More or Less

• #91: Google’s $32B Deal and a Silicon Valley Spy Scandal!

  Silicon Valley’s heating up—and we’ve got the inside scoop.This week on More or Less, Jessica, Dave, Sam, and Brit unpack a whirlwind of drama: Google’s $32B Wiz grab, rippling’s spy scandal with Deel, and Gwyneth Paltrow’s bold intimacy coordinator diss. Dave’s back from YC Demo Day, where AI-driven startups are still fetching 25 to 40 million despite shaky traction.Here’s what’s cooking:• Google’s Wiz deal—will Trump’s FTC let it fly?• Rippling vs. Deel: a spy caught in a Slack honeypot• Gwyneth says no to intimacy coordinators—culture’s shifting• Brit’s new AI-built app, Guarding, locks down kids’ usernamesPlus, Solana’s PR flop, NVIDIA’s chip wars, and Elon’s billion-dollar X raise.We’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moreorlesspodConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit00:00 Trailer01:10 No introductions needed03:34 The New York Times Ethics Department07:06 Solana video disaster13:16 Gwyneth Paltrow vs intimacy coordinator17:03 Google acquires Wiz for $32 billion18:59 Trump administration's tech leverage30:08 Brit's app Guardling (higuardling.com)35:06 The Silicon Valley Spy Scandal!46:34 Are there VC spies?50:53 Elon raises a billion for X52:19 Drive-through AI and going bankrupt56:29 Sam Lessin has left the chat59:03 Outro

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• #90: Silicon Valley Unscripted: Billionaires, AI, and Interplanetary Exploration

  On this week's episode of More or Less, Jessica, Dave, Sam, and Brit tackle a chaotic week hashing out Waymo’s Peninsula push, Sam’s million-dollar Mars wager with Brit, and YC’s agentic AI craze—fresh from ski season vibes and office debates.Also on the deck this episode:• Waymo’s expansion has Jessica ditching Lyft (almost)• Sam vs. Brit: a million bucks on Mars colonization odds• TikTok’s sale—Oracle’s in, but ByteDance might still call the shots• Anthropic’s CEO says AI will write all code soon—engineers aren’t having it.Plus, recession drums beat louder, Jessica’s tennis mag Racket swings big, and Sam’s still trolling with billboards.We’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moreorlesspodConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit00:00 Trailer + Introduction01:46 Sam has another billboard!04:23 Waymo news09:12 New space age, flying motorcycles, tech CEOs14:21 Starlink, rockets, the space war use case19:56 More or Less bet: humans on Mars by 2040?24:34 Can this entity afford TikTok?27:53 Recession? Who cares?35:32 Startups are recession-proof42:30 Anthropic and vibe coding44:55 Billionaire free caltrain45:29 What's on our Instagram explore pages?47:42 Tennis magazine

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• #89: America’s Crypto Reserve, Nvidia’s $600M Hit & Digg’s Comeback

  Markets move fast—sometimes too fast.This week, Jessica, Dave, Sam, and Brit dissect Trump’s crypto reserve play, Nvidia’s AI stumbles, and how nostalgia is sneaking back into everything. Recorded amidst ski trips, surf plans, and a billboard that’s trolling AI hype, the crew unpacks it all.Also on deck:• Core Weave’s $1.7B AI cloud grab signals robotics is the new VC darling• Reports of Discord going public?Plus, Jessica’s surf weekend drama, Sam’s “Trump Make Poor” bit, and a hot take on why live sports might be overrated. It’s chaos, it’s volatility, it’s Episode 89 of More or Less.We’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moreorlesspodConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit00:00 Trailer01:10 Make startups weird again02:24 The Brit brand theory04:01 TikTok, DeepSeek and the nostalgia supercycle05:48 Do people even watch live sports anymore? 08:36 Running Point and feminist humor10:12 "New old, old new" companies16:26 "Spam" Lessin's billboard20:35 Driverless Waymo on the 10121:59 Wall Street Journal tech layoffs28:17 Trump make rich, Trump McPoor34:52 AI, AGI and the Top Gun Theory37:40 IPOs, massages, robot sex workers45:16 Girls' surf trip with margaritas and poker47:46 Indian Wells!52:18 Outro

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• #88: Meta’s $200B AI Bet, Instagram Reels & The Future of Content

  What happens when the biggest VCs, LPs, and founders cram into one basketball stadium? Deals get made, gossip flies, and Dave and Brit Morin find themselves in a very questionable hotel situation. Reporting live from LA, they break down everything happening at Upfront Summit—or at least, everything they overheard by the coffee station.On deck this episode:• is Bezos finally embracing his role as a media mogul?• Meta’s $200B spend vs. Grok’s lightning-fast scale• what really went down in Silicon Valley?All that, plus Dave’s latest case for why everyone should quit social media, in this Episode #88 of More or Less.We’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moreorlesspodConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: ⁠https://x.com/lessin⁠2) Dave Morin: ⁠https://x.com/davemorin⁠3) Jessica Lessin: ⁠https://x.com/Jessicalessin⁠4) Brit Morin: ⁠https://x.com/brit⁠00:00 Intro01:13 Live from the Upfront Summit03:04 Intuit and taxes06:37 Bezo's media shift12:26 Blantant bias and framing18:53 Meme coins are fascinating25:39 Make Instagram great again32:44 Big Tech and Trump34:19 Google search traffic is down36:35 AI segment: Grok45:08 The AI markets meme narrative55:40 Time Women of the Year Gala59:04 Outro

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• #87: SKIMS To Revive Nike? AI Drama & The Satoshi Mystery

  Elon Musk trolled Jessica on X—at least, that’s how it seems.Was it just a marketing stunt for Grok 3, with The Information as the sacrificial lamb?Plus, Humane’s AI pin flopped, but HP swooped in for a $160M “rescue.”What does this mean for the AI hardware race? Sam has some strong opinions (spoiler: he’s not a fan of AI printers).And the internet’s latest rabbit hole: Could Jack Dorsey actually be Satoshi?Social media is unraveling, AI is becoming hyper-personalized (maybe too much so), and the next wave of consumer tech is either flopping or skyrocketing at warp speed.All that—plus the latest chaos in AI, Big Tech, and beyond—on Episode 87 of More or Less.We’re also on ↓X: https://twitter.com/moreorlesspodInstagram: https://instagram.com/moreorlessSpotify: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/moreorlesspodConnect with us here:1) Sam Lessin: https://x.com/lessin2) Dave Morin: https://x.com/davemorin3) Jessica Lessin: https://x.com/Jessicalessin4) Brit Morin: https://x.com/brit(00:00:00) Introduction(00:01:20) Bay Area ski week(00:02:38) Yoga(00:06:43) Grok 3 vs The Information(00:12:26) Best deep research model? (00:19:30) iOS bug and social media isolation(00:23:42) iPhone 16e and status symbols(00:27:49) Digital drugs(00:33:21) Do brands even matter anymore?(00:43:00) Humane fire sale and AI Printers?(00:47:07) Founders who can land a plane(00:53:31) Lost Meta "international spy technology"(00:55:40) More Or Less correspondents(00:56:50) Jack created Bitcoin?(01:00:32) Outro

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