Podcasts

Laurie Segall, Silicon Valley’s go-to reporter and former CNN Senior Tech Correspondent, hosts First Contact – a weekly podcast series that explores the people and technology that are changing what it means to be human.

First Contact podcast is an official Honoree of the 2020 Webby Awards!

From engaging one-on-one interviews with billionaire tech founders to entrepreneurs innovating on the edges, First Contact goes beyond the tech-lash and 24-hour news cycle. The series introduces listeners to the people behind the tech changing how we will live in the future – exploring technology through the most important lens: the human one.

‘People Ahead of Profit:’ Jerry Colonna on Leading in Uncertain Times

‘People Ahead of Profit:’ Jerry Colonna on Leading in Uncertain Times

Jerry Colonna is fondly known as the CEO whisperer. He coaches some of the world’s biggest entrepreneurs…

It’s “Boss Level Mode” Time: Remote Work Pioneer Matt Mullenweg’s Tips For Staying Productive

It’s “Boss Level Mode” Time: Remote Work Pioneer Matt Mullenweg’s Tips For Staying Productive

Workouts between calls. Meditation apps. A desk candle to boost productivity. Work-from-home hacks for all of us,…

How a “Troll Farm Field Trip” Helped Russians Pose As Americans Online

Who are the people who spread online disinformation? The so-called trolls you hear about in the news…

“Empathy, today, is a critical component of cybersecurity”

Who are the people who spread online disinformation? The so-called trolls you hear about in the news…

Are Troll Farms Backing U.S. Political Candidates?

Who are the people who spread online disinformation? The so-called trolls you hear about in the news…

Inside the Minds of Trolls

Inside the Minds of Trolls

Who are the people who spread online disinformation? The so-called trolls you hear about in the news…

Why 9/11 Inspired Trae Stephens to Work on the Future of Defense Tech

Should Artificial Intelligence be able to make the decision to take a human life? And if it…

AI: To Kill or Not to Kill?

Should Artificial Intelligence be able to make the decision to take a human life? And if it…

Stark Industries and Lightsabers: The Sci-fi That Inspired a Billion Dollar Defense Company

Stark Industries and Lightsabers: The Sci-fi That Inspired a Billion Dollar Defense Company

Should Artificial Intelligence be able to make the decision to take a human life? And if it…

“Let’s not break into jail”: Why Alex Stamos Says Facebook Was Afraid to Create Controversy

When the lights went out in his home, and his children asked if it was “Russia,” Facebook’s…

What Kept Alex Stamos Up at Night as Facebook’s Security Chief

When the lights went out in his home, and his children asked if it was “Russia,” Facebook’s…

Ex-Facebook Security Chief Believes Foreign Spies Are in Every Major US Tech Company

Ex-Facebook Security Chief Believes Foreign Spies Are in Every Major US Tech Company

When the lights went out in his home, and his children asked if it was “Russia,” Facebook’s…

Former CIA Analyst: Facebook is Playing ‘Whack-A-Mole’

Yael Eisenstat is trained to analyze an argument from all sides. During her career at the CIA…

Yael Eisenstat: There Was No Way I Was Going to Let Facebook Silence My Voice

Yael Eisenstat: There Was No Way I Was Going to Let Facebook Silence My Voice

Yael Eisenstat is trained to analyze an argument from all sides. During her career at the CIA…

Sam Altman: The Tech Revolution Was Just a ‘Warm Up’ For What’s Next

According to investor and entrepreneur Sam Altman, the last decade of tech was the warm up… and…

Are Human/AI Hybrids the Future Of Humanity?

According to investor and entrepreneur Sam Altman, the last decade of tech was the warm up… and…

How Silicon Valley’s Wunderkind Came Out in a Midwest High School

How Silicon Valley’s Wunderkind Came Out in a Midwest High School

According to investor and entrepreneur Sam Altman, the last decade of tech was the warm up… and…

He Popularized Crowdfunding, Now He Wants to Reimagine Capitalism

Have you ever left something that was so tied to your identity, you worried, “Who am I…

How Kickstarter Survived Rejection Before It Found Success

Have you ever left something that was so tied to your identity, you worried, “Who am I…

When Kickstarter’s Co-founder Knew It Was Time To Go

When Kickstarter’s Co-founder Knew It Was Time To Go

Have you ever left something that was so tied to your identity, you worried, “Who am I…

This AI Could Spot Depression Before Friends and Family… And Act On It

Imagine an A.I. Assistant that reads all of your text messages… and turns them into a pile…

Reading The ‘Body Language’ of Your Text Messages

Reading The ‘Body Language’ of Your Text Messages

Imagine an A.I. Assistant that reads all of your text messages… and turns them into a pile…

Questions Your Brain Could Answer After You Die

What if we could order up custom dreams? Could our thoughts become hackable? Will neurolink technology make…

Ordering Dreams On Demand

Ordering Dreams On Demand

What if we could order up custom dreams? Could our thoughts become hackable? Will neurolink technology make…

Could AI Cost You Money & Relationships?

Jasmine Takanikos: “ If I Were to Let That AI Return My Emails…It Would Cost Me Money…

What Does Our ‘Shadow Data’ Say About Us?

Jasmine Takanikos helps big brands hone in on their unique identity. She’s known for asking creative people…

Will Intimacy with AI Become a New Genre of Relationships?

Read an edited transcript below, or listen to the full interview on the First Contact podcast. I would…

Could Bots Make You a Better Human?

Could Bots Make You a Better Human?

Conversational AI is moving beyond commercial uses like customer service bots and into people’s daily lives for…

What Happened When Instagram’s CEO Encountered Katy Perry About Hiding Like Counts

What Happened When Instagram’s CEO Encountered Katy Perry About Hiding Like Counts

Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri tells Laurie Segall the story of what happened when he was approached by…

Tech’s Biggest Threat: The Weaponization of Loneliness

Tech’s Biggest Threat: The Weaponization of Loneliness

What happens when human empathy becomes hackable? Aza Raskin from the Center of Human Technology says the…

Are Our Screens ‘Blue Lighting’ Us?

Are Our Screens ‘Blue Lighting’ Us?

Aza Raskin from the Center of Human Technology speaks with Laurie Segall on the First Contact podcast…

WhatsApp Cofounder on Calls to Break up Big Tech

In an exclusive interview, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton opens up about walking away from more than $850…

WhatsApp Cofounder on Why Privacy is the Future of Tech

In an exclusive interview, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton opens up about walking away from more than $850…

WhatsApp Cofounder Says Encryption is Solution to Tech’s Trust Problem

WhatsApp Cofounder Says Encryption is Solution to Tech’s Trust Problem

WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton says he hopes his work at privacy non-profit Signal Foundation will help usher…

WhatsApp Cofounder Responds to Sen. Warren’s Calls to Break up Facebook

WhatsApp Cofounder Responds to Sen. Warren’s Calls to Break up Facebook

In an exclusive interview, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton opens up about walking away from more than $850…

WhatsApp Cofounder Felt ‘Numb’ Walking Away from $850M at Facebook

WhatsApp Cofounder Felt ‘Numb’ Walking Away from $850M at Facebook

In an exclusive interview, WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton opens up about walking away from more than $850…

Bots to Date: The Future is Complicated

Bots to Date: The Future is Complicated

Updating our relationship status with tech to “it’s complicated;” In the future, bots might replace humans on…

Hinge Founder: I Didn’t Escape Addiction to be a Slave to My Phone

Hinge Founder: I Didn’t Escape Addiction to be a Slave to My Phone

Founder of popular dating app Hinge opens up about his battle with addiction and how it led…

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First Contact

Distributed by iHeartMedia

Produced by Dot Dot Dot Media
Executive Producers: Derek Dodge & Laurie Segall

Read Transcripts from Each Episode