is a patent attorney with a computer science degree and a long history of working in the tech industry. In this first half of a double episode, he discusses the many ways in which the patent system is broken, and how it got that way. This week's music is Destroy All Patent Trolls by https://soundcloud.com/jonathanmann (CC-BY).

Gabriella Coleman is back this week to discuss the astonishing and still-recent shift in the digital world towards real, widespread political engagement on issues like privacy and surveillance.

People (especially those in the news media) love to talk about Anonymous, often making bold, sweeping and generally inaccurate proclamations about the group's nature and goals. Gabriella Coleman, on the other hand, has spent years closely studying and engaging with Anonymous in the real world, and developing a nuanced understanding of the nebulous phenomenon. Her new book Hacker, Hoaxer, Whistleblower, Spy: The Many Faces of Anonymous provides insider details about Anonymous that you won't find anywhere else, and she joins us to discuss it on this week's episode.

Adam Fong discusses his thoughts, both as a composer and as the founder and director of the Center for New Music in San Francisco, on the changing opportunities for musicians to make money. The music on this week's episode is Adam's own composition, Five Times Remembered.