Land of the Giants

Should We Break Up Google?

Google is now facing antitrust scrutiny at a level it's never experienced before, from both sides of the political aisle. Which means we’re in an unprecedented moment that could define the company, our economy, and our daily lives for years to come. In our season finale, we explore the arguments for and against breaking up or regulating Google. And we explain why it’s virtually impossible to go online now without dropping a coin into Google’s pocket. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free in your favorite podcast app and be the first to hear our next season, coming soon! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 30, 2021

47 min

Googlers vs. Google

On December 2nd, 2020, Dr. Timnit Gebru - co-lead of Google’s Ethical AI team - got an email that said Google had accepted her resignation. A resignation she didn’t think she made. Her exit is just the latest sign of the crisis unfolding within Google — a loss of trust between many of its employees and leadership. This week, what led to Gebru’s exit - and what it means for us, Google’s users. Because when enough people who work inside Google don't even trust each other -- how can we? Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 23, 2021

49 min

A Military Contract Tests Google's Open Culture

One of Google’s long points of pride was its open, collaborative, and transparent company culture. But many Googlers feel like that's slipping away. Over our next two episodes, we’ll tell the story of a breakdown of trust inside Google — between management and employees. Starting with a covert contract Google made with the Department of Defense. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 16, 2021

42 min

The Moonshot Factory

Since they were Stanford grad students, Larry Page and Sergey Brin have had big ideas for technologies that could change the world. Only now, they have Google's nearly limitless resources to turn those ideas into reality. Some of Google's projects seem like a vision from the future. Others have crashed and burned. This is the story of two moonshots, and the world we might live in someday. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 9, 2021

38 min

Planet YouTube

When Google bought YouTube, it went from being a company that helps users search the Internet, to a company that shapes the Internet itself. With 2 billion users, YouTube generates its own gravitational pull on society and culture worldwide. And as an open platform that allows anyone to upload videos, it's a force that even Google can't quite control. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Guest co-host: Peter Kafka (@peterkafka) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

March 2, 2021

50 min

Chrome and the Android Wars

Today, nearly all of the world's smartphones are powered by Android. Which means Google is the gatekeeper to the Internet for billions of people. The story of Android is the story of how Google became so big. And it started with an existential threat. With Google in survivalist mode. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 23, 2021

41 min

The Search Begins

Some of the core values that built Google's runaway success — innovative technology to the max, an intellectually playful and open culture, and a corporate aspiration to do good ("Don’t be evil") — set it up for the existential questions it faces today. We examine how two grad students with a plan to search the Internet launched a company that would eventually become the gateway for the Internet for the entire world. Hosts: Shirin Ghaffary (@shiringhaffary) and Alex Kantrowitz (@kantrowitz) Enjoyed this episode? Rate us ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Want to get in touch? Tweet @recode. Subscribe for free. Be the first to hear next week's episode by subscribing in your favorite podcast app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 16, 2021

41 min

The Google Empire

In Land of the Giants: The Google Empire, Recode’s Shirin Ghaffary and Big Technology's Alex Kantrowitz explore how a company that began with idealistic goals of creative experimentation and making useful products has turned into a worldwide power with enormous impact on the way we live. New episodes begin Tuesday, February 16th. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

February 9, 2021

3 min

World War Stream

The "streaming wars" are here, but they're not what you think—or rather, where you think. While competitors are duking it out in the US, Netflix wants to take over the world. Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

August 4, 2020

28 min

Money to burn; why Wall Street loves NFLX

Netflix owes around $15 billion, yet it continues to spend money billions each year to fund its original programming. Is this a brilliant move to set it apart from the competition or a house of cards ready to collapse? Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 28, 2020

28 min

Netflix is Hollywood | Part 2

Netflix hasn’t just disrupted Hollywood, it has become Hollywood. How has that changed the lives of studio executives, movie producers and creators in the entertainment industry? A lot. Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 21, 2020

34 min

Netflix vs. Hollywood | Part 1

Loaning out shows and movies to Netflix used to be a great way for studios to make a little money on the side, until they realized they were training audiences everywhere to watch Netflix. In this episode, we look at how Netflix went from renting content—and breathing new life into shows like Breaking Bad and The Office — to investing heavily in original content and changing Hollywood forever. Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 14, 2020

29 min

Did the algorithm make you watch Tiger King?

Netflix’s recommendation algorithm is supposed to find you TV and movies that you’ll like — and that will keep you paying for Netflix. But is Netflix really showing you stuff you want to watch, or just stuff that Netflix made? Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

July 7, 2020

22 min

Who really killed Blockbuster Video?

Netflix killed our trips to the video store and ushered in the streaming era. But when Netflix started out, it was a fraction of the size of Blockbuster. It should have been crushed, and almost was. What went wrong? Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 30, 2020

38 min

“Netflix is a team, not a family”

Is working on a team of all-stars, excellent pay, and unlimited vacation worth the stress of constant criticism from co-workers and the knowledge that your boss is considering whether to replace you? Netflix execs will tell you that their internal culture is the key to their success. Hosts: Peter Kafka & Rani Molla This podcast is a production of Recode by Vox and the Vox Media Podcast Network. This episode was produced by Zach Mack, Bridget Armstrong. Our editor is Charlie Herman. Gautam Srikishan engineered and scored this episode. Nishat Kurwa is the Executive Producer. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 23, 2020

40 min

The Netflix Effect

In Land of the Giants: The Netflix Effect, Recode’s Peter Kafka and Rani Molla examine how Netflix got where it is today and whether or not it can maintain its streaming supremacy. Hear from Netflix’s founders and top executives as well as its competitors, critics and more - covering everything from its unusual internal culture to its battle with Blockbuster, its disruption of Hollywood and the upcoming streaming wars. The series comes out on Tuesdays starting June 23rd. Subscribe for free on Apple Podcasts or your favorite podcast app Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

June 15, 2020

4 min

Amazon's Middlewomen

Why do so many Amazon packages take a pitstop in the small town of Roundup, Montana? Find out in this episode of Reset, the new tech podcast from Recode and the Vox Media Podcast Network. Jason Del Rey and Reset host Arielle Duhaime-Ross discuss how Amazon's Marketplace has created some very unusual business opportunities. If you enjoyed this episode, subscribe to Reset for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or your favorite podcast app to get new episodes every week. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

November 26, 2019

23 min

'I love Amazon. Let’s break it up'

In the final episode of our season on Amazon, NYU professor and “Pivot” podcast co-host Scott Galloway tells Jason Del Rey that Amazon needs to be broken up - and which parts of the company should be spun off first. They discuss Amazon’s ultimate impact on us as consumers, who are the companies left that can really compete with Amazon, and question the idea that we live in an era of innovation. Recorded live on September 9, 2019 at Code Commerce in New York City.

September 12, 2019

29 min

Is Amazon Too Big? We Ask Its Sellers

Small businesses and major brands alike rely on Amazon but are increasingly ambivalent about selling on the platform. The Amazon Marketplace is a battle royale of millions of sellers and declining profit margins. Meanwhile, Amazon is building its own branded line of competing products, called AmazonBasics. That, and other practices, make Amazon their frenemy -- a major competitor as well as their most important partner. From a societal standpoint, is this a good thing?

August 27, 2019

47 min

How Amazon Charmed Wall Street

When Amazon became a publicly traded company in 1997, it was losing money. And it wouldn’t turn a profit for years. So how did it convince Wall Street to do something unprecedented: Turn a blind eye to profit? And how did that help Amazon become one of the world’s most valuable companies today -- and how did it change the way tech companies grow?

August 20, 2019

38 min

About this podcast

Categories

About this podcast

Categories

Land of the Giants

Episodes

Should We Break Up Google?

Googlers vs. Google

A Military Contract Tests Google's Open Culture

The Moonshot Factory

Planet YouTube

Chrome and the Android Wars

The Search Begins

The Google Empire

World War Stream

Money to burn; why Wall Street loves NFLX

Netflix is Hollywood | Part 2

Netflix vs. Hollywood | Part 1

Did the algorithm make you watch Tiger King?

Who really killed Blockbuster Video?

“Netflix is a team, not a family”

The Netflix Effect

Amazon's Middlewomen

'I love Amazon. Let’s break it up'

Is Amazon Too Big? We Ask Its Sellers

How Amazon Charmed Wall Street