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We talk to Shai Oster, our Hong Kong bureau chief, about his experience leaving the country as the coronavirus began threatening from China. Then returning to Hong Kong once the US started seeing the effects. He gives us a look at what life looks like after the quarantining ends and people attempt to return to normal. 

The first of our special midweek podcasts during the COVID-19 pandemic looks at Airbnb. Cory explores the company's decision to give guests full refunds on trips that had to be cancelled because of travel restrictions during the crisis. Please reach out to tom@theinformation.com if this situation has happened to you if you have any thoughts as a guest or host. Background Reading: Airbnb’s Longstan...

Martin talks about the effects of the market downturn in response to the global pandemic. And we discuss which companies are the most affected and how long it will take for investors to regain confidence in the markets again. Background Reading: Market Crash Pressures Softbank's High-Risk Investment Strategy As Prices Fall, Private Equity's Deal Appetite Could Grow

Kate talks about the messages that investors are giving to their portfolio companies about the coronavirus and how to prepare for an economic downturn. Background Reading: VCs Brace for Fundraising Delays Amid Outbreak

Jessica Lessin talks about Disney's surprise appointment of a new CEO, Bob Chapek and what it means for Bob Iger in his new role as executive chairman. Priya discusses the future of Amazon Go. Background Reading: Despite Stepping Down as Disney CEO, Iger Will Still Be In Charge Buyer Beware: Why Retailers Should Think Hard About Amazon ‘Go’ Partnerships

Cory interviews New York Times journalist Conor Dougherty about his new book on the California housing crisis and the role tech has played in causing it (and trying to solve it). Then Jessica Lessin talks to Robin Murdoch of Accenture about autonomous vehicles as part of our sponsored series with the firm. 

Jessica and Tom discuss Roku and whether its hard-nosed negotiation tactics with media companies will work. Cory dives into Softbank and its troubles since the WeWork collapse.

Amir talks about the companies that have invested the most in self-driving car technology in the past decade. Kate explains why Sequoia is doubling down on seed investing and why that category is getting more competitive.

Chris Stern joins from Washington DC to talk about how Republicans have become Facebook's biggest supporters on the Hill in the face of increasingly antagonistic Democrats. Kevin discusses the legacy of Ginni Rometty the outgoing CEO of IBM.

Priya and Kevin Dugan talk about the ways companies going public try to get bankers to become clients in order to win the job. Kate explores Lambda School, a coding school that has a different way of approaching tuition, and the controversy around it.

Nick Bastone and Jessica Lessin talk about David Drummond's tense relationship with Google Venture and his lasting legacy at Alphabet. Read more: Drummond Departure Puts Spotlight on Google Venture Arm Google Reckoning With History of Interoffice Romance by Top Execs  

This week, we talked about Amir's exclusive story that outlined Uber's many business problems, including UberPool, and Amazon's Twitch, which is grappling with a declining user base and falling short of advertising revenue goals.

Tom and Jessica wrap up 2019, looking back at the year for Facebook, startup fundraising and media.

Jessica Toonkel makes her prediction about how streaming services will affects the theater and movie industries. Kevin discusses AWS and its relationship with the open-source community. 

Alex dives into Facebook's massive hardware plans in AR and VR and the executive, Andrew "Boz" Bosworth, who's heading the endeavor. Nick and Kevin talk about Google Cloud and the long-shot effort to beat Amazon and Microsoft. 

Wayne explains how Vietnam became such a significant business for Facebook and Google. Zoë dives into the trend of hiring elite athletes at tech companies. 

A trio of executives, Universal Pictures' Katie Goldsmith; Attention Capital’s Nick Bell and Instagram’s Charles Porch, explain the next phase of growth for direct-to-consumer brands.

Amir joins to talk about DoorDash's money-losing business and Uber's report on sexual assaults. Alex Heath talks about his investigation of Magic Leap's business and the disappointing sales for its AR headsets. Story links: Doordash https://www.theinformation.com/articles/with-public-debut-looming-doordash-projected-450m-2019-loss Magic Leap https://www.theinformation.com/articles/dented-reality-m...

Ashley breaks down where the frontrunners for the Democratic nomination stand regarding the tech industry. Martin joins to talk about the math of Disney's acquisition of Fox's assets and why it's clear that it seriously overpaid. 

Producer Jason Blum explains why we've still got a few more years of big money flowing into Hollywood before business realities set in. Also why Apple should consider buying a studio and why most movie budgets have gotten smaller while TV shows have ballooned in price.

Beejoli talks about the future of cable channels during the streaming era and what it's like working for the "old" part of the business. Cory gives the latest on Airbnb, including a scoop on its money-losing second quarter and its departing chief operating officer. 

Snap's chief strategy officer talks about Snap's Discover section, its explosive growth in India and competition from TikTok and Quibi.

Nick talks about Apple's big internal meeting about its augmented reality plans. Jessica Toonkel discussed Disney's big streaming launch and what comes next.

Priya talks about the companies that have inflated their origin story and why these myths matter. Kevin dives into the feud between Rubrik and Cohesity.

Beejoli and Tom discuss the latest battle in the streaming wars as WarnerMedia unveiled HBOMax. Nick makes his first appearance to talk about how Google has tweaked its hiring strategy to focus less on culture fit.