TechCrunch is more than just a site with words. We have a growing stable of podcasts focused on the most critical topics relating to the startup and venture capital worlds. Embedded below are the latest from The TechCrunch Podcast from Darrell, who talks to TC writers about their own stories of the week; Chain Reaction, our crypto-focused podcast hosted by Lucas and Anita; Found, a long-form bit of work that goes deep on the real saga of company formation from Jordan and Darrell; and Equity, our long-running, Webby-award-winning podcast focused on venture capital and the latest startup news, hosted by Natasha, Mary Ann and Alex. Be sure to subscribe where you listen to podcasts!
The TechCrunch Podcast
This week on The TechCrunch Podcast Managing Editor Darrell Etherington gives you a rundown of the biggest stories in tech this week and sits down with TC writers for a deep dive into a few of them. In this episode, he talks with Zack Whittaker about Apple’s latest security feature, Lockdown Mode, and Amanda Silberling about the end of former Theranos exec Sunny Balwani’s trial.
Please note, we recorded with episode before news of Elon’s attempt to terminate his deal to acquire Twitter broke. Read Taylor Hatmaker’s coverage here to stay up to date.
Articles from the episode:
- Apple says Lockdown Mode in iOS 16 will help block government spyware attacks
- Former Theranos exec Sunny Balwani is found guilty
Other news from the week:
- Elon Musk tells Twitter he is killing the deal
- Things get messy for Elon Musk with report about new twins he shares with Neuralink exec
- A huge data leak of 1 billion records exposes China’s vast surveillance state
- Hotel giant Marriott confirms yet another data breach
- Apple reportedly plans to launch an ‘extreme sports’ Apple Watch with a larger screen and metal casing
Chain Reaction
This week Lucas and Anita return to discuss the ultimate meme investing crossover episode with GameStop launching an NFT marketplace. We also break down this week’s latest drama with the liquidation of crypto hedge fund 3 Arrows Capital. It wasn’t all doom and gloom, as we discussed some of the new crypto funds injecting fresh capital into the space.
In their interview this week, Lucas and Anita chat with Naveen Jain. Naveen is the founder of web3 startup Yat, which lets people buy their own emoji URL. The marketplace saw some wildly expensive sales this year, but when can pricey emojis tell us about the future of identity?
Found
Bowery Farms founder and CEO Irving Fain wants you to taste the best strawberry you’ve ever had, grown only a few miles from your urban home. As the leading and largest vertical farming company in the U.S, their goal is to make agriculture possible in urban spaces while also making it possible to grow a wide array of crops from anywhere in the world. Darrell and Jordan talk to him about how agtech companies all have a space in the fight against climate change, what led him to founding Bowery and how they are innovating and scaling thoughtfully.
Subscribe to Found to hear more stories from founders each week.
Connect with us:
- On Twitter
- On Instagram
- Via email: found@techcrunch.com
- Call us and leave a voicemail at (510) 936-1618
Equity
Alex, Natasha and Mary Ann enjoyed yet another edition of Equity Live this week, hopping on Twitter Spaces to chat about everything from Musk’s meme suit to a new take on Wordle that landed Spotify’s attention. When we stopped recording the episode, news broke that Stripe is cutting its internal valuation by 28%. Luckily, we do this three times a week, so stay tuned for our take soon.
In the meantime, here’s what we got to in today’s episode:
- Spotify acquired Heardle, which felt like a throwback to trivia and of course a nod at its famous predecessor, NY Times-owned Wordle. Only one of us has played the music guessing game so far, so tweet @equitypod your thoughts on if it’s actually fun.
- We also spoke about a startup that is trying to address male infertility in a personalized, engaging way. It caught investors’ attention, and ours too.
- Our last deal of the week, Continuum, gave us a chance to talk about productizing one of the worst jobs in startups: laying folks off. The fractional work play feels even more important given the volatility of startups across all stages right now. Hopin, for example, conducted its second layoff within four months this week and parted ways with its COO, CFO and other executives. Medium had an executive shake-up, with Ev Williams stepping down.
- The last two themes of the episode were built around Instacart and the future of grocery delivery, as well as the latest of the Twitter and Elon Musk saga.
This is our Wednesday show, where we niche down to a single topic, think about a question and unpack the rest. This week, Natasha asked: How does Roe’s reversal impact the ways that companies are built?
The question was inspired by a recent TechCrunch+ column, “Roe reversal weighs heavily on emerging tech cities in red states.” The reporters behind the piece, Dominic-Madori Davis and Becca Szkutak, joined Equity to talk about the story and help us get more of the nuance behind this huge setback.
We chatted about the reappearance of geographic boundaries, selective silence from the money behind the money and how founders need to rethink their growth strategy if they’re coming from red states. We also chatted about how some founders have already started to react to the overturning of Roe vs. Wade and their sentiments revolving the legality of what happens next.
Alex and Grace are back to cover the biggest, boldest and baddest technology news. After some holiday weeks, we are back on an actual Monday! What a treat. Here’s what we got into:
- Stocks are off around the world, partially due to government action, partially due to the complex web of negative factors that we’ve discussed for months now.
- Cryptos are more staid; if you like bitcoin at $20,000 this is your moment.
- Tiger’s slowdown is no mere blip, TechCrunch reports. The investing powerhouse is going to slow its roll for the rest of 2022, and is looking to raise a new fund.
- Unacademy is looking to cut costs, go public in two years per TechCrunch. And Kadamos raised more capital, marking a pretty quick reload after raising a few months ago.
- Quick Hits: The Uber Files are a mess, layoffs aren’t solving a talent crunch in Southeast Asia and fintech staffing cuts are starting to pile up.
Equity drops every Monday at 7 a.m. PDT and Wednesday and Friday at 6 a.m. PDT, so subscribe to us on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Spotify and all the casts.
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