Decoder with Nilay Patel

Lending Club CEO Renaud Laplanche talks with Kara Swisher about the benefits of online financial services in a world that no longer needs old-fashioned bank branches. He also explains why Lending Club's stock has been slipping for two years and is currently at half its IPO share price. Plus: Why the venture capitalist honeymoon with private financial tech companies might be ending and why Laplanch...

Social Capital founder Chamath Palihapitiya talks with Kara Swisher about working on Winamp, AOL Instant Messenger and Facebook before becoming an outspoken investor. In today's Silicon Valley, he says, old investment firms are dying and the next hundred-billion-dollar companies will be more diverse and open-minded. He also evaluates Twitter, Yahoo and the racial animosity of Donald Trump. Learn m...

Tanium CEO Orion Hindawi talks with Re/code's Arik Hesseldahl about why it's easier than ever for hackers to strike at companies and governments, and why those who cling to obsolete security solutions are putting everyone at risk. Hindawi says we're hearing about more security breaches, but that doesn't necessarily mean more are happening. Plus: Why the coconut-water-drinking corporate culture in...

U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter talks with Kara Swisher about his efforts to unite the Pentagon and Silicon Valley behind common goals, including a new "innovation advisory board" chaired by Eric Schmidt. He also explains why he is a strong supporter of encryption, why he almost never uses a cell phone and why he does not want to cede control of the Internet to countries like China and Russia...

HotelTonight CEO Sam Shank talks with Kara Swisher about taking only 10 weeks to launch an online travel app. He explains how the startup worked to avoid being perceived as "another Groupon" and why he believes big hotel chains such as Hilton and Marriott are in danger. Plus: Despite turmoil in the markets, will HotelTonight go public? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adc...

California Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom talks with Kara Swisher about why the government's approach to technology needs to be completely reimagined. A former mayor of San Francisco, Newsom argues that tech companies need to take an active role in fixing socioeconomic problems caused by their success. He also talks about self-driving cars, virtual reality sports and working with Napster co-foun...

Code.org CEO Hadi Partovi talks with Kara Swisher about how he discovered his love for programming, and how Steve Jobs' death spurred him to create a non-profit that would spread that love to others. He argues that, just as students learn chemistry but don't all become chemists, education should reform to make young people digitally literate. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices....

Andrew Jarecki joins Peter Kafka to talk about the success of true-crime documentary series such as "Making a Murderer," "Serial" and the show he directed, "The Jinx." He also discusses his history in tech as the founder of MovieFone and a new application called KnowMe, which makes it easier to share visual stories about your life from your phone. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastcho...

SoFi CEO Mike Cagney sits down with Kara Swisher to discuss why financial technology startups are suddenly hot and how SoFi hopes to eventually replace your bank, even though it has no permanent physical locations. He also talks about why SoFi is planning to launch a dating app (no, really) and why it ran an ad during Super Bowl 50. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoi...

Starry CEO Chet Kanojia, formerly the founder and CEO of Aereo, is back with another startup aimed at taking on the man. He sits down with Peter Kafka to talk about Starry, which aims to attack broadband monopolies and duopolies by delivering high-speed consumer Internet over the air. He also discusses fellow disruptor Google Fiber and what the Supreme Court didn't understand about Aereo. Learn mo...

Eric Weiner, author of New York Times bestseller "The Geography of Bliss" and the new book "The Geography of Genius," talks with Kara Swisher about how where we live can make us smarter and more innovative. He traces genius from Athens to Calcutta to Silicon Valley, and warns that arrogance has ended every golden age in history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Gawker Media founder Nick Denton and new board member Jason Epstein, who just bought a minority share of the company, sit down with Peter Kafka to discuss the online media company's rapidly changing outlook. For example, Denton says he's no longer trying to fight against the growing force of Facebook. Plus: How will Gawker deal with the lawsuit from professional wrestler Hulk Hogan heading to tria...

Lyft President John Zimmer sits down with Kara Swisher to talk about the company's transition from ridesharing to autonomous cars, the focus of a recently announced partnership with GM. He also discusses whether Lyft is being aggressive enough in its competition with Uber and the regulatory challenges both companies face in Europe. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoic...

BuzzFeed’s Executive Editor of News Shani Hilton talks with Peter Kafka about how she rose to a leadership role within one of the world's most talked-about new media companies. She discusses how the site's strategies have changed as she manages a staff of more than 100 people. Plus: Why millennials don't need special news. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Affirm CEO and PayPal co-founder Max Levchin talks with Kara Swisher about being a serial entrepreneur and discovering more about himself in the process. He also discusses why startup founders and investors are increasingly flocking to finance, the problems with banking that tech can solve and what Marissa Mayer is doing right at Yahoo. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/ad...

Mic CEO Chris Altchek talks with Peter Kafka about building a news site for millennials and why such a thing should exist in the first place. He explores the differences among newsreading generations and explains what Mic has learned from four years of scaling from a few hundred viewers to tens of millions. Plus: Why there's no silver bullet for social media success. Learn more about your ad choic...

Former Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partner Trae Vassallo and former Yahoo exec Michele Madansky sit down with Kara Swisher to talk about "The Elephant in the Valley," their new report on gender bias and harassment in tech. The report examines the different facets of sexism through both data and anecdotes from hundreds of women. Later on: Lauren Goode and Kara Swisher are launching a new podca...

Union Square Ventures partner Albert Wenger talks with Peter Kafka about being an investor at a time of bubble anxiety and political debate about the trade-off between privacy and security. He argues that tech companies and the government should work together, and also discusses the growing class of mission-driven "benefit corporations." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/a...

It's an all-star lineup of reporters from Re/code and The Verge in this special episode, featuring Kara Swisher, Lauren Goode, Casey Newton and Noah Kulwin. The team discusses the top tech stories of 2015, including online harassment, Google's restructuring and the wearable revolution that wasn't. Then, they preview CES 2016 and reflect on whether the annual trade show is still relevant. Learn mor...

Heleo CEO Rufus Griscom talks with Peter Kafka about trying to build a "BuzzFeed for brains" that can distribute Big Ideas to the broader Internet. He also discusses the founding of his two previous startups, Nerve.com (which sold to IAC) and Babble (which sold to Disney), and why big media companies may be losing interest in star writers. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com...

Glu Mobile CEO Niccolo de Masi talks with Kara Swisher about Glu's hit games like Kim Kardashian: Hollywood and Katy Perry Pop, and what makes them different from earlier video games based on licensed intellectual property. He also handicaps the future of the gaming business, and discusses what will separate the winners from the losers. Later on: Kara Swisher and Lauren Goode review the top gadget...

Medium CEO Ev Williams talks with Peter Kafka about founding his third company that makes it easier to "write on the Interwebs," and what makes Medium different from Blogger and Twitter. He also discusses why publishing on anything other than a platform doesn't make sense any more, and offers some insight into why Twitter's board seemingly changed its mind about Jack Dorsey's eligibility to be CEO...

Yelp CEO Jeremy Stoppelman talks with Kara Swisher about spending a decade at the helm of the local-recommendations site, and the new challenges posed by private companies that can out-raise the public Yelp. He also explains why he thinks quasi-competitor Google has ?lost its mind.? Later on: Kara Swisher and Lauren Goode don virtual reality headsets that are powered by smartphones and talk about...

Katie Nolan talks with Peter Kafka about how she went from Tumblr to YouTube to television, specifically Fox Sports 1, where she hosts "Garbage Time with Katie Nolan." They also discuss online harassment and why Nolan thinks the only logical response to trolls is fighting back. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Jet.com CEO Marc Lore talks with Re/code's Senior Commerce Editor Jason Del Rey about trying to build a new e-commerce giant when rival Amazon has a 20-year lead. Also: Why is Jet.com raising so much money? Later on: Kara Swisher, Lauren Goode and special guest Ina Fried discuss "The Hunchback of Cupertino," Apple's new iPhone battery case. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.co...