Entertainment Episodes

On a recent weekend longreads segment, I recommended a piece by The Verge’s Julia Alexander asking whether Netflix’s recommendation algorithms were broken, or maybe borked. We’re going to talk a bit about that today, but since Julia is on the Streaming Wars beat at The Verge, you know how I love to talk about the streaming wars, and we are right about at the point where the battle is going to be joined in earnest. Sponsors: CognitoHQ.com Wix.com/podcast :)

We have a launch date for Disney+ and we also have confirmation of a wicked compelling bundle, FedEx officially breaks up with Amazon, Amazon trades accusations with CVS and Walgreens, iOS API changes make life difficult for Facebook, and why it might be make or break time for TikTok.Sponsors:Originate.mobiMealimeLinks:Disney Announces $12.99 Bundle For Disney+, Hulu, & ESPN+ Available At Launch (The Streamable)FedEx Ends Ground-Delivery Deal With Amazon (Bloomberg)Amazon’s PillPack is batt...

Netflix's growth disappoints, but Stranger Things have happened. The Democratic National Committee tells candidates to avoid the photo-aging simulator FaceApp. Don't expect driverless cars any time soon, despite the hype. Can 5G networks give you cancer? No, no they can't. Finally, go ahead! Start that podcast. Don't listen to the naysayers.Sponsors:SVB.com/nextCastroLinks:Netflix subscription adds disappoint, stock drops (Variety)DNC warns candidates to stop using FaceApp, citing Russi...

YouTube actually DOES make some changes, Peloton is going public, could Prime open Amazon up to anticompetitive scrutiny, more on that Sign in with Apple controversy, and why your local police department might want to buy you Ring doorbell.Sponsors:Eero.com/ride promo code RIDETiny.websiteLinks:YouTube just banned supremacist content, and thousands of channels are about to be removed (TheVerge)Peloton, the connected fitness company, has filed to go public (TheVerge)Amazon may soon f...

Eric Jackson is an investor at EMJ Capital Ltd. He’s deep in the media space, he’s deep in the streaming wars, as I think I say in this episode, he’s shaped a ton of my thinking about the streaming wars. So… where are we? Who’s up? Who’s down? Is it time to get bullish on Disney+ for a ton of reasons? Eric has a great podcast: The Eric Jackson Podcast. Sponsors: Audible.com/techmeme Instacart. Promocode RIDE at checkout.

Uber’s IPO filing is officially upon us and there was much rejoicing… or, at least, plenty of takes; Disney outlined its streaming video plans and in doing so it both put Apple to shame and fired a warning shot at Netflix, and, of course, the weekend longreads suggestions.Sponsors:Tiny.websitewix.com/podcastLinks:Uber unveils IPO with warning it may never make a profit (Reuters)Alphabet Is Uber IPO’s Surprise Winner With Potential $5 Billion Stake (Forbes)Uber’s Venture Investors Set f...

Facebook is charged with violations of the Fair Housing Act, the UK gives Huawei a pass but drags them at the same time, Spotify lets you share your account with your better half, and let’s take two on that Google podcast transcription search experiment.Sponsors:DataDogHQ.com/ridehomeTiny.websiteLink to how to use Google Podcast searchLinks:Facebook has been charged with housing discrimination by the US government (The Verge)Huawei Security ‘Defects’ Are Found by British Authorities...

The Apple event broken down piece by piece, YouTube wants out of the streaming video wars, Nintendo is working on two new Switch devices, is consolidation finally coming to the digital media space, and why you should know the name Transsion.Sponsors:Tiny.websiteDataDogHQ.com/ridehomeLinks:Apple launches $9.99 Apple News Plus with more than 300 magazines (The Verge)Apple introduced its own credit card, the Apple Card (TechCrunch)Apple announces Apple TV Plus video subscription servic...

Spotify files a pretty timely anti-trust complaint against Apple, Microsoft tries to get a jump on Google’s steaming video game announcement, is Google scaling back its hardware ambitions, what is Discord and why is it going mainstream all the sudden, and maybe you already knew this, but scientists think they’ve proven that there’s no such thing as objective reality.Sponsors:Tiny.websiteWix.com/podcastDataDogHQ.com/ridehomeLinks:Spotify files EU antitrust complaint against Apple (Reuter...

Remember this longread piece? Is Spotify’s Model Wiping Out Music’s Middle Class? It's stuck with me because, a) I didn't quite understand how the math worked out and b) I thought it was an interesting take on the ARTIST side of the equation as we move to a streaming/subscription/one-app-for-that future. So, we're talking to the author of the piece, Victor Luckerson, for more insight.

Given all the news of layoffs in the digital media space this week, I knew I couldn't sit on this interview with Rafat Ali any longer. Currently the founder and CEO of digital media company Skift—but also, if you weren’t aware, a true digital media pioneer going back to his founding of Paid Content—I knew he could talk about this stuff, and he has a pretty unique perspective on the state of digital media in 2019. TLDR, it’s not good. Dire might even be the word. This episode has a full transcri...

Netflix raises prices, maybe the Apple battery replacement WAS a big deal after all, cops can’t force you to unlock your phone with your face, and Amazon is driving its retail competitors into the arms of Microsoft.Sponsors:Metalab.coDatadogHQ.com/ridehomeLinks:Netflix will raise prices for US subscribers, with its most popular plan going up to $13 per month (TechCrunch)Apple Q1 Numbers: Missing Explanations (Monday Note)ON APPLE’S $29 IPHONE BATTERY REPLACEMENT PROGRAM AND ITS ROLE IN...

SAP buys Qualtrics, the Galaxy S10 might be coming in February and the Galaxy F might be coming in March, what exactly is TikTok and why you should care, and Jony Ive has an exclusive new product design.Links:SAP to buy Qualtrics for $8 billion (Axios)How One Family Built $8 Billion Startup Far From Silicon Valley (Bloomberg)Samsung Electronics to release first foldable smartphone in March: sources (Yonhap News Agency)Snap’s former No. 2 exec Imran Khan is building an online shopping star...

He said she said on that Bloomberg Bombshell, Evan Spiegel’s plan for survival, new Macs are un-repairable, why are Apple Watch faces such a mess, and the Weekend Longreads Suggestions.Stories from: @jsnell, @bizcarsonTweets: @karaswisher, @AdamMinterLinks:Instagram prototypes handling your location history to Facebook (TechCrunch)Instagram is testing the ability to share your precise location history with Facebook (The Verge)9 highlights from Snapchat CEO’s 6,000-word leaked memo on sur...

Amazon raises its minimum wage, Tesla’s hitting its Model 3 marks, another new California law could change the face of Tech Boards of Directors and Netflix wants us to choose our own adventure.Links:Amazon raises minimum wage to $15 for all US employees (CNBC)The Story of Henry Ford's $5 a Day Wages: It's Not What You Think (Forbes)Tesla delivered over 55,000 Model 3s in Q3 (Road Show/CNET)Three US universities now let students use iPhone and Apple Watch as their campus ID card (9to5Mac)...

Microsoft uncovers more Russian political hacking, a possible MacBook Air successor, Netflix “tests” bypassing the App Store, and are you paying for Amazon’s electricity bill? Links:New Russian Hacking Targeted Republican Groups, Microsoft Says (NYTimes)Apple Is Planning a New Low-Cost MacBook, Pro-Focused Mac Mini (Bloomberg)Netflix Tests Promotional Videos but Users See ‘Commercials’ (NYTimes)Netflix tests a bypass of iTunes billing in 33 markets (TechCrunch)Facebook is rating the trustworthin...

A Google smart speaker with a screen, the crypto mining fad is fading, Silicon Valley has lost a piece of its history, the secret Netflix categories and the weekend longreads suggestions. Links:Google to debut display-equipped AI speaker before holidays (Nikkei Asian Review)APNewsBreak: Google clarifies location-tracking policy (The Associated Press)Crypto crash: Despite a strong quarter, Nvidia shares fall on disappointing forecast (SiliconAngle)Wish, an Internet Dollar Store, Struggles to Keep...

Microsoft unveils a new Surface tablet, police can probably still break into iPhones, YouTube fights fake news, the new silicon gold rush, and Netflix makes binging even easier. Links:Microsoft’s $399 Surface Go aims to stand out from iPads or Chromebooks (The Verge)Microsoft's $399 Surface Go is here to nuke Apple's iPad (Mashable)The AI revolution has spawned a new chips arms race (Ars Technica)Netflix Binge-Watching Just Got Even Easier: Now It Automatically Downloads New Episodes To Watch Of...

Oprah signs with Apple, but OLEDs aren’t working out for Apple, Netflix has a hidden source for teen comedy hits, the weekend longreads suggestions, and, if you can believe it, William Shatner’s new gig. Stories from: @mochi_wsj, @McLauchlin Links:APPLE’S ORIGINAL CONTENT IS FURTHER ALONG THAN YOU THINK (LoupVentures)Netflix’s latest hit ‘The Kissing Booth’ is a Wattpad success story (TechCrunch)How Batteries Went From Primitive Power to Global Domination (Bloomberg)William Shatner's new enterpr...

YouTube Music launches next week, Apple too is looking for a major new campus, Mobileye signs a big deal for autonomous car tech and the SEC creates honeypot to teach investors about scammy ICOs. Stories from: @JessConditt, @josephfcox Links:Hacker Breaches Securus, the Company That Helps Cops Track Phones Across the US (Motherboard)Xbox Adaptive Controller first look: A new, necessary gamepad (Engadget)The Autonomous-Car Company That’s Selling Safety First (Bloomberg)Buyer Beware: Hundreds of B...

ESPN goes over-the-top, Apple’s Home Pod is reportedly “stumbling,” a final wrap-up of the Zuckerberg testimony, Snap testing commerce, and an AI doctor can diagnose on its own. Stories:How Android Phones Hide Missed Security Updates From You (Wired)The Facebook Current (Stratechery)The Most Important Exchange of the Zuckerberg Hearing (The Atlantic)I Downloaded the Information That Facebook Has on Me. Yikes. (NYTimes)AI software that helps doctors diagnose like specialists is approved by FDA (...

Zuckerberg’s back on the hot seat, Spotify and Hulu have a new bundle, changes might be coming to Gmail, we might have new Spectacles soon, and Uber adds a car rental option. Stories from: @KaleighRogers, @sarahjeong Links:Four Questions Congress Should Ask Mark Zuckerberg (Wired)Let’s Talk About Mark Zuckerberg’s Claim that Facebook 'Doesn’t Sell Data' (Motherboard)Here's How Much Facebook Donated to Every Lawmaker Questioning Mark Zuckerberg this Week (The Verge) Credits: Produced by @brianmcc...

Spotify debuts on the stock market, but it needs to depend less on record labels, Trump seems serious about Amazon, your favorite messaging app is changing, Panera has a data leak and Swedes turn against a cash-free future. Links:Spotify relies on the big labels for most of its music. It thinks that will change. (Recode)“Trump is Like, ‘How Can I F--k With Him?’”: Trump’s War With Amazon (And the Washington Post) is Personal (Vanity Fair)No Sympathy for Amazon (The New Republic) Credits: Produce...

Waymo joins the self-driving truck party, Twitter wants you to go verify yourself, Snap wants to break even, Facebook streams Major League Baseball, some weekend long-reads, and why that Obama going to Netflix story is a tech story.The long-reads recommendations:Bitcoin Is Ridiculous. Blockchain Is Dangerous (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)The Story of The Internet, As Told By Know Your Meme (TheVerge)This Is What Happens When Bitcoin Miners Take Over Your Town (Politico)Credits:Produced by @brian...