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WSJ Tech News Briefing

Dow Jones Audio

Tech News Briefing is your guide to what people in tech are talking about. Every weekday, we’ll bring you breaking tech news and scoops from the pros at the Wall Street Journal, insight into new innovations and policy debates, tips from our personal tech team, and exclusive interviews with movers and shakers in the industry. Hosted by Zoe Thomas

Location:

New York, NY

Description:

Tech News Briefing is your guide to what people in tech are talking about. Every weekday, we’ll bring you breaking tech news and scoops from the pros at the Wall Street Journal, insight into new innovations and policy debates, tips from our personal tech team, and exclusive interviews with movers and shakers in the industry. Hosted by Zoe Thomas

Twitter:

@WSJPodcasts

Language:

English

Contact:

1211 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 212-416-2000


Episodes

TNB Tech Minute: Regulators Probe Ford’s Automated Driving Tech in Fatal Crash

3/18/2024
Plus: EV maker Fisker pauses production for six weeks. And Don Lemon releases his interview with Elon Musk. Alex Ossola hosts. Listening on Google Podcasts? Here's our guide for switching to a different podcast player. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:18

Prosecutors Probing Meta for Role in Drug Sales

3/18/2024
Meta may be in legal hot water again. U.S. prosecutors in Virginia have been serving subpoenas and asking questions in a criminal grand jury probe. The probe is looking into whether Meta’s social media platforms are facilitating and profiting from the illicit sale of drugs, according to documents and people familiar with the matter. WSJ reporter Salvador Rodriguez tells host Alex Ossola what might result from the probe, and what it could mean for Meta and its users. Listening on Google Podcasts? Here's our guide for switching to a different podcast player. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:12:26

TNB Tech Minute: Netflix Considers Changing Its Corporate-Culture Memo

3/15/2024
Plus: Apple pays nearly $500 million to settle a lawsuit with investors. And India cuts import tariffs in an effort to woo Tesla. Alex Ossola hosts. Listening on Google Podcasts? Here's our guide for switching to a different podcast player. WSJ.com/tech/Google-Podcasts Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:29

To Treat Disease, Doctors Can Now Edit Genes Inside the Body

3/15/2024
Many conditions, such as sickle cell and heart disease, are caused by genetic mutations. Over the past few years, scientists have learned how to treat some of those conditions by introducing cells that have been edited with bioengineering tools like CRISPR. But in the future, doctors could treat those conditions by editing patients’ cells while they’re still in their bodies—an approach called in vivo gene editing. Cordilia James spoke with WSJ senior writer Betsy McKay about how the approach works and its potential risks. Alex Ossola hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:12:34

TNB Tech Minute: Steven Mnuchin Says He’s Interested in Buying TikTok

3/14/2024
Plus: Meta plans to shut down a longstanding data tool. And SpaceX’s Starship spacecraft completed its longest test flight yet. Alex Ossola hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:15

How OpenAI Made Sora, Its Text-to-Video AI Tool

3/14/2024
Sora, OpenAI’s new text-to-video artificial intelligence model, can create highly realistic, detailed scenes. When its AI-generated video clips hit social media last month, people were blown away by the quality, though OpenAI won’t publicly release Sora until later this year. In an exclusive conversation, WSJ senior personal tech columnist Joanna Stern sat down with OpenAI’s CTO Mira Murati to better understand how Sora works, and how it might change in the future. You can watch Joanna’s full video here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:12:38

TNB Tech Minute: House Votes to Ban TikTok or Force Sale

3/13/2024
Plus: European lawmakers pass sweeping rules for artificial intelligence. And Don Lemon says Elon Musk canceled Lemon’s show on X. Alex Ossola hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:39

Nigeria Is in a Currency Crisis. Its Government Blames Crypto.

3/13/2024
Amid an unstable economy, many Nigerians have turned to cryptocurrency. The country has the second-highest adoption of crypto in the world, after India, according to data provider Chainalysis. Now, in Nigeria’s current financial crisis—the inflation rate for its local currency, the naira, hit 30% in January—the government is blaming Binance, the world’s biggest crypto exchange. WSJ reporter Caitlin Ostroff tells host Alex Ossola about the situation, and what it could mean for the future of crypto in the country. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:12:47

TNB Tech Minute: Apple to Allow Third Party Downloads in Europe

3/12/2024
Plus: OpenAI says Elon Musk’s claims are “often incoherent” in a legal filing. And Tesla and Ford receive “poor” grades in a study of their driver-assist technology. Alex Ossola hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:21

Why BlackRock Went All In on Bitcoin

3/12/2024
Back in 2017, Larry Fink, the CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, was critical of cryptocurrency. Now, just seven years later, the former skeptic is helping to take bitcoin mainstream as BlackRock rakes in billions of dollars selling bitcoin in a low-cost ETF. WSJ reporter Vicky Ge Huang tells host Alex Ossola about what BlackRock’s reversal means for the company, investors and crypto writ large. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:12:26

TNB Tech Minute: Elon Musk Says His AI Startup Will Open-Source Its Chatbot

3/11/2024
Plus: Reddit seeks up to $6.4 billion valuation in its upcoming IPO. And a group of authors is suing Nvidia for copyright infringement in AI training data. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:13

How a TikTok Campaign Reignited Calls for a U.S. Ban

3/11/2024
A House committee voted unanimously last week to pass a bill that would require TikTok’s Chinese parent company ByteDance to either sell the app to an American owner or effectively face a ban in the U.S. President Biden has also backed the effort, and said he would sign the bill into law, accelerating the latest push to block the app’s Chinese owners from accessing U.S. users’ data. The House could vote on the legislation as soon as this week. WSJ reporter Stu Woo tells host Cordilia James what that could mean for TikTok and why it’s the most serious attempt to separate the app from its Chinese owner yet. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:12:14

TNB Tech Minute: Apple Reverses Ban on Fortnite-Maker’s in EU

3/8/2024
Plus: Sam Altman’s Worldcoin appeals ban in Spain. And Microsoft says Russian state-sponsored hackers are using stolen information to access internal systems. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:30

Why China Is Ramping Up Its Push to Get Rid of U.S. Tech

3/8/2024
In 2022, the Chinese government issued a top secret directive called Document 79 that expanded the drive to push U.S. tech out of the country's state-owned companies. Some have referred to the effort as "Delete A" for "Delete America." WSJ China tech editor Liza Lin tells host Cordilia James what’s behind Beijing's push to sever the country’s relationship with American technology, and what it means for tech companies. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:12:31

TNB Tech Minute: Rivian Unveils Two, Lower-Priced Electric SUVs

3/7/2024
Plus: Netflix announces boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. And we exclusively report that Temu’s push into the U.S. market has meant big money for Meta and Google. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:23

How Sam Altman and Elon Musk’s Partnership Turned Toxic

3/7/2024
Elon Musk and Sam Altman co-founded OpenAI as a nonprofit research lab in 2015 with the mission of creating artificial intelligence for the benefit of humanity. The two built an alliance to try to prevent Google from dominating the AI industry. A lot has changed since then. OpenAI has gone commercial, with billions of dollars of funding from Microsoft. And last week, Musk filed a lawsuit against Altman and OpenAI, alleging that he’d abandoned the startup’s core mission in pursuit of profit. WSJ reporter Keach Hagey tells host Cordilia James how the tech leaders’ bromance turned toxic and what their legal battle means for AI development. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:13:08

TNB Tech Minute: Microsoft Engineer Warns AI Tool Generates Violent and Sexual Images

3/6/2024
Plus: U.S. charges Chinese national with stealing AI secrets from Google. And Epic Games says Apple terminated its developer account in their latest clash over tech competition. Danny Lewis hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:27

Why Artists Are Playing Videogame Gigs

3/6/2024
Music has long been a part of videogames. Now, a growing number of artists from Lady Gaga to Metallica are making videogames a priority. Artists are signing deals with game companies to debut new songs through interactive events and as background music for games themselves. In some cases, they're releasing new music in videogames before anywhere else and reaching millions of players. WSJ tech reporter Sarah Needleman tells host Cordilia James what's behind the shift and why videogames are becoming a powerful promotional tool for artists. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:12:09

TNB Tech Minute: AI Search Startup Perplexity Doubles Valuation to $1 Billion

3/5/2024
Plus: Salesforce CEO donates $150 million to Hawaii hospitals. And Tesla plant in Germany halts production after suspected arson attack. Charlotte Gartenberg hosts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:02:29

What a Trade-Secrets Case Shows About U.S. Efforts to Counter China

3/5/2024
Micron Technology is the only U.S. company that makes a type of memory chip used to store data in everything from phones to laptops. Until recently, China did not have the capability to make these kinds of chips. So when some former Micron employees teamed up with a rival working with a Chinese government-owned company in Taiwan, U.S. prosecutors thought it would be a straightforward case of state-sponsored corporate theft. But last week, a federal judge in San Francisco disagreed. WSJ senior reporter Aruna Vishwanatha tells host Cordilia James why the verdict is being seen as a setback in efforts to contain Chinese corporate theft. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Duration:00:13:00