Decoder with Nilay Patel

Dr. Jill Lepore is one of the best writers there is at identifying institutional patterns in history, and Decoder is a show about systems and organization — so her new book, The Rise and Fall of the Artificial State, is a perfect fit for the show.

You build systems by measuring things — gathering information, quantifying it as data, and taking action on it. The book's big thesis is that this kind of systemic measurement is really a dehumanizing act, one that flattens humanity and human concerns into something, well, artificial.

These artificial structures touch everything — not just in the more obvious places like in apps or AI, but all the way up to politics, governance, and the very future of the nation-state itself.

Links:

The Artificial State | The New Yorker

‘Terminator’ to tech titans: Jill Lepore on the ‘artificial state’ | Yale Univ.

The failed ideas that drive Elon Musk | New York Times

Sam Altman | The Joe Rogan Experience

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Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Decoder’s producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Xander Adams. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We’ve got the first of a two-part series on the systems that run the world: I’m talking today with Bart Butler, the CTO of Proton, the company that makes private and secure productivity software.

There’s a lot of big Decoder themes in this one. That includes how Proton has structured its ownership and architected its products to align its incentives with protecting users. At the same time, Proton faces new challenges and pressures, both at home in Switzerland and from the EU and US government that are putting its values to the test.

Links:

Proton now offers an entire bundle of office services | The Verge

Proton Mail helped FBI unmask anonymous ‘Stop Cop City’ protester | 404Media

Proton says it will leave Switzerland if this controversial law Is passed | Vice

Age verification is a mess but we’re doing it anyway | The Verge

Let’s build a children’s public internet | The Verge

Let me see some ID: age verification is spreading across the internet | The Verge

Why Chat Control 1.0 is the EU's most Orwellian law yet | Euronews

Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Nvidia is obviously in the news constantly because of the AI boom — but it's also a major supplier to the entire auto industry As head of Nvidia's automotive division, Xinzhou Wu has a front-row seat to all the challenges EVs and autonomous vehicles are facing, especially in the US.

And of course, you can’t talk about electric cars or vehicle autonomy in the US without talking about Elon Musk and Tesla. So I asked Xinzhou pretty directly if Tesla full self driving can actually do what Elon claims it will be able to do without using LiDAR. You tell me if you think his answer holds up.

Read the ⁠full interview transcript on The Verge⁠.

Links:

Nvidia’s head of autonomous driving opens up about his plans | The Verge

Hyundai, Nissan, BYD, and Geely Join Nvidia’s Level 4 | MotorTrend

Nvidia, auto suppliers roll out partnerships to rekindle self-driving | Reuters

Meet Alpamayo, Nvidia’s new AI model for autonomous cars | Forbes

I tested Nvidia’s FSD competitor — Tesla should be worried | The Verge

Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Decoder’s producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt; this episode was edited by Xander Adams. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My guest today is Peter Kafka, chief correspondent at Business Insider and host of Channels, a podcast about the media industry. And it’s a big week for the media industry — Comcast just announced that it’s splitting itself up, into the Comcast broadband company and the NBCUniversal entertainment company.

This dream, that you can combine distribution with big splashy entertainment properties, has failed time and again. But Comcast tried the content plus pipes strategy for longer than most. So Peter and I discussed what happened in the media and broadband industries over the last 15 years, and what might happen next.

Read the full interview transcript on The Verge.

Links:

Comcast is cutting NBCUniversal loose | Business Insider

Comcast’s split could make or break Peacock | The Verge

Comcast and NBCUniversal will go it alone. But for how long? | NYT

Comcast split shows bigger is no longer better | Deadline

A cable scion’s hardest deal yet: breaking up his family’s company | WSJ

Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt and edited by Ursa Wright. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today I’m talking with Ali Berman and Raina Penchansky, who run the Creators Division at United Talent Agency. UTA is an enormous talent agency, and Ali and Raina's creators division represents some of the biggest creators and influencers in the world.

So I really wanted to know how Raina and Ali identify up-and-coming talent, how they work with that talent to build durable businesses, and what the machinations of being a top creator actually look like in practice.

Read the full interview transcript on The Verge.

Links:

The power brokers behind the $250B influencer economy | Wall Street Journal

The Influencer Cliff | Carmen Vicente (TikTok)

UTA Unveils Upscale Office for Creators | The Hollywood Reporter

YouTube Stars Breach Hollywood’s Most Gilded Gate | New York Times

CAA, TPG form holding company to acquire creator-led businesses | Variety

How creator talent agencies are evolving into multi-platform operators | Digiday

Subscribe to The Verge to access the ad-free version of Decoder!

Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Decoder is produced by Kate Cox and Nick Statt; this episode was edited by Xander Adams. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane.

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices