Tech'ed Up

Former FBI agent, Jennifer Vander Veer,  now runs product strategy at TRM Labs.  She joins Niki to discuss what it was like to be one of the first cops on the digital currency beat, how criminals think about emerging technology, and separating fact from fiction when it comes to information retained on distributed ledgers.  She believes that blockchain technology could ultimately lead to a safer fi...

 President of General Dynamics Information Technology, Amy Gilliland, is now the president of General Dynamics Information Technology. Having served for a decade as a U.S. Navy officer, Amy joins Niki in the studio to discuss her passion for mission-oriented tech. Her leadership is focused on hiring veterans, building cool tools with AI and high-performance computing, and focusing on employee ment...

Author and academic, Dr. Nirit Weiss-Blatt, Ph. D, applies AI modeling to analyze large data sets of tech coverage to answer the question: Why is there a backlash gainst Big Tech and is their comms strategy working? Her first book, The Techlash and Tech Crisis Communication, chronicles how mainstream coverage of the tech industry shifted from a long period of utopianism to our current state of dys...

AI enthusiast and founder of SeedAI, Austin Carson, started a non-profit to get artificial intelligence projects launched in new and diverse communities across America.  We talk about “machines thinking for themselves,” bias in code (and in the world), and Austin finally answers the burning question: Are our computers eavesdropping? "Just like we are, it (the internet) aggregates our good thi...

Attorney Chris Grieco is General Counsel for a crypto startup that has created a stablecoin protocol.  An alumnus of the Department of Justice, White House Counsel's office, and a former federal prosecutor, Chris knows his way around the corridors of Washington. In this episode, he joins Niki at the Tech'ed Up studio to explore the concepts of stablecoins, a digital dollar, and "dec...

Crypto journalist, podcaster, and author Laura Shin joins Niki from New York to talk about her new book, “The Cryptopians: Idealism, Greed, Lies, and the Making of the First Big Cryptocurrency Craze.” She recounts the origins of Ethereum, the second most important blockchain, and the second largest cryptocurrency by market cap after Bitcoin, and sheds light on the unlikely founder, a teenager name...

Digital health start-up, Favor,  is on a mission to make reproductive care more accessible and convenient, especially to members of Gen Z. Chief Marketing Officer, Chelsea Kohler, joins Niki Christoff from San Francisco to break down the latest trends in digital health and to discuss how the pandemic has shifted attitudes - and regulations - around telehealth. "I can't imagine a world in...

CEO of fintech startup Caribou Kevin Bennett joins Niki in the studio to lament the ‘double marginalizing experience’ of buying a car – being treated like crap and paying for the privilege.. Luckily, his D.C-based company is here to help.  "We do think that the period and the time and the days of cars being reasonably priced is probably over." -Kevin Bennett Learn More at www.techedup.co...

Tech industry veteran Kat Mauler joins Niki in the studio to talk about the challenges–and opportunities–of parenting in the age of smartphones and what it’s like trying to raise ‘full-stack humans’ whose personalities aren't driven by what the algorithms reward. "What I don't want is to think of this as being dystopian. What I want is to think of this as being an opportunity. We kn...

Vice President of Partner Products, Programs & Operations of autonomous vehicle startup Aurora Lia Theodosiou-Pisanelli joins Niki in the studio. They discuss how self-driving technology could transform our highways, help with our long-haul trucker shortage, and shore up America’s supply chain. “You can build the best technology in the world, but if the market isn't ready for it or doesn&...

Technology policy reporter Ashley Gold covers antitrust news for Axios based in Washington, D.C.  She joins Niki in the studio to discuss the U.S. federal government’s crusade against the dominance of Big Tech', and to answer the question: Do voters really want these regulations, or has Congress lost the plot?  "  …we're still in sort of a wait-and-see mode to see whether any of the...

Former right-hand to legendary tech CEOs Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt Ann Hiatt  joins Niki remotely to tease out the lessons she learned from her high-powered, high-stakes career spent at some of the world’s most prominent tech companies. Ann is also the author of Bet on Yourself: Recognize, Own, and Implement Breakthrough Opportunities and works as a leadership strategy consultant for entrepreneu...

Deana Burke is a communications partner at Celo, a mobile-first blockchain enabling peer-to-peer payments. She joins Niki Christoff and makes the case for Bitcoin: Why should we care about it at all? Deana is passionate about making sure people who don’t work in finance or technology can participate in this “revolution in money.” She also explains what the heck are DAOs. "I think that the les...

Co-founder and CEO of Lynk Charles Miller joins Niki Christoff in the studio to talk about billionaires traveling to space (unpopular opinion: we're for it), space junk, and how 5G is not a solution to  0G.  His start-up is launching a network of satellites that will connect every smartphone on the planet to broadband coverage, filling in the dead zones. "There's lots of things you...

British tech advocacy consultancy, Milltown Partners, recently completed a first-of-its-kind study on international attitudes toward artificial intelligence. Director of Technology Policy, Leo Rees, says where you live - U.S., UK, France, or Germany - has a lot to do with how you feel about AI. Bonus: Stay tuned until the end of the episode, when Leo tells Niki about his adventure buying his first...

Founder of the blockchain and digital assets team at the World Economic Forum Sheila Warren joins Niki Christoff for a conversation about web3. What is it, what does it have to do with the metaverse, and why is it all over the news? Sheila, who is the inaugural CEO of the Crypto Council on Innovation, makes the case that the potential of decentralization lies in individual empowerment and connecti...

Tech lobbying and "influence" reporter Emily Birnbaum joins Niki Christoff in the studio for a quick conversation about what the metaverse is, why Facebook changed its name to Meta, and how close we are to this virtual 3D future. Do we really have to go there?  " …If they [Facebook] dominate the metaverse, if they're one of the corporations that gets in there early, then they a...

Disinformation expert Camille François sits down in the studio with Niki to explain what a troll farm is, how they operate, and the business of building fake online influencers. Plus, what's the difference between misinformation and disinformation? It's a game of cat and mouse between bad actors and teams trying to make social media safer. "How the hell are you going to know whether...

Cybersecurity expert and tech investor Niloo Razi Howe visits the studio to talk with Niki Christoff about all things cyberspace -- from cyberbullying and ransomware to disinformation and surveillance.  It's important to our national security mission that smart people engineer solutions to these problems. "We have a distributed cyber Pearl Harbor happening. There's so much coming at...

Retired head of global security for Sony Pictures Stevan Bernard wrangled a targeted North Korean cyber attack. In this episode, he walks host Niki Christoff through the hours, days, and weeks after state-sponsored hackers infiltrated the corporate computer network. The conversation covers cybercrime, gunslingers on the Dark Web, the Lazarus Group, multi-factor authentication, password managers, a...

Commissioner Hester Peirce of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) joins Niki Christoff in the studio to chat cryptocurrency and regulators: the players and the stakes. Affectionately known as "CryptoMom," Commissioner Peirce outlines her vision of protecting investors and consumers while fostering new crypto projects.  “It is understandable that there's focus on regu...

In the second episode of our Crypto 101 series, blockchain expert Macey Smith, joins host Niki Christoff in the studio to break down non-fungible tokens (aka NFTs) for those of us who aren’t billionaire art collectors, expert gamers, or Mark Cuban. Niki and Macey chat about the Ethereum blockchain, OpenSea marketplace, CryptoPunk NFTs...and a vision for how smart contracts can create a vibrant mar...

White House deputy press secretary and former Bitfury exec Jamie Smith joins Niki Christoff in the studio to explain the basics of blockchain technology. She says it’s time for all of us to start paying attention to this space. And it's totally okay if you don’t understand it yet. "I would say to tech companies who work in this space: it's time to be, you know, a full grownup. Avoid...

Former Congressman and ex-CIA operative, Will Hurd, joins Niki Christoff in the studio to talk about the power and potential of artificial intelligence. The conversation covers the basics of AI and 5G, the Chinese government's global ambitions, why Rep. Hurd believes we're in the midst of a new Cold War, and how he thinks the United States can catch up.  His new book, American Reboot, ex...

New York Times technology reporter and Pulitzer finalist, Cecilia Kang, joins host Niki Christoff in the studio to talk all things Facebook. Taped the same day Congress grilled company executives over Instagram's effect on kids, this conversation covers Facebook's unusual corporate structure and how its apps are used around the world. Bonus: hot takes on Mark Zuckerberg’s tweenage ambiti...