Podcast
Techdirt
Hosted by Techdirt · EN
The Techdirt Podcast, hosted by Michael Masnick.
12episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
How To Stop Good Companies From Going Bad
3w ago00:54:43Tap to summarizeThe concept of "enshittification" has helped illuminate why companies and their products so often get worse over time, but the causes of this process are complex and multifaceted. In his new book Incorruptible, author Eric Ries presents a related but contrasting take on how good companies go bad, and how to build companies that resist the process. This week, Eric joins the podcast to talk all about the book and what we might be able to do to solve this problem. Get the book: https://www.incorruptible.co/
Transcribe →Preserving The Web In The Age Of AI
May 1200:51:34Tap to summarizeRecently, Mike joined Dave Hansen, Mark Graham and Kendra Albert on a panel for the Future Knowledge podcast, a joint production of the Internet Archive and the Authors Alliance. The discussion covers a wide variety of questions related to keeping the web (and especially the historical record of the web) alive amidst the upheaval caused by AI technology, and you can listen to the whole thing here on this week's episode.
Transcribe →Infrastructure For The New Private Internet
Apr 1400:52:45Tap to summarizeAs we work our way towards a better future for the internet, the most encouraging and exciting part is the people out there building towards that future. Kickstarter founder Yancey Strickler is one such person, and his new company Metalabel has some extremely interesting projects in the works, including the Dark Forest Operating System. This week, Yancey joins the podcast to talk all about his projects and their role in building a better internet.
Transcribe →The Dangers Of Product Design Liability For Social Media
Apr 701:00:33Tap to summarizeWe've written at length about the dangers of the recent court rulings in California and New Mexico that say social media companies can be held responsible for certain uses of their platforms via product design liability. Recently, Mike joined FIRE's So to Speak podcast hosted by Nico Perrino to discuss the rulings and the concerns they raise, and you can listen to the whole conversation here on this week's episode.
Transcribe →Transaction Denied
Mar 3100:56:08Tap to summarizeIn the conversation about online speech, most of the attention tends to fall on the big social media platforms, while other intermediaries get overlooked — especially payment processors and other financial intermediaries. But that very thing is the focus of a new book coming out next week, Rainey Reitman's Transaction Denied. With launch events coming up on April 7th in Berkeley and April 9th in San Francisco, Rainey joins the podcast this week to talk all about the book and the vital role of financial intermediaries in online speech. Preorder the book: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/804543/transaction-denied-by-rainey-reitman/ April 7th in Berkeley: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/rainey-reitmans-transaction-denied-in-store-event-and-book-signing-tickets-1984829277800 April 9th in San Francisco: https://citylights.com/events/rainey-reitman-launch-party-for-transaction-denied/
Transcribe →The Future Of Section 230
Mar 2401:22:22Tap to summarizeLast month, Mike participated in the Cato Institute's Section 230 at 30 event to mark the 30th anniversary of the passage of Section 230. The event featured a series of fireside chats and panels that went deep on the past, present, and future of the all-important law, and you can watch videos of all of them on Cato's website — but for this week's episode of the podcast, we've got the audio of Mike's panel (moderated by Jennifer Huddleston and also featuring Jess Miers, Matt Perault, and Matt Reeder), all about how Section 230 and similar policies will apply to new technologies like decentralized protocols and artificial intelligence. Cato Event Videos: https://www.cato.org/events/section-230-30-past-present-future-online-speech-26-words-created-internet
Transcribe →Mike And Karl Talk AI
Mar 1700:57:50Tap to summarizeThere's a notion that pops up in the comments here on Techdirt that Mike and our writer Karl Bode are deeply opposed in their opinions on AI and engaged in an epic ongoing debate. Alas, the truth is a little less spectacular: while they might have some differences of opinion here and there, they actually agree on most things, and would both prefer to hear (and have) more thoughtful and nuanced discussions about the technology without going to the extremes. By way of demonstration, Karl joins this week's episode of the podcast for a long conversation with Mike all about AI, its role in our society, the challenges it raises, and where things go from here.
Transcribe →The Vision For The Decentralized Internet
Feb 2500:58:17Tap to summarizeThe Vision For The Decentralized Internet by Techdirt
Transcribe →Answering Your Questions
Feb 1701:00:26Tap to summarizeTwo weeks ago, we ran a bit of an AMA experiment, with a call on Bluesky for fans of Techdirt to ask Mike any questions they might have. We got lots of great responses and now, as promised, Mike is delivering the answers on this week's episode of the podcast!
Transcribe →The Supreme Court's Internet Cases
Feb 1000:53:39Tap to summarizeIn the last few years, the Supreme Court has been paying a lot more attention to the internet than it ever has before, and the cases keep on coming. This is already having a big impact on how the internet functions, and it doesn't look likely to stop any time soon. Given all that, this week our own Cathy Gellis joins the podcast for a discussion all about the past, present, and future of SCOTUS and the internet.
Transcribe →