Brazil has slapped a ban on X, as the culmination of a dispute between the platform and the country’s judiciary over censorship. It’s weird, because Elon Musk’s platform has complied with government requests from other countries, like Turkey and India.

So what’s the deal? In this ep, we talk about Musk's free speech crusade, the Brazilification of the web, and the general vibes around the X business right now.

Brazil has <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/article/2024/sep/02/brazils-supreme-court-upholds-x-ban-over-conduct">slapped a ban on X</a>, as the culmination of a dispute between the platform and the country’s judiciary over censorship. It’s weird, because Elon Musk’s platform has complied with government requests from other countries, like Turkey and India.
So what’s the deal? In this ep, we talk about Musk's free speech crusade, the Brazilification of the web, and the general vibes around the X business right now.

The number one podcast about tech business and culture, from James "JR" Hennessy and Raph Dixon.

Down Round

X vs Brazil

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Social media. Is it too dank for the malleable and developing mind?

The Australian government seems to think so. Labor has joined the ranks of a number parties and bodies in various jurisdictions in attempting to set a lower age limit for social media. 

We consider the following questions:
Why?
How would it work?
Who is to blame for society crumbling? 

This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head <a href="https://downround.memberful.com/join">here</a>.
<hr>
Social media. Is it too dank for the malleable and developing mind?
The Australian government seems to think so. Labor has joined the ranks of a number parties and bodies in various jurisdictions in attempting to <a href="https://www.pm.gov.au/media/albanese-government-set-introduce-minimum-age-social-media-access">set a lower age limit for social media</a>. 
We consider the following questions:
<ul>
<li>Why?</li>
<li>How would it work?</li>
<li>Who is to blame for society crumbling? </li>
</ul>

Them Kids Ain't Right (PREVIEW)

For decades, technologists have fantasised about the ultimate prize: a humanoid robot, available to consumers and industry, which can perform a range of humanlike tasks. The recent AI moment has reignited those aspirations, with everyone from Tesla to Apple – and a handful of ambitious startups – either openly or secretly working on humanoid robot projects.

In this ep we round up the rumour mill, and talk about what these things could actually be useful for, and why they're suddenly everywhere. (In spirit, if not actuality.)

For decades, technologists have fantasised about the ultimate prize: a humanoid robot, available to consumers and industry, which can perform a range of humanlike tasks. The recent AI moment has reignited those aspirations, with everyone from Tesla to Apple – and a handful of ambitious startups – either openly or secretly working on humanoid robot projects.
In this ep we round up the rumour mill, and talk about what these things could actually be useful for, and why they're suddenly everywhere. (In spirit, if not actuality.)

Humanoid Robots: Just Another Guy In Your House

This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head here.

The tech world has been ablaze over the past week or so, both ironically and unironically, about the concept of Founder Mode.

Inspired by a short essay by Paul Graham, 'founder mode' vaguely posits that there's a natural point in a startup's existence where it gives up being led by a single founder with a ton of agency, and instead becomes led by professional managers via delegation. Graham, and others, suggest that you don't need to do that, and can keep running even very big tech businesses as a lethal operator calling all the shots.

In this freewheeling ep, we discuss.

This is a free preview of a premium episode. To subscribe to Down Round Premium and get access, head <a href="https://downround.memberful.com/join">here</a>.
<hr>
The tech world has been ablaze over the past week or so, both ironically and unironically, about the concept of Founder Mode.
Inspired by <a href="https://paulgraham.com/foundermode.html">a short essay</a> by Paul Graham, 'founder mode' vaguely posits that there's a natural point in a startup's existence where it gives up being led by a single founder with a ton of agency, and instead becomes led by professional managers via delegation. Graham, and others, suggest that you don't need to do that, and can keep running even very big tech businesses as a lethal operator calling all the shots.
In this freewheeling ep, we discuss.

X vs Brazil

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