It’s fair to say that most people have heard about diversity reports. And it’s probably also fair to say that most of us have watched, sometimes with a metaphorical bucket of buttered popcorn, as companies crisis-comms their ways out of … crises. But most of us do not know what goes on behind the scenes.On this episode of Mixtape, we chat with ex-F…

Mara Mills Associate professor of Media, Culture and Communication at NYU Co-director of the NYU Center for Disability Studies Author of Testing Hearing: The Making of Modern Aurality Twitter Meredith Whittaker Co-founder of the AI Now Institute Minderoo Research Professor at New York University Founder of Google’s Open Research group Author of the…

This week, Megan moderated a panel at the first Sight Tech Global, a conference dedicated to fostering discussion among technology pioneers on how advances in AI and related technologies will alter the landscape of assistive technology.The panel featured three heavy hitters in the accessibility space: Haben Girma, the first deafblind person to grad…

This week we spoke to Y-Vonne Hutchinson, the CEO of ReadySet, a consulting firm that works with companies to create more inclusive and equitable work environments. We discussed what a Biden administration means for DEI practitioners, how companies are now focusing more on structural change to systemic issues of racism, sexism and other forms of di…

This week Marah Lidey, co-founder and co-CEO of Shine, joins us to discuss mental health, portfolio diversity and connecting with other founders trying to make it work.By TechCrunch

References California Proposition 22, App-Based Drivers as Contractors and Labor Policies Initiative (2020) - Ballotpedia Uber Director of Policy, Cities and Transportation Shin-pei Tsay on Prop 22 Gig Workers CollectiveBy TechCrunch

This week we are joined by TechCrunch’s resident bearer-of-bad-news -- security reporter Zack Whittaker. He came on to discuss the Capital One breach that we all found out about earlier this week. Zack spent some time on his vacation writing about how this shouldn't be a surprise given nothing changed after 2017's Equifax breach. Remember that one?…

Season 3 kicks off with Meena Harris, founder of the Phenomenal Woman campaign, and head of strategy and leadership at Uber.By TechCrunch

Angelica Ross, co-star the FX show ‘Pose,’ joined us in the studio this week. Ross, who in addition to being an actress is a transgender activist, CEO and founder, writer, speaker, podcast host and all-around great human being, discussed her company TransTech Social, access for transgender folks who want to gain a foothold in tech, and visibility. …

This week we sit down with Neil Shah, CEO of Concrn, a compassionate care app that allows people to request help for homeless people experiencing a mental health crisis.By TechCrunch

It’s that time of the week again when Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet talk about the good and could-be-better tech companies. This week, we talked about Instacart getting caught shorting its shoppers out of dough they rightfully deserved. Of course the company apologized for its “misguided” approach. Which at least sounds better than apologizi…

Screen time for kids, corporations not paying people from underrepresented groups and IBM offers some hope for the future of facial recognition technology: These are the topics that Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet dive into on this week’s episode of Mixtape. According to research by psychologists from the University of Calgary, spending too mu…

This week Megan Rose Dickey and I welcome Tiana Kara, the head of partnerships and growth at #builtbygirls (which, like TechCrunch, is owned by Verizon Media Group). The organization connects girls and women between the ages of 15 and 22 with mentors of all stripes in the tech industry based on their interests. The idea here is that not all tech jo…

We’re coming to you with another episode of Mixtape, the TechCrunch podcast that takes a peek behind the headlines that go beyond tech. This week, Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet get into a discussion about women’s sexuality, because the world’s biggest "consumer electronics show” revoked an innovation award from Lora DiCarlo, a company that c…

This time Megan and Henry talk about all of those hubs in your abodes — you know, your Google Homes, your Amazon Echo Shows, your Facebook Portals …. There really are a lot. Stripe is doing a little something different when it comes to reporting diversity: It’s looking within. AR might finally have a use that we can all get behind and Super Mario P…

By TechCrunch

This week, Megan and Henry talk about a startup called Bungalow that is trying to make the housing search a little easier. Also on tap this week was a conversation about 23andMe and its efforts to provide more specific regional data about the origins of people of color. And Sarah Cooper, comedian and author of “How to Succeed Without Hurting Men’s …

It's dogs, mac and cheese and working out this week! Megan and Henry talk about Bark and Co., the company that sends dog treats in boxes. It’s now opened a dog park in Nashville where dogs are the members and humans are the guests. A mac and cheese joint got some funding because why not? And there is a workout machine for your home in the market th…

Welcome back to TechCrunch Mixtape. This week, Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet talk about mental health apps, Nintendo (did Megan buy a Switch or not?!) and a suit-making company that uses your musical tastes to find you looks to choose from. That’s right. It’s pretty cool and Henry went through the process. Watch and read about suit-making AI…

Welcome to another episode of TC Mixtape, where Senior Reporter Megan Rose Dickey and Editorial Director Henry Pickavet talk about some tech news of the week and sometimes go on field trips. This week they took a ride in a self-driving car -- and survived. Henry was terrified; Megan was excited. Also this week, Blavity raised a big Series A and Sho…

Welcome to the first episode of TechCrunch Mixtape (formerly CTRL+T). In this episode, join Senior Reporter Megan Rose Dickey and Editorial Director Henry Pickavet at San Quentin State Prison for The Last Mile’s demo day and graduation. The Last Mile is a program that provides business and technology training to incarcerated individuals, preparing …

Apple released the public beta of iOS 12 this week and Megan and Henry downloaded it so they could play with the new Memoji feature. Their feelings are mixed. Also this week Microsoft improved its facial recognition technology to better detect darker skin tones. Some improvement. And finally, they spoke to Karla Monterroso, CEO of Code2040, an orga…

Welcome back to CTRL+T. This week, Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet talk about the World Health Organization identifying 'gaming disorder' as a mental health issue. We disagree. Gamers gonna game. Also this week we were joined by Adina Tecklu, VC at Canaan Partners. She was here to talk about Canaan Beta, which is essentially a fund within the …

Between electric scooter permit applications and drunk passenger patents, Uber was doing too much this week.By TechCrunch

This week is Apple's big developer conference, creatively called Worldwide Developers Conference (or WWDC), and TechCrunch was there. Each year the company showcases the things developers will be able to do in upcoming versions of their various operating systems (iOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS). While there were a bunch of features that didn't reall…

Tinder released a new feature that helps people connect based on places both have visited, but is it as sketchy as people say it is? Amazon's Alexa recorded a couple's conversation and then sent it to someone else, which is undoubtedly sketchy. All that and more on CTRL+T.By TechCrunch

Yes uberAIR is a thing and one day the company wants to make taxis fly you around your congested cities. But first, regular readers of TechCrunch might already know about the root canal Megan was told to get by a startup. Click play so you can hear the story first-hand. Till next week, y'all. Your hosts: Megan Rose Dickey and Henry Pickavet…

Megan and Henry are coming to you on a Monday this week because why not? On the show: Facebook's dating play, Hulu passes 20 million subscribers, Handmaid's Tale decompression and MoviePass competitor Sinemia launches $4.99 per month subscriptions.By TechCrunch

Henry's back this week and tells a harrowing tale about his appendix. Then he and Megan get into the fight to deliver your groceries, Amazon's desire to put packages in all kinds of places, and the overabundance of scooters that have taken over SF's streets. San Francisco's scooter saga You can now give Amazon the keys to your car Whole Foods groce…

On this week's episode, Megan Rose Dickey chats with Kevin Adler of Miracle Messages, a non-profit organization that aims to connect homeless people with their loved ones.By TechCrunch

On this week’s episode, I chat with Aniyia Williams, the person behind Tinsel Wear, Black and Brown Founders and the Zebra Movement. We talk all-things tech, making it rain cash money in black and brown communities and white savior complex .By TechCrunch

Cash bail systems are unjust and disproportionately affect low-income people. On this week's episode of CTRL+ T, Megan Rose Dickey chats with Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins of Promise, a startup that looks to provide an alternative to cash bail systems. Ellis-Lamkins discusses the issues with cash bail systems, what led her to start Promise and what it was …

On this week's episode of CTRL+T, Henry Pickavet and Megan Rose Dickey chat about Facebook's privacy drama involving Cambridge Analytica, an Airbnb experience gone wrong and a new camera for your car. Links: Airbnb hosts can kick you out after you've check in What it's like using the Owl car security camera Facebook-Cambridge Analytica…

There is a company out of startup accelerator Y Combinator that says it's "committed to the goal of archiving your mind." Okay. We also talk software developer ethics and the alleged inaccessibility of Lyft. Links: Here are some real things people said about brain preservation startup Nectome A startup is pitching a mind-uploading service that is “…

We are moving our release date to Tuesday. See you then!By TechCrunch

This week we talk MoviePass's tracking drama and the way the local world works - media-style. We're joined in the studio by Eric Eldon, co-founder and editor-in-chief of Hoodline (and former co-editor of TechCrunch), a local news site that covers hoods in San Francisco and Oakland "near you." As in down the street from where you are. He talks the l…

When Birmingham led the charge in the civil rights movement in the sixties, the city inadvertently created big shoes for itself to later fill. Just how Birmingham was the birthplace of many civil rights actions in the sixties, the city wants to be the birthplace of true diversity and inclusion in the tech industry. Megan found that out and more whe…

You might have heard that a film called “Black Panther” came out last week and saw near-record crowds descend on theaters all over the world. The CTRL+T podcast team was among them. We headed to Oakland on an unseasonably cold-for-California evening to wait in line for about 90 minutes. While in that line, we talked to a few people to see how they …

We’ve had plenty of time to get used to our robot overlords and Boston Dynamics is helping us get there. This week we talk about the company’s addition of a door-opening arm to its SpotMini robot. It’s not spooky at all. We then switch gears and discuss Facebook’s Messenger for Kids. Is it good, bad or the company’s master plan to get every last hu…

This week's episode is all about the future. Thanks to technology, the highest capacity rocket platform ever, the Falcon Heavy, blasted into space. Meanwhile, down here on Earth, Uber is working to make urban air travel a thing, and companies are developing products and conducting studies that can detect diabetes, just by wearing the Apple Watch. T…

On this week's episode of CTRL+T, it's all about flamethrowers (yes, the devices that throw flames), startups trying to get inside your mouth and education in the prison system. Later on, I chat with the one and only DeRay Mckesson, who is known for his social justice activism via #BlackLivesMatter protests in Ferguson, Missouri and Baltimore, Mary…

Welcome back to another glorious episode of CTRL+T. This week, Henry Pickavet and I explore Amazon's new cashier-less stores that promise no waiting in line -- except to get in -- and Uber's newest C-level executive hire. Later in the episode, I rage with Safiya Umoja Noble, a professor at the University of Southern California and author of "Algori…

We start the episode with a couple of stories out of Europe. A hospital in Sweden is blaming an app that has been approved in Europe as a contraceptive method for 37 unwanted pregnancies -- they've reported it to Sweden’s Medical Products Agency, which is asking the company questions. And in what seems like a good common-sense move, the UK is going…

If you thought last year was intense for diversity, hold on tight, because based on the way this year is unfolding, it looks like we're in for a wild ride. Already, Google was hit with a revised gender pay lawsuit that alleges Google underpaid women in comparison with their male counterparts and asked new hires about their prior salaries. Then, a w…

Wait, what? Yeah, this week a company called SuperMeat announced that it raised $3 million to create chicken in a lab. It requires real chicken cells, Petrie dishes probably and some patience. The benefits for fake (fake real?) chicken are numerous, not the least of which it's better for the environment. But we wonder how it will taste. Like chicke…

People can be lazy. So it's no wonder why on this week's episode of CTRL+T, we were drawn to some news that touched on home assistants and personal assistants for when you're out in the wild. Amazon's Echo Dot was the top-selling product on all of Amazon this holiday season and startup Fin recently launched its human/AI personal assistant. We also …

This week we wondered if cell phones can adversely affect your health (or kill you), the goggles of Magic Leap and the problem Twitter has with the hateful people on its platform. Then later in the ep, Megan chats up Jeremy Burge, the Aussie founder of Emojipedia. They talk about the need for a pedia for emoji, Simpsons yellow and the skin-shade id…

On this week's episode, hear about Facebook executive Chamath Palihapitiya's declaration that the social network is effectively "destroying how society works," the FCC's vote on repealing net neutrality and Netflix reminding everyone it's spying on its customers. Later in the show, MRD chats with Shonda Rhimes, the creator of network hits like Scan…

Welcome to CTRL+T, the TechCrunch podcast that looks at how technology impacts culture. Listen to TechCrunch reporter Megan Rose Dickey and Editorial Director Henry Pickavet as they dive into the week's headlines followed by interviews with influencers and innovators in the field. Premier episode launches December 16th.…