Techdirt Podcast Episode 419: Blitzscaling For Tyrants

from the bigger-faster-stronger dept

Tue, May 27th 2025 01:30pm - Leigh Beadon

In something of a followup to our last episode about Elon Musk’s playbook, today we’re digging deeper into the comparison between Washington and Silicon Valley and what it tells us about DOGE. Johns Hopkins International Affairs professor Henry Farrell has been looking specifically at the concept of “blitzscaling”, and this week he joins us on the podcast to talk about how Elon Musk and DOGE are bringing blitzscaling to government.

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Filed Under: blitzscaling, doge, elon musk, henry farrell, podcast

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Techdirt Podcast Episode 418: The Elonification Of Government

Politics

from the we've-seen-this-before dept

Tue, May 13th 2025 01:30pm - Leigh Beadon

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We’ve written a lot about how understanding the playbook Elon Musk used at Twitter is key to understanding his current playbook with DOGE. The people who literally wrote the book on said playbook are New York Times journalists Ryan Mac and Kate Conger (the latter of whom joined the podcast last year to discuss the book), and this week they both join us to dig deeper into the ways Musk is reusing his Twitter methods on the entire federal government.

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Filed Under: doge, elon musk, kate conger, podcast, ryan mac
Companies: twitter, x

Techdirt Podcast Episode 417: The Rise Of The Open Social Web

Innovation

from the power-to-the-people dept

Tue, May 6th 2025 01:30pm - Leigh Beadon

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Though the original promise of the internet has been twisted and distorted, today we’re seeing more and more people working to restore decentralization and user power online. One such person who sees the problem better than most is Flipboard founder and former Twitter board member (among many other things) Mike McCue, whose new application Surf is a kind of browser for the open social web. Mike joins us on this week’s episode to talk all about Surf and the (hopefully more decentralized) future of the internet.

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Filed Under: decentralization, mike mccue, podcast, social media
Companies: flipboard, twitter

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Techdirt Podcast Episode 416: How Tariffs Are Impacting One Small Business

Stupidity

from the not-so-good dept

Wed, Apr 30th 2025 01:30pm - Leigh Beadon

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We probably don’t need to tell you that the current tariff situation is causing complete chaos in global supply chains, in large part due to the uncertainty — for all we know, the exact rules will have changed since this episode was recorded just yesterday. But we wanted to get some insight into the impact on small businesses, so this week we’re joined by Jesse Vincent, co-founder of Keyboardio (makers of one of Mike’s favorite keyboards, who recently wrote an open letter to their US customers), to talk about the challenge of running a business amidst Trump’s tariff chaos.

You can also download this episode directly in MP3 format.

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Filed Under: jesse vincent, podcast, small business, supply chains, tariffs
Companies: keyboardio

Techdirt Podcast Episode 415: The Problems With Age Verification

Policy

from the segregate-and-suppress dept

Tue, Apr 22nd 2025 01:30pm - Leigh Beadon

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It’s hard to create a law about children online without first identifying who the children are. We’ve written a lot about the problems that arise with mandated age verification, and a new paper by Eric Goldman, The “Segregate-and-Suppress” Approach to Regulating Child Safety Online, digs into why the entire popular approach to such laws is paradoxical and broken. This week, Eric joins us on the podcast for a discussion about why regulators should develop a wider and more thoughtful toolkit of online child safety measures.

You can also download this episode directly in MP3 format.

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Filed Under: age verification, child safety, eric goldman, podcast

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Techdirt Podcast Episode 414: Disruptive Tech Solutions For Reproductive Health

Innovation

from the changing-the-playing-field dept

Wed, Apr 16th 2025 01:36pm - Leigh Beadon

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Many people don’t think of reproductive health and reproductive rights as tech issues, but they very much are — moreso than ever in a post-Dobbs America. The internet is vital to communication and spreading information around reproductive health care, while abortion drugs are changing the very nature of what reproductive rights protect. This week we’re joined by Elisa Wells and Amy Merrill, two of the cofounders of Plan C, a nonprofit that aims to make abortion pills available by mail across the US, for a discussion about looking at reproductive health through the lens of disruptive technology.

You can also download this episode directly in MP3 format.

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Filed Under: abortion, amy merrill, elisa wells, podcast, reproductive health, reproductive rights
Companies: plan c

Techdirt Podcast Episode 413: Ron Wyden On Chutzpah

Politics

from the guts-and-gusto dept

Tue, Apr 1st 2025 01:30pm - Leigh Beadon

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If you’re a Techdirt reader, you’re probably familiar with Senator Ron Wyden. In January, he released his new book It Takes Chutzpah, offering up a call for political boldness that feels even more relevant with every day that passes. This week, Senator Wyden joins Mike on the podcast to talk about the book and the political moment we find ourselves in.

You can also download this episode directly in MP3 format.

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Filed Under: podcast, politics, ron wyden

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Techdirt Podcast Episode 412: Chris Hayes On How Attention Ate The World

Business Models

from the lend-us-your-ears dept

Tue, Mar 25th 2025 01:30pm - Leigh Beadon

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In the digital age, attention is a resource — but if we can have a little slice of yours, we’ve got a great conversation about that very subject for you to listen to. This week, Mike is joined by journalist Chris Hayes to discuss his new book, The Siren’s Call: How Attention Became the World’s Most Endangered Resource, and examine just what’s going on in the attention economy and where it might head in the future.

You can also download this episode directly in MP3 format.

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Filed Under: attention, books, chris hayes, podcast, social media

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Techdirt Podcast Episode 411: A New Podcast All About Section 230

Legal Issues

from the deep-dive dept

Tue, Mar 18th 2025 01:30pm - Leigh Beadon

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We recently announced the launch of Otherwise Objectionable, a brand new documentary podcast hosted by Mike in partnership with the Competitive Enterprise Institute, covering the history — and the vital importance — of Section 230. This week, we’re featuring the entire debut episode right here on the Techdirt Podcast. Check it out, and subscribe to Otherwise Objectionable in your podcast app of choice.

You can also download this episode directly in MP3 format.

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Filed Under: otherwise objectionable, podcast, section 230

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Techdirt Podcast Episode 410: Murder The Truth

Journalism

from the slapped-around dept

Tue, Mar 11th 2025 01:32pm - Leigh Beadon

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At long last, we’ve got a fresh new original episode for you! This week, Mike is joined by David Enrich, business investigations editor for the New York Times, to discuss his new book Murder The Truth, all about the abuse of defamation laws to silence journalists and discourage critical reporting of the rich and powerful.

You can also download this episode directly in MP3 format.

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Filed Under: david enrich, defamation, first amendment, free speech, libel, podcast, slapp

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13:30	Techdirt Podcast Episode 409: What Twitter Teaches Us About DOGE (0)
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Tuesday
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Tuesday
13:30	Techdirt Podcast Episode 380: How To Actually Help Kids Online (5)

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