Tales of Silicon Valley

The Times
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Tales of Silicon Valley

In a major new series Danny Fortson paints a picture of Silicon Valley - how it became the most important driver of tech and society on the planet, and where the people who run it are planning on going next. Danny has been the West Coast correspondent for The Sunday Times since the beginning of 2017, covering all things technology and Silicon Valley. He also hosts the weekly Danny in the Valley podcast. Before moving to California, where he was born and raised, he spent more than a decade in London, where he grew up. You can read more of Danny's reporting from Silicon Valley by subscribing to The Times and Sunday Times at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/subscribe/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  1. EPISODE 1

    Hot Tub Millionaire

    Nolan Bushnell arrived in Silicon Valley in 1968 - and changed it forever. He started Atari, launched the video game industry, gave Steve Jobs his first job, and created the wild, convention-defying model of the modern tech executive that everyone from Jobs to Mark Zuckerberg has followed. In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Valleyread Danny's longform commentary on the series at thetimes.co.uk Produced by Cheeka Eyers at Rethink Audio for Wireless Studios and The Sunday Times. Matt Hall is the executive producer for Wireless Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    36 min

  2. EPISODE 2

    The Bebo Billions

    Michael and Xochi Birch launched Bebo, one of the first social networks. They sold it at the height of the market for $850 million to AOL Time Warner. Two years later, AOL sold it again - for $1. In a two-part podcast, we tell the Bebo story: its extraordinary rise, the fall, and how the Birches made away with the GDP of a small nation. In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Valleyread Danny's longform commentary on the series at thetimes.co.uk Produced by Cheeka Eyers at Rethink Audio for Wireless Studios and The Sunday Times. Matt Hall is the executive producer for Wireless Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    22 min

  3. EPISODE 3

    The Bebo Billions pt 2

    Michael and Xochi Birch launch Bebo, one of the first social networks, and ride it to extraordinary heights before it all comes crashing down. In the conclusion to this two-part story, we tell of the rise and collapse of Bebo, and how the Birches become billionaires anyway.  In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Valleyread Danny's longform commentary on the series at thetimes.co.uk Produced by Cheeka Eyers at Rethink Audio for Wireless Studios and The Sunday Times. Matt Hall is the executive producer for Wireless Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    31 min

  4. EPISODE 4

    Hello, San Francisco

    The city by the bay is ground zero of the tech revolution, but it has taken a dystopic turn. We dive inside San Francisco, where there are more billionaires per square foot than anywhere on the planet, but also more injection drug user than high school students. Families are fleeing; homelessness is soaring. We examine what the city can tell us about our techno-centric present - and the future.   In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER Longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The ValleyRead Danny's longform commentary on the series at thetimes.co.uk Produced by Cheeka Eyers at Rethink Audio for Wireless Studios and The Sunday Times. Matt Hall is the executive producer for Wireless Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    30 min

  5. EPISODE 5

    Earth is not enough

    Fifty years on from Neil Armstrong’s moonwalk, we investigate how billionaires are racing to become the first to settle on the moon. They are convinced that humans will soon be a multi-planetary species, with a permanent settlement in outer space within five years. Is this the ultimate ego trip? Is it realistic? We find out all the answers. In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER Longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The ValleyRead Danny's longform commentary on the series at thetimes.co.uk Produced by Cheeka Eyers at Rethink Audio for Wireless Studios and The Sunday Times. Matt Hall is the executive producer for Wireless Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    29 min

  6. EPISODE 6

    The Brain: the final frontier

    A race has broken out in Silicon Valley to create a breakthrough "brain-computer interface". Such a device would herald a new era of telepathy, and eventually merge with artificial intelligence. It also brings with it a hornet’s nest of challenges. Who will control it? Will our thoughts be policed? Billions of dollars are being poured into the technology that remains wrapped in secrecy. We talk to people on the front lines to figure out what is really going on. In this new eight-part series, The Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through surprising narratives and portraits of key players.  DIVE DEEPER longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The Valleyread Danny's longform commentary on the series at thetimes.co.uk Produced by Jim Carey at Rethink Audio for Wireless Studios and The Sunday Times. Matt Hall is the executive producer for Wireless Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min

  7. EPISODE 7

    The Big Tune Out

    Scott Kriens helped build the internet. Now he’s helping undo the havoc it has unleashed with a mountain retreat centre he’s built on the doorstep of Silicon Valley. We journey to 1440 Multiversity in the Santa Cruz mountains to commune with nature, go device-free and explore how the tech industry is trying to find its soul. In this new eight-part series, the Sunday Times' technology correspondent Danny Fortson tells the story of the valley through portraits of key players through its short history.  DIVE DEEPER Longform interviews on Danny's sister podcast, Danny In The ValleyRead Danny's longform commentary on the series at thetimes.co.uk Produced by Cheeka Eyers at Rethink Audio for Wireless Studios and The Sunday Times. Matt Hall is the executive producer for Wireless Studios. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min

  8. EPISODE 8

    Ignore, Delete, Escalate

    Millions of people are working every day, every hour, every minute to keep the web safe for the rest of us. They are human filters, finding and blocking the worst things that humanity can muster. But who are they? Why do we hear so little about them? We take an inside look at the world of content moderators, the shadow work force that is doing the web's dirty work - often to their own detriment.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    32 min
See All Season 1 (8)

About

In a major new series Danny Fortson paints a picture of Silicon Valley - how it became the most important driver of tech and society on the planet, and where the people who run it are planning on going next. Danny has been the West Coast correspondent for The Sunday Times since the beginning of 2017, covering all things technology and Silicon Valley. He also hosts the weekly Danny in the Valley podcast. Before moving to California, where he was born and raised, he spent more than a decade in London, where he grew up. You can read more of Danny's reporting from Silicon Valley by subscribing to The Times and Sunday Times at https://www.thetimes.co.uk/subscribe/ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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