Best Audio Stories From Silicon Valley Podcasts (2024)

1
The rise of ‘BlueAnon' + Trump shooting merch + RNC influencers 31:13

4m ago31:13

31:13

Minutes after a gunman attacked Donald Trump at a rally, conspiracy theories flourished on social media. Did Trump fake it? Was it a false flag? These are the latest additions to a growing collection of anti-Trump conspiracy theories referred to as "Blue Anon." Taylor Lorenz discusses the rise of conspiracies from anti Trump influencers with Mike R…

1
#170 Steve Baxter: From Army to building a startup with his wife, Shark Tank Stardom, Ten13 + Defence Tech Investing 55:24

1h ago55:24

55:24

Steve Baxter is a Tech entrepreneur and Investor. He co-founded the Investing Platform, TEN13 and recently a VC Fund, Beaten Zone Venture Partners focused on DefenseTech. He has built and sold two startups: SE Net and PIPE Networks (for $373M). He was a 'Shark' on the hit TV series, Shark Tank for four seasons, showcasing his business expertise. Th…

1
Inside the most toxic live-streaming platform + NATO influencers 35:44

6d ago35:44

35:44

Kick, a is home to some of the most reprehensible behavior on the internet. Creators have live-streamed themselves accosting people on the street, sexually harassing minors, even getting into hit-and-run car accidents. Taylor Lorenz talks to J. Aubrey, who documents some of the Internet’s worst people, about Kick’s race to the bottom.Plus, Taylor b…

1
#169: From Silicon Valley to Aotearoa: Unfiltered debunking of NZ's startup myths with Blackbird's Phoebe Harrop & David Booth 1:23:17

17d ago1:23:17

1:23:17

Phoebe is a Partner in Blackbird’s NZ team with investments in Tracksuit, VeVe and Carepatron. Prior to joining Blackbird, she was a Director in the Growth Equity fund at Generation (Al Gore's Growth Equity Fund). David is an Entrepreneur in Residence at Blackbird NZ and previously an early employee at Angel List, Carta, and 500 Startups. He then b…

1
An influencer’s battle against her snark subreddit 25:46

19d ago25:46

25:46

For the past several years, influencer Lily Chapman has been plagued by a relentless community of women online. They congregated in a snark subreddit dedicated to mocking and criticizing her. Lily says they even contacted her friends and family, and attempted to kill her sponsorship deals. But Lily did something most influencers haven't been able t…

1
#168 Craig Blair: Co-Founder of the $1B+ VC Fund, Airtree in his most candid interview ever 1:17:54

17d ago1:17:54

1:17:54

Craig Blair is the Co-Founder and Partner at Airtree, a globally recognised Venture Capital firm with $1B+ funds under management. Before AirTree, he was a partner at Netus, a venture fund with a global top decile track record. He has also been a founder of three software businesses -- two of which were successful and one of which was a painful lea…

1
Why do so many people think a top Stanford researcher is a CIA agent? 43:08

25d ago43:08

43:08

An online smear campaign painted a top Stanford researcher as a censorship supervillain, whose goal was to silence free speech and delete 22 million tweets. Former Stanford Internet Observatory research manager Renée DiResta tells Taylor Lorenz what it's like to monitor disinformation about yourself -- and how rumors about her work that began on on…

1
Do you speak Brain Rot? How the internet is changing language 43:26

1M ago43:26

43:26

Over the past few months, the term “brain rot” has gone from essentially meaning chronically online, to a fully fledged meme and ironic slang language. Adam Aleksic aka “the Etymology Nerd” and Harvard linguistics graduate joins Taylor to break down how the language of the internet is evolving. Later, Taylor dives into stories from the week includi…

1
#167 Investment Memo: How CLT Toolbox is eliminating 39% of global carbon emissions from buildings ft. Adam Jones & Ringo Thomas 51:51

1M ago51:51

51:51

Welcome to installment #25 of the Investment Memo series and overall episode #167 on the show. Submit this EOI for your company to be considered in future episodes of this special series! *** Adam Jones and Ringo Thomas are the Co-Founders of CLT Toolbox, a software company building solutions for structural engineers and architects that radically s…

1
Is it ever okay to film strangers in public? + Trump’s new TikTok + MrBeast hits #1 33:16

1M ago33:16

33:16

The record-breaking Instagram account @world_record_egg has returned to publicly express its support for Palestine. Trump joins TikTok and immediately amasses millions of followers. Mr. Beast becomes the most subscribed to YouTube channel. Plus, Taylor Lorenz breaks down the 2022 deal TikTok offered the U.S. government, which included a “kill switc…

1
Is a Tech Utopia a Dystopia for Everyone Else? 42:25

2M ago42:25

42:25

Meet the powerful centimillionaire who dreams of a sovereign San Francisco where tech millionaires wear gray T-shirts to signal their allegiance and progressives are locked out. Balaji Srinivasan is one of the most infamous, yet lesser-known, figures in Silicon Valley. Journalist Gil Duran, who reports on tech fascism and billionaire extremism, joi…

1
#166 Alasdair MacLeod (Rare Public Interview): Murdoch's Newsrooms to Soil Carbon Pioneer & Reshaping Agriculture 56:16

2M ago56:16

56:16

Alasdair is Executive Chairman of Macdoch, a private investment company with offices in Sydney and London. Macdoch comprises of Macdoch Ventures, investing in early stage tech startups, Macdoch Agriculture using capital to drive global climate solutions and the Macdoch foundation. Al was previously a senior leader at Newscorp for over 20 years and …

1
'Zombie Facebook' takes over + ScarJo vs OpenAI 42:21

2M ago42:21

42:21

Have you been on Facebook lately? It’s weird and overrun with bizarre, AI-generated, spammy clickbait. Jason Koebler, co-founder of 404 Media and host of The 404 Media Podcast joins Taylor Lorenz to discuss how this happened and who’s behind it all. Later, Taylor weighs in on Scarlett Johansson’s accusation that Open AI mimicked her voice, a new vi…

1
Is the celebrity 'blockout' working? + TikTok creators sue the U.S. 33:27

2M ago33:27

33:27

This week, TikTok creators sue the US government over free speech, Bumble tells women to get busy, YouTube’s CEO wants creators to win Emmys, and Google’s new AI gives some bad advice. Later, Taylor Lorenz chats with Kate Lindsay, co-founder of the Embedded newsletter, about a new social media movement called “Blockout 2024.” The campaign encourage…

1
#165 Jillian Broadbent (Rare Public Interview): Trailblazing Board Director's Journey at Macquarie, Qantas & Beyond! 1:09:39

2M ago1:09:39

1:09:39

Jillian Broadbent is one of the leading Business and Industry minds, with extensive investment banking industry knowledge and markets expertise, including a deep knowledge of risk management and regulation. She has served on the boards of many organisations, encompassing finance, the arts, and other sectors. She is currently a Member of the Board o…

1
What's up with Fake Podcast Ads, AI Audiobooks and the Audio Creator Economy? 24:36

2M ago24:36

24:36

Bloomberg’s Ashley Carman joins Taylor Lorenz to discuss the current state of audio and its creator economy. They discuss Spotify's impact and how close we are to achieving the decade-long dream of viral audio. Plus, Ashley takes us into the ridiculous world of fake podcast ads on TikTok and the rise of audiobooks and AI narrators. Learn more about…

1
#164 Connor Archbold: Living in 28 homes, Unpacking the magic and learnings building 'Tracksuit', New York, NZ & Family! 1:13:18

2M ago1:13:18

1:13:18

Connor is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Tracksuit. Tracksuit provides always-on, beautiful tracking to measure brand health. Tracksuit today covers 1,300 brands including many household names and recently raised $20M dollars in funding from leading investors to fuel their next phase of Growth. Connor was born in California, USA and now lives in Auck…

1
Are "Industry Plants" Real? + 'The Social Network' Sequel 36:27

3M ago36:27

36:27

Kanye West accused one of the most popular Twitch streamers, Kai Cenat, of being an “industry plant.” It perpetuated the idea that some internet celebrities became famous thanks to invisible forces pulling the strings. But in a business as fickle as online content creation, is an industry plant even possible? Taylor Lorenz asks Maxwell Mitcheson, a…

1
#163 Grant Dooley (Rare Public Interview): Learnings as Counsul General in China + Indonesia, Inside the $2B fund, Breakthrough Victoria! 1:18:33

3M ago1:18:33

1:18:33

Grant Dooley is an experienced international funds manager and the CEO of the $2B Fund, Breakthrough Victoria, with prior roles at Hastings and heading ARA Infrastructure. Grant had a distinguished career as a Foreign Affairs and Diplomatic trade official for the Australian Government, including two years as the Australian Consul General in China a…

1
#162 Adam Jacobs: How he built 'The Iconic' and now 'Hatch', Learnings from selling kitchen knives, personal identity and dad's influence! 1:03:39

3M ago1:03:39

1:03:39

Adam Jacobs is the Co-Founder of THE ICONIC - A globally recognised online fashion retailer, and the Co-Founder of Hatch - a new venture whose mission is for all people to find meaning in work. Adam was born and lives in Sydney, Australia with brief stints living in Boston and Copenhagen. It’s now time to explore your curiosity. Click the links bel…

1
Sell or Die. TikTok’s Sophie’s Choice + MKBHD on his viral ‘takedowns’ 45:44

3M ago45:44

45:44

Today, President Biden signed a law banning TikTok, assuming it can't work out some long-shot deal to sell to a U.S. owner. TikTok of course is going to fight all this in court. Editor in Chief at The Verge, and host of the Decoder podcast, Nilay Patel joins Taylor Lorenz to discuss TikTok’s uncertain future. Later, YouTube star Marques Brownlee ak…

1
Drake & Kendrick's AI Rap Beef + TikTokkers Against Biden 35:56

3M ago35:56

35:56

AI is causing chaos and confusion in pop music. Drake and Kendrick Lamar are feuding through diss tracks, but people can’t seem to tell if these songs are real or artificially generated. Taylor Lorenz brings in New York Times pop music critic Jon Caramanica to get to the bottom of it all. Plus, how Chappell Roan broke through the algorithm and Tayl…

1
#161 Holly Ransom: Inspiring journey from Perth to working w Obama, Branson, Gladwell + world events, her grandma and more! 57:12

3M ago57:12

57:12

Holly Ransom is an internationally acclaimed leadership speaker and consultant – paving the way for leaders across the globe to turn knowledge into action for real-world change. She is CEO of Emergent Global and author of The Leading Edge. Holly was personally requested by Barack Obama to interview him on stage. She delivered a Peace Charter to His…

1
Is Social Media Destroying Kids’ Lives? + Elon’s Secret X Account 48:54

3M ago48:54

48:54

A moral panic has been emerging lately. People in the media, government, and across the internet are declaring that children are suffering an unprecedented mental health crisis and that smartphones and social media are to blame. But is this true?Taylor Lorenz talks to longtime researcher and author Danah Boyd about some of the problems that young p…

1
The Real Estate Content Boom + The Worst Day on the Internet 29:37

4M ago29:37

29:37

Real estate content is living rent-free in Millennials' heads. Taylor Lorenz talks to the CEO of a media company responsible for a ton of it. Plus, Taylor weighs in on why April Fools' is the worst, Yahoo's acquisition of an AI company started by Instagram's founders, how AI is impacting the music industry, and her time at The Information's Creator…

1
Kindness Influencers and Poverty Porn + Is Huberman Cancelled? 38:17

4M ago38:17

38:17

Taylor Lorenz breaks down the latest tech news including Truth Social going public, New York Magazine's much-discussed Andrew Huberman expose, Spotify’s latest podcast metrics, and the poverty porn drama on YouTube. Later, Taylor’s joined by Brad Podray, a.k.a. Scumbag Dad, to unpack the problem with “Kindness Influencers” — those creators who give…

1
#160 Kell Reilly: First Ever Public Interview with the new Airtree Partner - Lessons from the world's titans 1:21:07

4M ago1:21:07

1:21:07

Kell is the newest Partner at the Venture Capital firm, Airtree. Before joining Airtree, he spent most of his career in Silicon Valley at renowned firms such as Dragoneer, D1 Capital Partners and General Atlantic, investing in some of the most interesting consumer and enterprise companies in technology (Airbnb, Appfolio, Atlassian, Gitlab, Gusto, S…

1
Should we ban TikTok? + MrBeast’s Amazon deal, and what's up with Shrimp Jesus? 46:41

4M ago46:41

46:41

Taylor Lorenz kicks off her first episode with a breakdown of the proposed TikTok forced sale, AKA, ban. She’s joined by Evan Greer, director of the online civil liberties organization Fight for the Future. They unpack lawmakers' concerns—sifting through the politics and red flags behind the effort —and trade theories about what lawmakers hope to a…

1
#159 Matteo Franceschetti: From Late English Learner to Building "Eight Sleep" with Khosla & Founders Fund Backing 1:07:44

4M ago1:07:44

1:07:44

Matteo is the Co-Founder and CEO of Eight Sleep, the sleep fitness company. Eight Sleep developed a proprietary technology which is redesigning sleep by developing cutting-edge AI and machine learning models to track bio signals during the night and optimising body recovery and rest while asleep. The end goal of the Pod is to compress sleep and sca…

1
#158 Judy Anderson-Firth: Source of "abundant giving" personality, becoming CEO w Dom Pym, democratising access to investing + personal news with her wife! 1:17:54

5M ago1:17:54

1:17:54

Judy is the Group CEO of Euphemia, the family office for Australian entrepreneur and technologist, Dom Pym. Together they manage ~$65m in investments globally, focussing on Fintech, ClimateTech, women-led startups and startup infrastructure. Prior to teaming up with Dom, Judy was the CEO of Startup Victoria, Australia’s largest network for entrepre…

1
Introducing Power User with Taylor Lorenz 0:50

5M ago0:50

0:50

Power User explores how technology and the internet are upending our lives and the world around us. Each week, host Taylor Lorenz explores the most influential stories that Silicon Valley often ignores. New episodes drop every Thursday starting March 21. From the Vox Media Podcast Network. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/…

1
#157 Jack Zhang: Airwallex's $5.6B Journey - From Coffee Shop to Global Fintech Giant (First Ever In-Depth Interview) 56:51

5M ago56:51

56:51

Jack Zhang is the Co-founder and CEO of Airwallex, last valued at $5.6B. Airwallex is a leading global financial platform for modern businesses, offering trusted solutions to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend management to embedded finance, serving over 100,000 companies around the world. Jack is responsible for devising and impl…

1
#156 Ahmed Fahour (pt 2 of 2 - Rare Public Interview): How he became the highly acclaimed CEO of Citigroup, NAB & Australia Post 1:07:20

5M ago1:07:20

1:07:20

This is the second and final part of a 2 part special conversation with Ahmed Fahour in a rare public interview appearance. Ahmed is a prominent business executive who has held leadership positions in various organizations around the world. He moved to Australia from Lebanon at a young age, and is currently CEO of The Gurner Group. Previously, he h…

1
The UK’s leading romance fraud specialist 46:13

5M ago46:13

46:13

How did one detective take on an international network of romance fraudsters? This episode was written Stuart McGurk and read by Will Dunn. The commissioning editor was Melissa Denes. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

1
#155 Ahmed Fahour (pt 1 of 2 - Rare Public Interview): Early life influences, Lebanon, Adversity, Re-marriage + new CEO role! 1:16:58

5M ago1:16:58

1:16:58

This is part 1 of a 2 part special conversation with Ahmed Fahour in a rare public interview appearance. Ahmed is a prominent business executive who has held leadership positions in various organizations around the world. He moved to Australia from Lebanon at a young age, and is currently CEO of The Gurner Group. Previously, he has held well known …

1
#154 Larry Marshall: Loosing dad early, building 6 tech companies, 30 yrs in the US, transforming science & innovation culture 1:15:48

5M ago1:15:48

1:15:48

Dr. Larry Marshall is a distinguished scientist, technology innovator, and business leader with over 25 years of experience. He holds a PhD in Physics and As the longest-serving chief executive of CSIRO, Australia’s national science agency, he led a transformation that resulted in the first growth in 30 years and the first emissions reduction in 10…

1
#153 Mark Suster: Battling ADHD, Selling to Salesforce, Good vs Bad Acquisitions, Venture Capital predictions for 2024! 1:15:42

6M ago1:15:42

1:15:42

Mark Suster is a globally renowned Investor, being Partner at Upfront Ventures, based in LA, California. He previously was the founder & CEO of two successful enterprise software companies, the most recent of which was sold to Salesforce.com where Mark became VP, Product. Mark was born in Philadelphia, and now lives in Los Angeles, California in th…

1
#152 Holly Kramer (Rare Public Interview): US Countryside to Board Director at ANZ, Woolworths & Fonterra 1:09:32

6M ago1:09:32

1:09:32

We're joined by Holly Kramer in a very rare public interview appearance. Holly is an experienced non-executive Director and Chief Executive. She is on the boards of leading companies such as Woolworths, ANZ, Fonterra and more. Holly is the former CEO of Best & Less and has more than 25 years’ experience in general management, marketing and sales, i…

1
[Replay] Daniel Petre: Insecurities, reporting to Bill Gates, founding Airtree, building a philantropic nation & more! 1:05:22

7M ago1:05:22

1:05:22

This is a replay of our very popular episode with Daniel Petre. He was one one of 5 global VP's under Bill Gates at Microsoft, Co-founded three Venture Capital firms including the globally successful Airtree, and is now building his non for profit in Start Giving. **** In this (replay) episode #113 w Daniel Petre, learn about: sunrise in Sydney and…

1
[Replay] Anil Sabharwal: Multicultural roots to leading THREE of Google's nine BILLION active user products! 1:09:45

7M ago1:09:45

1:09:45

This is a replay of our very popular episode with Anil Sabharwal (one of his only public interviews to date!). Anil is Vice President of Product Management at Google. The company has nine products that have achieved the coveted Billion active users goal, and Anil has built and led three of them in Google Photos, Google Chrome and Google Drive. He i…

1
#151 Sam Sicilia (Rare Public Interview): Humble roots, theorotical physics, Chief Investment Officer for $100B+ retirement fund, Hostplus! 1:10:32

7M ago1:10:32

1:10:32

We're joined by Sam Sicilia in a very rare public interview appearance. Sam is the Chief Investment Officer for the multi-billion dollar superannuation Fund (Retirement savings) Hostplus, often referred to as a 'giant' in the industry with around 1.7 million members and over $100b funds under management. *** Learn about Sam’s sunrise in Melbourne, …

1
Introducing: Close Your Eyes 1:55

7M ago1:55

1:55

|| PREMIERES JAN 18 2024 || A mind-bending mystery/thriller from the creator of 7 Suspects. A man’s search for his missing brother leads him to a mysterious cult. Subscribe on Apple or Spotify or wherever you listen to your favorite podcastsBy Cryptic Radio

1
#150 Simon Holmes à Court (First Ever In-Depth Public Interview): Life influences, tech, energy, politics, climate 200 and the "trim tab" 1:07:53

8M ago1:07:53

1:07:53

To celebrate this milestone episode 150, we're joined by Simon Holmes à Court in a very rare public interview appearance, and we believe his first about his own story! Simon has stood at the intersection of community, climate action and politics since May 2007 when he began chairing the community cooperative that set out to build Australia’s first …

1
#149 Roundtable musings w Barnaby Marshall + Vignesh Kumar: Demistifying the fast growing NZ tech ecosystem w Icehouse Ventures and GD1 54:55

8M ago54:55

54:55

We're joined by Barnaby Marshall, Partner at Icehouse Ventures and Vignesh Kumar, Co-Managing Partner at GD1 in this special "round table musings" demystifying the fast growing New Zealand tech ecosystem. *** Episode guiding points: Think of this conversation as a balcony view of the state of play in the tech ecosystem in NZ and a round table of mu…

1
The great private school con 29:19

8M ago29:19

29:19

They no longer have a stranglehold on Oxbridge and would lose tax breaks under Labour. So what is elite education really selling? At the Labour Party conference in Liverpool in October, the Independent Schools Council hosted a forlorn drinks reception: not one of the more than 40 MPs showed up. ‘We are not the enemy,’ one private school headmaster …

1
#148 Martijn Wilder (First Ever In-Depth Public Interview): Book publishing family to building Pollination & the $15B National Reconstruction Fund 1:03:02

9M ago1:03:02

1:03:02

Martijn Wilder is the Founder & CEO of Pollination, a global climate change advisory and investment firm. He is also the chair of the $15B National Reconstruction Fund set up by the Australian Government and was previously Head of Baker & McKenzie’s global climate law and finance practice for twenty years working with governments and bodies to acce…

1
How Rishi Sunak became the first Silicon Valley prime minister 22:27

9M ago22:27

22:27

On 2 November 2023, Rishi Sunak closed his global AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park by interviewing the richest man on Earth, Elon Musk. The mood was deferential (the PM towards the tech billionaire). Was Sunak eyeing up a post-politics job in San Francisco, some wondered, or calculating that Musk’s Twitter might be an effective campaigning tool c…

1
#147 Sarah Hamilton: Entreprenurial upbringing to building Bella Box + how she's now an investor and advisor to leading companies! 50:14

9M ago50:14

50:14

Sarah Hamilton is the co-founder of Bellabox, Asia Pacific’s market leading beauty box that she co-founded with her twin sister, and raised investment from leading investors including SquarePeg. Sarah is now an investor, and advisor to many of the leading companies and CEOs in the consumer and beauty industry, and a graduate of the Wade Institute V…

1
Israel, Hamas and the unravelling of the West 16:11

9M ago16:11

16:11

What might be the long term impact of the Israel-Hamas war on global alliances? In this week’s audio long read, the New Statesman’s contributing writer John Gray reflects on three weeks of bloodshed, beginning with the massacres of 7 October, and their wider consequences. An escalating conflict will empower Iran and Russia, he writes, as well as st…

1
#146 Toby Hall: Early influences in the UK and South Africa to becoming a highly regarded healthcare and not for profit executive leader 59:15

9M ago59:15

59:15

Toby Hall is an experienced not-for-profit and healthcare executive, having most recently served for 8 years as CEO of St Vincent’s Health Australia, Australia’s second largest healthcare provider, until February 2022. Prior to St Vincent’s, Toby was the CEO of Mission Australia for nearly a decade, and during his time at Mission, Toby oversaw the …

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