Software Is Eating the World

16 Minutes on the News

What's hype and what's real?

16 Minutes on the News is a short news podcast where we cover the top headlines of the week in tech and business, the a16z Podcast way. With host Sonal Chokshi — a16z’s editor in chief and the showrunner for the a16z Podcast — and guests from a16z and the broader tech ecosystem, the show tries to answer: why are these topics in the news; what’s hype and what’s real, from our vantage point; and what are our experts’ quick takes on these trends?

Latest Episodes

October 10, 2020

A Nobel for CRISPR! When, Who, How, What Now

"It's CRISPR!" This week, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to scientists Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer Doudna (also an a16z co-founder, ...

October 3, 2020

Nvidia + Arm

We cover the latest news since Nvidia (maker of GPUs among other things) announced its intent to acquire Arm (provider of silicon IP for ...

September 18, 2020

Tiktok and 'Seeing Like an Algorithm'

In one of our special "2x" episodes of 16 Minutes (32ish minutes;) -- our show where we quickly cover the headlines and tech trends, offering ...

September 17, 2020

Apple and the 'Doctor’s Office on a Wrist'

We cover the latest coming out of Apple's event yesterday, focusing on their new watches (including a lower price model); new sensors (including blood ...

September 2, 2020

A Faster, Cheaper Test -- Will It Really Democratize Coronavirus Testing?

In this episode of 16 Minutes, we cover the recent news around the FDA's Emergency Use Authorization approval of Abbott Lab's latest COVID-19 test, ...

August 10, 2020

Teladoc & Livongo, Is Virtual Care Fully Here?

In this episode of 16 Minutes -- our show where we cover recent headlines; tease apart what's hype/ what's real; and help orient where we are, ...

July 29, 2020

GPT-3, Beyond the Hype

In this special "2x" explainer episode of 16 Minutes -- where we talk about what's in the news, and where we are on the long arc of various tech ...

July 10, 2020

Funding Science & Innovation; Remote Work & Future Silicon Valley

This holiday break episode of 16 Minutes on the News (#36) covers two timely and still developing-news topics:#1 The National Science Foundation could ...

June 29, 2020

Apple App Clips, Program the Offline World!

A number of features were announced at Apple's WWDC/ Worldwide Developers Conference this week, but this episode of 16 Minutes on the News focuses on ...

June 21, 2020

Videogames as Medicines -- So What Is/Isn't a Digital Drug?

The FDA just approved the first ever videogame that can now be legally marketed and prescribed as a medicine. It's a game called EndeavorRX (formerly ...

June 21, 2020

Snapchat & Bitmoji: Mobile, Social, Cloud Gaming, Identity

At last week's Snap Partner Summit, a number of announcements -- including a navigation redesign and Bitmoji for Games -- have broader implications ...

May 31, 2020

Section 230 CDA: Content Moderation, Free Speech, the Internet

In this special "2x" episode (#32) of our news show 16 Minutes -- where we quickly cover the headlines and tech trends, offering analysis, frameworks, ...

Get Started with These Popular Episodes

GPT-3, Beyond the Hype

What's real, what's hype when it comes to all the recent buzz around the language model GPT-3? What is "it", how does it work, where does it fit into the arc of broader tech trends -- and are we really getting closer to artificial general intelligence?

Tiktok and 'Seeing Like an Algorithm'

In this special "2x" episodes of 16 Minutes, we cover the algorithm that powers TikTok. We cover what we learn from the "creativity network effects" flywheel of TikTok; about "algorithm friendly" product design; and more.

Section 230 CDA: Content Moderation, Free Speech, the Internet

We break down Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, including what it is and isn't, its evolution, where platforms and content moderation comes in -- explaining nuances, debunking popular rhetoric, and more.

The Case of Zoom and Scaling Cloud Security

Zoom has been in the headlines for security related issues and concerns, while experiencing unprecedented growth as well. What's hype, what's real, and what does it tell us about bottom-up SaaS and cloud security?

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