dot dot dot

First Contact

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

Yael Eisenstat spent six months as Facebook’s global head of elections integrity operations. But before that, she spent more than a decade in the CIA. She also served as a national security advisor to Vice President Biden. During her time working for the government, she was frequently in hostile situations. Sometimes she found herself sipping tea across the table from suspected extremists. Her job was … Continue reading Former CIA Analyst: Facebook is Playing ‘Whack-A-Mole’

Jack Regan
First Contact

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

For a long time, Facebook’s motto was “Move Fast and Break Things.” And although the company has ditched that tagline after years of public scrutiny, one former employee says the company may still be moving too fast. Yael Eisenstat spent more than a decade as an analyst for the CIA. She also served as a national security advisor to Vice President Biden. But one of … Continue reading Yael Eisenstat: There Was No Way I Was Going to Let Facebook Silence My Voice

Jack Regan
First Contact Transcript

Episode 12: She Spent 10+ Years at the CIA. It Didn’t Prepare Her for Life at Facebook.

First Contact with Laurie Segall is a production of Dot Dot Dot Media and iHeart Radio. Yael Eisenstat: When I left the CIA, it’s you can’t talk about anything classified, which is essentially an NDA. They never said you can’t say anything negative about us. The non disparagement at Facebook was so strong, I would have never been able to talk about even why I … Continue reading Episode 12: She Spent 10+ Years at the CIA. It Didn’t Prepare Her for Life at Facebook.

Jack Regan
Gray Matters

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

Sam Altman is known for seeing into the future. For years he led Y Combinator — one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent incubators. He’s invested in companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and Reddit. When he makes a prediction, you listen. Sam spoke to Laurie Segall about why he thinks the next ten years in tech could be even more disruptive than the last… Read an edited … Continue reading Sam Altman: The Tech Revolution Was Just a ‘Warm Up’ For What’s Next

Jack Regan
Gray Matters

Are Human/AI Hybrids the Future Of Humanity?

Sam Altman is known for seeing into the future. For years he led Y Combinator — one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent incubators. He’s invested in companies like Airbnb, Dropbox, and Reddit. When Sam makes a prediction, you listen. And he has plenty of predictions to go around. Here’s what he thinks might be coming down the pike… Read an edited transcript below, or listen … Continue reading Are Human/AI Hybrids the Future Of Humanity?

Jack Regan
First Contact

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

You may know Sam Altman as the entrepreneur who led the Silicon Valley incubator, Y Combinator. Or as the guy who founded OpenAI with Elon Musk. But before his successful career in tech, he was just a high school student navigating the complicated process of coming out in St. Louis in the early 2000s. Read an edited transcript below, or listen to the full interview … Continue reading How Silicon Valley’s Wunderkind Came Out in a Midwest High School

Jack Regan
First Contact Transcript

Episode 11: Sam Altman: Growing Up Silicon Valley

First contact with Laurie Segall is a production of Dot Dot Dot Media and iHeart Radio.  Sam Altman: One thing where I do think Silicon Valley gets a little bit dishonest is, saying like, “Okay. We’re going to build these incredibly powerful systems. They’re going to do all these wonderful things for us on this incredible exponential curve of technology. And then right when we … Continue reading Episode 11: Sam Altman: Growing Up Silicon Valley

Jack Regan
Gray Matters

He Popularized Crowdfunding, Now He Wants to Reimagine Capitalism

Kickstarter introduced the world to a new way of shopping. It allowed consumers to fund a product into existence. To pre-order something when it was just an idea inside the mind of its creator. Now, years after he left the company, Kickstarter Co-founder Yancey Strickler is out with a new book that asks the world to re-evaluate how we prioritize money. He calls it a … Continue reading He Popularized Crowdfunding, Now He Wants to Reimagine Capitalism

Jack Regan
Zigzag of Success

How Kickstarter Survived Rejection Before It Found Success

Kickstarter is a wildly successful company by pretty much any standard. It’s almost single-handedly responsible for taking crowdfunding mainstream. But the company’s success wasn’t always guaranteed. Laurie Segall sat down with co-founder Yancey Strickler to talk about the ups and downs of getting Kickstarter off the ground and his new book, “This Could Be Our Future.” Read an edited transcript below, or listen to the … Continue reading How Kickstarter Survived Rejection Before It Found Success

Jack Regan
Zigzag of Success

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 without it?” A job? Maybe a relationship? Although terrifying, sometimes shedding an identity is where the magic happens. Who you are, and what you actually stand for, becomes a little clearer. At least that was the case for Yancey Strickler. He co-founded Kickstarter and spent five years as … Continue reading When Kickstarter’s Co-founder Knew It Was Time To Go

Jack Regan