Decoder with Nilay Patel cover art
Podcast · 152 episodes

Decoder with Nilay Patel

by The Verge · English

Decoder is a show from The Verge about big ideas — and other problems. Verge editor-in-chief Nilay Patel talks to a diverse cast of innovators and policymakers at the frontiers of business and technology to reveal how they’re navigating an ever-changing landscape, what keeps them up at night, and what it all means for our shared future.

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The SaaSpocalypse that wasn't, with Atlassian's CEOAtlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brooks argues the “SaaSpocalypse” (AI replacing SaaS tools) won’t happen; instead AI will accelerate and improve how businesses execute processes, while humans retain…28 Sep 2026 · 1 h 16 min · 28 chapters
Can Cloudflare save the web from AI?Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince argues AI-driven “automated traffic” (bots, scrapers, and AI agents) is overtaking human web traffic and breaking the web’s advertising-based business model.26 Sep 2026 · 1 h 18 min · 39 chapters
I have some questions for Mark ZuckerbergThe episode is a Decoder reaction to Mark Zuckerberg’s interview on the Sources podcast, focusing on Meta’s “Metaglasses,” teen safety, and Muse, plus broader arguments about regulation vs market…24 Sep 2026 · 23 min · 12 chapters
Can John Ternus find Apple's next big thing?Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman discusses Apple’s leadership shakeup under new CEO John Ternus and how Apple plans to transition from the iPhone era to an AI era, including the debut of the iPhone Duo and a…21 Sep 2026 · 58 min · 24 chapters
Does AI need an antitrust exemption so it doesn't kill everyone????Whether frontier AI companies should get an antitrust exemption to “pace the frontier” for safety, and how AI regulation should work without creating cartels or national champions.19 Sep 2026 · 46 min · 17 chapters
Microsoft AI CEO says AI threats are real, and Anthropic is making it worseMicrosoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleiman argues AI safety should focus on both alignment and “verifiable containment,” not alignment alone.17 Sep 2026 · 53 min · 30 chapters
Adam Conover explains how YouTube ruined everythingAdam Conover argues YouTube has “ruined everything” in entertainment by replacing traditional gatekeepers (TV networks) with algorithmic gatekeeping that concentrates power, shifts incentives toward…14 Sep 2026 · 1 h 5 min · 29 chapters
Why the current tech backlash feels differentA mailbag discussion on why the “tech backlash” against surveillance, AI, and infrastructure feels different now, plus responses to criticism of “Software Brain” and Decoder’s AI skepticism.10 Sep 2026 · 55 min · 21 chapters
How Sonos rebooted itselfSonos’s turnaround after the 2024 app redesign, and its new “Sonos 27” audio operating system/platform (“Sonos Fabric”) with new voice assistants and MCP support for connecting external AI agents.3 Sep 2026 · 1 h 14 min · 32 chapters
New York Governor Kathy Hochul thinks AI should be ‘less evil’New York Gov. Kathy Hochul discusses tech regulation in an election year: teen social-media limits from the Meta settlement, age verification and anonymity concerns, New York’s ghost-gun/3D-printer…31 Aug 2026 · 51 min · 20 chapters
OpenAI's executive exodus has one big winnerDecoder discusses OpenAI’s rapid executive turnover and how co-founder Greg Brockman has consolidated day-to-day control, shaping product strategy ahead of an anticipated IPO and intensified…27 Aug 2026 · 41 min · 14 chapters
How GoFundMe became America's backup planGoFundMe’s rise during the COVID-19 era and how it functions as a “load-bearing” cultural institution, especially as a proxy for gaps in healthcare coverage; the episode also covers GoFundMe’s…24 Aug 2026 · 1 h 18 min · 29 chapters
Welcome to the AI crisis in mathAI’s rapid jump in solving advanced, proof-based mathematics (despite still failing at basic arithmetic) is triggering an existential crisis about what mathematicians do, how math knowledge is…20 Aug 2026 · 41 min · 21 chapters
It's about ethics in journalism, with Ben SmithEthics in journalism and how Semaphore builds an independent, profitable news business amid distrust, platform-driven distribution, and AI-era pressures.17 Aug 2026 · 1 h 11 min · 33 chapters
Does Google even want to win in AI?Google DeepMind leadership shakeup and whether Google is losing the AI race, focusing on org changes, frontier research vs productization, and culture/morals.13 Aug 2026 · 39 min · 11 chapters
Bose CEO Lila Snyder on the fight for high-quality audioBose’s transformation from a consumer audio hardware brand into a multi-brand, B2B “audio technology” company—aimed at improving sound quality for AI-era wearables, voice, VR/AR, cars, and other…10 Aug 2026 · 1 h 7 min · 24 chapters
The left and right agree on one thing: no data centersThe episode examines a growing, bipartisan backlash to AI data center build-outs, arguing that data centers have become a proxy for broader anger at generative AI, job loss, and community…6 Aug 2026 · 38 min · 17 chapters
Bluesky’s new CEO wants a big tent, not a bubbleDecoder interviews Blue Sky’s new CEO Tony Schneider about balancing Blue Sky’s Twitter-like app with the open AppRoto/“atmosphere” protocol, scaling with a small team, composable moderation, and the…3 Aug 2026 · 1 h 15 min · 31 chapters
The end of the human internetThe episode argues that the internet is becoming “post-human” as bots, AI-generated content, and algorithmic recommendation increasingly shape what people see, creating disorientation and paranoia…30 Jul 2026 · 43 min · 16 chapters
Tariffs didn’t bring manufacturing jobs back to the USThe episode argues that US tariffs and other trade barriers have not brought manufacturing jobs back; instead they increase border paperwork and push companies to reroute supply chains through third…27 Jul 2026 · 1 h 12 min · 26 chapters
What Apple’s OpenAI lawsuit is really aboutDecoder discusses Apple’s trade-secret lawsuit against OpenAI and what it could mean for OpenAI’s future, including whether OpenAI can afford prolonged litigation during an IPO year and whether…23 Jul 2026 · 44 min · 18 chapters
Dr. Jill Lepore on why the AI backlash is vital for the futureDr. Jill Lepore argues that AI backlash matters because it could interrupt the “artificial state,” where private corporations increasingly replace the nation-state’s civic functions by quantifying…20 Jul 2026 · 1 h · 23 chapters
Proton’s CTO: No company is going to jail for youProton’s CTO Bart Butler explains how Proton builds privacy-centric productivity software as “trust,” using technical constraints (encryption) plus business and legal structure (user-paid model,…16 Jul 2026 · 1 h 24 min · 34 chapters
Yes, even Nvidia's head of automotive is fighting for computeNVIDIA’s head of automotive, Jinju Wu, argues the auto industry is moving from “software-defined vehicles” (centralized compute replacing many ECUs) to “AI-defined vehicles” where generative AI…13 Jul 2026 · 1 h 12 min · 30 chapters