Episodes

Jan. 26, 2021

Tue. 01/26 – Twitter Acquires Revue

Twitter acquires a Substack competitor. It’s also iterating product in terms of… check’s notes: content moderation? The black hats are targeting the white hats in infosec. Interesting executive shuffle at Apple. A $2500 smartphone from Sony that really might be a “pro” device. And would you let me …
Jan. 25, 2021

Mon. 01/25 – Clubhouse Raises A New Round At $1B Valuation

Clubhouse has become a unicorn in, what… nine months? Google is making its facilities available as vaccine centers, while its workers are union organizing globally. Apple wants you to get up and walk. And why the SPAC frenzy could potentially transform the startup ecosystem over the coming months. …
Jan. 23, 2021

(Bonus) Harvard's Top Astronomer Avi Loeb On Oumuamua

In 2017, scientists sighted the first interstellar object, the first thing we definitively know came from outside our solar system… something that was not bound to the gravity pull of our sun. But that was just the beginning of the oddness exhibited by the object known as Oumuamua. It didn’t behave…
Guest: Avi Loeb
Jan. 22, 2021

Fri. 01/22 – Alphabet Sends Loon To The Deadpool

What does it mean for Alphabet if it’s starting to cut bait on its “moonshots?” Is Google going to cut bait entirely, on the entire country of Australia? More signs that Apple is atoning for their laptop design sins. Looks like we were right, Plaid is very much, no Visa, no cry. And of course, the …
Jan. 21, 2021

Thu. 01/21 – Mark Gurman Dishes On The Apple VR Headset

Apple’s first foray into VR is coming next year, says Mark Gurman, but the real game is in AR and that’s a ways down the road. Amazon wants to help roll out the vaccines. Are laptops getting taller? One chat app to unify them all? And everybody wants a dark mode, even the White House. Sponsors:N…
Guest: Mark Gurman
Jan. 20, 2021

Wed. 01/20 – A16Z To Get Into The Media Business?

Is Andreessen Horowitz about to spin up its own media platform? Anthony Levandowski gets a pardon and Jack Ma resurfaces. Netflix is about to start printing money, and they’re about to give you a “shuffle play” button. And why Ben Thompson thinks Intel is in even more trouble than everybody thinks.…
Jan. 19, 2021

Tue. 01/19 – Qualcomm’s New Snapdragon 870

Qualcomm unveils the Snapdragon 870. Cruise, Microsoft and GM all get together in a beautiful marriage that is just as much about cloud computing as it is self-driving. Has the policy controversy endangered WhatsApp in India? And why the whole Smart Home and Internet of Things industry might be tak…
Jan. 16, 2021

(Bonus) Interesting Raise Episode 1!

The first ever interesting raise omnibus episode! Links:Hipcamp, ‘Airbnb of the Outdoors,’ Raises $57 Million (The Information)Local news app News Break raises $115M (TechCrunch)Perfect Corp., developer of virtual beauty app YouCam Makeup, closes $50 million Series C led by Goldman Sachs (TechCrun…
Jan. 15, 2021

Fri. 01/15 – Are We Really Getting the MacBook of My Dreams?

Is Apple finally throwing in the towel and giving us the sort of laptops we actually want? With these IPO first-day pops, forget banks screwing startups, are VC’s also undervaluing companies right now in a way that is unfair? Amazon wants to do in cars what it’s done successfully in homes. And, of …
Jan. 14, 2021

Thu. 01/14 – Samsung Unpacked Brings The New Galaxy S21 Lineup

All the news from the Galaxy Unpacked event. The tech stock IPO first day pop bubble continues. Asus persists with that dual screen laptop thing. BMW has a new way to unlock your car with your phone. And Google absolutely swears it won’t use your fitbit data against you. Swears. Sponsors:Metalab.c…
Jan. 13, 2021

Wed. 01/13 – The Visa/Plaid Merger Is Called Off

The Visa/Plaid merger is called off, and I’ll tell you why I think this is a sign of the current situation for tech. More tectonic shifts in the chip industry including Qualcomm acquiring a startup and Intel losing its CEO. More smoke around the fire story of an Apple Car. And Facebook has noticed …
Jan. 12, 2021

Tue. 01/12 – Intel Unveils New Core i9-11900K Flagship Chip

Intel’s new flagship chips are here. Lenovo’s new laptop lineup is here. Walmart wants in on the fintech startup game. GM is spinning off a new electric delivery truck startup. And I know foldable phones haven’t exactly taken over the world, but could I interest you in a rollable phone? Sponsors: …
Jan. 11, 2021

Mon. 01/11 – All Of Tech Kills Parler

Once again, did some things happen since we last spoke? A run-down of, especially, the Parler situation. And it’s the first day of CES. Here’s what we’re missing in terms of gadget announcements, cool gadgets we’d love to get hands-on time with and the weird gadgets that make CES so fun. Sponsors:…
Jan. 8, 2021

Fri. 01/08 – An Apple/Hyundai Car?

Interesting new Apple Car rumors, including how they’ve basically raided Tesla for talent, apparently. Alex Stamos and Chris Krebs have formed the security Avengers. People do seem to be jumping ship from WhatsApp. Why Roku is maybe the dark horse of the Streaming Wars. And, of course, the weekend …
Jan. 7, 2021

Thu. 01/07 – Yes, There’s A Tech Angle To Yesterday’s Events…

Some stuff happened yesterday at the US Capital, and there’s a tech angle to it. Is SolarWinds just the beginning of the supply chain compromises? There’s new wi-fi coming that is faster and broader. Did the Georgia runoff mean the floodgates are now open for tech antitrust? And what the final segm…
Jan. 6, 2021

Wed. 01/06 – New GPT-3 Models Can Generate Images From Text

There are two new GPT-3 models and now the robots have come for the graphic artists. Trump continues his tech cold war against China, but the question is, will Biden? WhatsApp is further absorbed into the Facebook mothership. Eve Online players broke the game by playing it so hard. And Cameo wants …
Jan. 5, 2021

Tue. 01/05 – US Banks Can Now Issue Stablecoins

The OCC clears US banks to run crypto nodes and issue stablecoins. Microsoft wants to make One Outlook to rule all your email and calendar apps. Looks like Haven couldn’t solve healthcare. Why haven’t we seen Jack Ma in public for going on two months now? And Singapore says SYKE on that whole, not …
Jan. 4, 2021

Mon. 01/04 – Some Google Workers Say Union YES!

Google/Alphabet workers launch an official union drive. We’ve got a date for the Galaxy Unpacked event. Microsoft wants to give Windows a good scrubbing this year. Everyone wants a piece of ShareChat. Gazelle is getting out of the trade-in business. And LG doesn’t want to give up on tv screens you …
Dec. 30, 2020

Wed. 12/30 – Apple Loses A Copyright Lawsuit

Apple loses an interesting copyright law case. Get ready to see TikToks in your Google searches. Amazon’s “other” business unit is becoming a monster. The tech consumers did, and did not AS MUCH partake in over the holidays. And of course, the weekend longreads suggestions. For the final time in 20…
Dec. 29, 2020

Tue. 12/29 – Coinbase To Suspend Trading of XRP

Coinbase is suspending trading of XRP. Ant Group tries to appease the CCP. Will we soon see immunity passports on our phones? We now know the identity of the first tech IPO of the new year. And why, if you’re doing to do some dirt, you might want to know that your car is probably going to bust your…
Dec. 28, 2020

Mon. 12/28 – After Jack Ma, Is China Freezing Its Entire Tech Sector?

The Chinese Communist Party is throwing serious cold water on its entire tech sector by continuing to target Jack Ma. Did Elon Musk once try to sell Tesla to Apple? Drones are getting digital license plates, of a sort. And a look at the generation of search engine startups hoping to, you know, mayb…
Dec. 23, 2020

Wed. 12/23 – XRP, The 3rd Biggest Cryptocurrency Might Be In Big Trouble

The SEC does indeed sue Ripple, and that could be a bigger deal than I thought. Twitter won’t hand over the @Potus Twitter followers to Biden. What Zoom wants to do for its next act beyond video. Controlling your AirPods with...
Dec. 22, 2020

Tue. 12/22 – Why I Think The Apple Car Is For Real

See… I had a feeling. Reuters says Apple really is revealing an Apple Car in the coming years. More details on that suit charging Facebook and Google allegedly agreed to divvy up the ad market. The third biggest cryptocurrency says the SEC is coming after it. And the crazy story behind those sexy b…
Dec. 21, 2020

Mon. 12/21 – Big Day For Real Estate Tech

Huge day for Real Estate tech with Opendoor going public to a soaring valuation and RealPage getting bought for a ton of money. Microsoft might design its own custom silicon, cause, why not (to quote Vincent Hanna)? Is the first under the display selfie camera basically a fail? And could we actuall…