The Google Empire

Some of the core values that built Google's runaway success — innovative technology to the max, an intellectually playful and open culture, and a corporate aspiration to do good ("Don’t be evil") — set it up for the existential questions it faces today. We examine how two grad st ...  Show more

Today, nearly all of the world's smartphones are powered by Android. Which means Google is the gatekeeper to the Internet for billions of people. The story of Android is the story of how Google became so big. And it started with an existential threat. With Google in survivalist m ...  Show more

Vergecast is on vacation this week, so instead we'll share an episode of Land of the Giants from our friends at Recode. Land of the Giants is a podcast that explores the five biggest tech companies and their impact on our world, and this season is all about Google. The episode we ...  Show more

This week Felix Salmon and Emily Peck are joined by the New York Times’ “On Tech” columnist Shira Ovide for an all-tech deep dive. Starting with the war in Ukraine, they explore the tech giants’ grappling with Russian restrictions, Amazon’s inflated image as the omnipotent retail ...  Show more

Kara and Scott talk about Google changing its ad model – they won't be selling ads based on how your browse the web anymore. They also discuss Square purchasing Jay-Z's music streaming service company – and we're not quite sure why... Meanwhile, Alamo Drafthouse files Chapter 11, ...  Show more

The startup has been pursuing a ground-up redesign of a well-understood technology. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices