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Jorge Conde, Vijay Pande, and Sonal Chokshi
Given recent news of drug company settlements, policy moves, and more, this episode is a rerun of one of our early explainers on the opioid crisis -- how do opioids work; who's to blame; and where does (and doesn't) tech come in?
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Robert Siegel, Jeffrey Immelt, Jeff Jordan, and Sonal Chokshi
There's been a false dichotomy in technology and management lore over the past decade, between "brain" and "brawn", digital and physical, independence and interdependence, software culture versus industrial culture… Whether you're an early startup or a Fortune 500 company, today's leaders have to think completely differently, in terms of ecosystems; and they're often in the position of having to influence but not have control. So where and when to partner, when to go it alone?
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Joel de la Garza, Das Rush, and Tom Hofmann
How ransomware works, from the anatomy of a hack to how the groups operate; the role of nation-states, insurers, and regulators; and what to do if your stuff is taken hostage...
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Colin Bryar, Bill Carr, and Sonal Chokshi
When you hear stories about Amazon's famous "invention machine", we often hear about things like: Memos, six pages exactly and no powerpoints at al! Or, the idea of "work backwards from the press release". But what's lost is the how, as well as the broader narrative of how all companies and leaders, not just Amazon and Bezos, can define their ways as they scale. After all, Amazon was once a small startup, too. So in this episode -- the very first podcast for the new book Working Backwards: Insights, Stories, and Secrets from Inside Amazon -- the authors share firsthand observations and experiences from being in "the room" where it happens, from AWS, Kindle, and Prime to more importantly, the leadership principles, decision making practices, and operational processes that got Amazon there. Can other startups do the same?
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Gretchen McCulloch and Sonal Chokshi
In a year that left us speechless, 2020 has been filled with new words unlike any other”... so it's unprecedented that for the first time, the Oxford English Dictionary did NOT name a word of the year. But do we really need the dictionaries to tell us what our words of the year are? From remote work portmanteaus to scientific discourse in a pandemic (for better and for worse) to social movements and more -- we take a whirlwind tour through the words of the year, exploring misplaced analogies, shifting metaphors, and even the evolution of interfaces and spaces.
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Joel de la Garza, Ali Yahya, Zoran Basich, and Sonal Chokshi
We're back to covering multiple items on our show 16 Minutes -- which covers the news, occasional explainers, and teases apart what's hype/ what's real -- as well as where we are on the long arc of innovation.
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Matt Abrahams and Sonal Chokshi
Whether participating in a meeting, doing a panel, conducting a live event, presenting a talk, or even hosting a podcast, these are expert best practices for moderating and managing discussions across modes and mediums. (Including how to manage unruly discussions, anxiety, presence in virtual environments, and more.)
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Virginia Postrel and Sonal Chokshi
The story of textiles IS the story, history, and evolution of technology and science (across all kinds of fields, from biology to chemistry); of commerce (as well as management, measurement, machines); but most of all, of civilization (vs. just culture) itself. That's what Virginia Postrel's new book, The Fabric of Civilization: How Textiles Made the World is all about. But it is in fact a story of innovation, of human ingenuity... which is also the theme of the a16z Podcast.
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Eugene Wei and Sonal Chokshi
In one of our special "2x" episodes of 16 Minutes (32ish minutes;) -- our show where we quickly cover the headlines and tech trends, offering analysis, frameworks, explainers, and more -- we cover the algorithm that powers TikTok, the short video-sharing platform that grabbed massive marketshare in cultures and markets never experienced firsthand by the engineers and designers in China, beating out other apps in the United States. Now, with talk of U.S. ownership/partnership for TikTok, what happens if the algorithm isn't included in the deal? And what can we learn from the "creativity network effects" flywheel of TikTok; for "algorithm friendly" product design; and more broadly, about the future of video?